Cloud Native
Infrastructure as Code Explained
Explore one of the major trends in cloud computer, infrastructure as code. Learn how leveraging infrastructure as code improves efficiency, consistency, and can lower cost.
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Learn the ins and outs of infrastructure as code and infrastructure as code using DevOps, without a physical server.
Hi, my name is Fernando Cardoso and I'm a solutions architect at Trend Micro. Digital transformation has changed many sectors, and infrastructure is no exception. Today, the major trends in cloud computing are DevOps, automation and infrastructure as code, or IaC. Basically, IaC is a method of creating cloud environments to code or what we also like to call templates. Using this method, you can create an entire infrastructure to run your applications without making any mental or physical configurations, as we used to do in the past.
IaC’s Rise to Fame
IaC is becoming so popular, because it's a faster, more effective and more consistent way to create the new infrastructures. Setting up a physical infrastructure would take weeks or even months. Buying a server, installing the server, and the hack and installing operation system in applications.
But now we are able to set up in the cloud in only a few seconds. With IaC, we started to run everything with a code template that essentially is a type of programing that can be updated and shared with your team. This offers three great benefits for companies’ agility, greater control and consistency into cloud infrastructure that you are creating on AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud.
How can I leverage IaC?
Here comes the question. But how do I create IaC? A good start is to choose which tool will help you with your current challenges. Like AWS cloud formations, Teraform, Ansible, Pulumi, and some others in the market. Another thing that you must take into consideration is security. Gartner says that by 2023, 99% of cloud security breaches will be due to customers configurations failures.
And by 2024, we will see many organizations implementing security solutions for cloud security posture management to reduce the number of configurations failures. In other words, it is important to address security from the beginning and all the way through to productions, in order to reduce the chance of misconfigurations and compromising your cloud infrastructure. It's important to not stray away from frameworks such as AWS Well-Architected Framework and Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework. These models guide you on how to create safe environments and to follow the best practice. Human error, is a common cause for configurations issues. This is especially true when you are in a hurry to create new environments due to business demands resulting in major security issues. So, what is the secret, to avoid security issues? Build it in right from the start, so there are no losses in the future.
Three Tips to Integrate Security and IaC
Here are the three tips to bring security compliance and the best practice to IaC pipeline. First, install a security plug in your integrated development environment. It seems obvious, but a lot of people miss a chance to introduce security early in development because they don't have one of these features which allows the DevOps teams to identify and fix problems in the IDE without needing others.
The second tip is to implement a template scanner using the APIs in your security posture management tool. The scanner will help you identify problems in configuration flaws before creating new production environments.
Finally, tip number three, implement the security posture management tool. It can detect configuration problems in real time and provide great resources to fix failures and notify the cloud and the DevOps teams right away to ensure no major security and compliance issues arise in your cloud environments or off story. IaC is a rapidly growing trend, but you need to pay attention to security from the beginning so your organization is functional and follows the best practice based on compliance and frameworks that your organization needs to adhere to.
Learn more about how Trend Micro Cloud One - Conformity, which is a part of Trend Micro Cloud One, a security services platform for cloud builders, can provide continuous security, compliance and governance for your cloud infrastructure configurations.