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IAC Groups

IAC Groups are sets of interrelated IAC templates that orchestrate the provisioning of infrastructure components. They simplify the management of complex environments by combining templates into a unified workflow.
For instance, an IAC group might include templates for setting up databases, servers, and load balancers that are deployed together to form a scalable web application environment.

Motivation​

  • Organized Management: They consolidate related templates, making it easier to manage composite infrastructure components as a single entity.
  • Consistent Deployments: By grouping templates, you ensure consistent deployment of infrastructure sets, which is crucial for maintaining standardized environments across development, staging, and production.

Creating an IAC Group​

An IAC Group in Stackguardian is your way to cohesively manage a suite of related infrastructure templates, like those needed to deploy a web application stack in AWS.

Start Template Creation​

Begin by going to Marketplace Home and click on 'Create Template' at the top-right corner.

Input IAC Group Details​

  • Template Name: Assign a descriptive name, such as 'web-store-app'.
  • Owner Org: Choose your organization from the provided list.
  • Short Description: Describe the group's purpose, like 'Templates for a complete web store infrastructure'.

Template Selection​

Choose from Stackguardian's public templates or your own creations. For a deep dive, check out IAC template documentation.

  • Add Template: Incorporate your chosen templates and select the latest revision to ensure the group uses the most current configurations.
    After adding, you have the option to check "Overwrite Template Defaults" if you need to customize the template settings further.

Ordering Templates​

Correctly sequence your templates by dragging them into the desired order, paying attention to dependency requirements.

Group Finalization​

After setting up, hit 'Create' to finalize your IAC group.

Fig: Creating an IAC Groups

View IAC Group and Manage Revisions​

When examining an IAC group, the interface offers multiple tabs for detailed management:

IAC Group Overview

Fig: View and Manage IAC Group Revisions

  • Meta: Provides a snapshot of the IAC group's details.
  • Documentation: Contains a comprehensive guide and references for using the group.
  • Templates: Lists all the individual templates included within the group.
  • Usage: Displays the different stacks where this IAC group is implemented.

To manage or create a new revision of the IAC group, select the "Create New Revision" button.

Configure Access to IAC Groups​

Control access to your IAC groups to enhance collaboration and maintain proper governance across your infrastructure.

Subscribe​

  • Subscribe: Subscribing to an IAC group lets you integrate it into stacks.

Stacks with IAC Groups​

  • Create Stack: Instantly deploy all resources defined in the IAC group with a new stack creation.

Public Access and Publishing​

  • Make Public + Publish: To make a template visibility outside your own organization you need to make the template public (Make Public) and also choose one or multiple revisions by using Publish.

  • Share Template: Enables you to share your template with other users or teams, fostering collaboration on infrastructure projects.

Deprecation​

  • Deprecate: Mark outdated templates to discourage use without deleting them, guiding users towards alternatives.