What is Infrastructure as Code?

When companies put their applications and databases into the cloud, they are typically interested in gaining the advantages of cloud computing: affordable and flexible computing resources, delivered on demand. Creating an IaC database goes one step further than a normal cloud move: the data center becomes a code repository.

Infrastructure as code (IaC) is the process of building a database entirely in the cloud, with the system infrastructure running on major cloud providers’ resources. Infrastructure as a Code benefits administrators and developers, allowing them to track all changes to the code repository and rapidly evaluate and make changes. If you are looking for IaC or DevOps support, explore what our expert team has to offer.

Benefits of Infrastructure as Code

Faced with a simple and flexible way to redistribute computing resources, organizations are investing in cloud projects. IaC brings the fast-moving spirit of agile development and DevOps to the world of database management.

The following are a few general reasons why IaC databases have been such a hit:

• Trying out new projects is easier: Will a new database deployment or configuration meet a company’s needs? This is an important question to answer, and with IaC and the cloud in general, it’s easier than ever to evaluate a project.
• Cloud deployments can provide savings: Companies aren’t just attracted to the cloud because of its relative ease of use. The pay-as-you-go public cloud pricing model is also a way for businesses to do more with their resources. This helps circumvent the high upfront capital expenses that come with building physical data centers.
• Making changes is fast and simple: Making configuration changes is a simple and efficient process when database infrastructure is running in the cloud and allows developers to immediately evaluate the effects of their changes and take further action.
• All changes are visible: Working with IaC creates a strong record of every configuration change. Automatic logging of changes in the code repository ensures developers never have to struggle for visibility when judging the effects of reconfiguring.

How IaC Projects Get Started

There are just a few questions to ask before building the new infrastructure:

• Which cloud provider? Whether it’s Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure or any other cloud provider, its developers can create an IaC deployment on those resources.
• What parameters? After selecting a cloud provider, there are a few other options to settle. For instance, AWS users can choose between two database services, RDS and EC2.
• Any other settings? All the individual settings of an IaC database are customizable, to make sure the new configuration fits the use case.

After moving down that short checklist, you are prepared to begin considering a cloud migration. For more information on migrations, explore our blog on reducing migration risks.