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Managing IBM Cloud resources with Terraform on IBM Cloud

Managing IBM Cloud resources with Terraform on IBM Cloud

Use the Terraform CLI to create, update, and delete platform and infrastructure services in IBM Cloud.

Provisioning IBM Cloud resources

To provision IBM Cloud resources, you must describe the state of your resources that you want to achieve in a configuration file.

Terraform on IBM Cloud configuration files are written by using the HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) External link icon or JSON syntax. When you create your configuration file, you must describe the type of resource that you want and the state that you want to achieve for your resource. Terraform on IBM Cloud reads this configuration and creates an execution plan with the steps that were identified to achieve the specified state. If existing resources are found, Terraform on IBM Cloud identifies the necessary steps to update them.

Before you begin:

The following example shows how you can configure a virtual server in IBM Cloud by using JSON syntax. A virtual server is an IBM Cloud infrastructure resource that incurs costs. Be sure to review available plans External link icon before you proceed.

Looking for other resource types? Find a complete list of supported resource types in the IBM Cloud Provider plug-in reference.

  1. Create a configuration file that is named sample.tf with the following content. Configuration file names must have the .tf extension to be found by Terraform on IBM Cloud. Store this file in the same folder that you used to store your IBM Cloud credentials.

    resource "ibm_compute_vm_instance" "vm1" {
hostname = "vm1"
domain = "example.com"
os_reference_code = "DEBIAN_8_64"
datacenter = "dal09"
network_speed = 10
hourly_billing = true
private_network_only = false
cores = 1
memory = 1024
disks = [25]
local_disk = false
}

  2. Initialize Terraform on IBM Cloud.

    terraform init

    Example output:

    Initializing provider plugins...

The following providers do not have any version constraints in configuration, so the latest version was installed.

To prevent automatic upgrades to new major versions that may contain breaking changes, it is recommended to add version = "..." constraints to the corresponding provider blocks in configuration, with the constraint strings suggested.

Terraform on IBM Cloud has been successfully initialized!

You may now begin working with Terraform on IBM Cloud. Try running "terraform plan" to see any changes that are required for your infrastructure. All Terraform on IBM Cloud commands should now work.

If you ever set or change modules or backend configuration for Terraform on IBM Cloud, rerun this command to reinitialize your working directory. If you forget, other commands detects it and remind you to do so if necessary.

  3. Generate an Terraform on IBM Cloud execution plan. When you execute this command, Terraform on IBM Cloud validates the syntax of your configuration file and resource definitions against the specifications that are provided by the IBM Cloud Provider plug-in.

    terraform plan

    Example output:

    Refreshing Terraform on IBM Cloud state in-memory prior to plan...
The refreshed state be used to calculate this plan, but not be persisted to local or remote state storage.

An execution plan has been generated and is shown here.
Resource actions are indicated with the following symbols:
 + create

Terraform on IBM Cloud perform the following actions:

 + ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1
     id:                           <computed>
     block_storage_ids.#:          <computed>
     cores:                        "1"
     datacenter:                   "dal09"
     disks.#:                      "1"
     disks.0:                      "25"
     domain:                       "example.com"
     file_storage_ids.#:           <computed>
     hostname:                     "vm1"
     hourly_billing:               "true"
     ip_address_id:                <computed>
     ip_address_id_private:        <computed>
     ipv4_address:                 <computed>
     ipv4_address_private:         <computed>
     ipv6_address:                 <computed>
     ipv6_address_id:              <computed>
     ipv6_enabled:                 "false"
     ipv6_static_enabled:          "false"
     local_disk:                   "false"
     memory:                       "1024"
     network_speed:                "10"
     os_reference_code:            "DEBIAN_8_64"
     private_interface_id:         <computed>
     private_network_only:         "false"
     private_security_group_ids.#: <computed>
     private_subnet:               <computed>
     private_subnet_id:            <computed>
     private_vlan_id:              <computed>
     public_bandwidth_limited:     <computed>
     public_bandwidth_unlimited:   "false"
     public_interface_id:          <computed>
     public_ipv6_subnet:           <computed>
     public_ipv6_subnet_id:        <computed>
     public_security_group_ids.#:  <computed>
     public_subnet:                <computed>
     public_subnet_id:             <computed>
     public_vlan_id:               <computed>
     secondary_ip_addresses.#:     <computed>
     wait_time_minutes:            "90"

Plan: 1 to add, 0 to change, 0 to destroy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Note** You didn't specify an "-out" parameter to save this plan, so Terraform on IBM Cloud can't guarantee that exactly these actions be performed if "terraform apply" is subsequently run.

  4. Review the execution plan to verify the steps that were identified by Terraform on IBM Cloud to provision the virtual server.

  5. Create your infrastructure resources.

    terraform apply

    Confirm the creation of infrastructure resources by entering yes when prompted.

    Example output:

    Creating...
  block_storage_ids.#:        "" => "<computed>"
  cores:                      "" => "1"
  datacenter:                 "" => "dal09"
  disks.#:                    "" => "1"
  disks.0:                    "" => "25"
  domain:                     "" => "example.com"
  file_storage_ids.#:         "" => "<computed>"
  hostname:                   "" => "vm1"
  hourly_billing:             "" => "true"
  ip_address_id:              "" => "<computed>"
  ip_address_id_private:      "" => "<computed>"
  ipv4_address:               "" => "<computed>"
  ipv4_address_private:       "" => "<computed>"
  ipv6_address:               "" => "<computed>"
  ipv6_address_id:            "" => "<computed>"
  ipv6_enabled:               "" => "false"
  local_disk:                 "" => "false"
  memory:                     "" => "1024"
  network_speed:              "" => "10"
  os_reference_code:          "" => "DEBIAN_8_64"
  private_network_only:       "" => "false"
  private_subnet:             "" => "<computed>"
  private_vlan_id:            "" => "<computed>"
  public_bandwidth_limited:   "" => "<computed>"
  public_bandwidth_unlimited: "" => "false"
  public_ipv6_subnet:         "" => "<computed>"
  public_subnet:              "" => "<computed>"
  public_vlan_id:             "" => "<computed>"
  secondary_ip_addresses.#:   "" => "<computed>"
  wait_time_minutes:          "" => "90"
ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1: Still creating... (10s elapsed)
ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1: Still creating... (20s elapsed)
ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1: Still creating... (30s elapsed)
ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1: Still creating... (40s elapsed)
ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1: Still creating... (50s elapsed)
ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1: Still creating... (1m0s elapsed)
ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1: Creation complete after 1m04s (ID: 62364997)

Apply complete! Resources: 1 added, 0 changed, 0 destroyed.

Updating IBM Cloud resources

You can update your resources by changing your Terraform on IBM Cloud configuration file and applying these changes in your environment.

  1. List your IBM Cloud resources.

    terraform show

    Example output:

    ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1:
    id = 62364997
    block_storage_ids.# = 0
    cores = 1
    datacenter = dal09
    dedicated_acct_host_only = false
    disks.# = 1
    disks.0 = 25
    domain = example.com
    file_storage_ids.# = 0
    hostname = vm1
    hourly_billing = true
    ip_address_id = 119153307
    ip_address_id_private = 119154963
    ipv4_address = 169.46.192.34
    ipv4_address_private = 10.173.135.134
    ipv6_enabled = false
    ipv6_static_enabled = false
    local_disk = false
    memory = 1024
    network_speed = 10
    notes = 
    os_reference_code = DEBIAN_8_64
    private_interface_id = 35066699
    private_network_only = false
    private_security_group_ids.# = 0
    private_subnet = 10.173.135.128/26
    private_subnet_id = 1304363
    private_vlan_id = 2433445
    public_bandwidth_unlimited = false
    public_interface_id = 35066701
    public_security_group_ids.# = 0
    public_subnet = 169.46.192.32/28
    public_subnet_id = 1810073
    public_vlan_id = 2433443
    secondary_ip_addresses.# = 0
    wait_time_minutes = 90

  2. Open your sample.tf configuration file and change a value. For example, you can change the network_speed to 100. To find an overview of parameters that you can change, see the IBM Cloud resource reference.

  3. Create an Terraform on IBM Cloud execution plan.

    terraform plan

    Example output:

    Refreshing Terraform on IBM Cloud state in-memory prior to plan...
The refreshed state be used to calculate this plan, but not be persisted to local or remote state storage.

ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1: Refreshing state... (ID: 51404681)

---------------------------------------------------------------

An execution plan has been generated and is shown here.
Resource actions are indicated with the following symbols:
~ update in-place

Terraform on IBM Cloud performs the following actions:

~ ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1
network_speed: "10" => "100"

Plan: 0 to add, 1 to change, 0 to destroy.

  4. Apply the changes to your IBM Cloud resources.

    terraform apply

  5. Verify that your IBM Cloud resources are updated.

    terraform show

Removing IBM Cloud resources

You can use Terraform on IBM Cloud to remove IBM Cloud resources if you do not want them anymore.

  1. Show the summary of steps that Terraform on IBM Cloud identified to remove your IBM Cloud resources.

    terraform plan -destroy

  2. Verify the Terraform on IBM Cloud execution plan.

  3. Remove your IBM Cloud resources.

    terraform destroy

    Example output:

    ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1: Refreshing state... (ID: 60948867)
An execution plan has been generated and is shown here.
Resource actions are indicated with the following symbols:
    - destroy

Terraform on IBM Cloud performs the following actions:

    - ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1

Plan: 0 to add, 0 to change, 1 to destroy.

Do you really want to destroy?
    Terraform on IBM Cloud destroys all your managed infrastructure, as shown above.
    There is no undo. Only 'yes' is accepted to confirm.

    Enter a value: yes

ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1: Destroying... (ID: 60948867)
ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1: Still destroying... (ID: 60948867, 10s elapsed)
ibm_compute_vm_instance.vm1: Destruction complete after 14s
Destroy complete! Resources: 1 destroyed.

  4. Verify that your IBM Cloud resources are removed.

    terraform show