Terraform
Setting up and using terraform for Azure Deployments
Terraform is HashiCorp's Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool that enables you to safely and predictably create, change, and improve infrastructure across multiple cloud providers and services. This guide covers modern Terraform practices as of 2025, including the latest features and best practices.
Installation Guide
Linux Installation
Ubuntu/Debian
RHEL/CentOS/Fedora
WSL2 Installation
For WSL2, you can either use the Linux distribution's package manager as above, or install via the official package:
NixOS Installation
Add Terraform to your system configuration (configuration.nix
):
Or for a project-specific environment using shell.nix
:
NixOS Real-Life Scenarios for Terraform
1. Reproducible Multi-Cloud Dev Environments
Use NixOS to ensure every engineer and CI runner has the same Terraform, provider plugins, and linters:
2. Project-Specific Flake for Terraform + Providers
Use a Nix flake to pin Terraform and provider versions for a project:
Start the shell:
3. Declarative Secrets Management for Provider Credentials
4. CI/CD with Nix and Terraform
Use Nix to build a Docker image or CI environment with pinned Terraform and providers for GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or self-hosted runners:
Modern Terraform Features (2025)
Key Features
Native Support for Multi-Cloud Deployments
Unified workflow across AWS, Azure, GCP, and other providers
Cross-cloud resource dependencies
Cloud-agnostic modules
Enhanced State Management
Improved state locking mechanisms
Built-in state encryption
Advanced state migration tools
Testing and Validation
Built-in testing framework
Policy as code integration
Automated validation pipelines
Security Features
Native secrets management
IAM role assumption
Provider authentication improvements
Best Practices
1. State Management
Use remote state storage (AWS S3, Azure Storage, GCP Cloud Storage)
Implement state locking
Separate state files per environment
Enable state encryption
Example backend configuration for Azure:
2. Code Organization
Use workspaces for environment separation
Implement consistent naming conventions
Maintain modular code structure
3. Security
Use provider authentication with OIDC
Implement least privilege access
Enable audit logging
Use sensitive input variables
4. Performance
Use
for_each
instead ofcount
where possibleImplement parallel resource creation
Use data sources efficiently
5. Cost Management
Implement cost estimation in CI/CD
Use cost allocation tags
Enable cost reports and budgets
Deployment Scenarios
1. Multi-Region High Availability
2. Zero-Downtime Deployments
3. Secure Landing Zone
Integration with Other Tools
1. CI/CD Integration
GitHub Actions workflow example:
2. Policy as Code
Using OPA (Open Policy Agent) for policy enforcement:
Testing Strategies
1. Unit Testing
Using Terratest for infrastructure testing:
2. Integration Testing
Additional Resources
Related Topics
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