ThreeFold Grid 3.0 Supports Terraform

00_Terraform Visual

As most of you know, we are on our way to ThreeFold Grid 3.0. Part of our roadmap to get there is the integration of Terraform into our ThreeFold Grid. Terraform is a widely used open-source Infrastructure as Code (IaC) software tool enabling a consistent workflow in order to manage complex deployments across different cloud providers. It also integrates directly with our Grid’s existing Kubernetes functionality to offer a complete solution for reserving hardware and deploying software.

IaC tools have the ability to provide and manage infrastructure using straightforward configuration files, rather than a full programming language. This is known as a declarative approach, defining the end-state of the infrastructure rather than the steps towards this state. The IaC approach reduces errors and saves engineers’ time. Additionally, it provides a single source of truth for what deployed infrastructure actually looks like. If you’re curious to know more about Terraform, keep reading. If you’d like to test it for yourself or see it in action, stay tuned as a demo and documentation will be available soon.

How Terraform Works with the ThreeFold Grid

In a nutshell, Terraform enables developers to build, change, and version infrastructure in a safe and efficient way. This includes a variety of components – from low-level components like compute instances, storage, and networking, to high-level components like Kubernetes deployments. Terraform allows for the management of the entire infrastructure lifecycle by declaring infrastructure components in configuration files which Terraform then uses to provide, adjust, and break down infrastructure in a way that’s compatible with most major cloud providers. It is also capable of making sure that deployment is taken down completely, preventing users from unknowingly leaving behind components that could then continue to consume resources.

Terraform allows for specifying deployments on our ThreeFold Grid in a simple, declarative, and human-readable language describing the desired end state. Our Terraform plugin translates these files into the complete instruction set needed to create, connect, and destroy the desired infrastructure, with a single command. It is something like a lower-level Kubernetes for the hardware part of cloud deployments.

Simple Deployments & Endless Possibilities

Integrating Terraform into ThreeFold Grid 3.0 means that it can be used to deploy the full set of Zero-OS primitives, supporting any existing or future Linux workload, with endless possibilities. This way, users of the ThreeFold Grid can use Terraform to quickly and efficiently reserve capacity on our Grid in conjunction with payment handling on our ThreeFold Blockchain, all from a single application.

So, Terraform will be an option next to the SDK to reserve capacity. It will be an additional tool available for a simpler management of all ThreeFold Grid primitives. A large part of the industry already uses Terraform, making migration to the ThreeFold Grid much more seamless.

While we’re working on the integration, we’d like to encourage you to share your experiences with Terraform here. If you haven’t used it yet, keep an eye out for our demo which will be available soon!

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As a note, the Terraform demo is now live! https://youtu.be/uPKM1Ta3tvY

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