Terraform Kubernetes Deployment Best practices

Kubernetes is commonly known as an open-source container orchestrating tool for apps. It is also famous in the containerized world for its portability and app flexibility. And its demand is continuously increasing. And traditional or manual approaches are not sufficient enough to provide the perfect support.

They can not provide a speedy configuration and eliminate risk factors. Because Kubernetes needs the help of other tools to connect, configure, and manage itself.

Nowadays, Terraform offers the best way to configure and manage Kubernetes. It is also easy to learn. So, Kubernetes deployment with Terraform is a great approach.

In this article, we will understand Terraform Kubernetes deployment best practices, and what their pros and cons are. So, let’s dive in!

What is Terraform Kubernetes Deployment?

Terraform is a programming tool to define the infrastructure. You can also say it is an IaC( Infrastructure as Code) tool. Other IaC tools can not stand in front of it because it has a great ability to provision infrastructure using templates.

Its templates are so advanced that you will feel like you are working on infrastructure before deploying. All you have to do is describe the IaC with details and how Terraform will handle the rest of the provisions. Terraform resource providers also enable you to access resources. That is why Terraform is perfect for managing Kubernetes deployment.

Terraform Kubernetes Providers

Terraform can manage the Kubernetes deployment with its providers. These providers will manage the Kubernetes resources. You can also customize those resources for Kubernetes. The three providers are

• Kubernetes alpha provider: This is the latest alpha version of Terraform provider. It removes the limitations such as dynamic resource type, and server-side application to support Kubernetes deployment.
• Terraform-Kustomize provider: It customizes the Kubernetes resources using inheritance instead of using a template. But the problem is it can not easily integrate with other resources of terraforming easily.
• Kubernetes official provider: This method is most preferable for developers. It has full integration with Kubernetes resources. This will help in managing resources during Kubernetes deployment.