Deployment Modes

Altostra support two deployment modes for AWS connected accounts: Manual or Automatic. The default mode for new organizations is Manual. You can change this setting on the organization Settings page.

Manual Mode

In Manual mode deployments are done in two steps:

1. You initiate the deployment using either the CLI alto deploy command or from the Web Console.
2. You execute a Change-Set in the AWS CloudFormation Console.

When you initiate a deployment form either the Altostra CLI or Web Console, a new Change-Set is created in CloudFormation, but it is not executed. Instead, you are provided with a URL to the AWS CloudFormation Console, when deploying from the CLI, or a direct link when deploying from the Web Console.

You then need to login to AWS account you've deployed to and manually execute the newly created Change-Set.

To work in manual mode, you need to have access to the AWS Console and sufficient permissions to execute Stacks and Change-Sets.

The manual mode is useful to get familiar with Altostra and what it produces on your account before you commit the changes. It is also useful in certain cases where you need to prepare many Change-Sets before you execute them.

Once you get familiar with Altostra, we recommend that you switch to Automatic mode for a better experience.

Automatic Mode

In Automatic mode deployments are done in a single step, by either using the CLI alto deploy command or from the Web Console. Once executed, the stack is automatically created or updated on your account and is then executed without any additional steps.

To deploy in Automatic mode you don't need direct access to the AWS Console or additional permissions once an admin with sufficient permissions has connected an AWS account.