Introduction to Infrastructure as Code: A Brief Guide to the Future of DevOps

✍ Scribed by Sneh Pandya, Riya Guha Thakurta

• Publisher: Apress
• Year: 2022
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 196
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Get inspired to explore the depths of the DevOps field. In today’s rapidly transforming world, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) has emerged as an effective approach to maintain, scale, and deploy software systems. This book offers a mixture of foundational IaC concepts and practical examples to give you hands-on experience.

You will first gain an understanding of DevOps culture as well as how to adapt to IaC. Introduction to Infrastructure as Code begins by reviewing the innovative features that DevOps in general, and IaC in particular, have to offer for adoption and growth for different verticals. With this solid base established, you will then learn the importance, processes, and outcome of building infrastructure solutions.

Authors Sneh Pandya and Riya Guha Thakurta then provide hands-on examples utilizing IaC platforms, open source tools, and essential considerations such as security, scalability, and deployments. Each chapter focuses on one vertical (i.e., foundations, architecture patterns, securing infrastructure, preparing for deployment), how it impacts the DevOps toolchain in a holistic manner, and how it can be used to build solutions specific to that vertical, with a detailed walkthrough of code, environments, and other tools. 

After completing this book, you’ll have launched your own infrastructure solution through an open source stack consisting of platforms and tools such as Terraform, Chef, and Puppet.

What You Will Learn

• Understand the fundamentals of DevOps and Infrastructure as Code
• Prepare for the ever-evolving ecosystem of modular infrastructure and the needs of the future
• Avoid potential pitfalls and breakdowns while working with infrastructure
• Build scalable and efficient IaC solutions that work at a small, medium, and large scale in a real-life environment
• Understand and be responsibly aware of security concerns related to the domain, and how to address them

Who Is This Book For

Beginners interested in building a career in DevOps as well as professionals looking to gain expertise and advance their career with greater knowledge of IaC. including Technical Product Managers, and Architects.

✦ Table of Contents

Table of Contents
About the Authors
About the Technical Reviewer
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1: Concepts
Chapter 1: Introduction to Infrastructure as Code
The Culture of DevOps
The Evolution from DevOps to Infrastructure as Code
What Is Infrastructure as Code?
The Perspectives
Benefits Adapting Infrastructure as Code
Improved Time to Production
Reduction in Drifting Configurations
Faster and Efficient Development Life Cycle
Maximizing the Scope of Provisioning
Lowered Costs and Increase in ROI
Adapting Tools of Infrastructure as Code
Factors Deciding Adaption of Infrastructure as Code
Approaches for Infrastructure as Code
Best Practices of Infrastructure as Code
The Way Ahead
Chapter 2: Patterns and Principles of Infrastructure as Code
The Emergence of Infrastructure as Code
The Focus with Infrastructure as Code
The Challenges with Infrastructure as Code
Sprawling Servers
Configuration Drift
Snowflake Server
Fragility of Infrastructure
Fear of Automation
Erosion of Infrastructure
Considerations for Quality Infrastructure
In-Depth Knowledge
Organizational Workflow
Perpetual Steps
The Principles of Infrastructure as Code
Idempotency
Immutability
Easily Reproducible Systems
Easily Disposable Systems
Easily Repeatable Processes
Consistent Systems
Ever-Evolving Designs
Self-Reliant Documentation
The Patterns of Infrastructure as Code
Updates in Documentation
Using GitOps
Securing Your Infrastructure
Securing Secrets
Adapting Security Standards
Restricting User Privileges
Relying on Trusted Sources
Security Measures
Least Privileged Position
Using Security Tools
Infrastructure Updates
Threat Detection
Testing the Infrastructure
Concerns with Infrastructure as Code
Infrastructure as Code at Scale
Evolving Business Requirements
Evolving Security Requirements
Evolving Provider Requirements
The Way Ahead
Chapter 3: Management of Infrastructure as Code
The Emergence of Infrastructure Teams
Preparing Infrastructure as Code
Evaluation of Infrastructure
Choosing the Right Security Mechanisms
Structuring the Data
Automating Workloads
Uniform Governance
Hybrid Strategies
Blue-Green Deployment Strategy
Process and Architecture
Working Mechanism
Preparing Deployments
Adapting Simplicity
Environment Replicability
Configuration Management
Process and Architecture
The Way Ahead
Chapter 4: Production Complexity Management
Modern Application Infrastructures
Managing Deployments Without Downtime
Canary Deployment Strategy
Process and Architecture
Working Mechanism
Adapting Simplicity
Environment Replicability
Rolling Release Deployment Strategy
Process and Architecture
Steps for Managing Production Complexity
Harnessing the Power
Fail-Safe Environment Management
Monitoring Your Infrastructure
Compartmentalizing Releases
Adapting Serverless Architecture
Feature Flagging
The Impact of Deployment Strategies
Caveats While Managing Complex Production Environments
The Way Ahead
Chapter 5: Business Solutions with Infrastructure as Code
Managing Modern Infrastructures
Enabling Business Possibilities
Enabling Domain Sustainability
Supporting Evolving Strategies
Decision-Making for Businesses
The Way Ahead
Part 2: Hands-on Experience
Chapter 6: Hands-on Infrastructure as Code with Hashicorp Terraform
Introduction to Terraform
Why Choose Terraform?
Understanding Terraform
Core Concepts
Directory Structure
How Terraform Works
Terraform Core
Providers
Implementing Terraform in Real Projects
Priority Order for Terraform Variables
Declaring Output Variables
Declaring Terraform Resources
Terraform Provider
Terraform Modules
Terraform Provisioner
Terraform State File
Example Terraform Configuration
Terraform Command-Line Interface
Terraform Use Cases
Supporting Platform as a Service
Managing Self-Service Clusters
Performing Multicloud Deployments
Managing Parallel Environments
Application Infrastructure Automation
Managing Software-Defined Networks
Policy Compliance
The Way Ahead
Chapter 7: Hands-on Infrastructure as Code with Puppet
Introduction to Puppet
Why Choose Puppet?
Understanding Puppet
Architecture
Puppet Master
Puppet Agents
Configuration Repository
Facts
Catalog
Configuration
Module Structure
Security Mechanisms
How Puppet Works
Puppet Infrastructure
Plugins
Indirector
Implementing Puppet in Real Projects
Getting Started with Puppet
Preparing the Repository
Running the Repository
Setting Up Users
Creating Modules
Dynamic File Generation
Modifying Configurations
Managing Repositories
Puppet Command-Line Interface
The Way Ahead
Chapter 8: Introduction to Infrastructure as Code with Chef
Introduction to Chef
Understanding Chef
Recipe
Cookbook
Resource
Attributes
Metadata
Templates
Libraries
Chef Infrastructure
Chef Workstation
Configuration of Nodes with Chef Clients
Chef Habitat
Chef InSpec
Final Words
Index