Overview
Terraform is an open-source infrastructure as code (IaC) tool developed by HashiCorp. It allows users to define and provision infrastructure using a declarative configuration language. Terraform supports a wide range of cloud providers (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and on-premise infrastructure, enabling multi-cloud and hybrid cloud deployments. It uses a state file to track infrastructure changes, ensuring consistency and idempotency. The core architecture involves Terraform CLI, provider plugins for specific infrastructure, and state management (local or remote). Use cases include automating cloud resource provisioning, managing Kubernetes clusters, creating golden images, and building CI/CD pipelines.