Running a complex cloud infrastructure is not easy. Managing it can definitely be a challenge. By using Terraform’s infrastructure as code, developers can manage cloud environments easier and simpler.
The annual spend on IaaS on public cloud comes to around 64 billion dollars, with an annual public cloud waste of about 17 billion dollars. Spend attributed to cloud waste comes to around 20%-35%. Hashicorp’s Terraform Enterprise minimizes cloud waste and helps you to save on cost considerably.
Say goodbye to cloud waste and hello to cost savings with Niveus!
Here’s more on what Terraform can do for you.
What is Terraform ?
Terraform is an open source cloud management platform used for managing cloud resources via Infrastructure as a Code. Organizations are increasingly adopting Terraform OSS in order to easily provision their infrastructure and cloud. Terraform comes with a command-line interface (CLI) and it provides the foundation for cloud infrastructure automation using infrastructure as code for provisioning and compliance in the cloud operating model.
Terraform’s other flavor, Terraform Cloud + Enterprise, brings a central area for many users within the organization to provision and manage their infrastructure safely and efficiently. Terraform Enterprise lets you adopt, build, standardize and innovate your cloud infrastructures. Benefits of using Terraform Enterprise relates to operational efficiency, controlling cloud costs and reducing risk. The platform can also be used for automated deployment and management of applications running on containerized platforms such as Kubernetes. The platform functions in both Hybrid and Multi Cloud environments.
Benefits of Terraform
If you are working with one or more cloud providers, you know that managing the infrastructure manually can be a daunting task. The solution is to use an open-source tool that’s reliable, secure, and easy to use to manage cloud infrastructure. Terraform is such a tool.
Infrastructure deployment could be a real challenge for those who were not very familiar with the technologies used. Terraform helps you to automate cloud deployments and reduce the time needed to complete infrastructure setup.
Terraform guarantees that your cloud infrastructure is always up-to-date. With Terraform, you can ensure that the cloud configuration files are always in sync with your desired state.
Terraform allows you to manage infrastructure as code, which allows you to version control your cloud infrastructure. This not only allows you to track changes over time, but it also allows you to create a repeatable workflow for your infrastructure, increasing the reliability of your cloud infrastructure.
With Terraform, you can create reproducible infrastructure. Terraform makes consistent infrastructure extremely easy. It allows you to simply provision the same configuration in your testing, staging and production environments too!
Features of Terraform & Terraform Cloud
Automate resource lifecycles: Manage full lifecycles by defining IaC- from creating new resources, managing existing ones and destroying those no longer needed. With declarative files, you can simply input the end result and terraform handles the rest.
Install modules automatically: Download and install modules automatically from the terraform registry as needed from community or partners.
Secure and predictable changes: Changes to infrastructure can be made in a secure and predictable manner by operators with features like well mapped resource dependencies, distinct plans and applications.
Do more with Terraform’s dependency graphing: Terraform’s config dependency graphing allows developers to generate plans, refresh state and much more.
Simpler state management: For large infrastructures, you can leverage maps to resources for configuration, metadata tracking, and performance improvements with terraform.
Registry with 1000+ providers: The Terraform registry boasts of an array of providers across cloud platforms and services for your use.
Terraform Cloud is what enterprises need. Designed as an execution platform for Terraform, Terraform Cloud uses its own disposable virtual machines to perform Terraform runs. With Terraform Cloud, you get additional features such as –
Remote Terraform Execution: A remote backend for your Terraform state, remote terraform execution provides consistent as well as visible critical provisioning operations. It enables features such as Sentinel policy enforcement, cost estimation, notifications, version control integration, and more.
Workspaces and Terraform Cloud: Instead of directories, Terraform Cloud organizes infrastructure with workspaces which contain all necessary components to manage a provided infrastructure collection. Terraform leverages that content when it runs in the context of that given workspace.
Private Registry: Terraform Cloud facilitates finding providers and modules for use via a private registry. A directory of internal providers and modules is available for users, where you can specify flexible version constraints for the modules within the configurations.
Access Control and Governance Larger organizations tend to have a more complex infrastructure and that’s why they make use of both access controls and explicit policies to manage that complexity. Terraform Cloud’s paid upgrade plans allow you to get wonderful new features that will make it far easier to meet the control and governance needs of larger organizations.
Terraform Providers
Terraform users can manage external APIs using a Terraform provider which is essentially a plugin. They act as translation layers letting developers communicate with many different cloud providers, databases, and services. You can find an extensive list of providers such as the GCP provider, on Hashicorp’s Terraform registry, where each provider comes with documentation detailing available resources and their configuration options.
To conclude, Terraform helps you make changes to your infrastructure, but it always makes sure that it is consistent. In the past, managing cloud infrastructures was a difficult task. However, with the help of infrastructure as code, developers can manage cloud environments in an easier and simpler way with Terraform. With the help of Terraform, it is easier to build, change, and version your cloud environments, while reducing your cloud spend and cloud waste!
