🎓 LUIT Apache Snapshot & Disaster Recovery Lab

Level Up In Tech (LUIT) - Terraform Learning Project

This project teaches Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform to deploy an Apache web server with automated snapshot backups and disaster recovery capabilities.

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📚 What You'll Learn

• ✅ Deploy EC2 instances with Terraform
• ✅ Install and configure Apache web server
• ✅ Create automated EBS snapshots
• ✅ Implement disaster recovery from snapshots
• ✅ Use Terraform variables and conditionals
• ✅ Work with security groups and user data

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🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Phase 1: Production Server                 │
│  ┌────────────┐                             │
│  │ EC2 + Apache│ → "Welcome LUIT Students!" │
│  └────────────┘                             │
│         ↓                                    │
│  ┌────────────┐                             │
│  │  Snapshot  │ (Automated Backup)          │
│  └────────────┘                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Phase 2: Disaster Recovery                 │
│  ┌────────────┐                             │
│  │  Snapshot  │                             │
│  └────────────┘                             │
│         ↓                                    │
│  ┌────────────┐                             │
│  │ DR Server  │ → Restored from snapshot!   │
│  └────────────┘                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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📋 Prerequisites

• AWS Account (Free Tier eligible)
• AWS CLI installed and configured
• Terraform installed (v1.0+)
• Basic command line knowledge

Install Terraform

macOS:

brew install terraform

Windows (Chocolatey):

choco install terraform

Linux:

wget https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform/1.7.0/terraform_1.7.0_linux_amd64.zip
unzip terraform_1.7.0_linux_amd64.zip
sudo mv terraform /usr/local/bin/

Configure AWS CLI

aws configure
# Enter your:
# - AWS Access Key ID
# - AWS Secret Access Key
# - Default region (e.g., us-east-1)
# - Output format (json)

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🚀 Quick Start

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/luit-terraform-snapshot-lab.git
cd luit-terraform-snapshot-lab

2. Set Up Your Variables

# Copy the example file
cp terraform.tfvars.example terraform.tfvars

# Edit with your values
nano terraform.tfvars

Find your AMI ID:

# Amazon Linux 2
aws ec2 describe-images \
  --owners amazon \
  --filters "Name=name,Values=amzn2-ami-hvm-*-x86_64-gp2" \
  --query 'Images[0].ImageId' \
  --output text

# Ubuntu 22.04
aws ec2 describe-images \
  --owners 099720109477 \
  --filters "Name=name,Values=ubuntu/images/hvm-ssd/ubuntu-jammy-22.04-amd64-server-*" \
  --query 'Images[0].ImageId' \
  --output text

3. Deploy the Infrastructure

# Initialize Terraform
terraform init

# Preview changes
terraform plan

# Deploy (creates production server + snapshots)
terraform apply
# Type "yes" when prompted

4. Access Your Apache Server

# Get the URL from output
terraform output apache_url

# Or visit: http://<your-public-ip>

You should see: 🎓 Welcome LUIT Students! 🎓

5. Wait for Snapshots to Complete (~10 minutes)

# Check snapshot status
aws ec2 describe-snapshots --owner-ids self \
  --query 'Snapshots[*].[SnapshotId,State,Progress]' \
  --output table

6. Test Disaster Recovery

# Enable disaster recovery mode
terraform apply -var="disaster_recovery_mode=true"
# Type "yes"

# Get DR server URL
terraform output dr_apache_url

# Visit the DR URL - same webpage appears!

7. Return to Normal Operations

# Disable disaster recovery
terraform apply -var="disaster_recovery_mode=false"
# Type "yes"

8. Clean Up (Delete Everything)

terraform destroy
# Type "yes"

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📁 Project Structure

luit-terraform-snapshot-lab/
├── main.tf                  # EC2 instance and volumes
├── snapshots.tf            # Snapshot creation logic
├── restore.tf              # Disaster recovery resources
├── variables.tf            # Variable definitions
├── outputs.tf              # Output values
├── provider.tf             # AWS provider configuration
├── terraform.tfvars.example # Example configuration
├── .gitignore              # Files to exclude from Git
├── README.md               # This file
└── scripts/
    ├── install_apache.sh   # Apache installation script
    └── check_snapshots.sh  # Snapshot verification script

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🎓 Learning Exercises

Exercise 1: Customize the Welcome Page

Modify scripts/install_apache.sh to change the welcome message.

Exercise 2: Add More Snapshots

Change snapshot_retention_count in terraform.tfvars to keep more backups.

Exercise 3: Multi-Region DR

Research how to copy snapshots to another AWS region for geographic redundancy.

Exercise 4: Add Monitoring

Add CloudWatch alarms to alert when snapshots fail.

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💰 Cost Estimate

• EC2 t3.micro: $0.01/hour ($7/month)
• EBS 20GB volume: ~$2/month
• Snapshots (7 days × 20GB): ~$1/month
• Total: ~$10/month

💡 Tip: Run terraform destroy when not using to avoid charges!

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🐛 Troubleshooting

Error: "Snapshot does not exist"

Solution: You're trying to restore before snapshots are created. Run in two stages:

1. terraform apply (wait 10 minutes)
2. terraform apply -var="disaster_recovery_mode=true"

Error: "AMI not found"

Solution: Update my_ami in terraform.tfvars with a valid AMI ID for your region.

Apache not accessible

Solution: Check security group allows HTTP (port 80):

aws ec2 describe-security-groups --group-ids <your-sg-id>

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📚 Additional Resources

• Terraform Documentation
• AWS EBS Snapshots
• Level Up In Tech

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🤝 Contributing

Found a bug or have a suggestion? Please open an issue!

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📜 License

MIT License - Feel free to use this for learning!

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👨‍🏫 About

Created for Level Up In Tech (LUIT) students to learn Terraform and AWS disaster recovery concepts.

Instructor: [Your Name]
Contact: [Your Email/LinkedIn]

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