Manual infrastructure configuration

As explained in Infrastructure as Code, Patterns and Practices: With examples in Python and Terraform

The technique of setting up and modifying computing infrastructure through direct human operations instead of declarative definitions and automated execution.

Manual infrastructure configuration sets up and changes computing resources through direct human operations, such as console updates, commands, routing changes, and firewall edits. It can work for isolated tasks but becomes difficult to reproduce, audit, test, and coordinate as systems and teams grow. section 1.2.1 section 2.0

Manual changes create recurring operational problems:

• Misconfiguration can increase change failure rates and make troubleshooting difficult when commands and changes are not recorded. section 1.2.1
• Ticket-driven provisioning can delay development, as database creation, routing, and firewall changes wait on a platform team. section 1.2.1
• Accumulated console changes can expose systems, including through firewall rules left open after development work. section 1.2.1

Development database setup

A team waited nearly two months for a public-cloud database, routing, and firewall configuration because the platform team performed each task manually. Recreating production later required reverse-engineering the development environment. section 1.2.1 section 2.0

Figure 2.1 When you create a production environment based on the development, you must answer many questions about configurations for new infrastructure and reverse engineer the functionality of the development environment.

Compare development and production infrastructure to identify the configuration details that manual setup leaves implicit. section 2.0

How Infrastructure as Code, Patterns and Practices: With examples in Python and Terraform covers it

How deep it goes

Explains operational delays, auditability, security exposure, and reproduction problems through concrete infrastructure scenarios.

Examples

Uses virtual switches, database provisioning, routing, firewall rules, development environments, and production environments as operational examples.

What it assumes

Assumes familiarity with development and production environments, databases, routing, servers, and firewall configuration.

What you can do after

Evaluate how manual changes affect delivery speed, failure diagnosis, security exposure, and production reproducibility.

How it connects

Connects manual configuration with infrastructure as code, source control, testing, reproducibility, composability, evolvability, and security.

liveBookmanning.com

Read Infrastructure as Code, Patterns and Practices: With examples in Python and Terraform on liveBook Get the book at manning.com

Related concepts

• network automationcontrasts with · Network automation is the use of software and programmable processes to configure, operate, monitor, and troubleshoot network infrastructure with reduced manual intervention.
• change failure rateproduces · Change failure rate is the proportion of deployed software changes that cause failures requiring remediation, rollback, recovery, or other corrective action.
• autonomous access pointconfigures · An autonomous access point is a wireless access point that independently performs wireless operations and does not rely on an external controller.
• attack surfaceproduces · An attack surface is the set of exposed or reachable interfaces, components, capabilities, and pathways through which an attacker could access or affect a system.
• antipatternkind of · An antipattern is a recurring approach that appears reasonable but tends to produce undesirable or counterproductive results in a given context.
• infrastructure as codecontrasts with · Infrastructure as code is the practice of defining, provisioning, and managing computing infrastructure through machine-readable code or configuration rather than manual procedures.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Infrastructure as Code, Patterns and Practices: With examples in Python and Terraform. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.