Terraform is a powerful tool in the infrastructure management space that enables DevOps teams to define, provision, and manage infrastructure through code. This code exists inside a configuration file, while state files allow you to track the current status of infrastructure resources.
By using Terraform Workspaces, DevOps teams can create isolated environments and versions of their infrastructure from a single configuration. Each isolated environment is associated with a unique state file, where changes can be made independently without affecting the core configuration.
This article will cover three common scenarios where Terraform Workspaces will come in handy and help you become more efficient with your Infrastructure as Code (IaC) management.
Scenario 1: Managing Multiple Environments
IaC follows most of the same rules as software development. Rule number one is, don’t make significant (or even minor) changes to your configuration directly in production. Instead, you need isolated environments, usually called testing or staging environments, where these changes can be safely applied and evaluated before moving to production.
Terraform Workspaces is a powerful solution to this need, allowing you to manage different environments without creating separate config files.
The configuration file will stay the same, but each environment has a unique state file, which is what allows changes in one environment to not affect another, preventing issues that may affect critical production environments.
A single line of code will allow you to easily switch between environments and apply the necessary changes:
terraform workspace select <workspace-name>
This approach is far superior to creating separate configurations, folders or directories for each environment, as that not only increases complexity but may even lead to misconfiguration or inconsistencies.
With that said, folders do have a place in environments where configurations differ significantly across stages. For example, a production environment may have stricter security settings or resources that aren’t necessary to duplicate in testing environments.
Scenario 2: Isolating Terraform State for Team Collaboration
Terraform Workspaces are also great for team collaboration, largely thanks to their state file architecture. Not only do the state files make it easy to manage different environments (testing, staging, production) but they also allow DevOps teams to seamlessly work in parallel without conflicts or overwrites.
Let’s say that Mary is working on a new feature in the development environment, while John must apply critical updates to the production environment.
Having these unique state files allows them to operate in an isolated workspace, where Mary’s development changes do not interfere with or impact John’s production updates.
If we take this example and apply it at scale, a larger organization would significantly boost its efficiency by allowing its various teams to work in different environments simultaneously. In a high-paced work setting, this level of flexibility is invaluable.
When combined with a remote backend, such as Terraform Cloud or AWS S3, Workspaces also allows DevOps to easily and securely share state files across collaborators.
Scenario 3: Managing Infrastructure Across Multiple Regions
Organizations that operate globally often have to deploy region-specific configurations to improve performance and meet geo-based compliance or regulatory requirements.
While large chunks of the code can be copied across locations, there is a viable risk of inconsistencies creeping in, especially when updates need to be applied.
Thankfully, Terraform Workspaces streamlines multi-region management by separating the regions into unique state files while keeping the core configuration centralized and consistent. This separation makes it so changes that need to be made in a single region don’t affect others.
A common requirement for global companies is to store data locally. For example, that is the case with the GDPR in the EU, while similar laws apply in other regions as well.
By setting up Terraform Workspaces, these organizations can quickly meet their legal obligations by managing data and resources independently in each region.
Additional Use Cases
Apart from these scenarios, Terraform Workspaces can also be useful for organizations that need to manage isolated environments for special projects, temporary testing environments, or client-specific infrastructure requirements.
Workspaces allow teams to easily spin up separate environments for experimentation or QA without impacting the main production setup.
Additionally, companies that handle multiple product lines or internal departments with unique infrastructure needs can use Workspaces to keep configurations centralized while maintaining distinct state files for each project, client, or department.
Conclusion
Terraform Workspaces represent a powerful, efficient way for DevOps to streamline the creation and management of different environments without having to duplicate configuration files or manage complex folder structures.
This approach comes with many benefits. It provides consistency across environments, eliminating configuration drift while also simplifying the process of applying updates across development, staging, and production.
Unless you’re dealing with an especially complex infrastructure setup that requires unique configuration files, Workspaces is the perfect way to streamline your workflow without compromising on the quality and efficiency of your Terraform deployments.