Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is the practice of managing and provisioning IT infrastructure, such as networks, virtual machines, and applications, using machine-readable definition files rather than manual configuration or interactive tools.
Context for Technology Leaders
For CIOs and Enterprise Architects, IaC is crucial for achieving operational consistency, reducing human error, and accelerating deployment cycles across complex IT environments. It enables the systematic management of infrastructure configurations, aligning with DevOps principles and facilitating scalable, repeatable provisioning. This approach enhances governance and provides an architectural runway for future innovation, ensuring infrastructure evolves with business needs.
Key Principles
- 1Declarative Configuration: Define the desired state of infrastructure, allowing tools to automatically achieve and maintain that state, ensuring consistency.
- 2Version Control: Manage infrastructure definitions in version control systems like Git, enabling collaboration, change tracking, and rollbacks.
- 3Idempotence: Ensure that applying the same IaC script multiple times yields the identical infrastructure state, preventing unintended side effects.
- 4Automation: Automate the entire infrastructure provisioning and management lifecycle, minimizing manual intervention and accelerating delivery.
Related Terms
DevOpsCloud ComputingConfiguration ManagementContinuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)AutomationMicroservices