Introduction to infrastructure as code (IaC)
Lets start with the first topic where we discuss the concept of infrastructure as code as the name implies, infrastructure as code or IaC is taking what ever infrastructure is to look like and defining that as code. You capture the code in a template file that is both human readable and machine consumable. Infrastructure as code tools allows you to provision entire infrastructure stacks from templates. Rather than having to use a web console or run commands manually to build all the parts of the system the template is used to automatically build the infrastructure. That same template enables resources to automatically update it or delete it as required. Because templates are treated as code they can be stored in repositories, tracked using virtual control systems and shared with other users and team mates. Templates can also be used for disaster recovery, if for any reason the infrastructure needs to be rebuilt those templates can be used to automatically recover.