Infrastructure as Code

What Is Infrastructure as Code?

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) treats infrastructure like application code: define it in text files, version it in git, review changes through pull requests, and apply through automated processes. Instead of manually clicking cloud dashboards, you declare desired infrastructure and tools automatically create it. This approach is consistent, repeatable, and auditable.

IaC tools include Terraform (agnostic provider), CloudFormation (AWS-specific), and others. You define servers, networks, databases, permissions, and configurations declaratively. Tools understand current state and desired state, making only necessary changes (idempotent—safe to run repeatedly). This prevents "snowflake" infrastructure that nobody fully understands.

Benefits include reproducibility (create identical environments for dev, test, prod), disaster recovery (rebuild infrastructure from code), audit trails (see all infrastructure changes), and speed (automation beats manual clicking). Modern DevOps requires IaC: manual infrastructure management doesn't scale.