Learn Terraform with Azure by Building a Dev Environment – Full Course for Beginners

Introduction

This tutorial will guide you through the fundamentals of using Terraform with Azure to create a development environment. By the end, you will be able to deploy Azure resources and set up a virtual machine (VM) for your projects using Visual Studio Code. This hands-on approach is perfect for beginners looking to enhance their cloud infrastructure skills.

Step 1: Set Up Visual Studio Code

• Download and install Visual Studio Code from the official website.
• Install the necessary extensions:
  • Azure Account
  • Azure Resource Manager Tools
  • Terraform

Step 2: Initialize Terraform Provider

• Create a new directory for your project.
• Open the terminal in Visual Studio Code.
• Run the following command to initialize the Terraform Azure provider:

  terraform init
  

Step 3: Create a Resource Group

• Create a file named main.tf in your project directory.
• Define your resource group in main.tf:

  resource "azurerm_resource_group" "example" {
    name     = "example-resources"
    location = "East US"
  }
  

Step 4: Set Up a Virtual Network

• Add a virtual network resource in the main.tf file:

  resource "azurerm_virtual_network" "example" {
    name                = "example-vnet"
    address_space       = ["10.0.0.0/16"]
    location            = azurerm_resource_group.example.location
    resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  }
  

Step 5: Understand Terraform State

• Learn about the importance of the Terraform state file, which maintains the current state of the infrastructure.

Step 6: Destroy Resources

• Use the following command to destroy resources if needed:

  terraform destroy
  

Step 7: Create a Subnet

• Add a subnet to your virtual network in the main.tf file:

  resource "azurerm_subnet" "example" {
    name                 = "example-subnet"
    resource_group_name  = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
    virtual_network_name = azurerm_virtual_network.example.name
    address_prefixes     = ["10.0.1.0/24"]
  }
  

Step 8: Configure a Security Group

• Define a network security group in main.tf:

  resource "azurerm_network_security_group" "example" {
    name                = "example-nsg"
    location            = azurerm_resource_group.example.location
    resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  }
  

Step 9: Associate Security Group

• Associate the security group with your subnet:

  resource "azurerm_subnet_network_security_group_association" "example" {
    subnet_id                 = azurerm_subnet.example.id
    network_security_group_id = azurerm_network_security_group.example.id
  }
  

Step 10: Create a Public IP Address

• Add a public IP resource:

  resource "azurerm_public_ip" "example" {
    name                = "example-public-ip"
    location            = azurerm_resource_group.example.location
    resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
    allocation_method   = "Dynamic"
  }
  

Step 11: Set Up a Network Interface

• Create a network interface for your VM:

  resource "azurerm_network_interface" "example" {
    name                = "example-nic"
    location            = azurerm_resource_group.example.location
    resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  
    ip_configuration {
      name                          = "example-ip-config"
      subnet_id                    = azurerm_subnet.example.id
      private_ip_address_allocation = "Dynamic"
      public_ip_address_id         = azurerm_public_ip.example.id
    }
  }
  

Step 12: Create an SSH Key Pair

• Generate an SSH key pair to access your VM.
• Save the private key securely.

Step 13: Add Custom Data for VM Configuration

• Specify custom data for initialization scripts:

  resource "azurerm_linux_virtual_machine" "example" {
    name                = "example-vm"
    resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
    location            = azurerm_resource_group.example.location
    size                = "Standard_DS1_v2"
    admin_username      = "adminuser"
    admin_ssh_key {
      username   = "adminuser"
      public_key = file("~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub")
    }
    custom_data         = file("init-script.sh")
  }
  

Step 14: Use Provisioners

• Use provisioners to execute scripts on the VM after it is created.

Step 15: Work with Data Sources

• Learn how to use data sources to reference existing resources within your Terraform configuration.

Step 16: Define Outputs

• Specify outputs to display important information after deployment:

  output "public_ip" {
    value = azurerm_public_ip.example.ip_address
  }
  

Step 17: Manage Variables

• Use variables to make your configurations reusable:

  variable "location" {
    default = "East US"
  }
  

Step 18: Understand Variable Precedence

• Learn how Terraform handles variable precedence to manage variable values effectively.

Step 19: Utilize Conditionals

• Implement conditionals in your Terraform configurations for dynamic resource management.

Conclusion

You have now set up a complete development environment using Terraform and Azure. This guide covered the essential steps, from environment setup to resource management. As a next step, explore more advanced Terraform features and consider deploying additional resources to enhance your infrastructure.