Infrastructure-as-code Parameter Store for Resource Provisioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
As the number of infrastructure-as-code (IAC) templates increases, especially within organizations, obtaining complete visibility into parameter values and resource mappings becomes challenging, leading to inefficiencies in provisioning and managing computing resources.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an IAC template designer and associated service that utilize a data store for parameter objects and mapping objects, enabling efficient storage and retrieval of resource definitions, allowing for sharing among users or teams, and using a stateless event-driven compute service for look-up functions based on key-value pairs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the number of IAC templates increases to provision more computing resources, then the functionality and resource provisioning capability improve, but the complexity of managing and tracking parameter values and resource mappings increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a centralized parameter store that serves as a universal repository for all IAC templates. This parameter store enables multiple templates to share common parameter definitions, data types, and validation rules, reducing the need to maintain separate parameter management systems for each template while improving overall resource provisioning capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (the parameter store with schema validation) between the IAC templates and the actual resource provisioning process. This intermediary centralizes parameter management, validates parameters against predefined schemas, and provides a unified interface for accessing parameter values, thereby reducing the complexity of tracking parameters across multiple templates
2Loss of information
If parameter values are stored locally within each IAC template, then template independence is maintained, but visibility and accessibility of parameter values across templates decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the parameter storage functionality from individual IAC templates into a centralized parameter store. This consolidation combines parameter definitions, validation schemas, and value mappings into a single accessible location, improving visibility and accessibility while maintaining the logical independence of each template through reference-based connections to the centralized store
3Reliability
If parameter validation is performed at runtime for each IAC template, then data integrity is ensured, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs parameter validation in advance by defining schemas with data types, constraints, and valid value mappings before the IAC templates execute. The parameter store pre-validates parameters against these schemas, ensuring data integrity is established beforehand rather than checking repeatedly at runtime, thus reducing processing time while maintaining reliability
Data Source
AI summary
Technologies are disclosed for storage and retrieval of parameters used in the creation and editing of infrastructure-as-code (IAC) templates. An infrastructure-as-code (“IAC”) template related to desired resources available in a service provider network for configuring a stack of the desired resources in the service provider network is provided. The IAC template includes an identification of a key-value pair associated with resource definitions related to the desired resources and are stored in a data store. Based upon the identification of the key-value pair, a look-up function is used to call a stateless event driven compute service function to query the data store for the resource definitions. Once the resource definitions are received from the data store, based upon the IAC template and the resource definitions, the stack of the desired resources is configured.