Infrastructure as Code
Also known as: IaC · Terraform
Infrastructure as code describes servers, networks and cloud resources in versioned files from which a tool builds the target state — instead of clicking them together by hand in a console.
With infrastructure as code, the desired infrastructure lives in configuration files: which servers, which networks, which database, which access rules. A tool such as Terraform compares that description with what actually exists and reconciles the difference. The files sit in version control, which makes every change traceable — including who made it, when and why.
The difference shows in an emergency. An environment built by hand exists only once; its configuration is stored in the click history of a web console and in the heads of those who were there. A described environment can be rebuilt, mirrored into a second region or copied for a test without anyone reconstructing from memory which setting was chosen back then.
The most frequent mistake is mixed operation: part lives in code, another part was quickly added in the console. On the next run the tool either overwrites the manual work or reports differences nobody can explain. Either the code leads — or it is documentation that is wrong.
What it means in practice
At BVCC Holding the cloud environment is captured as Terraform code rather than existing in the AWS console. For the client that mainly means changes are traceable, and the environment does not depend on one particular person remembering.
Is this handled properly at your site?
We look at how it actually stands with you — and say honestly whether anything needs doing.
Related terms
All termsA term from your quote missing here?
Send us the passage you do not follow. We will explain it — with no obligation to order anything.