Static Infrastructure vs Infrastructure as Code

Developers should understand static infrastructure when working with legacy systems, on-premises data centers, or environments requiring strict compliance and control, as it provides predictable performance and simplified management for stable workloads meets developers should learn infrastructure as code to achieve faster, more reliable, and scalable infrastructure deployments, especially in cloud-native and microservices environments. Here's our take.

Static Infrastructure

Nice Pick

Developers should understand static infrastructure when working with legacy systems, on-premises data centers, or environments requiring strict compliance and control, as it provides predictable performance and simplified management for stable workloads

Pros

• It is also relevant for learning foundational infrastructure concepts before advancing to dynamic alternatives like Infrastructure as Code (IaC) or cloud-native architectures, helping grasp the evolution of DevOps practices
• Related to: infrastructure-as-code, cloud-computing

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Infrastructure as Code

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

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Static Infrastructure is a concept while Infrastructure as Code is a methodology. We picked Static Infrastructure based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Static Infrastructure wins

Based on overall popularity. Static Infrastructure is more widely used, but Infrastructure as Code excels in its own space.