Terraform is a tool for building, changing, and version controlling infrastructure safely and efficiently. It allows users to define and provision resources through code rather than manual configuration. Key concepts include variables, outputs, providers that interface with cloud platforms, reusable modules, and managing infrastructure through commands like plan, apply, and destroy. The presentation demonstrated Terraform's capabilities with a live demo and provided additional resources for learning more.

1. An introduction to Terraform
Julien Pivotto (@roidelapluie)
RMLL, Saint-Étienne
July 4th, 2017

2. whoami
Julien Pivotto
@roidelapluie
Sysadmin at inuits
Automation, monitoring, HA
RMLL 2013 org team

3. inuits

4. Building infrastructure
Cloud age
Baremtal: talking to your automation tool
(cobbler, foreman)
PaaS: Talking to your infrastructure provider
Cloud: Talking to your cloud provider
Talk = Use the WebUI / API

5. Challenges of current infra
Planning changes
Executing changes
Working together
Keeping up to date (usable) inventories

6. DevOps

7. The DevOps principles: CAMS
(a definition of DevOps)
Culture
Automation
Measurement
Sharing
(Damon Edwards and John Willis, 2010 http://devopsdictionary.com/wiki/CAMS)

8. Automation
Automate all the things
Version Control
Continuous Integration and Deployment
Infrastructure as Code

9. Terraform

10. Terraform
Open Source
Mozilla Public License 2.0
Created by Hashicorp (vagrant, consul, packer,
vault)
Started in 2014
Written in Go
Pluggable

11. What is terraform?

12. Terraform original goal
Terraform is a tool to Build, Change, and Version
Control your infrastructure.

13. Building infrastructure
Talk to multiple cloud/infrasctucture providers
Ensure creation and consistency
Express in an API-Agnostic DSL

14. Change infrastructure
Apply incremental changes
Destroy when needed
Preview changes
Scale easily

15. Version control
HCL language
State file (don't store it in your git repo)

16. Terraform concepts

17. Variables
Terraform takes variables as input
Typed variables
JSON, HCL or CLI

18. Output
Output specific text, ip addresses, ...
Console or JSON

19. Providers
Configuration of a resource provider
e.g.: cloud, dns provider, ...
Often require URL, API Key, ...

20. Modules
Group of resources
Takes parameters
Returns output

21. Plan
terraform plan
Creates a plan of changes required
Does nothing to the infra

22. Apply
terraform apply
Applies a plan, make all the changes
Can make the plan before if needed

23. Statefile
Current know state of the infra
Stored in file or externally
Locking

24. Destroy
terraform destroy
Delete all the resources
resources can be "protected" in config

25. Enough talking!
Demo!

26. More!
https://terraform.io
terraform's cousins: packer, consul, vagrant,
vault, ...

27. Julien Pivotto
roidelapluie
roidelapluie@inuits.eu
Inuits
https://inuits.eu
info@inuits.eu
Contact