In this section, we will explore how to use Terraform to provision resources on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). By the end of this module, you will be able to create, manage, and destroy GCP resources using Terraform.

1. GCP Provider: The Terraform provider for GCP allows you to manage GCP resources.
2. Authentication: Setting up authentication to allow Terraform to interact with your GCP account.
3. Resource Definitions: Defining GCP resources in Terraform configuration files.
4. Provisioning: Applying Terraform configurations to create and manage GCP resources.

• A GCP account.
• The gcloud CLI installed and configured.
• Basic understanding of Terraform and its configuration language (HCL).

First, you need to configure the GCP provider in your Terraform configuration file. This involves specifying the provider and setting up authentication.

Example: main.tf

Explanation:

• credentials: Path to the JSON file containing your service account key.
• project: Your GCP project ID.
• region: The region where you want to create resources.

To authenticate Terraform with GCP, you need a service account key. Follow these steps to create one:

1. Go to the GCP Console.
2. Navigate to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.
3. Create a new service account and grant it the necessary permissions (e.g., Editor role).
4. Generate a JSON key for the service account and download it.

Let's define a simple GCP resource, such as a Compute Engine instance.

Example: main.tf

Explanation:

• resource "google_compute_instance" "vm_instance": Defines a Compute Engine instance.
• name: The name of the instance.
• machine_type: The type of machine (e.g., f1-micro).
• zone: The zone where the instance will be created.
• boot_disk: Configuration for the boot disk, including the image to use.
• network_interface: Network configuration, using the default network.

To apply the configuration and create the resources, follow these steps:

1. Initialize Terraform: Run terraform init to initialize the working directory.
2. Plan the Deployment: Run terraform plan to see the execution plan.
3. Apply the Configuration: Run terraform apply to create the resources.

Commands:

To destroy the resources created by Terraform, run:

1. Objective: Create a GCP Storage Bucket using Terraform.
2. Steps:
   • Define the GCP provider.
   • Create a google_storage_bucket resource.
   • Apply the configuration to create the bucket.

Example: main.tf

Commands:

1. Initialize Terraform: Run terraform init.
2. Plan the Deployment: Run terraform plan.
3. Apply the Configuration: Run terraform apply.

• Authentication Issues: Ensure the service account key file path is correct and the service account has the necessary permissions.
• Resource Naming: GCP resource names must be unique within the project.
• Region and Zone: Ensure the specified region and zone are available and correct.

In this section, you learned how to provision GCP resources using Terraform. You set up the GCP provider, authenticated with GCP, defined resources, and applied the configuration to create and manage resources. You also completed a practical exercise to reinforce the concepts. In the next module, we will explore advanced Terraform features.