Replication Steps

1. Clone the repo

   git clone <repo-url>
   cd cw-observability/terraform
   

2. Create an EC2 key pair in your target region (AWS Console → EC2 → Key Pairs → Create key pair, or aws ec2 create-key-pair). Download and store the .pem file locally (e.g. ~/.ssh/), chmod 400. Note the exact key pair name - this is what goes in Terraform, not the file path. [Screenshot: key pair created in console, showing the name]

3. Configure AWS CLI credentials for a dedicated deployer identity (not root):

   aws configure --profile cw-observability
   

   Enter access key, secret key, region, output format.

4. Populate terraform.tfvars (committed, non-sensitive): aws_region, project_name, vpc_cidr, public_subnet_cidr, availability_zone, ssh_allowed_cidr (leave as placeholder), key_name (from step 2).

5. Populate secrets.tfvars (gitignored, sensitive): ssh_allowed_cidr = your real IP (curl ifconfig.me), alarm_email, alarm_sms.

6. Initialize Terraform:

   terraform init
   

   

7. Run the plan:

   terraform plan -var-file="terraform.tfvars" -var-file="secrets.tfvars"
   

   Confirm resource count matches expectations, 0 to destroy.

8. Apply:

   terraform apply -var-file="terraform.tfvars" -var-file="secrets.tfvars"
   

   

9. (gap in your numbering - decide whether this stays a gap or gets a step)

10. Verify SSH access to each instance:

    ssh -i ~/.ssh/<your-key>.pem ec2-user@<instance-public-ip>
    

    

11. Verify custom metrics are publishing:

    aws cloudwatch list-metrics --namespace <project_name> --profile cw-observability
    

    Confirm mem_used_percent, disk_used_percent, swap_used_percent all present.

12. Confirm the SNS email subscription - check inbox/spam for the confirmation email and click it.

13. View the CloudWatch dashboard:

    terraform output dashboard_url
    

    Open the link, confirm all three widgets render with live data.

14. Trigger a test alarm to confirm the full alerting pipeline:

    aws cloudwatch set-alarm-state --alarm-name <project_name>-cpu-high-1 \
      --state-value ALARM --state-reason "manual test" --profile cw-observability
    

    

15. Real-load test:

    ssh -i ~/.ssh/<your-key>.pem ec2-user@<instance-public-ip>
    sudo dnf install -y stress-ng
    stress-ng --cpu 2 --timeout 300s
    

    

16. Tear down when finished:

    terraform destroy -var-file="terraform.tfvars" -var-file="secrets.tfvars"