Engineers have created, configured, and terminated servers manually for a long time. But the modern web is fast and needs quick product updates and the latest releases. To keep up with the rapid development, termination and configuration of the environments have to be faster.
Therefore, businesses realize that code and automation must replace the manual approach to operate the modern infrastructure. That’s why organizations adopt the Infrastructure as Code (IaC) model.
But how does embracing the IaC help companies to ship the product faster? In this article, you’ll learn the benefits of IaC to get the most out of it.
What is Infrastructure as Code (IaC)?
Infrastructure as code is a practice of provisioning, managing, and deploying infrastructure using the code.
The cloud servers and APIs (Application Programming Interface) allow engineers to write code that directly sends instructions to multiple infrastructure elements — networks, load balancers, databases, and virtual machines. Then, developers connect all the elements to automate the provisioning and configuration of the server.
The code is reusable, saving significant work while configuring infrastructures.
What are the Benefits of Infrastructure as Code?
The code-based approach to managing the infrastructure is faster, better, and more secure than the manual method.
The biggest advantages of IaC are the following:
#1 Faster Workflow
Traditionally, creating the server and installing the programs to make it compatible with the application used to be done by hand. However, the manual process becomes a bottleneck in the development process due to its slow speed.
The code brings the Don’t Repeat Yourself concept to the deployment. Write the infrastructure as code once, and apply it to configure as many servers as needed.
And due to faster workflow, the product team can develop rapidly and quickly push product updates to market.
#2 Lower Risk of Human Errors
Humans tend to make mistakes. And an error in configuration means an unusable or unstable infrastructure – a waste of resources and time.
Miscommunication in the team is a major reason for configuration drift – a situation when unrecorded and unplanned changes are made to the environment.
There are also chances of engineers leaving the company, taking all their knowledge and experience. You do not want to end up with an infrastructure nobody can manage or run.
IaC solves all these cases.
The coded infrastructure minimizes human interaction with data centers, servers, and networks. Less manual intervention means fewer human errors.
IaC standardizes the process and provides documentation on how the infrastructure has to be set up. As a result, new developers can learn the infrastructure’s architecture from the code and continue the development without many problems. But there are no 100% unproblematic solutions, and that’s why you have to keep in mind that IaC can lead to configuration drift.
#3 Consistent Environments
The Test, Development, and Production environment should have a similar infrastructure for an efficient development cycle. But often, different teams work on different stages of product development. They made changes in the infrastructure, which led to mismatched environments.
With IaC, the configuration file becomes the single source of truth and ensures every team designs its environment as the configuration files dictate.
The configuration files represent the standard specification of your infrastructure, and it describes the cloud components used to configure the environments and how they are connected.
#4 Self-documenting
A good code is easy to read and understand. Ideally, a developer should grasp the logic within code by only reading it.
When the configuration is done manually, team members have to rely upon the documentation to configure servers. Proper documentation and record prevent inconsistencies in infrastructure. Documentation is also helpful to the new employees to understand the infrastructure in depth.
But now, the code itself is a ‘document’ for the infrastructure, and it is regularly updated. IaC is self-documenting like any other code.
The onboarding process becomes smooth as new developers and team members can understand the code quickly. Eventually, improving productivity by reducing learning time.
#5 Cost Optimizations
Companies use IaC to automate configuration and provisioning processes. As a result, it reduces the effort, time, or specialized experience required to maintain and scale infrastructure successfully.
#6 Disaster Recovery
It is quick and easy to recover the environment after a disaster. You have infrastructure as code, so you can run it to deploy the infrastructure at a different location.
If the infra is prepared for multi-cloud, you can run the code to create the same environment on a different cloud.
#7 Going Multi-Cloud
There are many cloud providers, including AWS, Google Cloud, and Digital Ocean. Some are known for their reliability, some for their greater reach, and some for their lenient policies.
The multi-cloud infrastructure allows organizations to use the features of multiple clouds while avoiding getting locked in with any single one.
Whether your organization is opting for multi-cloud or not, it is wise to plan infrastructure for it from the first step. It will reduce the work and cost for later when the organization decides to implement a multi-cloud strategy.
#8 Code Modularization
Modularization means developing units of code that can run independently without touching the other components of the product.
Advantages of modularization:
- Granular access: You can choose which team member gets access to what part of the code.
- Efficient distribution: The high-level component could be given to senior engineers, while junior engineers can work on beginner-friendly components of the codebase.
- Quick fixes: The changes are made to the modules instead of the entire codebase. It allows the team to find the modules with bugs and fix them quickly.
#9 Specialized Platforms
You can manage your infrastructure with in-house tools, open-source solutions, or use an IaC-specialized platform. Which one to choose entirely depends on your organizational policies and development requirements.
For most organizations, a specialized platform like Spacelift or Terraform Cloud is a suitable option. Such tools provide helpful features, including git-flow workflow, the policy as code, and a private module registry with an intuitive interface.
Conclusion
Infrastructure as code has many benefits, including reliability, quick deployments, consistency, reduced manual risks, and cost optimizations. Implementing IaC, however, is not a one-time job. It is a continuous process that requires an initial investment of time and capital.
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