GitOps vs. Infrastructure as Code

GitOps and Infrastructure as Code IaC are two recent trends and techniques used in DevOps and cloud computing to manage the infrastructure and deploy the application. It takes the use of the Git repositories as the source of the truth for the declarative state of the infrastructure and the applications. Then it brings automation of the deployment and the monitor into the version control. On the other hand, Infrastructure as Code is a process of defining and managing IT infrastructure using simple text files that can be afterward used for reproducible provisioning of physical resources. Both practices help to increase automation, reduce the impact of human mistakes, and facilitate collaboration; however, they are different regarding approaches and the set of tools applied to achieve the desired result. It is therefore important for an organization to have an understanding of these concepts to have smooth DevOps operations.

What is GitOps

GitOps is a set of practices where the Git repository is the source of truth of the declarative infrastructure and applications. This takes advantage of the version control of Git in maintaining the IaC concept where states of systems are described in Git, and changes made on them are via Git commits. These commits affect deployment activities that align the system’s reality with how it should be following the repository’s Git. In this way, GitOps improves the level of reliability, auditability, and governance of infrastructure updates.

Features

• Version Control: GitOps leverages Git as the form of SCM that keeps version control for the infrastructure and application configurations.
• Automated Deployments: Whenever there is a change in the version made in the Git repository, then it will always deploy the pipelines which ensure the state defined is what is applied.
• Declarative Approach: Infrastructure and applications are defined declaratively, which means the status to be achieved is coded in this model and this is much easier to comprehend along with the management.
• Consistency and Reliability: Finally, GitOps makes it possible to have well-aligned environments and represent each environment in a very coherent manner from one stage to the other.
• Enhanced Security: There is version control and access control is attained through Git-adopted permissions both of which help in minimizing chances of unauthorized change and having a record of all the changes made.

What is Infrastructure as Code

IAC is the practice that makes use of code and software engineering principles for provisioning and managing infrastructure. It makes it possible to automate the infrastructure provisioning and setup which guarantees the environments are identical. It does so by applying the same principles to infrastructure as is done to application code which results in better collaboration, faster cycles for changes, and more secure distributions of infrastructure changes. These approaches help to eliminate as much manual work as possible and thus do not allow configuration drift and human failure.

Features

• Automated Provisioning: IaC enables the automated creation of components of infrastructure and hence the human hand is not involved actively.
• Version Control: The definitions of the infrastructure are stored in version control and save a record of changes applied and allow for reverting.
• Consistency: There was consistency in the infrastructure environment hence minimizing the differences between the development, test, and production environment.
• Scalability: The application can be easily scaled up and scaled down just through coding, which makes it easy to change the resources used by the application based on requirements.
• Collaboration: Allows for the collaboration of teams to have infrastructure changes being managed in similar paradigms as the application code that they already use, therefore increasing the level of coordination.

GitOps vs. Infrastructure as Code

Conclusion

In conclusion, GitOps is a set of practices in the scope of modern DevOps, while IaC is used as a primary tool, but they represent different approaches and are interconnected. GitOps relies on using Git repositories not only for the application delivery but also for deterministic storing of the desired state of an environment, which provides better automation, integration and collaboration. IaC involves the use of code in the provisioning and management of infrastructure hence enhancing reproducibility, scalability and efficiency. Together they make it possible for teams to have reliable, automated, and scalable delivery of software and infrastructure and to be agile in their operations while working on cloud-native environments.