Terraform is an infrastructure as code (IaC) tool that allows you to define and manage your infrastructure resources declaratively, using configuration files. This is similar to Openstack Heat or AWS cloudformation. The OpenStack Terraform Operator extends Terraform’s functionality by providing integration with OpenStack-specific resources. That said, While OpenStack provides its own set of APIs and tools for managing infrastructure, including virtual machines, networks, and storage, Terraform offers a more generic approach to provisioning infrastructure across different cloud platforms, including OpenStack.
To leverage Terraform with OpenStack, you can use the OpenStack Terraform Provider. The provider acts as an interface between Terraform and the OpenStack APIs, allowing you to manage OpenStack resources using Terraform configurations. It enables you to define your infrastructure in Terraform’s declarative language and then apply those configurations to create and manage resources within your OpenStack environment.
To get started with the OpenStack Terraform Provider, you’ll need to follow these general steps:
- Install Terraform: Download and install Terraform from the official website (https://www.terraform.io/). Ensure it is properly set up on your system.
- Set up OpenStack credentials: Obtain the necessary credentials (username, password, project, etc.) for accessing your OpenStack environment. These credentials are typically provided by the OpenStack administrator.
- Configure the OpenStack Terraform Provider: In your Terraform configuration file (typically named
main.tf), define the OpenStack provider with the appropriate authentication details. - Use Terraform’s configuration language (HCL) to define the desired OpenStack resources. You can create instances, networks, routers, security groups, and more. Dealing with resources contain below steps.
- In your terminal or command prompt, navigate to the directory containing your Terraform configuration files. Run
terraform initto initialize the provider and download any necessary dependencies. Terraform will detect the provider as Openstack provider after running above command. - Then, run
terraform applyto create or modify the resources according to your configuration. Terraform will interact with the OpenStack API, authenticate using the provided credentials, and orchestrate the creation and management of the specified infrastructure. - Finally, if you want to delete the resources, run
terraform destroyand terrafrom will delete it.
- In your terminal or command prompt, navigate to the directory containing your Terraform configuration files. Run
Various resources and data sources that terraform operator currently support are documented here.