Infrastructure as Code vs Manual Server Provisioning

Developers should learn Infrastructure as Code to achieve faster, more reliable, and scalable infrastructure deployments, especially in cloud-native and microservices environments meets developers should learn manual server provisioning to understand the foundational steps of server setup, which is crucial for troubleshooting and when working in environments where automation is not feasible, such as legacy systems or small-scale deployments. Here's our take.

Infrastructure as Code

Nice Pick

Developers should learn Infrastructure as Code to achieve faster, more reliable, and scalable infrastructure deployments, especially in cloud-native and microservices environments

Pros

• It is crucial for automating repetitive tasks, ensuring consistency across development, staging, and production environments, and enabling infrastructure to be treated as a disposable resource
• Related to: terraform, ansible

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Manual Server Provisioning

Developers should learn manual server provisioning to understand the foundational steps of server setup, which is crucial for troubleshooting and when working in environments where automation is not feasible, such as legacy systems or small-scale deployments

Pros

• It provides hands-on experience with server components and configurations, helping build a deeper understanding of infrastructure that can inform better automation practices later
• Related to: linux-administration, networking-basics

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Infrastructure as Code if: You want it is crucial for automating repetitive tasks, ensuring consistency across development, staging, and production environments, and enabling infrastructure to be treated as a disposable resource and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use Manual Server Provisioning if: You prioritize it provides hands-on experience with server components and configurations, helping build a deeper understanding of infrastructure that can inform better automation practices later over what Infrastructure as Code offers.

The Bottom Line

Infrastructure as Code wins

Developers should learn Infrastructure as Code to achieve faster, more reliable, and scalable infrastructure deployments, especially in cloud-native and microservices environments