32 ms·

What issues do you have with Terraform? A few people in my org are considering implementing it.

scrollaway 10y ago
Oh where to start... The state file is atrocious, a constant source of pain. It is hard to set up in the first place, it is hard to import resources into it, it is hard to rename resources within it. Sometimes, resources don't canonicalize correctly and will always tell you there's something to modify, even though there isn't. Other times, resources don't destroy properly because you are using some untested settings within them. "It's alpha software" is the best description I can give. It has a ton of rough edges. The pros: It's decently fast, and a lot more workable than the alternatives (cloudformation or simply tracking stuff by hand). It supports more than just AWS, including fairly obscure stuff like Cloudflare DNS records. It's conceptually solid. Don't say no to it outright, but you should know what you are getting into.
- iamthemuffinman 10y ago
  That's interesting. These guys tend to have pretty good luck with it - https://segment.com/blog/the-segment-aws-stack/ https://segment.com/blog/the-segment-aws-stack/
  - scrollaway 10y ago
    Seen the article before. It's not wrong - Terraform is pretty great. But it's leaving out the parts where a lot of stuff breaks, behaves in unexpected ways, is missing critical features etc. A lot of engineering time has to be dedicated to terraform if you're going to use it in a serious stack (and it's overkill as just a toy).
    - iamthemuffinman 10y ago
      I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!
- manojlds 10y ago
  Been using Terraform in anger, and I agree with your statement. It is not for everyone, not yet anyway, but I love using it. Btw, Terraform 0.7 comes with initial support for import and state manipulation commands.
- bogomipz 10y ago
  Thanks for posting this. So it sounds like the main source of frustration is really just the state file? Is that accurate? I have heard this from someone else. Also you mentioned that Terraform was better than the alternatives. Could I ask what other alternatives you looked at and why you ended up choosing Terraform over them? The reason I ask is that I am also considering Terraform. However other providers also seem to support more than just AWS and are fast enough.
- jasonlotito 10y ago
  > and a lot more workable than the alternatives That is pretty much it right there. I've yet to see another solution that beats it. Warts and all, it's the best I've seen.
- geggam 10y ago
  The syntax abstraction of cloud formation alone is worth using terraform for me. The state file I delegate to tearing the infrastructure down. No more. Use the AWS API and your config management API ( chef ) to manage the state of the systems.

Oh where to start... The state file is atrocious, a constant source of pain. It is hard to set up in the first place, it is hard to import resources into it, it is hard to rename resources within it. Sometimes, resources don't canonicalize correctly and will always tell you there's something to modify, even though there isn't. Other times, resources don't destroy properly because you are using some untested settings within them. "It's alpha software" is the best description I can give. It has a ton of rough edges. The pros: It's decently fast, and a lot more workable than the alternatives (cloudformation or simply tracking stuff by hand). It supports more than just AWS, including fairly obscure stuff like Cloudflare DNS records. It's conceptually solid. Don't say no to it outright, but you should know what you are getting into.

iamthemuffinman 10y ago
That's interesting. These guys tend to have pretty good luck with it - https://segment.com/blog/the-segment-aws-stack/ https://segment.com/blog/the-segment-aws-stack/
- scrollaway 10y ago
  Seen the article before. It's not wrong - Terraform is pretty great. But it's leaving out the parts where a lot of stuff breaks, behaves in unexpected ways, is missing critical features etc. A lot of engineering time has to be dedicated to terraform if you're going to use it in a serious stack (and it's overkill as just a toy).
  - iamthemuffinman 10y ago
    I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!
manojlds 10y ago
Been using Terraform in anger, and I agree with your statement. It is not for everyone, not yet anyway, but I love using it. Btw, Terraform 0.7 comes with initial support for import and state manipulation commands.
bogomipz 10y ago
Thanks for posting this. So it sounds like the main source of frustration is really just the state file? Is that accurate? I have heard this from someone else. Also you mentioned that Terraform was better than the alternatives. Could I ask what other alternatives you looked at and why you ended up choosing Terraform over them? The reason I ask is that I am also considering Terraform. However other providers also seem to support more than just AWS and are fast enough.
jasonlotito 10y ago
> and a lot more workable than the alternatives That is pretty much it right there. I've yet to see another solution that beats it. Warts and all, it's the best I've seen.
geggam 10y ago
The syntax abstraction of cloud formation alone is worth using terraform for me. The state file I delegate to tearing the infrastructure down. No more. Use the AWS API and your config management API ( chef ) to manage the state of the systems.