AWS CodeDeploy vs Terraform

AWS CodeDeploy automates application releases across development, test, and production environments. It deploys to Amazon EC2, AWS Fargate, AWS Lambda, and on-premises instances using in-place, canary, or blue/green methods. Rolling updates and deployment health tracking help limit disruption; when too many updates fail, CodeDeploy can stop a deployment and restore a previous revision. Teams can launch and monitor releases through the AWS Management Console, CLI, SDKs, or APIs. AWS CodePipeline and some AWS partners offer prebuilt CI/CD connections. For EC2, CodeDeploy works with Auto Scaling and can update an instance before it joins an Elastic Load Balancing load balancer. Amazon SNS can send deployment-event notifications by SMS or email. The service uses a file- and command-based installation model with an AppSpec configuration file and is platform and language agnostic. EC2 deployments have no additional CodeDeploy charge; on-premises updates cost $0.02 per instance update, with no minimum fees or upfront commitments. On-premises instances must connect to public AWS service endpoints. The free plan is listed at free.

Terraform is an infrastructure-as-code tool for defining, provisioning, and managing cloud and on-premises resources through human-readable configuration files. Its core process is to write a configuration, review an execution plan, then apply approved changes. Providers connect Terraform to services through APIs, and the Terraform Registry lists providers for AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, GitHub, and Splunk. Modules package reusable infrastructure configurations that users can find or publish in the Registry. The free Community Edition is a downloadable command-line tool. HCP Terraform adds remote execution, repository connections to GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket that can trigger plans after changes, and an API. It stores state remotely with encryption at rest and offers workspaces, single sign-on, and role-based access controls. HCP Terraform and Terraform Enterprise support Sentinel policies. HashiCorp cautions that policy-as-code is a guardrail, not a security boundary, and trusted providers and modules matter because they can access workspace variables and state. Downloads are available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.