How Does Terraform Enable Infrastructure as Code?

A good deployment pipeline requires a well-balanced use of tools and resources. But finding that balance can be challenging. With infrastructure as code (IaC), you don't need to worry about the configuration-management side of the equation because you're creating your infrastructure based on how it works and what it should look like. In addition, as your infrastructure scales, it does so without human intervention. This eliminates the need for manual operations such as redeployment or rollback when changes go awry. 

This post will shed more light on what infrastructure as code is. Then, we'll explain how Terraform enables it. 

What is Infrastructure as Code?

Infrastructure as code is the art of using software tools to manage and provision physical, virtual, and cloud-based resources. 

IaC allows infrastructure engineers and application developers to design and build systems in an automated fashion with high levels of reliability. We can achieve this by defining the infrastructure in text-based files that a specification language interpreter then processes. 

The concept of IaC has its roots in configuration management. Configuration management refers to managing and maintaining the configuration of systems and devices in a consistent and controlled way. 

IaC builds on this concept by extending it to include infrastructure resources such as servers, storage devices, and networking equipment. This enables organizations to manage their infrastructure using configuration files rather than manual processes. 

Developing tools like Terraform and CloudFormation have enabled IaC by providing a way to define and manage infrastructure using configuration files. These tools have made it easier for organizations to automate the provisioning and management of infrastructure and have helped drive the adoption of IaC. 

What Are the Benefits of IaC?

These are some of the main benefits of IaC. 

• Simpler and more consistent provisioning: IaC helps you collaborate on infrastructure management and share infrastructure configurations with other teams and organizations.
• Easy and efficient infrastructure replication: By using IaC tools like Terraform, Ansible, and Puppet, we can define how we want our infrastructure to look using code. We can also deploy the configurations to any environment.
• Repeatable and auditable changes: You can track changes using version control, which helps keep the infrastructure up to date and reduces the risk of security threats.

How do you Write IaC?

There are several ways to write IaC depending on your project's specific needs and requirements. Some common approaches include: 

• Using a declarative language such as YAML or JSON to define the desired state of your infrastructure. This approach allows you to specify your infrastructure and the IaC tool will automatically provision and configure the resources to meet those specifications.
• Using a procedural language such as Python or Ruby to write scripts that provision and configure your infrastructure. This approach allows you to specify the steps that need to be taken to provision and configure your infrastructure. The IaC tool will execute those steps to create the desired infrastructure.
• Using a configuration management tool such as Ansible or Puppet to manage your infrastructure. These tools provide a set of predefined modules to provision and configure your infrastructure in a repeatable and predictable way.

What is Terraform?

Terraform is a tool for building, changing, and versioning infrastructure safely and efficiently. It can manage existing popular service providers and custom in-house solutions. 

Terraform manages the complete state of your infrastructure with declarative configuration files, which are treated like code. The system keeps knowledge of rebuilding or changing any resource or infrastructure component. This makes it safer than a traditional on-site human expert who needs to guide every action. 

When applied with IaC practices such as continuous integration (CI), Terraform can become an increasingly powerful tool for rapidly provisioning new environments and then scaling them out safely while minimizing disruption to existing customers. 

Terraform's IaC feature keeps your infrastructure up to date with the latest versions of Terraform modules through updates and releases performed by other users. 

What Code is Terraform Written in?

Terraform is primarily written in the Go programming language. HashiCorp initially developed Go and it's now an open-source project with contributions from a community of users and developers. 

Besides Go, Terraform uses the HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) as its primary configuration language. 

HCL is a declarative language that is human-readable and easy to write and understand. It's used to define the desired state of infrastructure, which Terraform uses to provision and configure the resources. 

What Are the Benefits of Using Terraform?

• Easy to use: You can codify existing system architecture into declarative configuration files. No more brittle shell scripts and manual operations.
• Fast: With Terraform, you can plan, create, and destroy infrastructure for hundreds of services in a matter of seconds. It doesn't require a central database, so it's also easy to install, no matter how big your environment is.
• Secure: Terraform provides locking mechanisms to prevent multiple teams from accidentally creating overlapping resources, which could easily happen with manual setups. Terraform also uses standard modules, so it's difficult to expose sensitive data like API keys or passwords accidentally.

How Does Terraform Enable IaC?

Terraform enables IaC by providing a declarative language and tools that allow organizations to define and manage their infrastructure using code. 

Here's an example of how Terraform can enable IaC: 

resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  ami           = "ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0"
  instance_type = "t2.micro"
}

In this example, you define the aws_instance resource using HCL. This code specifies the desired state of the infrastructure: A virtual machine with a specific AMI and instance type. 

When you execute this code using the Terraform command-line interface (CLI), Terraform will provision and configure the resources in AWS to meet these specifications. The virtual machine will be created and configured automatically without requiring manual intervention. 

Key Features of Terraform That Support IaC

Below are some features of Terraform that support and enable IaC: 

• You can use the HCL declarative language to define the desired state of your infrastructure. This allows you to specify how your infrastructure should look.
• Support for version control enables organizations to track changes to their infrastructure over time and collaborate with other developers on infrastructure management. This makes it easier to review and test changes to infrastructure and to roll back changes if necessary.
• The resource graph allows you to visualize and understand your entire infrastructure.
• Execution plans created in Terraform show you the actions that will be required to reach your desired state.
• Terraform can also orchestrate multiple services and providers, allowing you to manage your resources across different cloud platforms.

Is Terraform an IaC?

No, but it's an IaC tool. IaC is a practice. Terraform is an IaC tool that enables organizations to manage their infrastructure using code. 

What Other Tools can you use to Implement IaC?

Other tools that can implement IaC include: 

1. Ansible 

2. Puppet 

3. Progress Chef 

4. SaltStack 

5. CloudFormation 

6. Vagrant 

Conclusion

With Terraform, your team can easily provision and manage their IaC. They'll scale their resources and deploy applications across different environments. Terraform also allows you to take advantage of different environments, like ephemeral environments. Maybe you'd like to spin up an environment—for example, to show a certain feature or product—without worrying that someone else will mess it up. Follow this guide to get started with ephemeral environments. 

Discover the benefits of using infrastructure as code (IaC) with Terraform! IaC enables organizations to manage their infrastructure in a more predictable and repeatable way, which can improve the reliability and maintainability of their infrastructure. Learn more with Release. #IaC #Terraform #Ephemeral Environment