Infrastructure as Code Pattern
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
Infrastructure as Code means defining your servers, networks, and databases in code files instead of clicking buttons in a web console. Version it, review it, automate it. If your server dies, spin up an identical one from the same code. No more 'but it worked on my server.'
Real Talk
A DevOps practice where infrastructure (servers, networks, load balancers, databases) is provisioned and managed using machine-readable definition files rather than manual processes. IaC enables version control, code review, automated testing, and repeatable deployments. Tools include Terraform, Pulumi, AWS CDK, and CloudFormation.
When You'll Hear This
"All our infrastructure is in Terraform — we can recreate the entire production environment from code." / "Infrastructure as Code means our server configuration is version-controlled, reviewed, and repeatable."
Related Terms
DevOps
DevOps is the culture and practice of tearing down the wall between the people who write code (Dev) and the people who run it in production (Ops).
GitOps Pattern
GitOps means Git is the single source of truth for EVERYTHING — code AND infrastructure. Push to the repo, and automation deploys it. Want to know what's r
Terraform
Terraform is a tool that lets you describe your entire cloud infrastructure in code files, then type one command to make it real.