Terraform + AWS Playground

Want to learn how to use Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools? Curious about how Terraform works?

With our playground, you can start experimenting with automated infrastructure provisioning in minutes. No need to go through any installations - everything is accessible from within your browser. The playground comes pre-installed with Terraform and is configured to use AWS to deploy your infrastructure. You don't even need an AWS account.

What is Terraform?

Terraform is one of the most popular Infrastructure as Code tools. It helps you create and manage your infrastructure, like servers and databases, in a more automated and efficient way. 

Instead of manually setting up your infrastructure, you can use Terraform to describe your infrastructure in the form of configuration files. These files are similar to a blueprint of your infrastructure and can be used to provision new infrastructure or update existing infrastructure.

Terraform Workflow 

To provision infrastructure in Terraform, you follow three main steps: write, plan & apply.

• Writing: In the writing stage, you define the infrastructure you want in a Terraform configuration file, written using HashiCorp Corporation Language (HCL).

• Planning: After writing your Terraform configuration, you use the "terraform plan" command to preview the changes that will be made to your infrastructure. You use this step to verify that the changes are correct before applying them. 

• Applying: The final step in the process is to use the "terraform apply" command to apply the changes defined in the execution plan. This will create/change the infrastructure to match the desired state defined in the configuration files. 

Terraform & Cloud Infrastructure Providers

Terraform interacts with resources on cloud infrastructure platforms (such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) using Providers.

Terraform Providers are plugins that handle all the logic of authenticating, making API requests, and dealing with timeouts and errors. Providers are written using the Go language and distributed as binaries on the Terraform registry.

The Terraform core (the engine that powers Terraform) communicates with the plugins via remote procedure calls (RPCs), and the plugins communicate with their corresponding cloud platforms via the network (via HTTP calls for example).

Playground Features

Our playground comes with a command line where you can enter Terraform commands to interact with the sandbox AWS account.

Playground Notes

Note that you can use the playground for 1 hour. If required, you can extend the usage by 15 minutes by clicking on the icon next to the timer icon. 

Courses

Want to learn more about Terraform? Be sure to check out our courses:

• Terraform for beginners 
• HashiCorp-certified Terraform associate