Terraform On-Premise for Beginners — Infrastructure as Code with Azure Device Management Training Course

Module 1: Introduction to Infrastructure as Code and Terraform

• IaC concepts and benefits for on-premises and hybrid environments.
• Terraform overview: providers, resources, state, and lifecycle.
• Installing Terraform, Azure CLI, and required tools.
• First hands-on experience: writing a simple Terraform configuration and applying it locally.

Module 2: HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) and Configuration Basics

• HCL syntax, resources, attributes, and expressions.
• Variables, outputs, locals, and type constraints.
• Using the Terraform CLI: init, plan, apply, destroy, and fmt.
• Hands-on lab: build a parameterized configuration for an on-premises resource and an Azure resource.

Module 3: Providers, Resources, and Azure Provider Fundamentals

• Understanding providers and provider configuration (AzureRM provider).
• Mapping infrastructure to Terraform resources (networking, compute, storage).
• Managing Azure authentication and service principals for automation.
• Hands-on: provision an Azure virtual network and a simple VM via Terraform.

Module 4: State Management, Backends, and Collaboration

• Terraform state: purpose, format, and lifecycle considerations.
• Remote backends with Azure Storage Account and state locking strategies.
• Workspaces, environments, and collaboration patterns for teams.
• Lab: configure remote state in Azure Storage and perform a multi-user workflow.

Module 5: Modularization, Reusability, and Best Practices

• Authoring and consuming Terraform modules.
• Module inputs/outputs, versioning, and registry patterns.
• Folder layout, naming conventions, and maintainable repository structure.
• Hands-on: create a reusable module for Azure VM + disk + network and test across environments.

Module 6: Managing Azure Virtual Devices and On-Premises Integration

• Managing Azure Virtual Machines, Virtual Desktop components, and device lifecycle via Terraform.
• Patterns for hybrid device management: connecting on-premises resources and Azure-managed devices.
• Integrating volumetric or device management systems through data sources and external providers.
• Lab: deploy an Azure VM fleet representing operator units and configure inventory tagging and basic monitoring.

Module 7: CI/CD, Automation, and Deployment Pipelines

• Integrating Terraform with CI/CD (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps pipelines).
• Automating plan/apply with secured secrets and service principals.
• Policy as Code basics (Sentinel or Open Policy Agent patterns) and pre-deployment checks.
• Hands-on: create a simple GitHub Actions workflow to plan and apply Terraform against a sandbox subscription.

Module 8: Security, Secrets, and Operational Practices

• Managing secrets: Azure Key Vault integration and avoiding sensitive data in state files.
• Access control, RBAC, and least privilege principles for automation accounts.
• Drift detection, state reconciliation, and basic remediation practices.
• Checklist: backup, auditing, and governance for Terraform-managed infrastructure.

Module 9: Testing, Debugging, and Troubleshooting

• Debugging Terraform configurations and reading plan diffs effectively.
• Unit and integration testing approaches (terraform validate, tflint, kitchen-terraform).
• Common error patterns and resolution strategies.
• Lab: run validation and linting tools and fix discovered issues.

Module 10: Capstone Project — Hybrid Deployment Scenario

• Design exercise: plan an on-premises plus Azure device deployment using learned patterns.
• Implement core components using modules, remote state, and CI/CD pipeline snippets.
• Present the solution, discuss trade-offs, and review the runbook for operations.

Summary and Next Steps