HomeOperationsWhat does declarative mean in a cloud-native world

What does declarative mean in a cloud-native world

The cloud-native world is one where infrastructure is decoupled from applications. This means the applications can be run on any platform without depending on a specific infrastructure. The need for agility and flexibility in the cloud drives this paradigm shift. The traditional model of infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) can no longer keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of cloud-native applications.

Declarative infrastructure is the answer to this problem. It is a model where the infrastructure is defined in a declarative manner, using a simple, human-readable language. This approach allows for greater flexibility and agility and is much easier to manage. It also enables the use of Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) tooling, which further simplifies the management of cloud-native infrastructure. 

If you’re looking to make a move to a cloud-native world, then declarative infrastructure is the way to go.

What is declarative infrastructure?

In computing, declarative infrastructure is a method for provisioning and configuring resources in which infrastructure is described in a declarative manner, typically using a configuration language or domain-specific language.

The key advantage of declarative infrastructure is that it allows for repeatable, consistent infrastructure provisioning and configuration. This means that once you have written your infrastructure code, you can easily provision and configure resources on any number of servers or platforms with little effort.

There are a few different ways to achieve declarative infrastructure. One popular approach is to use an infrastructure-as-code tool. 

Read on to find various ways to build a declarative approach to cloud.

Building a declarative approach to Cloud

a. GitOps

One of the key tools in this move to declarative infrastructure is GitOps. GitOps is a set of practices that uses Git as the primary source of truth for managing cloud resources. It enables organizations to manage their cloud environments in a more declarative way, using code as the basis for all infrastructure changes.

GitOps has a number of benefits over traditional approaches to cloud management. It enables organizations to manage their resources more effectively and with greater control. It also provides a clear audit trail of all changes, making it easier to roll back changes if necessary.

With GitOps, those changes are automatically deployed when they are pushed to the central Git repository. This provides a much faster and more streamlined deployment process. It also means that everyone is working off of the same source of truth, which can help to avoid errors and inconsistencies.

b. Kubernetes

Kubernetes is a powerful container orchestration tool that can help you manage your containerized applications at scale. One of the key features of Kubernetes is its declarative approach, which allows you to define your desired state for your applications and let Kubernetes automatically manage and maintain that state.

This declarative approach can be particularly helpful when it comes to managing complex applications with many dependencies. By defining your desired state upfront, you can let Kubernetes handle the nitty-gritty details of ensuring that your application is always running as intended.

If you’re looking for a Kubernetes solution that can help you manage your applications at scale, check out our managed Kubernetes service. We can help you get started quickly and easily, and our team is always available to answer any questions.

c. Policy-based security (Policy as Code (PaC)

With policy-based security, also known as “Policy as Code”, you can declaratively specify security rules and policies in a way that is machine-readable and easy to maintain. This approach can help simplify and automate security management, while still providing the flexibility to tailor security policies to your specific needs.

When it comes to security, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. But with policy-based security, you can write security policies that are specific to your organization’s needs, and then easily enforce them across your entire infrastructure. This approach can help you maintain a consistent security posture, while still being able to adapt to changing requirements.

Policy as code can also help you automate security compliance checks. By writing security rules in a machine-readable format, you can easily create scripts that can check for compliance with those rules. This can help you save time and effort in manual compliance checking, and can help you ensure that your security policies are being followed.

d. IaC Tools

There are a few different ways to approach Infrastructure as Code (IaC). One is to use tools that are declarative in nature. This means that you write code that defines what your infrastructure should look like, without specifying the steps required to get there. There are a few benefits to using declarative IaC tools. First, it can be easier to manage your infrastructure this way. You can see exactly what you have defined, and making changes when needed is easier.

Second, declarative IaC can be more resilient to change. If something needs to be updated, you can simply change the code and apply it without worrying about breaking something else in the process.

Finally, using declarative IaC can help you automate more of your infrastructure management. Once your infrastructure is defined in code, you can use tools to help you apply changes and keep everything up-to-date.

Conclusion

In a cloud-native world, it is more important than ever to have a declarative approach to infrastructure and application development. With declarative, you can describe your desired state in code, and the system will automatically provision and configure the resources to match. This powerful approach enables you to automate the entire lifecycle of your infrastructure and applications. It reduces complexity and improves reliability, flexibility, and productivity. 

If you have questions related to this topic, feel free to book a meeting with one of our solutions experts, mail to sales@amazic.com.

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