Git & Terraform

Git and Terraform are powerful tools that, when used together, can simplify infrastructure management on Azure. In this explanation, I’ll provide a technical overview of how Git and Terraform can be utilized for Azure infrastructure provisioning and management.

1. Version Control with Git: Git is a distributed version control system that allows you to track changes to your infrastructure code and collaborate with a team. By using Git, you can easily manage and maintain the history of your infrastructure codebase.

a. Initializing a Git Repository: To start using Git, initialize a repository in your project directory using the following command:

git init

b. Committing Changes: Git uses commits to record changes to your infrastructure code. After making modifications, you can commit the changes with a descriptive message:

git add <file1> <file2> ...
git commit -m "Commit message"

c. Branching and Merging: Git’s branching and merging capabilities enable concurrent development and the integration of different features. You can create new branches, switch between them, and merge branches using commands like:

git branch <branch_name>
git checkout <branch_name>
git merge <branch_name>

1. Infrastructure as Code with Terraform: Terraform is an Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool that allows you to define and provision infrastructure resources on Azure. Terraform configurations are written in HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL), describing the desired state of your infrastructure.

a. Defining Terraform Configurations: Create a new Terraform configuration file, typically named main.tf, where you define your Azure resources, providers, variables, and other configurations. For example:

provider "azurerm" {
  features {}
}

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "example" {
  name     = "example-rg"
  location = "West US"
}

b. Initializing and Applying Terraform Configuration: Before using Terraform, you need to initialize the configuration and download the necessary Azure provider plugins:

terraform init

To apply the configuration and provision the resources, execute:

terraform apply

c. Managing Terraform State: Terraform maintains a state file that tracks the current state of your infrastructure. This file should be stored securely and versioned along with your infrastructure code. You can store the state remotely using Azure Storage, for example.

1. Azure Integration and Resource Management: Terraform integrates with Azure to provision and manage resources. You need to configure the Azure provider in your Terraform configuration by providing appropriate authentication details and permissions.

a. Authentication with Azure: You can authenticate Terraform with Azure by using a Service Principal and configuring the Azure provider accordingly. This enables Terraform to interact with your Azure subscription and provision resources.

b. Resource Provisioning and Management: Using Terraform, you can define and provision various Azure resources such as virtual machines, storage accounts, networks, and more. Terraform’s configuration language allows you to express dependencies, configurations, and relationships between resources.

c. Managing Infrastructure Changes: As infrastructure requirements evolve, you can modify your Terraform configurations, commit the changes to Git, and apply the updated configuration. Terraform will determine the necessary actions to update the infrastructure to match the desired state.

By combining the version control capabilities of Git with Terraform’s infrastructure provisioning features, you can effectively manage and automate your Azure infrastructure, maintain version history, collaborate with teammates, and easily track and apply changes to your infrastructure codebase.