How Pulumi Infrastructure as Code (IaC) drives winning outcomes for SleekFlow

In the fast-paced world of technology, embracing cutting-edge solutions is crucial for any organization seeking to stay ahead of the competition. At SleekFlow, we recognize the importance of adopting innovative approaches, and one such example is our use of Pulumi Infrastructure as Code (IaC). In this blog post, we’ll provide a comprehensive look at how Pulumi has been instrumental in our growth and how it has helped us manage our complex infrastructure efficiently and effectively.

Image from Pulumi

Let’s have a look at our GitHub Actions deployment script with Pulumi. Simple and concise.

name: Pulumi Deploy - Dev

on:
push:
branches:
- dev

concurrency: dev

env:
NUGET_PACKAGES: ${{ github.workspace }}/.nuget/packages

jobs:
update:
name: Update
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3

- name: Set up .NET Core
uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v3
with:
dotnet-version: '7.0.x'
include-prerelease: false

- uses: actions/cache@v3
with:
path: ${{ github.workspace }}/.nuget/packages
key: ${{ runner.os }}-nuget-${{ hashFiles('**/*.csproj') }}
restore-keys: |
${{ runner.os }}-nuget-

- name: Restore with dotnet
run: dotnet restore

- name: Build with dotnet
run: dotnet publish -c Release

- name: Validate krakend.json
working-directory: ./Sleekflow.KrakenD.Generator/
run: dotnet run

- name: Build images locally
run: |
docker-compose -f docker-compose.common.yml build
docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml build

- name: Deploy Everything
uses: pulumi/actions@v4
with:
command: up
stack-name: dev
work-dir: ./Sleekflow.Infras/
env:
PULUMI_ACCESS_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.PULUMI_ACCESS_TOKEN }}
ARM_CLIENT_ID: ${{ secrets.ARM_CLIENT_ID }}
ARM_CLIENT_SECRET: ${{ secrets.ARM_CLIENT_SECRET }}
ARM_SUBSCRIPTION_ID: ${{ secrets.ARM_SUBSCRIPTION_ID }}
ARM_TENANT_ID: ${{ secrets.ARM_TENANT_ID }}

1. Taming complex infrastructure with IaC

SleekFlow’s infrastructure consists of over 20 services, API Gateway management, and more than 100 Azure resources spread across three environments. Managing such complexity can be challenging, but with Pulumi IaC, we can manage 80% of our infrastructure as code. This approach streamlines deployment, enables better control over our resources, and reduces the risk of human error during the deployment process. It also promotes consistency across environments, simplifying overall management.

2. Programming our microservice architecture for scalability

Our microservice architecture plays a vital role in ensuring that our applications remain scalable and adaptable to our growing needs. Pulumi IaC allows us to treat these microservices as programmable building blocks, enabling us to define, deploy, and manage our services with ease. This approach is critical for maintaining a flexible and scalable architecture that can evolve as our business requirements change.

3. Enhancing onboarding and collaboration with documentation through code

As our team continues to grow, we recognize the importance of clear and concise documentation to facilitate smooth onboarding and effective collaboration. With Pulumi IaC, we can “document with code,” and ensure that our infrastructure is not only well-documented but also version-controlled, easily understood, and accessible to both new and existing team members. This method promotes knowledge sharing, reduces the learning curve for new hires, and fosters a culture of collaboration.

4. Leveraging C# and the .NET ecosystem for expressive infrastructure code

One of the standout benefits of Pulumi over alternatives like Terraform is the ability to use C# to define our infrastructure. This advantage allows us to leverage the full power of the .NET ecosystem, including looping, conditionals, and environment variables. By using C#, we can create more expressive, maintainable, and reusable infrastructure code that sustains a robust and reliable structure, as our developers work more efficiently and consistently with reduced likelihood of errors.

5. Extensive adapter support for comprehensive infrastructure management

Pulumi IaC boasts an impressive array of adapters, including Azure, Auth0, and many others used by SleekFlow. Its Azure Native support is almost fully compatible with Azure ARM templates, ensuring that we can quickly adopt the latest Azure features and stay ahead of the curve. This comprehensive adapter support means that we can manage our entire infrastructure using a single, unified approach, simplifying management and promoting consistency across our technology stack.

6. Robust state management for increased visibility and control

One of the often-overlooked aspects of infrastructure management is state management, which Pulumi handles exceptionally well. Pulumi’s state management capabilities allow us to track and manage changes to our infrastructure, providing increased visibility and control over our resources. This allows us to:

• identify potential issues early

• reduce the risk of deployment failures

• establishes a consistent and predictable state for our infrastructure

7. Anticipating policy as code support for C# providers and emphasizing code reviews

While Pulumi’s policy as code support for C# providers is not yet available, we eagerly await its arrival as it will enable us to enforce best practices and security policies programmatically. In the meantime, our infrastructure code review process ensures that we maintain a high level of quality and adherence to best practices. These code reviews promote collaboration, catch potential issues early, and foster a culture of continuous improvement within our team.

8. Integrating Pulumi into GitHub Actions for streamlined deployment

One of the most significant advantages of adopting Pulumi IaC is the ability to integrate it with popular CI/CD tools like GitHub Actions. The seamless incorporation of Pulumi in our GitHub Actions pipeline has allowed automated deployment and management of our infrastructure, where we further diminish the risk of human error and boost overall productivity.

8.1. Automated infrastructure deployment

When changes to our infrastructure code are pushed to the repository, GitHub Actions automatically trigger a Pulumi deployment which commits our infrastructure to consistent updates and management. This automated process frees our developers from manually deploying infrastructure changes and offers more time to focus on writing application code.

8.2. Improved collaboration and version control

Integrating Pulumi with GitHub Actions also enhances collaboration among team members, as infrastructure changes are managed and tracked using the same version control system as our application code. This unified approach to version control simplifies the development process, making it easier for team members to collaborate on both application code and infrastructure updates.

8.3. Enhanced security and compliance

By leveraging GitHub Actions to manage Pulumi deployments, we can ensure that our infrastructure adheres to the necessary security policies and compliance requirements. The automated deployment process can be configured to enforce specific checks and validations, preventing unauthorized changes and ensuring that our infrastructure remains secure and compliant.

8.4. Faster feedback loop

Integrating Pulumi with GitHub Actions enables a faster feedback loop for our developers. When infrastructure changes are pushed to the repository, the automated deployment process provides immediate feedback on the success or failure of the deployment. This rapid feedback helps our developers identify and resolve issues quickly, ensuring that our infrastructure remains stable and reliable.

Conclusion

Pulumi Infrastructure as Code has been a game-changer for SleekFlow, helping us to efficiently and effectively manage our complex infrastructure, streamline deployments, and maintain a scalable and flexible microservice architecture. Integrating Pulumi with GitHub Actions has further enhanced our infrastructure management processes, enabling automated deployments, improved collaboration, and enhanced security and compliance. By leveraging the power of C#, the .NET ecosystem, and Pulumi’s extensive adapter support, we can stay ahead in the competitive technology landscape and continue to deliver innovative solutions to our customers. As we grow and evolve, we remain confident that Pulumi IaC and its integration with GitHub Actions will continue to play a crucial role in our technology stack, driving our success and propelling us toward new heights.