What is Infrastructure as Code (IaC)?

What is Infrastructure as Code?

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is the practice of managing and provisioning computing infrastructure through machine-readable configuration files rather than manual processes or physical hardware setup. With IaC, teams define and automate infrastructure — such as servers, networks, databases, and cloud resources — using code, making environments repeatable, scalable, and consistent.

IaC is a cornerstone of modern DevOps, enabling infrastructure to be treated like application code: versioned, tested, and deployed through automated pipelines.

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IaC helps organizations deploy and manage cloud-native infrastructure quickly and with confidence.

Why Infrastructure as Code Matters

1. Enables consistency across environments: Dev, test, and prod environments can be identical.
2. Reduces human error: Automated provisioning removes the risk of manual misconfiguration.
3. Accelerates deployment: Infrastructure can be spun up or down in seconds via scripts.
4. Improves disaster recovery: Entire systems can be rebuilt using stored configurations.
5. Supports compliance and auditing: Every infrastructure change is logged and version-controlled.

IaC makes infrastructure lifecycle management faster, safer, and more scalable.

How is Infrastructure as Code Used?

Infrastructure as Code is typically used in modern DevOps and cloud-native environments to:

Automate provisioning

Teams write code to automatically spin up servers, virtual machines, containers, databases, and other resources in public cloud platforms (like AWS, Azure, or GCP) or on-premises environments.

Standardize environments

IaC ensures that environments are built exactly the same way every time, reducing “it works on my machine” issues and deployment drift.

Enable rapid scaling and testing

Developers can quickly replicate entire environments for testing or scale infrastructure in response to demand.

Integrate with CI/CD pipelines

Infrastructure changes are pushed through the same pipelines used for software, ensuring automated, secure, and traceable updates.

Support version control and collaboration

All infrastructure definitions live in Git or another version control system, enabling pull requests, code reviews, and rollback capabilities.

Improve security and compliance

Infrastructure policies can be enforced programmatically, audited, and versioned for compliance purposes.

Types of Infrastructure as Code

• Declarative IaC: Define what infrastructure should look like (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation).
• Imperative IaC: Define how infrastructure should be configured step-by-step (e.g., Ansible, scripts).

Infrastructure as Code Use Cases

• Cloud provisioning at scale: Manage thousands of cloud resources across environments.
• Automated testing environments: Spin up test infrastructure on demand and tear it down post-use.
• Compliance as Code: Embed security policies and compliance requirements directly in templates.
• Multi-cloud orchestration: Define infrastructure once, deploy across AWS, Azure, GCP, and more.

FAQs

1. Is Infrastructure as Code only for the cloud?

No. IaC can be used for on-premises, hybrid, and cloud environments as long as APIs or automation hooks are available.

2. Is IaC the same as configuration management?

Not exactly. IaC covers infrastructure provisioning, while configuration management focuses on software setup and enforcement.

3. How does IaC improve security?

IaC lets you define secure baselines, enforce consistent security controls, and audit changes across environments.

How Illumio Supports Infrastructure as Code

Illumio enhances Infrastructure as Code workflows by enabling security to be defined and deployed as code alongside infrastructure. Using Illumio’s policy automation and API-first architecture, security teams can programmatically define microsegmentation policies, map application dependencies, and control traffic flows — all in lockstep with infrastructure provisioning. 

This ensures that environments are not only spun up quickly, but also launched with security baked in from the start.

Final Thoughts

Infrastructure as Code transforms infrastructure into software. By defining, managing, and deploying systems with code, teams gain speed, repeatability, and control while reducing operational risks. IaC lays the groundwork for cloud automation, DevOps, and secure, scalable infrastructure management.