Overview

Chapter Overview 🔗

Managing IT infrastructure can be complicated, but Infrastructure as Code (IaC) makes it easier to define infrastructure using code. In this chapter, you’ll learn what IaC is, why it’s important, and how it helps manage infrastructure faster, more reliably, and more easily scale. You’ll also explore two main ways to write IaC: declarative, where you describe the desired outcome, and imperative, where you list the steps to get there.

Next, we’ll introduce OpenTofu, a popular open source IaC tool. You’ll see what makes OpenTofu unique and how it compares to similar tools like Terraform. By the end of this chapter, you’ll know how to install OpenTofu, set it up, and use it to write and manage infrastructure using its basic workflow: writing configurations, planning changes, applying them, and removing resources when needed.

Learning Objectives 🔗

By the end of this module, learners will be able to:

• Define Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and explain its role in modern infrastructure management.
• Identify the key benefits of IaC over traditional manual infrastructure management approaches.
• Differentiate between declarative and imperative approaches to IaC and explain their respective advantages and challenges.
• Describe what OpenTofu is and its significance in the IaC ecosystem
• Identify the key differences between OpenTofu and Terraform, including features and licensing considerations.
• Install and configure OpenTofu on your local machine or development environment.
• Demonstrate the basic OpenTofu workflow, including writing configuration files, planning, applying changes, and destroying infrastructure.