Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and automation are the foundation of reliable, scalable cloud management. This page covers the IaC and automation tools and frameworks that Alibaba Cloud provides, and when to use each one.
Video replay:
https://yunqi.aliyun.com/2024/group?groupId=9446
Speaker: Luo Kai, Senior Technical Expert at Alibaba Cloud
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Terraform tools at a glance
Alibaba Cloud provides two browser-based tools that lower the barrier to Terraform adoption — no local installation required for either.
|
Tool |
Best for |
Try it |
|
Terraform Explorer |
Exploring resources, running configurations interactively, and experimenting without a local environment |
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Terraform Intelligent Assistant |
Generating Terraform code with AI when you know the resource you want but are unsure of the HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language) syntax |
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Terraform Explorer
Terraform Explorer is an online debugging tool for running and testing Terraform configurations directly in your browser. It removes three common friction points for new and occasional Terraform users:
No HCL authoring required: Enter resource parameters in a form-based interface and Explorer generates the Terraform template for you. Ready-made sample templates are also available for common resources.
No environment setup: Explorer runs configurations in a hosted runtime that supports multiple Terraform versions. No local CLI installation or version management needed.
No state management: Explorer tracks resource state automatically, ensuring the security of state management.
Try Terraform Explorer: Open the VPC example or go directly to https://api.aliyun.com/terraform.
Terraform Intelligent Assistant
Terraform Intelligent Assistant uses AI to help you write Terraform code for Alibaba Cloud resources by guiding resource and example searches and intelligently generating Terraform code. Tell it what you want to provision — for example, "create a VPC with two VSwitches" — and it generates a working Terraform configuration.
Use this tool when you know the resource you want but are unfamiliar with the HCL syntax.
Try Terraform Intelligent Assistant: Open the VPC example or go directly to https://api.aliyun.com/terraform.