Principles of Infrastructure as Code
Infrastructure as Code is a process that takes proven coding techniques to infrastructure. These code techniques are already proven and used by the software system. IaC helps DevOps teams to deliver infrastructure and the software continuously. The software is predictable, repeatable, and reliable. IaC is machine-readable and helps to manage and provision computer data.
The key principle of IaC
IaC is a part of the DevOps process. It helps DevOps and infrastructure management teams to work together to provide quality software frequently. Let’s have a look at the fundamental principles of an effective Infrastructure as Code:
1. Reproduced system
The first principle is to rebuild any element of infrastructure effortlessly. The teams do not need to make significant decisions using too much time. Here decisions are like which software to install, which hostname to choose, and many more to capture tools to provision. It reduces the risk of making changes. It also helps to provision in a short time.
2. Immutable and disposable system
According to the immutable infrastructure principle, teams use new infrastructure instead of using the existing one. It ensures the process is reproducible and will not configure over time. Configuration occurs from time to time when unrecorded changes occur. Immutable resolves this problem. It also helps to enable scalability.
3. Cope up with a changed design
Making frequent changes in IT design difficult, time-consuming, and costly. So the initial design needs to be very strong. The future is unpredictable. So it is not possible to guess what changes will be needed. But if the teams use cloud age dynamic infrastructure, it will be easy and cost-effective. They need to make the changing process simple.
4. System Consistency
When there is more than one infrastructure element that provides similar services, teams expect them to work equally well. But they work differently because the bits of configuration are not the same. It also makes the automation process unreliable. Here teams can keep consistency in two ways. First, they can change the definition. In this way, servers will be large enough to meet the need. The second way is to add a new role. These servers are built continuously and consistently. Consistency helps to maintain configuration drift.
Infrastructure as Code is an inseparable part of the DevOps process. It increases teams and organizations’ productivity. Automation helps to complete tasks and deliver in the shortest possible time. Organizations implement IaC to cope up with the modern business world.
