Online Courses
Infrastructure as Code
Online Courses
Infrastructure as Code
  • Introduction
  • Intro to IaC
    • Introduction
    • The Concept
    • The Tools
    • Infrastructure as Code Lifecycle
    • Virtualisation & IaC
    • On-Prem IaC vs. Cloud-Based IaC
  • On-Premises IaC
    • Why On-Premises
    • Vagrant Basics
    • Ansible Basics
    • Building an On-Prem IaC Workflow
    • Security Concerns in On-Prem IaC
  • Cloud-based IaC
    • Terraform 101
    • Terraform Configuration
    • Terraform Workflow
    • Cloudformation 101
    • CloudFormation Configuration & Use Cases
    • Terraform vs CloudFormation
    • Secure IaC
Powered by GitBook
On this page
  • Terraform vs. CloudFormation
  • CloudFormation
  • Terraform
  • Use Cases
  • Terraform Use Cases
  • AWS CloudFormation Use Cases
  1. Cloud-based IaC

Terraform vs CloudFormation

PreviousCloudFormation Configuration & Use CasesNextSecure IaC

Last updated 7 months ago

Terraform vs. CloudFormation

CloudFormation

  • Vendor Lock-In: AWS CloudFormation is tightly integrated with AWS services, making it the natural choice for AWS-centric environments.

  • Native Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other AWS services, providing direct resource references and a unified management experience.

  • Service Coverage: Provides comprehensive coverage of AWS services, often including support for new services shortly after release.

  • Learning Curve: Learning CloudFormation may be easier for those familiar with AWS services.

Terraform

  • Cloud-Agnostic: Terraform is cloud-agnostic, supporting multiple cloud providers, including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and more. This makes it a versatile choice for hybrid or multi-cloud deployments.

  • Community and Modules: This has a large and active community, and using modules allows for reusable and shareable code.

  • State Management: Terraform uses a state file to track the current state of infrastructure, providing a clear view of the deployed resources.

  • Language Flexibility: The HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) used by Terraform is designed for readability and is more flexible than JSON or YAML.

Use Cases

Terraform Use Cases

1. Multi-Cloud Environments

Scenario: A company utilises its infrastructure with multiple cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, and GCP.

Reason for Terraform:

  • Terraform has providers for various cloud platforms, making it easier to manage multi-cloud environments.

  • A single Terraform configuration can span different cloud providers, allowing consistent infrastructure as code (IaC) across the entire infrastructure landscape.

2. Community Modules and Providers:

Scenario: An organisation heavily relies on community-contributed modules and providers to enhance infrastructure provisioning.

Reason for Terraform:

  • Terraform has a vibrant community that contributes reusable modules and providers for a wide range of services and platforms.

  • Leveraging community-driven content can significantly speed up the development process and provide best practices adopted by a broader audience.

AWS CloudFormation Use Cases

1. Deep AWS Integration

Scenario: An enterprise's infrastructure is predominantly AWS-centric, and the team is deeply invested in AWS-specific services and features.

Reason for CloudFormation:

  • AWS CloudFormation provides native integration with AWS services, making it well-suited for managing AWS-specific resources.

  • Features like CloudFormation StackSets and Change Sets enhance the management of AWS-specific resources and deployments.

2. Managed Service Integration:

Scenario: An organisation heavily utilises AWS-managed services, such as AWS Elastic Beanstalk or AWS OpsWorks.

Reason for CloudFormation:

  • AWS CloudFormation integrates seamlessly with AWS-managed services, offering simplified provisioning and management of these services.

  • CloudFormation provides specific resource types for many AWS-managed services, allowing for a higher level of abstraction in the templates.