Book Image

Infrastructure as Code for Beginners

By : Russ McKendrick
4 (1)
Book Image

Infrastructure as Code for Beginners

4 (1)
By: Russ McKendrick

Overview of this book

The Infrastructure as Code (IaC) approach ensures consistent and repeatable deployment of cloud-based IaaS/PaaS services, saving you time while delivering impeccable results. Infrastructure as Code for Beginners is a practical implementation guide that helps you gain a clear understanding of the foundations of Infrastructure as Code and make informed decisions when implementing it. With this book, you’ll uncover essential IaC concepts, including planning, selecting, and implementing the right tools for your project. With step-by-step explanations and real-world examples, you'll gain a solid understanding of the benefits of IaC and the scope of application in your projects. You'll learn about the pros, cons, and best practices of different IaC tools such as Terraform and Ansible, and their use at different stages of the deployment process along with GitHub Actions. Using these tools, you'll be able to design, deploy, and secure your infrastructure on two major cloud platforms, Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. In addition, you'll explore other IaC tools such as Pulumi, AWS CloudFormation, and Azure Bicep. By the end of this book, you’ll be well equipped to approach your IaC projects confidently.

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Table of Contents (15 chapters)
Preface
Preface
Who this book is for
What this book covers
To get the most out of this book
Download the example code files
Download the color images
Conventions used
Get in touch
Share Your Thoughts
Download a free PDF copy of this book
1
Part 1: The Foundations – An Introduction to Infrastructure as Code
Part 1: The Foundations – An Introduction to Infrastructure as Code
Free Chapter
2
Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Approach – Declarative or Imperative
Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Approach – Declarative or Imperative
The challenges of managing infrastructure manually
What is meant by declarative and imperative?
Pets versus cattle
What does all this mean for our Infrastructure-as-Code deployments?
Summary
Further reading
3
Chapter 2: Ansible and Terraform beyond the Documentation
Chapter 2: Ansible and Terraform beyond the Documentation
What is important when choosing a tool?
Introducing Terraform
Introducing Ansible
Introducing Visual Studio Code
Summary
Further reading
4
Chapter 3: Planning the Deployment
Chapter 3: Planning the Deployment
Planning the deployment of our workload
How to approach the deployment of our infrastructure
Exploring the high-level architecture
Summary
Further reading
5
Part 2: Getting Hands-On with the Deployment
Part 2: Getting Hands-On with the Deployment
6
Chapter 4: Deploying to Microsoft Azure
Chapter 4: Deploying to Microsoft Azure
Technical requirement
Introducing and preparing our cloud environment
Producing the low-level design
Terraform – writing the code and deploying our infrastructure
Ansible – reviewing the code and deploying our infrastructure
Summary
Further reading
7
Chapter 5: Deploying to Amazon Web Services
Chapter 5: Deploying to Amazon Web Services
Technical requirements
Introducing Amazon Web Services
Preparing our cloud environment for deployment
Producing the low-level design
Ansible – writing the code and deploying our infrastructure
Terraform – reviewing the code and deploying our infrastructure
Summary
Further reading
8
Chapter 6: Building upon the Foundations
Chapter 6: Building upon the Foundations
Understanding cloud-agnostic tools
Understand the differences between our Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services deployments
Understanding the differences between our Terraform and Ansible deployments
Introducing more variables
Making the code more reusable
Pop quiz
Summary
Further reading
Answers
9
Part 3: CI/CD and Best Practices
Part 3: CI/CD and Best Practices
10
Chapter 7: Leveraging CI/CD in the Cloud
Chapter 7: Leveraging CI/CD in the Cloud
Technical requirements
Introducing GitHub Actions
Running Terraform using GitHub Actions
Running Ansible using GitHub Actions
Security best practices
Pop quiz
Summary
Further reading
Answers
11
Chapter 8: Common Troubleshooting Tips and Best Practices
Chapter 8: Common Troubleshooting Tips and Best Practices
Technical requirements
Infrastructure as Code – best practices and troubleshooting
Terraform – best practices and troubleshooting
Ansible – best practices and troubleshooting
Summary
12
Chapter 9: Exploring Alternative Infrastructure-as-Code Tools
Chapter 9: Exploring Alternative Infrastructure-as-Code Tools
Technical requirements
Getting hands-on with Pulumi
Getting hands-on knowledge of Azure Bicep
Getting hands-on with AWS CloudFormation
Summary
Further reading
13
Index
Index
Why subscribe?
14
Other Books You May Enjoy
Other Books You May Enjoy
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Preface

Welcome to Infrastructure as Code for Beginners, your guide to managing and deploying your infrastructure through code. This book will equip you with a strong foundation in the essential concepts, tools, and techniques necessary to succeed in this ever-changing landscape.

Throughout the chapters, you will gain hands-on experience with popular Infrastructure-as-Code tools such as Terraform and Ansible, learn how to plan and deploy resources across leading public cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services, and delve into best practices and troubleshooting strategies to help you overcome challenges and optimize your deployments.

As you progress through the book, you’ll also explore the role of Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) in automating your Infrastructure-as-Code projects using GitHub Actions. You’ll learn how to leverage CI/CD to create consistent and reliable deployments and implement security practices to secure your deployments.

Furthermore, you’ll expand your Infrastructure-as-Code toolset by exploring alternative tools such as Pulumi, Azure Bicep, and AWS CloudFormation, enhancing your understanding of provider-specific and cloud-agnostic options.

By the end of this journey, you’ll have gained the knowledge and confidence to plan, build, deploy, and manage your Infrastructure-as-Code projects enabling you to create efficient, scalable, and reliable infrastructure solutions that will support your projects and career for years to come.

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