What is infrastructure as code?
Infrastructure as code, or IaC, is an IT practice in cloud computing that involves managing and provisioning IT infrastructure through machine-readable language rather than manual hardware configurations.
This approach allows DevOps and NetOps to automatically manage, monitor, and provision on-premise and cloud resources.
The concept of IaC was first developed to automate IT infrastructure setup and maintenance. Before IaC, DevOps would need to manually set up servers, network configuration, software, database, and other resources to prepare the server so that applications can run on the server.
Repeating this process whenever the system admin needs a new server costs time, effort, and the possibility of human error.
After setup, DevOps would need to spend additional time and resources on maintenance.
Version control, release deployment, database backup, recovery, and bug fixing all can take days to weeks to finish. IaC can automate these tasks through machine languages and software solutions. The need for rapid provisioning, scalability, and maintenance of complex yet efficient IT infrastructure led to the beginning of IaC. It is a solution to manual management of on-premise and cloud resources.
Types of infrastructure as code
IaC has two predominant approaches catering to different project needs or industry requirements.
- Imperative IaC: This approach allows users to specify the exact steps to set up and configure the infrastructure.
Since manual specifications introduce complexities and inconsistencies with multiple deployments and upgrades, imperative IaC is used in specialized projects that require tailored and precise setups.
- Declarative IaC: This approach allows the user to define setup and configuration requirements without specific steps to build. The IaC software will automatically create and configure the environments based on the requirements.
Declarative IaC brings consistent and scalable cloud infrastructure since it uses standardized processes with minimal configuration drift. This approach is favored by many system admins since it reduces complexity and human error.
IaC can build two different types of infrastructure based on different project needs or industry requirements.
- Mutatable infrastructure: Users can modify and update servers and resources without creating new infrastructure. This allows for quick updates but can lead to unpredictable maintenance challenges while preserving server versions and integrity.
- Unmutatable infrastructure: The user creates a new infrastructure environment with each new version deployment. Once a new version is deployed, the old version is discarded.
This model allows version rollback as each version is saved. This type of infrastructure is popular due to consistency, as there is no alteration between versions. However, parallel version deployment increases resource consumption and cost.
Benefits of using infrastructure as code
DevOps and NetOps adopt IaC because it is one of the best approaches to manage and scale IT infrastructure in hybrid cloud environments.
The top benefits of using IaC include the following:
- Automation: IaC automates repetitive tasks through standardized configuration and fast deployment. This reduces manual input and human error.
- Consistency: IaC provides version control and standardized configuration, which minimize discrepancies between each configuration and enhance reliable deployments.
- Scalability: IaC facilitates rapid infrastructure deployment and scaling, which is crucial for dynamic cloud environments.
- Disaster recovery: IaC enhances the disaster recovery process by using standardized replication and restoration configuration, ensuring high availability.
Basic elements of infrastructure as code
The format for IaC in different projects can vary, but a complete IaC will include the following elements:
- Server setup and management phase: The initial phase of IaC is dedicated to provisioning and configuring foundational IT components such as servers, routers, virtual machines, and operating systems.
Tools commonly used in this phase fall under configuration management and cloud infrastructure automation categories, focusing on establishing a stable and efficient base for IT operations.
- Application setup and management phase: The second phase centers on the deployment and management of applications within the newly configured environment.
In this stage, the emphasis shifts to using tools categorized under runbook automation and application release orchestration, aiming to streamline and optimize the application lifecycle from deployment to updates and maintenance.
Infrastructure as code best practices
Following the best practices below can significantly enhance the efficiency, reliability, and security of infrastructure management using IaC.
In order to make IaC work, follow these best practices:
- Version control everything: All IaC configurations should be kept in a version control system. This will not only track changes and history but also help in team collaboration.
- Automate testing: System admins should implement automated testing procedures for IaC software solutions to catch issues early. Since IaC automates coding, errors can slip through testing and lead to misconfigurations. So automated testing should be part of every deployment to validate changes and maintain stability.
- Use modular, reusable code: Because the IaC process is designed for scalability, system admins need to design modular IaC configuration. Modular design simplifies updates across multiple environments, which enhances consistency.
- Enforce security practices: IaC goes hand in hand with common cloud security practices such as secure access controls, encrypting sensitive data, and vulnerability scanning. Automated coding can unknowingly generate security holes because there is a lack of human intervention.
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