Improve region and vm type selection

[madebygps]

Our TF defaults to a specific region and SKU. For some users this does not work due to sub restrictions, quotas, etc. how can we improve this?

[SahilGupta2810]

Hi @madebygps @rishabkumar7 ,

I'd love to take this on as my first contribution.

To address the region and VM size restrictions, I've prepared a clean, non-breaking solution that parameterizes these values as input variables across all three providers:

• AWS: Added aws_instance_type (default: "t3.micro")
• Azure: Added azure_vm_size (default: "Standard_B1s")
• GCP: Added gcp_machine_type (default: "e2-micro")

This preserves the current default configs for all learners while allowing users with quota limits to override them easily. I have also verified that the Terraform configurations format and validate cleanly (terraform validate passes on all three).

Could you assign this issue to me so I can open the Pull Request? Thank you!

[madebygps]

If a learner was brand new to tech and encountered an issue with deploying the lab that was due to some sort of restriction, how would your solution help them?

[SahilGupta2810]

@madebygps
I agree that just adding variables isn’t enough for someone who’s completely new. They’ll still hit a Terraform error and have no idea what it means or what to do next.

What would really help is a TROUBLESHOOTING.md that turns those errors into simple next steps. For example:

QuotaExceeded → “Here’s the one‑liner to switch to a smaller instance type.”

explicit deny in a service control policy → “You’re probably on a restricted org/school account; here’s what to try, or use a personal account.”

In my opinion this PR should include both:

• The variable changes as the mechanism, and
• TROUBLESHOOTING.md as the guide that actually helps a beginner fix things and get the lab running.

Happy to go this route if it sounds good to you.

[madebygps]

@SahilGupta2810 thnak you for answering my question, I think the ideal solution is a combination of your original idea + docs :) How do you think we could accomplish that?