Automation, as a standalone solution offers a plethora of advantages for almost every business in existence today, but when coupled with the infrastructure as code approach it completely revolutionizes how DevOps are bracketed allowing for even greater evolution in the product development life cycle.
Infrastructure as Code is a technique whereby all development teams are able to manipulate infrastructure through code alongside automation tools. Such a facility provides the ability to develop source code that outlines the situation that should exist for the infrastructure without having the need to physically set up the servers, networks and other resources. By improving processes related to development, the technology enables companies to deliver applications in the shortest possible time, use their resources in a more efficient way and minimize errors — all contributing to the increased efficiency of software development projects.
Let’s dive into what makes IaC a must-have for modern product engineering teams.
Faster and More Effective Products: The Possibilities Offered by IaC in Product Development
With the implementation of all these agile practices and DevOps in place, the Use of Infrastructure as Code continues to gain momentum as it gives teams more tools to work with in performing timely, quality, and reliable software deployments. Recent research indicates that 67% of corporations have built Rao integrated IAC into their development activities code practices.
Let’s take a short look at how much IaC makes the life cycle of product engineering simpler. The automation of resource provisioning which IdC offers leads to the provision of resources in a fraction of the time which in turn enables speed and scalability. This allows the teams to create on demand environments and use the resources to scale seamlessly during traffic peaks. Implementing tools of the Config-as-Code approach resulted in nearly 40% in the time needed to deploy applications and reduce the times when deployment cannot happen by 30%.
Another survey shows that companies that adopted infrastructure as Code industry standards have improved the frequency of their deployments by 200%, time taken to make any changes dropped to 3000times compared to the normal, and their recovery from problems has become 2000times more efficient! Simply put, as every deployment is the same it eliminates the problem that the product works on one machine but fails on another. Also, IaC ease of collaboration out of the box improves the development process as operations, developers and testers are able to use the same scripts instead of working in isolated blocks. The automation of infrastructure also lowers manual mistakes, enhances resource efficiency and lowers operational expenses in the long term which all leads to cost effectiveness due to the high amount of savings.
In layman’s terms, IaC allows engineering teams to concentrate on innovation and product development without having the burden of constant infrastructure problems.
On the Other Hand: The Most Efficient in IaC Technology
A great number of tools are present within the infrastructure as code ecosystem. While the selection of tool relies on the project requirements, knowledge of the team, and the cloud providers you are using, each one of them also has some distinct benefits of its own.
Amongst the big players are:
1. Terraform:
Terraform is a comprehensive free application that enables the definition, configuration and control of infrastructure resources’ life cycle using codes. Its main distinguishing feature is its lack of dependence on a particular provider, meaning that even developers or operations teams managing infrastructure resources spanning multiple service providers like aws, google cloud etc, or on-premises locations are able to use a single local configuration language called HCL, which stands for HashiCorp Configuration Language.
2. Ansible:
Ansible is often regarded as one of the best tools for administrating an IT environment because it has a strong architecture that is both easy and agentless, making it ideal for hybrid, cloud, and on-premises setups. This automation tool is wonderfully straightforward while also being highly flexible, allowing it to be used in application deployment, configuration management and IT orchestration.
3. AWS CloudFormation:
For users who utilize the AWS platform this tool is exceptional thanks to its ability to integrate well with the AWS ecosystem and it’s native infrastructure as a code feature that allows the automation and management of resources.
4. Pulumi:
With this IaC, a paradigm has been introduced that allows programmers to use modern popular languages such as C#, Java, Python, Go, TypeScript, and JavaScript to define, provision, and manage infrastructure rather than relying on declarative languages like JSON and YAML. This paradigm ushers in a new way of looking at infrastructure management and leverages the strengths of programming languages in a way that development and operations teams can utilize to their fullest extent.
5. Chef and Puppet:
These tools are veterans in the game and two of the most established names in configuration management and compliance automation. With more than ten years of innovation and proven use for managing intricate IT infrastructures, they have been and still are the tools of choice for companies looking for ways to scale Infrastructure Management however with consistency, reliability and compliance across servers and environments.
Keeping Code in Check: Mastering Version Control in IaC
Just like application code, even infrastructure code needs to be well-organized and maintainable. In order for infrastructure as a code (IaC) to be reliable, well structured and with its changes well documented, it becomes necessary to implement strong versioning strategies.
Here are some tips to keep IaC workflows smooth and seamless:
1. Use a a centralised repository:
Centralized storage of your IaC code in repositories such as Git allows team members to access current code versions so they can collaborate. It is a one-stop solution for versioning which makes it easy to control change, time and space and maintain version consistency across environments. This approach improves visibility and accountability and lowers the potential for conflict thus enhancing cooperation and the management of infrastructure configuration integrity.
2. Invest Early, Invest Often:
Investing time and effort frequently will ensure that the quality of the codebase remains high. With every update, there is a chance of potentially difficult matters becoming relatively simple. Frequent commits will help in tracking potential issues in future by breaking down changes into various components. Merging and reviewing complex code will become simpler and easier to do. Furthermore, reducing the amount of time spent on conflict resolution will allow for a much more effective and efficient collaboration and prevent creating a bottleneck in the process.
3. Tag and Version All components of the code:
Infrastructure code containing Versions such as v1.0.0 As Well As v1.2.0 will always have a clear structure to them and will allow for changes to be made accurately along previous ones. This will prevent systems from malfunctioning or being difficult to use. Moreover, Developers other team members would be able to use previously constructed code without needing to rely solely on the new updated components expanding the potential use of the earlier versions. Furthermore, proper semantic versioning will enable teams to be more coordinated and work together seamlessly.
4. Establish CI/CD Pipelines:
The ability to set up CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) pipelines for IaC is a major benefit of infrastructure as code. It means that any infrastructure alterations are placed through testing and deployment processes and never go off to be executed unless validated. This lowers the chances of rewriting or misconfiguring the system in any way as well as assures that all necessary modifications are carried out in the same way, eventually elevating the security standards of the system and increasing the turnaround time.
5. Review your Code:
Likewise, the code for all the tools that facilitate infrastructure as code must be reviewed before use. The infrastructure codes posted in production must pass a code review process so that things like misconfiguration, insecure setups or design vulnerabilities are detected and eliminated in good time. In addition to making the production code great, this enables the team to promote best practices through documentation, collaboration and continuous improvement.
6. Employ a Branching Model:
Using a strict branching model like the one created with GitFlow where there are distinct branches for production, development, and staging is fundamental in order to properly implement structural changes and ensure that what has been implemented is thoroughly tested. This is essential for the management of IaC workflows as it allows developers to work on new features or fixes without altering anything in the live production environment.
Security Issues In IaC: Adequately Strengthening Your Infrastructure
Infrastructure as Code or IaC offers improvements to security due to standardization. However, there are also risks involved that should not be ignored. It only takes one incorrectly configured IaC script to introduce serious security vulnerabilities. In order to be safe, certain practices are recommended. Let’s discuss them briefly…
To start with, organizations need to remember not to hardcode any secrets such as API tokens or credentials but rather utilize secrets management systems like HashiCorp Vault or AWS Secrets Manager. Secondly, modify who can change the IaC Scripts or deploy resources to specific people by employing role-based access control (RBAC) to further access policies. Besides, use tools such as Checkov or tfsec to scan your code periodically for security vulnerabilities to catch misconfigurations as early in the development process as possible. To ensure thorough accountability and the visibility of all changes made to the environment, all representatives will be required to enable logging for any changes made with IaC and other tools. And finally, define granular permissions for resources to implement the principle of least privilege to limit the damage that can be done by security breaches. If such concerns are addressed, organizations can take full advantage of the benefits brought by IaC without endangering their systems.
At Stride Digital Partners, we are revolutionizing Product Development Lifecycles by integrating the power of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) with our cutting-edge AI/ML and DevOps expertise. By automating infrastructure provisioning and management, we support businesses in accelerating their development cycles, reducing errors, and scaling seamlessly. Our tailored AI models, advanced NLP capabilities, and high-quality data services empower organizations to harness the potential of unstructured data, driving intelligent decision-making. Combined with our phased DevOps implementation, continuous integration pipelines, and expert cloud services, we deliver a unified approach that enhances agility, ensures consistency, and unlocks innovation. With Stride Digital Partners guiding their product development lifecycles, businesses can achieve an unprecedented level of operational efficiency and competitive edge in the digital market.
Final Thoughts
The global IaC adoption is rapidly growing and will exceed $3.2 billion in size by 2030 from $759 million in 2022 at a growth rate of 20% per annum, as estimated. It was also noted that the same annual increase is expected for the next five years, as 67% of organizations have already implemented IaC within their software development lifecycle.
With the increasing adoption of IaC practices, this approach is here to stay in the world of software development. From accelerating development to reducing errors and costs, IaC has proven its worth. By leveraging the right tools, following best practices, and addressing security head-on, you can revolutionize your PDLC and set your team up for long-term success.
