Introduction
Terraform is a powerful infrastructure as code (IaC) tool that enables users to define and manage their infrastructure in a declarative manner. While often associated with cloud providers like Azure, AWS, GCP. . . Terraform is versatile and can be used without the need for a specific cloud subscription. This article serves as a beginner's guide to using Terraform without Azure, providing step-by-step instructions to help you set up and run your first Terraform configuration.
1. Install Terraform
Begin by installing Terraform on your local machine. Need help installing? Click here.
Once installed, open a terminal or command prompt and verify the installation by running:
terraform --version
This command should display the installed Terraform version like this:
2. Create a Terraform Configuration
Next, create a new directory for your Terraform project and navigate into it. Inside the project directory, create a Terraform configuration file with a .tf extension. For example, you can use a simple configuration that generates a random pet name:
# main.tf
provider "random" {
version = "3.1.0"
}
resource "random_pet" "example" {
length = 3
}
output "result" {
value = "${random_pet.example.id}"
}
This configuration uses the random provider to generate a random pet name.
3. Initialize Terraform
Navigate to your project directory in the terminal and run the following command to initialize your Terraform configuration:
terraform init
This command downloads the necessary provider plugins.
4. Apply the Configuration
After initialization, apply your Terraform configuration by running:
terraform apply
Terraform will prompt you for confirmation before making any changes. Type yes and press Enter to proceed.
5. Review the Output
After the apply is complete, you'll see an output similar to:
6. Clean Up
To destroy the resources created by Terraform, use the following command:
terraform destroy
Confirm the action by typing yes and pressing Enter when prompted.
7. Explore Advanced Features
Now that you've created a basic configuration, you can explore more advanced features of Terraform. Work with variables, modules, and consider integrating Terraform with various providers when you're ready to manage complex infrastructure.
Conclusion
This guide provides a hands-on introduction to using Terraform without an Azure subscription, or any cloud providers'. By following these steps, you've created, applied, and destroyed a simple Terraform configuration. As you delve deeper into Terraform, refer to the extensive documentation and community resources for more advanced topics and best practices. Terraform's flexibility makes it a valuable tool for managing infrastructure across different platforms and providers.