Hybrid Cloud, Kubernetes and Terraform

This article dives into hybrid cloud computing and discusses related technologies like Kubernetes and Terraform. The article simplifies hybrid cloud automation with Kubernetes and with Terraform. 

What is a hybrid cloud?

A hybrid cloud combines on-premises, private cloud, and third-party public cloud services with orchestration between the two platforms. The hybrid cloud has been trending in recent years because it allows businesses to leverage powerful technologies while meeting their unique needs. Today’s hybrid clouds are often powered by Kubernetes and Terraform. Let’s explore these tools in greater detail.

What is Kubernetes?

Kubernetes is a container orchestration tool originally developed by Google and donated to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. Kubernetes automation eases the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It groups containers into units for proper management and discovery. Kubernetes is also known as k8s (pronounced “kate’s”). 

What is Terraform?

You can think about Terraform as a tool that allows you to change your infrastructure in a structured and predictable way. Instead of manually changing resources through the console or an API, you write down what you expect the state of your infrastructure to be in a text file (infrastructure as code) and then use Terraform to apply those changes for you.

The configuration syntax used to describe the infrastructure is high-level. This method allows you to version your data center blueprint and treat it as a piece of code. Re-using infrastructure is also possible.

The need for hybrid automation with Terraform and Kubernetes

Even though the industry is moving towards cloud-native and cloud-based applications, there is still a need to support on-premises workloads. This hybrid IT model is driven by data gravity, sovereignty, and regulatory requirements. IT teams are often forced to manage their on-premises infrastructure manually while automating cloud workload deployments.

Hybrid Cloud Automation with Kubernetes

Kubernetes is free, open-source, and used to deploy, manage, and scale containerized applications over the network. Kubernetes can be used to deploy applications that are composed of both containerized and non-containerized components. For example, it can be used to deploy a monolithic application into virtual machines (VMs) running on on-premises infrastructure and in a public cloud environment. The VMs running on the public cloud could be managed using infrastructure as code tooling’s such as Terraform or CloudFormation.

Hybrid Cloud Automation with Terraform 

Terraform automation is possible in hybrid cloud deployments across multiple platforms, including VMware, OpenShift, AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. With a single configuration file, you can orchestrate the creation of instances and services across all these environments.

Terraform creates an execution strategy, determines what is needed to build infrastructure, and then implements it. If you wish to power just one application or your entire data center with Terraform, each configuration file defines the components you’ll need. Terraform can automatically determine what configurations have changed and apply the execution plans accordingly. 

Terraform can also manage low-level components of infrastructure aside from managing compute instances, storage, and networking. But Terraform works well for single cloud deployments but does not provide strong guarantees about avoiding lock-in since it still allows cloud vendor-specific features.

Kubernetes vs. Terraform

Kubernetes is a very powerful tool for managing containers. It allows you to deploy complex container-based applications and roll out updates on a massive scale while centralizing the maintenance and management processes and keeping your files in one place. 

However, Kubernetes is more focused on infrastructure management’s “in-house” aspects. In contrast, Terraform can help you build an entire cluster from scratch or start using a new cloud provider immediately. 

Terraform also has a much larger user community than Kubernetes, which means it’s easier to find answers to any questions you have about using the tool. In addition, Terraform has simplified syntax that makes it significantly easier for beginners to learn.

When working with multiple cloud providers, Terraform might be a better choice than Kubernetes (or other container orchestration tools) for your infrastructure management needs. With its robust support for multi-cloud environments, Terraform’s HCL makes it easy for both individuals and teams to manage their resources across different platforms and regions.

Kubernetes and Terraform Benefits (and how they work together)

You’ve probably heard the terms “Kubernetes” and “Terraform” used in conjunction with each other, but how do they work together? And why use both of them when you can use Kubernetes by itself?

Ideally, you want to be able to build and manage infrastructure as code. This allows for greater control and visibility into your infrastructure and creates a more rapid deployment cycle for software development teams. You also want to be able to use a platform that works seamlessly with existing cloud services.

Both Kubernetes and Terraform are open-source tools developed and maintained by their respective communities over the last several years. But what are the benefits of using these tools individually? How do they work together? And why should we care about them at all? Let’s take a look at some examples!

Using Terraform and Kubernetes to manage an environment is very powerful…

For most of us, cloud and hybrid cloud computing is something we’ve mostly ignored for years. But with so many new use cases emerging, it’s no longer the black box of mystery you may remember from early days. 

This guide will help you understand what AWS and Azure are, what they can do, how they are different from one another, and how they work together in a hybrid cloud environment. We’ll also cover Kubernetes and Terraform as tools that help make your real-world deployment plans easier to achieve—and this guide will show you how.

The Importance of Cloudify and how it relates to Hybrid Cloud  Automation with Kubernetes and Terraform

Cloudify is a platform that’s designed to support hybrid cloud deployments. Its core capabilities include application lifecycle management, complex event processing and orchestration, and automation. It integrates with Docker and Kubernetes as well as Terraform.

You can even deploy Kubernetes and Terraform in a hybrid environment (multiple clouds, AWS, Azure, vSphere). You can use Cloudify for your hybrid cloud deployment and automation needs. Cloudify is also very granular: it allows you to write and run scripts from any language to install packages and restart services.

This is done through a single framework with an easy-to-use graphical user interface that supports plugins for popular tools such as Ansible and SaltStack. Cloudify also has a rich ecosystem within its community which includes many third-party services from vendors like Avi Networks Incorporated and Cisco Systems Incorporated (NYSE: CSCO) for multi cloud automation. This allows users to take advantage of vendor-specific features while maintaining interoperability between clouds across multiple providers through one unified system.

The Cloudify platform also provides additional visibility into resources being managed by Kubernetes or Terraform by allowing you to see what containers are running on each node in real-time without looking into them individually. We believe this will help IT administrators better understand how their environment works together to optimize it more efficiently over time.

You may be interested to read:

Advantages of hybrid cloud

Kubernetes Tanzu grid