Terraform : Fundamentals Training Course

Introduction to Infrastructure as Code

• Objective: Understand the necessity of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for government operations.
• Definition and purpose of IaC in enhancing efficiency and reliability.
• Comparison between traditional infrastructure management and IaC methods.
• Overview of popular IaC tools utilized in public sector projects.

Introduction to Terraform

• Objective: Learn the role of Terraform in the IaC ecosystem for government use.
• What is Terraform and its significance for infrastructure management?
• Terraform's core components: Providers, Resources, and State.
• Comparison of Terraform with other IaC tools used by federal agencies.

Installing and Setting Up Terraform

• Objective: Install Terraform and set up a basic environment for government use.
• Installation procedures on various platforms, including government-standard systems.
• Setting up the Terraform Command Line Interface (CLI) in a secure manner.
• Introduction to HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) for defining infrastructure as code.

First Terraform Project: Provisioning a Simple Resource

• Objective: Create and deploy a basic resource on a cloud provider, suitable for government projects.
• Introduction to essential Terraform commands (init, plan, apply, destroy) for managing resources.
• Provisioning an AWS EC2 instance or equivalent on another cloud provider, adhering to federal standards.
• Understanding providers and provider blocks in the context of government infrastructure.

Understanding Variables and Outputs

• Objective: Utilize variables and outputs to make configurations dynamic for government applications.
• Defining variables in HCL to support flexible and scalable deployments.
• Using variable files to manage different environments, such as development and production.
• Setting outputs to retrieve critical information for monitoring and reporting purposes.

Managing Terraform State

• Objective: Learn how Terraform manages state and its importance in government projects.
• What is Terraform state and its role in maintaining infrastructure consistency?
• State storage options (local vs. remote backends) for secure and accessible management.
• Best practices for managing state files securely to ensure data integrity and compliance.

Data Sources and Dependencies

• Objective: Understand how Terraform data sources can be used to fetch existing resources in government environments.
• Using data sources to reference and integrate with existing infrastructure components.
• Establishing dependencies between resources to ensure orderly deployment and updates.

Terraform Workspaces and Environments

• Objective: Manage multiple environments within the same configuration for government projects.
• What are workspaces and their role in isolating different stages of development?
• Best practices for managing development, staging, and production environments using Terraform workspaces.

Structuring Terraform Code

• Objective: Write clean, reusable, and modular Terraform code for government applications.
• Best practices for organizing Terraform files to enhance readability and maintainability.
• Breaking code into modules for reusability across different projects and teams.
• Using input variables in modules to support flexible configurations.

Hands-on Lab: Deploy a Web Server with Terraform

• Objective: Apply learned concepts by deploying a simple web server suitable for government use.
• Provision a web server on AWS, GCP, or Azure, following federal guidelines and best practices.
• Use variables and outputs to configure environment-specific settings for compliance.
• Manage the infrastructure state and dependencies to ensure robust and secure deployment.

Course Wrap-Up and Q&A

• Objective: Review key concepts and answer questions relevant to government operations.
• Summary of Terraform basics and their application in public sector projects.
• Live Q&A session to address specific concerns and inquiries from participants.
• Resources for continued learning and professional development in IaC for government.