What Two Components Can You Use to Implement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Deployment?

Understanding Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is the practice of provisioning and managing cloud infrastructure using machine-readable configuration files rather than manual processes. It enables IT teams to treat infrastructure the same way developers treat application code—version-controlled, repeatable, and testable.

By codifying infrastructure, organizations gain consistency, reduce human error, and enable fast and scalable deployments. IaC supports DevOps and continuous delivery by allowing teams to deploy entire environments in a repeatable, reliable manner, with minimal manual intervention.

The core idea behind IaC is idempotency: the ability to apply the same configuration repeatedly and always achieve the same result. To implement this reliably, two essential components are required: declarative definition files and automation tools.

Component 1: Declarative Definition Files

Declarative files are the foundation of an IaC deployment. These files describe the desired state of an environment, such as the number of virtual machines, networking rules, storage configurations, and resource dependencies. Rather than instructing the system on how to achieve that state, declarative files specify what the end result should be.

Common declarative file formats include YAML, JSON, and Bicep. These formats are supported by tools like Terraform and Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates, which are among the most widely adopted IaC solutions.

For example:

• An ARM template written in JSON can define a complete Azure environment with virtual networks, databases, and VMs.

• A Terraform file written in HCL can describe infrastructure across multiple cloud providers, such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

Declarative files are version-controlled, meaning any changes to infrastructure can be tracked, audited, and rolled back. This brings traceability and repeatability into infrastructure management—key benefits of adopting IaC.

Component 2: Automation Tools / Execution Engine

Declarative files alone don’t provision infrastructure—they need to be executed by a reliable tool or engine. This is where automation tools come into play.

Automation tools interpret the declarative files and interact with cloud provider APIs to create, update, or destroy infrastructure resources. These tools ensure that the desired state defined in the templates is realized in the actual cloud environment.

Some of the most widely used IaC execution tools include:

• Terraform, an open-source tool that works across multiple providers.

• Azure DevOps, which integrates deeply with Azure Resource Manager.

• Pulumi, which allows IaC using general-purpose programming languages.

• Ansible, which blends configuration management with IaC deployment.

• AWS CloudFormation, Amazon’s native IaC solution.

These tools also support CI/CD pipeline integration, enabling infrastructure deployments to be triggered automatically as part of a software release cycle.

By combining definition files with automation tools, teams can standardize and scale deployments across environments. Infrastructure can be spun up in minutes with a single command or automatically during testing and deployment pipelines.

Declarative vs Imperative IaC Approaches

While declarative models are the standard for modern IaC, it’s important to understand the distinction from imperative approaches.

• Declarative IaC describes what the environment should look like. Tools such as Terraform and ARM templates operate in this model. This simplifies the process because the system handles the “how.”

• Imperative IaC, in contrast, describes step-by-step instructions on how to reach the desired state. This approach is more like writing scripts (e.g., Bash or Python) and is commonly used with tools like Ansible.

Declarative models are generally more scalable and less error-prone, especially in complex environments. They enable better abstraction and reusability, while imperative methods can offer more fine-grained control in certain scenarios.

Real-World IaC Deployment Scenarios

Consider a development team needing to test an application in an environment identical to production. Manually replicating that environment introduces risk and consumes time. With IaC, the team can define the entire infrastructure in code—compute instances, networking, databases—and deploy it on demand with complete consistency.

When it's time to scale, update, or destroy that environment, the same definition files and automation tools apply. This approach reduces the variability between test, staging, and production environments, which is a common source of deployment failures.

Another use case is disaster recovery. By maintaining declarative templates and automated pipelines, organizations can recover or replicate entire infrastructures in different regions or providers with minimal downtime.

Final Thoughts: Choosing the Right IaC Components

Implementing Infrastructure as Code is not just about choosing a tool—it’s about adopting a structured approach that ensures infrastructure is scalable, reproducible, and secure. At the heart of this are two critical components:

1. Declarative definition files that define the desired state of infrastructure in a readable, versioned format.

2. Automation tools or execution engines that apply these definitions reliably across cloud environments.

Together, they enable modern DevOps workflows and empower teams to treat infrastructure with the same rigor and agility as software.

As organizations scale across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, pairing IaC with a broader multi-cloud management platform like Cross4Cloud ensures cost visibility, compliance, and performance stay aligned with every deployment.

Streamline your IaC deployments across clouds. Contact Cross4Cloud to integrate monitoring, cost control, and compliance into every stage of your infrastructure lifecycle.