Managing Serverless Infrastructure with Terraform and AWS CloudFormation

Introduction

Serverless computing has gained tremendous popularity in recent years due to its scalability, cost-effectiveness, and ease of deployment. With serverless architecture, developers can focus more on writing code rather than managing infrastructure. However, managing serverless infrastructure can still be a complex task, requiring proper tools and techniques. In this blog post, we will explore how to manage serverless infrastructure using the Terraform and AWS CloudFormation tools.

Serverless Infrastructure

Before we dive into the management aspect, let’s briefly discuss what serverless infrastructure is. In a serverless architecture, the cloud provider takes care of provisioning and managing the underlying infrastructure. Developers only need to upload their code and configure the required resources. The infrastructure scales automatically to handle the workload, providing a seamless and efficient experience.

Terraform

Terraform is an open-source infrastructure as code software tool by HashiCorp. It enables you to define and provision infrastructure resources across various cloud platforms using a declarative configuration language. Terraform supports managing serverless resources in AWS, including Lambda functions, S3 buckets, DynamoDB tables, etc.

Using Terraform, you can define your serverless infrastructure in a declarative manner, specifying the desired state of your resources. Terraform then compares the desired state with the current state and performs any necessary changes to bring the infrastructure to the desired state.

Here is an example of a Terraform configuration file for provisioning an AWS Lambda function:

resource "aws_lambda_function" "example" {
  function_name = "my_lambda_function"
  runtime = "nodejs12.x"
  handler = "index.handler"
  code = "lambda_function.zip"
  role = aws_iam_role.example.arn
}

With the above code, Terraform will create an AWS Lambda function with the specified function name, runtime, handler, code, and IAM role.

AWS CloudFormation

AWS CloudFormation is a managed service that helps you define and provision your AWS infrastructure resources using YAML or JSON templates. With CloudFormation, you can describe your serverless infrastructure resources, dependencies, and configurations in a template file. CloudFormation takes care of provisioning and managing the resources, making it easier to manage your serverless infrastructure.

Here is an example of a CloudFormation template for provisioning an AWS Lambda function:

Resources:
  MyLambdaFunction:
    Type: AWS::Lambda::Function
    Properties:
      Code: lambda_function.zip
      Handler: index.handler
      Role: !GetAtt MyIamRole.Arn
      Runtime: nodejs12.x

The above CloudFormation template defines an AWS Lambda function with the specified code, handler, IAM role, and runtime.

Terraform vs. AWS CloudFormation

Both Terraform and AWS CloudFormation are powerful tools for managing serverless infrastructure. Here are some key differences between the two:

1. Syntax: Terraform uses its own declarative configuration language, whereas AWS CloudFormation uses YAML or JSON templates.

2. Multi-cloud support: Terraform supports multiple cloud providers, making it suitable for managing hybrid or multi-cloud environments. AWS CloudFormation is specific to AWS.

3. Ecosystem: Terraform has a large ecosystem with numerous providers and community-maintained modules. AWS CloudFormation has a native integration with other AWS services and resources.

4. Granularity: Terraform allows for more granular control over resources and supports incremental changes. AWS CloudFormation provisions and manages resources in stacks, which can be updated as a whole.

Choosing between Terraform and AWS CloudFormation depends on your specific requirements and familiarity with the tools. It’s important to consider factors such as the complexity of your infrastructure, multi-cloud support, and integration with other services.

Conclusion

Managing serverless infrastructure is made easier with the help of tools like Terraform and AWS CloudFormation. These tools allow you to define, provision, and manage serverless resources in a declarative and efficient manner. Whether you choose Terraform or AWS CloudFormation, both provide robust solutions for managing serverless infrastructure in AWS.

By leveraging these tools, developers can focus on building applications without worrying about infrastructure management, leading to improved productivity and scalability in serverless environments. 参考文献：

1. Serverless框架与AWS CloudFormation的比较