Managing Infrastructure as Code (IaC) With Terraform

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a method that enables engineers to define, configure and manage infrastructure through code. Terraform is an open-source IaC tool that allows engineers to define their infrastructure resources as code using Hashicorp Configuration Language (HCL). It supports multiple cloud providers and automates Kubernetes, Helm, Artifactory, Aviatrix, and Spacelift. ClickOps refers to manual management of IT infrastructure from the UI, which is not scalable or replicable. Terraform's key components include stateful tracking, providers, resources, variables, outputs, data sources, locals, and provisioners. The minimal structure of a Terraform project includes main.tf, variables.tf, outputs.tf, and README.md files. Reasons to choose Terraform for IaC include its declarative syntax, init/plan/apply workflow, large community support, code reusability, and cloud agnosticism. Spacelift enhances the IaC workflow by managing Terraform workflows, enabling stack dependencies, and integrating with security tools.