32
CLOUD COMPUTING
"Infrastructure as code enables a more
consistent, higher-quality infrastructure build
with improved ongoing management
capabilities"
That means the core best practices of DevOps, including
version control, virtualised tests and continuous monitoring,
are applied to the underlying code governing the creation
and management of the infrastructure. Basically, the
infrastructure is treated the same way that any other code
would be.
Infrastructure as code enables a more consistent,
higher-quality infrastructure build with improved ongoing
management capabilities. It’s the foundation of DevOps,
combining automated testing, validation and deployment,
maximising efficiency and mitigating human error.
Users can deploy or update an infrastructure consisting
of dozens of servers within a matter of minutes without the
need to install anything on their servers. Just kick off the
process you’ve articulated in your code and let the machines
do the work. If needed, it’s also possible to roll back to
the last stable version of the server configuration, making
preproduction testing easier.
Every configuration and every machine can be easily
replaced – no need to agonise over the time spent in set-up
because you’ve committed it into your code. This allows
for endless opportunities to test and experiment without
resource constraints.
How experts can help
The inherent simplicity and convenience of IaC deployment
and reconfiguration of server environments allow novices
to spin up a hundred instances, with minimal effort, in
just a few minutes. This means, however, that you can do
a lot of damage, quickly, if you don’t know what you’re
doing. Sometimes users try to do things outside of basic
use cases and end up tinkering with things beyond their
expertise. This is where the assistance of a next-generation
managed service provider can help. Experts understand the
importance of a deliberative rollout of IaC to your team,
www.networkseuropemagazine.com