In today’s world, where speed and flexibility in managing IT infrastructure determine business competitiveness, automation has become a key tool for DevOps teams. One of the most effective approaches is Infrastructure as Code (IaC).

IaC allows you to define infrastructure in the form of code and automatically deploy it in cloud environments, data centers, or on dedicated servers. In this article, we will explore how to use Terraform and Ansible to automate the deployment of VPS and physical servers, and how this approach simplifies infrastructure management and scaling.

What Is Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Infrastructure as Code is a method of managing infrastructure using configuration files that define its state — which servers, networks, databases, and services should be deployed.

Instead of manually configuring systems, the administrator describes the desired infrastructure state, and the system automatically brings it to that state. This approach:

  • eliminates human error during configuration;
  • enables rapid scaling;
  • ensures configuration consistency.

Why Use Terraform and Ansible Together

Terraform and Ansible are two popular tools that complement each other perfectly:

  • Terraform — manages infrastructure creation and provisioning: virtual machines, networks, load balancers, storage. It works with clouds, VPS providers, and data center APIs.
  • Ansible — handles configuration and setup of already provisioned servers: installing packages, deploying applications, configuring services.

Example workflow:

  1. Terraform creates a VPS or dedicated server from the provider.
  2. Ansible connects to these servers via SSH and configures the OS, software, and services.

Advantages of the IaC Approach for VPS and Servers

  1. Speed and predictability — new servers can be deployed in minutes and will be identical to existing ones.
  2. Scalability — easily add new resources to handle increased workloads.
  3. Version control — store configurations in Git to track changes and roll back to stable versions.
  4. CI/CD integration — automatically deploy environments when application code changes.
  5. Cost savings — quickly remove temporary environments to avoid paying for idle resources.

How to Use Terraform for VPS and Server Deployment

Terraform works by defining infrastructure in .tf files.

Example of a simple VPS configuration:

hcl

provider "serverua" {
  token = "API_TOKEN"
}

resource "serverua_vps" "app" {
  name     = "app-server"
  os       = "ubuntu-22.04"
  cpu      = 4
  ram      = 8192
  disk     = 50
  location = "ua-kyiv"
}
  • This file defines a VPS with a specific configuration.
  • Running terraform apply will automatically create the VPS with the provider.

With Terraform, you can manage both dedicated servers and colocation equipment if the provider offers an API. For example, at server.ua, you can automate dedicated server rental and its configuration using the IaC approach.

How to Use Ansible for Server Configuration

Ansible uses a declarative approach: you describe what should be installed and configured, and it brings the system to the desired state.

Example playbook for a web server:

yaml

- hosts: webservers
  become: true
  tasks:
    - name: Install Nginx
      apt:
        name: nginx
        state: present
    - name: Start Nginx
      service:
        name: nginx
        state: started
        enabled: true
  • You can automate installing a web server, databases, SSL certificates, and backups.
  • Ansible integrates seamlessly with Terraform: it retrieves the IP addresses of newly created servers and immediately connects for configuration.

Best Practices for Using Terraform and Ansible

  1. Store configurations in Git repositories — enables collaborative work and change tracking.
  2. Separate infrastructure code and configuration code — Terraform manages hardware, Ansible manages software.
  3. Use variables and templates — for flexible parameter adjustments without code duplication.
  4. Integrate with CI/CD — so infrastructure updates automatically when code changes.
  5. Test in staging environments — before applying changes to production.

Real-World Example

A company deploys a test environment for a new web application:

  • Terraform provisions three VPS instances: for frontend, backend, and the database.
  • Ansible automatically installs the OS, configures Nginx, PostgreSQL, and deploys the application code.
  • After a few hours of testing, the environment is removed and can be recreated later with the same parameters.

This eliminates manual configuration, speeds up development, and minimizes the risk of errors.

Conclusion

The Infrastructure as Code approach, combined with Terraform and Ansible, is a powerful tool for DevOps teams and system administrators. It enables fast, predictable, and secure deployment of both VPS and dedicated servers, optimizing resources and reducing operational load.

If you want to implement automation and optimize your infrastructure workflows, dedicated server rental or VPS from server.ua will provide a solid foundation for IaC solutions, ensuring reliability, scalability, and high performance.