Introduction to Pulumi: A Modern Infrastructure as Code Tool – part 1

Pulumi is an open-source infrastructure as code (IaC) tool that allows developers to define, deploy, and manage cloud resources using familiar programming languages like Python, TypeScript, JavaScript, Go, and C#. Unlike traditional IaC tools such as Terraform, which use domain-specific languages (DSL), Pulumi leverages general-purpose languages, providing more flexibility and enabling developers to use existing tooling, libraries, and frameworks.

In this article, we’ll explore the basics of Pulumi and compare how to create and manage a simple cloud resource (an S3 bucket in AWS, a Cloud Storage bucket in Google Cloud, and a Blob Storage container in Azure) across three major cloud providers using Python.

Getting Started with Pulumi

To get started with Pulumi, you need to install the Pulumi CLI and set up your environment. Here’s a brief guide to get you up and running:

1. Install Pulumi CLI:bashCopy codecurl -fsSL https://get.pulumi.com | sh
2. Log in to Pulumi:bashCopy codepulumi login
3. Create a new Pulumi project:bashCopy codepulumi new python

Example: Creating a Storage Bucket

AWS (S3 Bucket)

First, install the necessary Pulumi AWS package:

pip install pulumi pulumi-aws

Then, create a new Python file (__main__.py) with the following content:

import pulumi
import pulumi_aws as aws

# Create an S3 bucket
bucket = aws.s3.Bucket('my-bucket', acl='private')

# Export the bucket name
pulumi.export('bucket_name', bucket.id)

Deploy the stack:

pulumi up

Google Cloud (Cloud Storage Bucket)

For Google Cloud, install the Pulumi GCP package:

pip install pulumi pulumi-gcp

Create a new Python file (__main__.py) with the following content:

import pulumi
import pulumi_gcp as gcp

# Create a Cloud Storage bucket
bucket = gcp.storage.Bucket('my-bucket', location='US')

# Export the bucket name
pulumi.export('bucket_name', bucket.name)

Deploy the stack:

pulumi up

Azure (Blob Storage Container)

For Azure, install the Pulumi Azure package:

pip install pulumi pulumi-azure

Create a new Python file (__main__.py) with the following content:

import pulumi
import pulumi_azure as azure

# Create an Azure Resource Group
resource_group = azure.core.ResourceGroup('my-resource-group')

# Create a Storage Account
account = azure.storage.Account('mystorageaccount',
                                resource_group_name=resource_group.name,
                                account_replication_type='LRS',
                                account_tier='Standard')

# Create a Blob Storage container
container = azure.storage.Container('my-container',
                                    storage_account_name=account.name,
                                    container_access_type='private')

# Export the container name
pulumi.export('container_name', container.name)

Deploy the stack:

pulumi up

Comparing the Code

Here’s a comparison of the code snippets for creating a storage bucket across AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure:

• AWS: Uses the pulumi_aws package to create an S3 bucket:
  
  import pulumi
import pulumi_aws as aws

bucket = aws.s3.Bucket('my-bucket', acl='private') pulumi.export('bucket_name', bucket.id)
  
• Google Cloud: Uses the pulumi_gcp package to create a Cloud Storage bucket:
  
  import pulumi
import pulumi_gcp as gcp

bucket = gcp.storage.Bucket('my-bucket', location='US') pulumi.export('bucket_name', bucket.name)
  
• Azure: Uses the pulumi_azure package to create a Blob Storage container:
  
  import pulumi
import pulumi_azure as azure

resource_group = azure.core.ResourceGroup('my-resource-group')
account = azure.storage.Account('mystorageaccount', resource_group_name=resource_group.name,
account_replication_type='LRS', account_tier='Standard')

container = azure.storage.Container('my-container', storage_account_name=account.name,
container_access_type='private')

pulumi.export('container_name', container.name)

Pulumi allows you to use the same programming language to manage resources across different cloud providers, offering a unified and streamlined approach to infrastructure as code. Whether you’re working with AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure, Pulumi’s flexibility and power can help you manage your cloud infrastructure more efficiently.