Terraform continues to be one of the biggest names in the infrastructure-as-code (IaC) field, but other players are also making their presence felt. One of the relatively new solutions currently seeing momentum in IaC is vSphere, a virtualization platform developed by VMware, Inc. It is intended for the virtualization of physical servers and the consolidation of the virtualized servers to enhance scalability, agility, and efficiency in IT infrastructure management.

vSphere provides a set of tools not only for virtualization but also for cloud computing and infrastructure management. It enables the efficient management of virtual machines that represent devices running on different operating systems. It has seven key components, namely the ESXi Hypervisor (the core virtualization platform), vCenter Server (centralized management platform), vSphere Client (a GUI for managing vCenter Server and ESXi hosts), vSphere Distributed Switch (centralized switch for multiple ESXi hosts), vSphere High Availability (automatic restarting function), vSphere Motion (a tool that enables the live migration of running virtual machines), and vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler (a computing resource balancer for multiple hosts in a vSphere cluster). vSphere also has a vSphere Web Client component, which serves as an alternative to vSphere Client.

Terraform further enhances vSphere’s suite of tools for infrastructure management. It forms an excellent tandem with vSphere as it enables the definition and provisioning of infrastructure resources through declarative configuration files. Using them together creates a number of advantages. 

Unified workflow

One of the biggest benefits of bringing vSphere and Terraform together is the streamlining of infrastructure management. A key driver here is the unification of workflows involving virtualized and cloud infrastructure. Instead of going through separate processes and using different tools for different environments, organizations operate with a unified workflow that is easier to manage.

When set up optimally, Terraform handles the efficient and consistent definition and provision of resources across different environments, while vSphere provides an optimized virtualized infrastructure that ensures high availability, enhanced scalability, and flexible networking. 

What’s more, both Terraform and vSphere are designed to be compliant with various regulations on cybersecurity and data handling. As a result, they help ensure that workflows are in line with standards for security and efficiency.

Augmentative automation 

vSphere supports automation through a variety of tools and APIs such as the vSphere automation SDKs, PowerCLI, and vRealize Automation. However, when used for implementing infrastructure-as-code, it requires a tool that is not only compatible but also capable of complementing or boosting its features. Terraform provides the right set of features and functions to maximize IaC implementation with vSphere, especially when it comes to automation. 

In short, Terraform ensures the seamless automation of vSphere resource provisioning and management. It removes the necessity for any manual action or human intervention in virtual machine deployment, storage allocation, the configuration of networks, and other repetitive tasks. 

In turn, using Terraform with vSphere expedites deployments while also significantly reducing human errors. It allows human administrators to address more complex tasks and pay more attention to strategic initiatives.

Consistency and repeatability

Infrastructure deployments can be tedious and tricky with multiple environments involved. Using Terraform to handle infrastructure configurations with vSphere provides a way to standardize configurations across a variety of environments. 

This ensures that implementations remain consistent, and configuration drift is minimized or even completely avoided, resulting in the precise provisioning of resources to match specifications as defined. It also saves considerable time, giving administrators more time to address other important tasks.

This consistency of configuration implementation goes hand in hand with repeatability. Because of the standardization of definitions and specifications for resource provisioning and management, the same configurations can be used in different environments with minimal changes needed. There is no need to define and specify resources over and over again to manage different environments. 

Flexibility and scalability

In addition to consistency and repeatability, the use of Terraform with vSphere also provides flexibility in the management of virtual computing infrastructure. Terraform comes with modules that allow the encapsulation of infrastructure components to make it easier to adapt and modify deployments for specific requirements. 

Additionally, the scalability hurdle becomes virtually nonexistent when using Terraform and vSphere together. Virtualized infrastructure can be easily scaled and multiple resources can be denied and deployed concurrently. 

This is particularly advantageous for organizations with rapidly expanding environments and those that manage complex architecture across several clusters or hosts. 

Resource optimization

With Terraform’s ability to dynamically provision and scale resources according to fluctuations in resource demand, it optimizes the use of resources in vSphere environments. 

Scaling policies can be set with Terraform, or an auto-scaling mechanism can be activated to ensure the efficient utilization of resources. This prevents the wasteful instances of overprovisioning or the crippling impact of underprovisioning.

Moreover, Terraform comes with an infrastructure “right-sizing” capability under workspaces, wherein infrastructure configurations can be defined to match specific workload requirements as determined by the instance types. This ascertains that virtual machines are given just the right amount of resources.

Better lifecycle management

Terraform supports the management of the entire vSphere resource lifecycle. It can provision, update, as well as decommission virtual machines through code and with automation for repetitive processes. 

This ensures that all vSphere resources have high visibility, which is especially important in addressing security concerns.

Infrastructure administrators can use Terraform to manage virtual machines, storage, networks, and other infrastructure components efficiently. It also comes with version control and state management features, which makes it easy to consistently implement configuration changes and review previous configurations to troubleshoot issues if there are any.

Cost optimization 

Moreover, using Terraform to manage vSphere environments also has cost-saving benefits. 

Operational costs related to the management of virtual machines can be meaningfully reduced through dynamic provisioning and scaling. Also, automation and the repeatability of configurations across multiple environments reduce the work needed in infrastructure provisioning and management. 

This efficiency maximizes available resources while ensuring that wastages are avoided. 

In summary

To emphasize, the integrated use of Terraform and vSphere brings the benefits of IaC to the management of virtual machine infrastructure. This approach simplifies VM infrastructure management with repeatable, version-controlled, and self-documenting configurations that result in greater consistency, auditability, and the possibility for collaborative management.

It is important to explore Terraform and vSphere more to take advantage of all their benefits. It is advisable to go beyond the use of the Terraform provider for VMware vSphere. There are instances when it may be necessary to use self-hosted agents to streamline infrastructure management and ensure compliance with pertinent security regulations.