Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and AWS

What is Infrastructure as Code?

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is the practice of managing and provisioning infrastructure through machine-readable definition files. Terraform is one of the most popular tools for implementing IaC.

Why Terraform?

• Declarative configuration - describe what you want, not how to get it
• Multi-cloud support - not limited to AWS
• State management - tracks infrastructure changes
• Plan and apply workflow - preview changes before applying
• Large provider ecosystem

Basic Concepts

Providers

Providers are plugins that Terraform uses to interact with cloud platforms.

Resources

Resources are the infrastructure components you want to create - EC2 instances, S3 buckets, VPCs, IAM roles.

State

Terraform maintains a state file that tracks the current state of your infrastructure.

Best Practices

• Use remote state (S3 backend) for team collaboration
• Organize code into modules for reusability
• Use variables for configuration values
• Tag all resources appropriately
• Version control your Terraform code

Conclusion

Terraform with AWS provides a powerful way to manage infrastructure. Start with simple resources, gradually adopt best practices, and scale your infrastructure management as your needs grow.