Modern Infrastructure & IaC
Tagline: Programmable Fabric at Scale.
The Evolution of Automated Architecture
The move to Modern Infrastructure represents the final bridge between the developer and the data center. It is the transition from manual, error-prone configurations to Version-Controlled, Immutable Fabric that can be deployed and destroyed in seconds.
A Modern Infrastructure Architect focuses on Platform Engineering, building the self-service systems that allow teams to consume Virtualization, Cloud, and AI resources through code rather than requests.
Today, we design for Repeatability, Speed, and Compliance-as-Code.
Automation Foundations
Goal: Transition from manual, ticket-based provisioning to basic scripting and version-controlled environments.
Concepts & Logic
- •The Paradigm Shift: Understanding “Pets vs Cattle” and the value of disposable infrastructure.
- •Idempotency: Why running the same automation twice should never break the system.
- •Declarative Thinking: Focusing on the “Final State” rather than a list of manual steps.
Infrastructure Prerequisites
- →Linux & CLI: Navigating the terminal, file permissions, and basic shell environment variables.
- →Version Control: Git fundamentals—initializing repos, branching, and basic commit hygiene.
- →Data Serialization: Understanding the structure of YAML and JSON for configuration files.
Hands-On Lab
- ✓Lab Setup: Use Vagrant or basic Shell scripts to build a repeatable local web server.
- ✓Git Flow: Clone a repository, make a change, and push to a remote (GitHub/GitLab).
- ✓Dry Runs: Practice “planning” changes before executing them to observe desired vs actual state.
“Can replace manual configuration with version-controlled scripts to build and tear down a local lab environment.”
The IaC Practitioner
Goal: Deploy, secure, and manage production-grade clusters via version-controlled pipelines.
Infrastructure Provisioning
- •State Management: Mastering Terraform or OpenTofu for infrastructure lifecycle.
- •Config Management: Using Ansible or Chef to automate OS-level settings and apps.
- •Immutable Patterns: Building images with Packer to eliminate “Configuration Drift”.
Infrastructure Prerequisites
- →CI/CD Pipelines: Mastering GitHub Actions or GitLab CI to automate “Plans” and “Applies”.
- →Secret Management: Integrating HashiCorp Vault to stop storing passwords in code.
- →Container Basics: Packaging applications via Docker to ensure environment parity.
Hands-On Lab
- ✓Provision: Deploy a multi-node cluster in AWS or VMware using a single Terraform command.
- ✓Automate: Use Ansible to install and secure Nginx across your entire web tier.
- ✓Pipeline: Set up a “Push-to-Deploy” workflow that validates code before updating infra.
“Can treat infrastructure as software, managing production environments through versioned and automated pipelines.”
Platform Architect
Goal: Design self-service platforms and govern global infrastructure through policy and advanced orchestration.
System Orchestration
- •GitOps Mastery: Architecting continuous delivery via pull-based models using ArgoCD or Flux.
- •Platform Engineering: Designing Internal Developer Platforms (IDP) for self-service infrastructure.
- •Multi-Cloud Fabric: Orchestrating complex environments across heterogeneous providers at scale.
Infrastructure Prerequisites
- →Policy as Code: Implementing guardrails using Open Policy Agent (OPA) or Sentinel.
- →Advanced Lifecycle: Managing ephemeral environments and state at enterprise scale.
- →Security Governance: Automated compliance scanning and vulnerability management within the fabric.
Strategic Portfolio
- ✓Design: Architect a self-service infrastructure portal that abstracts cloud complexity.
- ✓Governance: Define and automate security policies that prevent non-compliant deployments.
- ✓Optimise: Analyze and automate cost-reduction strategies through right-sizing and lifecycle hooks.
“Designs the system that builds the systems, governing global infrastructure through code and automated policy.”
The Road Ahead: Navigating the Automation Terrain
Think of these three levels as three passes over the same terrain, evolving from manual scripting to architecting a global automated fabric.