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name: cloud-infrastructure description: Cloud infrastructure design and deployment patterns for AWS, Azure, and GCP. Use when designing cloud architectures, implementing IaC with Terraform, optimizing costs, or setting up multi-region deployments. author: Joseph OBrien status: unpublished updated: '2025-12-23' version: 1.0.1 tag: skill type: skill

Cloud Infrastructure

Comprehensive cloud infrastructure skill covering multi-cloud architecture, Infrastructure as Code, cost optimization, and production deployment patterns.

When to Use This Skill

• Designing cloud architecture for new applications
• Implementing Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation, Pulumi)
• Cost optimization and resource right-sizing
• Multi-region and high-availability deployments
• Cloud migration planning
• Security and compliance implementation
• Auto-scaling and performance optimization

Cloud Architecture Patterns

Compute Patterns

Pattern	AWS	Azure	GCP	Use Case
Serverless	Lambda	Functions	Cloud Functions	Event-driven, variable load
Containers	ECS/EKS	AKS	GKE	Microservices, consistent env
VMs	EC2	Virtual Machines	Compute Engine	Legacy apps, full control
Batch	Batch	Batch	Batch	Large-scale processing

Storage Patterns

Type	AWS	Azure	GCP	Use Case
Object	S3	Blob Storage	Cloud Storage	Static files, backups
Block	EBS	Managed Disks	Persistent Disk	Database storage
File	EFS	Azure Files	Filestore	Shared file systems
Archive	Glacier	Archive	Coldline	Long-term retention

Database Patterns

Type	AWS	Azure	GCP	Use Case
Relational	RDS, Aurora	SQL Database	Cloud SQL	ACID transactions
NoSQL	DynamoDB	Cosmos DB	Firestore	Flexible schema
Cache	ElastiCache	Cache for Redis	Memorystore	Session, caching
Data Warehouse	Redshift	Synapse	BigQuery	Analytics

Infrastructure as Code

Terraform Best Practices

Project Structure:

infrastructure/
├── modules/
│   ├── networking/
│   ├── compute/
│   └── database/
├── environments/
│   ├── dev/
│   ├── staging/
│   └── prod/
├── main.tf
├── variables.tf
├── outputs.tf
└── versions.tf

State Management:

• Use remote state (S3, Azure Blob, GCS)
• Enable state locking (DynamoDB, Blob lease)
• Separate state per environment
• Never commit state files

Module Design:

• Single responsibility per module
• Expose minimal required variables
• Document inputs/outputs
• Version modules with git tags

Cost Optimization

Compute Savings:

• Reserved Instances (1-3 year commitment): 30-60% savings
• Spot/Preemptible instances: 60-90% savings for interruptible workloads
• Right-sizing: Match instance size to actual usage
• Auto-scaling: Scale down during low usage

Storage Savings:

• Lifecycle policies: Auto-transition to cheaper tiers
• Compression: Reduce storage footprint
• Deduplication: Eliminate redundant data
• Delete unused resources: Orphaned volumes, snapshots

Network Savings:

• Use CDN for static content
• Optimize data transfer paths
• Use private endpoints
• Compress API responses

High Availability Patterns

Multi-AZ Deployment

• Deploy across 2-3 availability zones
• Use load balancers for distribution
• Database replication across AZs
• Automatic failover configuration

Multi-Region Deployment

• Active-active or active-passive
• DNS-based routing (Route53, Traffic Manager)
• Data replication strategy
• Disaster recovery procedures

Resilience Patterns

• Circuit breakers for external dependencies
• Retry with exponential backoff
• Bulkhead isolation
• Graceful degradation

Security Best Practices

Identity & Access

• Principle of least privilege
• Use IAM roles, not long-term credentials
• Enable MFA for privileged accounts
• Regular access reviews

Network Security

• VPC/VNet isolation
• Security groups as firewalls
• Private subnets for backend services
• VPN/Direct Connect for hybrid

Data Protection

• Encryption at rest (KMS)
• Encryption in transit (TLS)
• Key rotation policies
• Backup and recovery testing

Monitoring & Observability

Key Metrics

• CPU, Memory, Disk utilization
• Network throughput and latency
• Error rates and types
• Cost per service/team

Alerting Strategy

• Set thresholds based on baselines
• Alert on symptoms, not causes
• Runbooks for each alert
• Escalation paths defined

Reference Files

• references/terraform_patterns.md - IaC patterns and examples
• references/cost_optimization.md - Detailed cost reduction strategies

Integration with Other Skills

• security-engineering - For security architecture
• network-engineering - For network design
• performance - For optimization strategies
• devops-runbooks - For operational procedures