"Terraform for Developers" provides a comprehensive guide to mastering infrastructure as code with Terraform, intended for both beginners and experienced practitioners. The book starts by introducing foundational Terraform concepts like its architecture, setup on various cloud platforms, and the syntax of its configuration language HCL. This grounds the reader in core skills needed to author infrastructure code.

It then explores the full lifecycle of a Terraform project from state management, provisioning, networking, troubleshooting errors, and testing practices. Each phase is explained through practical examples relevant to real-world usage. Advanced skills like performance optimization, CI/CD integration, and modules are covered to take the reader from basic to expert.

The book finishes with sophisticated use cases like Kubernetes infrastructure automation and secrets management with HashiCorp Vault with elementary level demonstrations. The end result is a 360-degree education in Terraform - from installation to advanced usage across public clouds. Readers gain both theoretical foundations and hands-on skills transferred through practical examples. The book takes a holistic approach that equips practitioners to leverage Terraform in production environments.

[Note: Readers are advised not to misguide this book as a mastering book but does covers every possible task Terraform can perform.]

Key Learnings

• Comprehensive introduction to Terraform's architecture, syntax, and semantics.
• Practical examples to understand Infrastructure as Code (IaC) concept.
• Detailed guidance on setting up Terraform in diverse environments.
• Exploring Terraform's lifecycle, from initialization to resource destruction.
• Insightful exploration of error management and troubleshooting techniques.
• In-depth discussion on network management using Terraform for real-world scenarios.
• Advanced topics coverage like Kubernetes resources and dynamic secrets.
• Detailed explanation of Terraform's integration with CI/CD pipelines.
• Extensive study of Terraform testing, including unit, integration, and compliance tests.
• Knowledge on module creation and version control for efficient code reuse.

Table of Content

1. Introduction to Terraform and Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
2. Getting Started with Terraform
3. Essentials of Terraform Configuration Language (HCL)
4. Terraform Modules and Reusable Infrastructure
5. Terraform State Management
6. Provisioners and Provisioning Resources
7. Working with Secrets
8. Administering Networks with Terraform
9. Advanced Topics in Terraform
10. Administering Terraform As Expert

Audience

This book is designed for software professionals, system administrators, DevOps engineers, and cloud architects who aim to master Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform. Basic knowledge of cloud computing and some experience with coding will aid in comprehending the book's content.

To help aspiring IT professionals succeed in the automation field, "Learning Ansible" provides an in-depth primer that covers all the essential skills. The book is an excellent resource that will help you become an expert IT automation specialist and Ansible Developer.

Starting with an introduction to Ansible, the journey will show how crucial it is in today's IT settings. The first few chapters cover the essentials, diving into topics like configuration management, automation, integration, and orchestration. The authors make sure that readers can confidently troubleshoot issues by thoroughly examining network, performance, and security errors and providing advanced debugging techniques. Practical uses of Ansible in system administration, user and group management, and managing common and complex errors are explored throughout the book. Setup of network devices, software upgrade automation, and fixing recurring network problems are all covered in detail, along with example programs.

Next, we'll take a closer look at DevOps, with a focus on how Ansible has impacted CI/CD pipelines. The course teaches readers how to integrate Ansible with popular tools and cloud providers like AWS and Azure through and various tools such as Jenkins, Docker, and Kubernetes.

Additionally, integration is extended to databases such as MySQL and MongoDB, as well as monitoring tools such as Nagios and Prometheus. By incorporating practical exercises throughout, the book guarantees that its readers will grasp the concepts and be able to put them to use in actual situations.

Key Learnings

• A thorough introduction to Ansible, laying the groundwork for mastering IT automation techniques.
• In-depth examination of system administration, with emphasis on improving user and group management skills.
• Detailed instructions for debugging in Ansible, enhancing problem-solving and troubleshooting abilities.
• Practical demonstrations of network device configuration, aimed at improving network management skills.
• Hands-on Ansible integration with Jenkins, Docker, and Kubernetes, enhancing CI/CD capabilities.
• Integration with cloud providers such as AWS and Azure to strengthen cloud management skills.
• Techniques for automating workstation setup and software upgrades, with the goal of increasing automation efficiency.
• Integration with monitoring and logging tools, promoting best practices in system monitoring.
• Using Ansible to build a full-stack application setup and gain end-to-end automation expertise.
• Consistent application of web server sample program, which makes learning practical and relatable.

Table of Content

1. Introduction to Ansible
2. Playbooks and Tasks
3. Working with Modules
4. Roles, Files and Templating
5. Managing Systems with Ansible
6. Ansible in Networking
7. Ansible for DevOps
8. Troubleshooting Ansible
9. Integrating Ansible with Other Tools