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Infrastructure as Code

5 minutes 5 Questions

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is the approach to managing IT infrastructure automatically, using code and DevOps tools, instead of traditional manual processes. This concept enables agility, scalability, and cost-efficiency within a CI/CD pipeline, allowing the consistent and rapid provisioning of e…

A Guide on Infrastructure as Code

In simple terms, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is the process of managing and provisioning computer data centers through machine-readable definition files, rather than physical hardware configuration or interactive configuration tools.

Why is it Important?
With IaC, there is a shift from a manual, interactive management style to a script-driven, automated management style. This allows for rapid, reliable, and consistent provision and change of resources. It also brings about a reduction in cost, increase in speed of deployment and elimination of configuration drift.

How it Works?
IaC describes a desired state of the infrastructure in code. It then uses automation tools to apply this state to current infrastructure setup. The automation tools then compare requested and current states and makes the necessary changes to achieve the requested state.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Infrastructure as Code
- Understand what IaC is and its benefits.
- Be clear on how it works - defining a desired state, applying this state to the current state and the role of the automation tools.
- Familiarize with IaC tools like Ansible, Chef, Puppet and Terraform.
- Be able to contrast IaC with traditional infrastructure set up and management.
- Understand the concepts of 'Immutable Infrastructure' and 'Configuration Drift'
- Practice writing code for a simple IaC scenario.

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Agile Project Management - Infrastructure as Code Example Questions

Test your knowledge of Infrastructure as Code

Question 1

When using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) on AWS, which service allows you to define and provision your cloud infrastructure using a declarative language?

AWS OpsWorks for declaratively managing and provisioning cloud resources AWS CloudFormation AWS Systems Manager for automating infrastructure provisioning using code AWS Config for defining infrastructure configurations and provisioning resources

Correct Answer: AWS CloudFormation

When using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) on AWS, AWS CloudFormation is the service that allows you to define and provision your cloud infrastructure using a declarative language. With CloudFormation, you can create templates that describe your desired resources and their dependencies, and CloudFormation takes care of provisioning and managing those resources for you. The other options mentioned, such as AWS Config, AWS OpsWorks, and AWS Systems Manager, have different purposes and do not provide the same declarative infrastructure provisioning capabilities as CloudFormation.

Question 2

When using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) on AWS, which of the following is a best practice for managing sensitive information like access keys and passwords?

Store sensitive information securely in AWS Secrets Manager and reference them in your IaC templates. Store sensitive information in a public GitHub repository along with your IaC templates for version control. Encrypt sensitive information using a custom encryption algorithm and include the encrypted values in your IaC templates. Hardcode sensitive information directly into your IaC templates for easy access during deployment.

Correct Answer: Store sensitive information securely in AWS Secrets Manager and reference them in your IaC templates.

When using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) on AWS, it is a best practice to store sensitive information like access keys and passwords securely in AWS Secrets Manager. Secrets Manager is a dedicated service designed to safely store and manage sensitive data. By storing sensitive information in Secrets Manager and referencing them in your IaC templates, you ensure that the sensitive data is not exposed in plain text within the templates. This approach allows for secure management and retrieval of sensitive information during the deployment process. The other options are not recommended because: - Hardcoding sensitive information in IaC templates exposes the data and poses security risks. - Storing sensitive information in a public repository, even if it's for version control, is highly insecure and goes against security best practices. - Using custom encryption algorithms to encrypt sensitive data in IaC templates is not as secure and reliable as using a dedicated secrets management service like AWS Secrets Manager.

Question 3

Which of the following Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools integrates natively with AWS services and can be used to manage AWS resources?

AWS CloudFormation Ansible with AWS modules for resource provisioning and configuration management Puppet with the AWS module for cloud resource orchestration and automation HashiCorp Terraform with AWS provider plugins

Correct Answer: AWS CloudFormation

AWS CloudFormation is a native AWS service that allows you to define and manage your infrastructure as code. It provides a template-based approach to create and provision AWS resources in a repeatable and consistent manner. CloudFormation integrates seamlessly with other AWS services and enables you to automate the deployment and management of your infrastructure on AWS. While other tools like Terraform, Ansible, and Puppet can also be used to manage AWS resources through plugins or modules, they are not native AWS services and require additional configuration and setup to integrate with AWS. Therefore, AWS CloudFormation is the best answer among the given options for a tool that integrates natively with AWS services and can be used to manage AWS resources effectively.

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