Pulumi IaC: What It Is and How It Differs from Other IaC Tools

Introduction to Pulumi IaC

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) has revolutionized the way we manage and deploy cloud resources. Among the various IaC tools available, Pulumi stands out with its unique approach to infrastructure management. Pulumi is an open-source IaC platform that allows developers to use familiar programming languages to define and manage cloud infrastructure.

How Pulumi Differs from Other IaC Tools

Pulumi sets itself apart from other IaC tools like Terraform, CloudFormation, or Azure Resource Manager templates in several key ways:

Multi-language support: While most IaC tools use domain-specific languages (DSLs), Pulumi allows you to use general-purpose programming languages like Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, .NET, and Java.
Familiar development experience: Developers can use their preferred IDEs, package managers, and testing frameworks, making the IaC process feel more natural and integrated with their existing workflows.
Rich type system: Pulumi leverages the type systems of supported languages, providing better error checking and autocomplete features during development.
Modular architecture: Pulumi’s component model allows for easy creation of reusable, shareable infrastructure components.
Built-in state management: Pulumi offers built-in state management with support for various backends, including local file systems and cloud storage services.

Installing Pulumi

To get started with Pulumi, you’ll need to install it on your system. Here are step-by-step instructions for various operating systems:

Windows

Open PowerShell and run:

   winget install pulumi

Or, if you prefer Chocolatey:

   choco install pulumi

Restart your terminal to ensure the PATH is updated.

macOS

Using Homebrew:

   brew install pulumi

Alternatively, use the installation script:

   curl -fsSL https://get.pulumi.com | sh

Linux

Run the installation script:

   curl -fsSL https://get.pulumi.com | sh

For Ubuntu or Debian, you can also use the APT package manager:

   sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install pulumi

After installation, verify the setup by running:

pulumi version

Creating a GCP Storage Bucket with Pulumi

Now, let’s look at how to create a Google Cloud Platform (GCP) storage bucket using Pulumi in various programming languages. First, ensure you have set up a GCP account and installed the Google Cloud SDK.

Python

import pulumi
from pulumi_gcp import storage

# Create a GCP resource (Storage Bucket)
bucket = storage.Bucket('my-bucket',
    location="US",
    force_destroy=True,
    uniform_bucket_level_access=True,
    versioning={
        "enabled": True
    },
    lifecycle_rules=[storage.BucketLifecycleRuleArgs(
        action=storage.BucketLifecycleRuleActionArgs(type="Delete"),
        condition=storage.BucketLifecycleRuleConditionArgs(
            age=30,
            with_state="ARCHIVED"
        )
    )]
)

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

Node.js (JavaScript)

const pulumi = require("@pulumi/pulumi");
const gcp = require("@pulumi/gcp");

// Create a GCP resource (Storage Bucket)
const bucket = new gcp.storage.Bucket("my-bucket", {
    location: "US",
    forceDestroy: true,
    uniformBucketLevelAccess: true,
    versioning: {
        enabled: true
    },
    lifecycleRules: [{
        action: {
            type: "Delete"
        },
        condition: {
            age: 30,
            withState: "ARCHIVED"
        }
    }]
});

// Export the DNS name of the bucket
exports.bucketName = bucket.url;

Go

package main

import (
    "github.com/pulumi/pulumi-gcp/sdk/v6/go/gcp/storage"
    "github.com/pulumi/pulumi/sdk/v3/go/pulumi"
)

func main() {
    pulumi.Run(func(ctx *pulumi.Context) error {
        // Create a GCP resource (Storage Bucket)
        bucket, err := storage.NewBucket(ctx, "my-bucket", &storage.BucketArgs{
            Location:                  pulumi.String("US"),
            ForceDestroy:              pulumi.Bool(true),
            UniformBucketLevelAccess:  pulumi.Bool(true),
            Versioning:                storage.BucketVersioningArgs{
                Enabled: pulumi.Bool(true),
            },
            LifecycleRules: storage.BucketLifecycleRuleArray{
                &storage.BucketLifecycleRuleArgs{
                    Action: &storage.BucketLifecycleRuleActionArgs{
                        Type: pulumi.String("Delete"),
                    },
                    Condition: &storage.BucketLifecycleRuleConditionArgs{
                        Age:       pulumi.Int(30),
                        WithState: pulumi.String("ARCHIVED"),
                    },
                },
            },
        })
        if err != nil {
            return err
        }

        // Export the DNS name of the bucket
        ctx.Export("bucketName", bucket.Url)
        return nil
    })
}

.NET (C#)

using Pulumi;
using Pulumi.Gcp.Storage;

class MyStack : Stack
{
    public MyStack()
    {
        // Create a GCP resource (Storage Bucket)
        var bucket = new Bucket("my-bucket", new BucketArgs
        {
            Location = "US",
            ForceDestroy = true,
            UniformBucketLevelAccess = true,
            Versioning = new BucketVersioningArgs
            {
                Enabled = true
            },
            LifecycleRules = 
            {
                new BucketLifecycleRuleArgs
                {
                    Action = new BucketLifecycleRuleActionArgs
                    {
                        Type = "Delete"
                    },
                    Condition = new BucketLifecycleRuleConditionArgs
                    {
                        Age = 30,
                        WithState = "ARCHIVED"
                    }
                }
            }
        });

        // Export the DNS name of the bucket
        this.BucketName = bucket.Url;
    }

    [Output]
    public Output<string> BucketName { get; set; }
}

Java

import com.pulumi.Context;
import com.pulumi.Pulumi;
import com.pulumi.gcp.storage.Bucket;
import com.pulumi.gcp.storage.BucketArgs;
import com.pulumi.gcp.storage.inputs.BucketLifecycleRuleArgs;
import com.pulumi.gcp.storage.inputs.BucketLifecycleRuleActionArgs;
import com.pulumi.gcp.storage.inputs.BucketLifecycleRuleConditionArgs;
import com.pulumi.gcp.storage.inputs.BucketVersioningArgs;

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Pulumi.run(App::stack);
    }

    private static void stack(Context ctx) {
        // Create a GCP resource (Storage Bucket)
        var bucket = new Bucket("my-bucket", BucketArgs.builder()
                .location("US")
                .forceDestroy(true)
                .uniformBucketLevelAccess(true)
                .versioning(BucketVersioningArgs.builder()
                        .enabled(true)
                        .build())
                .lifecycleRules(BucketLifecycleRuleArgs.builder()
                        .action(BucketLifecycleRuleActionArgs.builder()
                                .type("Delete")
                                .build())
                        .condition(BucketLifecycleRuleConditionArgs.builder()
                                .age(30)
                                .withState("ARCHIVED")
                                .build())
                        .build())
                .build());

        // Export the DNS name of the bucket
        ctx.export("bucketName", bucket.url());
    }
}

YAML (Pulumi YAML)

name: my-gcp-bucket
runtime: yaml
description: A simple GCP bucket

resources:
  my-bucket:
    type: gcp:storage:Bucket
    properties:
      location: US
      forceDestroy: true
      uniformBucketLevelAccess: true
      versioning:
        enabled: true
      lifecycleRules:
        - action:
            type: Delete
          condition:
            age: 30
            withState: ARCHIVED

outputs:
  bucketName: ${my-bucket.url}

Conclusion

Pulumi offers a powerful and flexible approach to Infrastructure as Code, allowing developers to use their preferred programming languages to manage cloud resources. By supporting multiple languages and providing a familiar development experience, Pulumi simplifies the process of creating, updating, and maintaining cloud infrastructure.

In this post, we’ve explored what Pulumi is, how it differs from other IaC tools, and provided examples of creating a GCP storage bucket using various programming languages. Whether you’re a Python enthusiast, a JavaScript developer, or prefer statically-typed languages like Go or C#, Pulumi has you covered.

As cloud infrastructure becomes increasingly complex, tools like Pulumi that bridge the gap between application development and infrastructure management will become essential for modern DevOps practices. Give Pulumi a try and experience the future of Infrastructure as Code today!