Infrastructure as Code: The Beginner’s Guide to Using IaC for Success

Managing and configuring hardware and software has historically required much manual work. System administrators and engineers typically had to configure devices and provision resources manually according to the needs of the applications. 

That’s now changing with technologies like infrastructure as code (IaC), an industry that is expected to snowball in the future.

This is yet another way to embrace automation in IT workflows, as it speeds up and optimizes infrastructure. There’s still hardware at the core of this approach, but it’s managed through code. 

For data centers with on-premise equipment, IaC presents many benefits. But is it worth it? 

In this article, we will discuss the following:

• What benefits are offered by IaC.
• How data centers can use IaC.
• How it can improve infrastructure.

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What Is Infrastructure as Code?

Infrastructure as Code, or IaC, manages IT infrastructure with code (configuration files). Instead of physical hardware configuration, IaC uses machine-readable configuration files for infrastructure configuration.

With IaC, developers and engineers can automatically provision, manage, and monitor resources. This is why IaC is also called software-defined infrastructure. 

Think of IaC configuration files as programming scripts that computers read. However, unlike scripts used for automating menial and repetitive tasks, IaC uses more descriptive code to adapt to different situations and efficiently deploy resources. 

For instance, an IaC tool can do things like install a database server on a machine, create a user account for it, and set up a new database. All the tasks that a person would have to do manually. 

IaC is essentially software and is developed and deployed exactly how software is. The same design and development practices are used; for example, the code is tested before deployment. Developers can edit the code whenever changes are needed and roll out those changes for all. 

Before IaC, teams would have to maintain deployment settings manually. Those deployment environments would go on to become unique and complex. 

In other words, those configurations cannot be reproduced automatically. IaC helped resolve these inconsistencies and automated the entire process. 

How It Works: Declarative vs. Imperative Approach

IaC has two distinct approaches: declarative and imperative. 

With a declarative approach, the code defines the system's desired state. It lists the resources and their properties. 

The IaC tool simply configures hardware based on the declared state and resources. In a declarative approach, there’s a list of system objects' current state, making infrastructure management simpler and quicker. 

The imperative approach defines specific commands for reaching the desired state of the system. The tool must follow those commands exactly in the order they are laid out. 

Declarative programming is more common for IaC, as it’s simpler. It doesn’t list the steps needed to reach the state, which allows for more flexibility. 

However, some IaC tools are capable of both approaches, making them more versatile. That said, they may be better at one approach more than the other. So it’s important to analyze which approach works better for your data center. 

The common thing between both approaches is that IaC is configured on a template. That template is a blueprint for configuring the system or verifying whether it’s already in that state. Templates form a stack as they are created with layers of resources. 

Simply put, with a declarative approach, you must tell the tool what needs to be done. With an imperative tool, you’ll also need to tell it how to do it. 

Infrastructure as Code Benefits

Here are the main benefits of adopting IaC:

Speed

The obvious benefit of the automated configuration and provisioning of IaC is efficiency. 

What would take hours or even days to achieve through manual processes can be done in minutes. It speeds up a wide range of configuration operations linked with databases, networks, account management, etc. Furthermore, code can also automatically scale up or down resources as needed. 

DevOps-Oriented

IaC is very much aligned with DevOps, as it’s based on code and is a component of continuous delivery. DevOps teams can use the same practices and rapidly set up supporting infrastructure for their applications through IaC. When IaC is combined with containers, it can complement different deployment targets for developers, like staging or testing. 

Consistency

When infrastructure is managed with code, there are fewer human errors. Misconfigurations can be a big problem and cause security incidents that can cause data centers long-term damage. IaC solves this issue by making the code the single source of truth. 

Also, unlike manual configurations, IaC can repeatedly deploy configuration files with the same results.

Accountability

With version control, it’s easier to track changes, which, in turn, increases accountability. You can trace exactly who made the changes, when, and using what resources. 

Infrastructure as Code: Best Practices

IaC may be nascent for many enterprises that have long relied on the expertise of administrators and engineers to configure and manage hardware. 

IaC doesn’t eliminate those roles entirely but rather makes the job easier. 

To truly benefit from IaC, data centers must adopt some practices from the get-go. Here are some suggestions:

• Version Controling: All of your configuration files should be under source control. Just as you would have version control for software code, you should have version control for configuration files. This would be incredibly helpful should you need to revert back to an earlier configuration or identify a misconfiguration issue. It also helps all team members to be aware of the changes. 
  
  
• Single Source of Truth: The code is the single source of truth for your entire infrastructure. As far as infrastructure management is concerned, everything should be in the configuration files. 
  
  
• No Need for Documentation: With code as your single source of truth, you don’t need to document the configurations separately. You can spend that time on other tasks. Creating external documentation for every little configuration change only adds to the complexity. 
  
  
• Always Test and Monitor: Ensure that you test and monitor the code of IaC to prevent errors and inconsistencies. You should test every piece of code before being deployed. You can use similar development and testing cycles as those common for software development. 

Is It for You?

While new technologies and concepts can be enticing, they require commitment and resources to adopt. IaC is no different. Even though it has many benefits, it may not be the right solution for many data centers. 

For starters, you must have the resources to buy the necessary tools and upskill your engineers and administrators, as there’s a bit of a learning curve. You may need more developers who can write infrastructure code. 

If you have the resources and capabilities to adopt such solutions, IaC can dramatically improve how hardware is managed. However, it’s essential to understand that configuration drifts are still possible even if you’re using code. This is why testing the code is imperative. 

As IaC is all about modernizing hardware management, combining it with the latest equipment is the best. 

If you’re looking for servers, routers, and other network equipment for your data center, look no further than PivIT. With an active inventory of networking equipment from major OEMs, PivIT can provide the devices you need to keep your infrastructure fresh and ready for anything. Make PivIT your hardware procurement partner for success!