Microsoft unveils the new Infra Copilot: what is it

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Key notes

  • Infra Copilot is a new tool aiming to simplify IaC development.
  • It uses natural language prompts to suggest IaC code snippets (e.g., PowerShell for Azure).

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) has become a popular approach for managing cloud infrastructure in recent times. IaC tools allow infrastructure to be defined through code. However, IaC can introduce its own complexities, including managing intricate syntax and ensuring consistency across environments.

Infra Copilot, using GitHub Copilot, can address these challenges. Infra Copilot integrates with the likes of Visual Studio Code and utilizes machine learning to understand the intent behind user prompts. This lets infrastructure professionals to express their requirements in natural language and receive corresponding code suggestions.

In easier words: Infra Copilot is a tool which can address challenges faced by infrastructure professionals who manage cloud infrastructure using IaC. IaC development is the process of managing and provisioning computer infrastructure using code instead of manual configuration.

Before IaC, system administrators would manually set up servers, storage, networking, and other infrastructure components through physical configuration or user interfaces. This approach was time-consuming, error-prone, and difficult to replicate consistently across environments.

With IaC development, infrastructure configurations are defined in code files. These files use languages like Terraform, Ansible, or even cloud-specific languages like AWS CloudFormation. The code specifies the desired state of the infrastructure, including the types of resources needed (e.g., virtual machines, databases) and their configurations (e.g., operating system, storage size).

Infra Copilot can generates standardized code snippets, which can bring consistency and reliability of deployed infrastructure. It can also serve as a learning tool for new team members and lead to efficiency gains for infrastructure professionals.

Infra Copilot is currently in its early stages. 

While Infra Copilot offers promising features, it’s important to note that the technology is still under development. 

Its long-term impact on the IaC landscape remains to be seen.

More here.