$ terraform init
The terraform init command is used to initialize a working directory containing Terraform configuration files. This is the first command that should be run after writing a new Terraform configuration or cloning an existing one from version control. It is safe to run this command multiple times.
This is the first entry (init) in a three-part series on one of my favorite tools - Terraform. It’s no secret, I’m a huge fan of Terraform and Hashicorp technologies in general. Terraform is one of several core technologies accelerating the great digital transformation for countless organizations. Terraform leverages a powerful methodology known as Infrastructure as Code, IaC.
Infrastructure as Code empowers software developers, operations & infrastructure engineers to manage (complex) cloud infrastructure (or bare metal, there are providers for nearly everything including open stack) at scale using “machine-readable definition files” rather than manual processes or interactive configuration tools. IaC automates what was once a manual, error prone, and at times highly tedious process of provisioning computational infrastructure.
Whoa, that was a lot of text.
tl;dr
Terraform is a tool which enables developers to manage infrastructure using declarative configuration files, i.e. code.
By using code to define the shape and configuration of our infrastructure, we can further benefit from well established technologies like version control systems and scripting tools.
Makes sense. How do I learn more?
There have been many excellent primers written on the topic, including some incredible tutorials - Gruntwork, I’m looking at you.
This series is not intended to be an exhaustive tutorial. Parts 2 (plan) and 3 (apply) will contain an in-depth tutorial with links to sample code. Rather, part 1 (init) is a high-level overview with an aggregation of resources. I also recommend everyone serious (or curious) about Terraform get their hands on the book Terraform Up and Running (Version 2) by Yevgeniy Brikman.
I wrote a blog post introducing a few core concepts around infrastructure as code, including a brief summary on declarative versus procedural paradigms in collaboration with my employer, CircleCI. I recommend reading that first :)
Hopefully after reading this post you have an idea of what Terraform & IaC is and most importantly, where you can go to learn more. No doubt you’re excited and ready to deploy some infrastructure of your own!
I’ve compiled a list of resources below which will help you on your journey. The next entry in this series will synthesize two powerful concepts into a sophistacted paradigm many companies and teams of all shapes and sizes are using to deploy and manage infrastructure, CI/CD && IaC.