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Infrastructure as Code is a trending topic in the IT industry. The goal of this article is to simplify what IaC is and why it is a trending topic, in a way that even a layman can understand.
Usually, setting up and managing infrastructure such as servers, networks and storage is done manually. This approach has several problems.
Setting up infrastructure manually often leads to errors such as server misconfiguration or forgetting a step. Additionally, it is time-consuming because each server or resource requires individual attention. Additionally, inconsistency, scalability issues, and high costs are common problems in this approach.
Imagine setting up 100 servers for the launch of a new application. Doing it manually would take weeks and would likely result in errors, causing delays or failure.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is here to solve that problem.
What is Infrastructure as Code (IaC)?
IaC is the practice of managing and provisioning infrastructure using code rather than manually configuring hardware or software.
It’s like writing a recipe for a dish. Once the recipe is written, you can use it to prepare the same dish perfectly every time. Similarly, with IaC, you write “scripts” that describe your infrastructure, and they can manage it automatically.
For example, Instead of creating 100 servers manually, you write a script that defines the appearance of the servers, and a tool like Terraform or Ansible will create them for you.
IaC is often associated with virtual resources such as cloud servers, storage, or network components. But it can also be used to configure, manage, and maintain physical servers or existing infrastructure. As an example,
- Operating System Provision
- Install and configure software (e.g., web server, database).
- Setting up firewalls and security policies.
- Manage users and permissions
- Application Deployment, and much more.
This method is cost-effective, because the infrastructure is defined in code, each server or resource is managed the same way every time. Additionally, these scripts can be stored in a version control system (such as Git), so that changes can be tracked and rolled back. Adding or removing resources is also easy. You just need to update the script.
Popular Tools for IaC
- Terraform: A widely used tool for multi-cloud infrastructure provisioning. (Supports all major cloud platforms.)
- Possibility: Focuses on configuration management. Typically used to configure applications in a provisioned environment.
- AWS CloudFormation: Use and only support in the AWS cloud.
- Azure Resource Manager (ARM): Use and only supported in the Azure cloud.
If you are an IT graduate and want to get into the field of DevOps engineering or platform engineering, understanding IaC concepts is important. IaC is a huge subject, so feel free to explore it further.
