[Avg. reading time: 7 minutes]
Terraform
What is Terraform?
Terraform is a tool used to:
Define and manage cloud infrastructure using code
It works across multiple cloud providers like:
- Azure
- AWS
- Google Cloud
Why Terraform?
Instead of manually creating resources:
- Clicking in portal
- Running multiple commands
You write code once and Terraform:
- Creates everything
- Updates changes
- Keeps things consistent
Core Idea
You describe:
- What you want
Terraform figures out:
- How to create it
How Terraform Works
- Write configuration (code)
- Run
terraform plan: see what will happen - Run
terraform apply: create/update resources
How Idempotency works with Terraform
Terraform State
Terraform state is:
A file that keeps track of what Terraform has created
Terraform needs to know:
- What already exists
- What needs to change
- What to delete
Without state:
- Terraform would not know current infrastructure
- It could create duplicates or break things
Where is State Stored?
- Local file :
terraform.tfstate - Remote storage : Azure Storage, S3, etc.
Terraform does NOT check Azure directly every time.
It relies on:
State file as the source of truth
Terraform Example: Create a VM in Azure
Step 1: Install Terraform
Download from: https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/downloads
Verify:
terraform -version
Step 2: Create Project Folder
terraform-vm/
├── main.tf
Step 3: Write Terraform Code
Create main.tf:
provider "azurerm" {
features {}
}
resource "azurerm_resource_group" "rg" {
name = "demo-rg"
location = "East US"
}
resource "azurerm_virtual_network" "vnet" {
name = "demo-vnet"
address_space = ["10.0.0.0/16"]
location = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location
resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
}
resource "azurerm_subnet" "subnet" {
name = "demo-subnet"
resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
virtual_network_name = azurerm_virtual_network.vnet.name
address_prefixes = ["10.0.1.0/24"]
}
resource "azurerm_network_interface" "nic" {
name = "demo-nic"
location = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location
resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
ip_configuration {
name = "internal"
subnet_id = azurerm_subnet.subnet.id
private_ip_address_allocation = "Dynamic"
}
}
resource "azurerm_linux_virtual_machine" "vm" {
name = "demo-vm"
resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
location = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location
size = "Standard_B1s"
admin_username = "azureuser"
network_interface_ids = [
azurerm_network_interface.nic.id
]
admin_password = "YourPassword123!"
disable_password_authentication = false
os_disk {
caching = "ReadWrite"
storage_account_type = "Standard_LRS"
}
source_image_reference {
publisher = "Canonical"
offer = "UbuntuServer"
sku = "18_04-lts"
version = "latest"
}
}
Step 4: Login to Azure
az login
Step 5: Initialize Terraform
terraform init
Step 6: Preview Changes
terraform plan
Step 7: Apply (Create Resources)
terraform apply
Type:
yes
Step 8: Destroy Resources
terraform destroy