Question

How do you resolve conflicts in infrastructure as code (IaC) with multiple engineers working on the same repository?

This can raise conflicts in case there are changes done in the configuration files or scripts by more than one engineer working on the same IaC repository at a time. The question, therefore, tries to know the strategies, processes, and tools that will assist in solving such conflicts. It focuses on techniques for collaborative coding in IaC, including how to use workflows like Git branching and merging along with conflict resolution strategies and the best practices so that collaboration is smooth, minimizing disruption to deployments caused by conflicting code changes.

Answer 1

In case of IaC, a conflict happens when several engineers work in the same set of files or resources at the same time. The best thing is the use of some robust version control system, like Git, coupled with branching and modularization. Here's how that might be done:

Branching Strategy: Apply a feature-branching strategy, so engineers may work isolated in their own branches. The merging of these branches to a common branch along with conflict resolution early might reduce the chances of big, hard-to-merge conflicts.

Modularization: By using Terraform tools, break the infrastructures into smaller modules that can be worked upon independently. Thus, the changes in specific modules are strictly controlled and less prone to collision with other modules.

Automation for Tests and Code Review: Ensure that each IaC pull request contains tests along with code review flows. Automated tests, though highly useful in syntax policy adherence, can identify those coding errors that may possibly destroy the infrastructure.

Communication and Documentation: Transparence in communication with good documentation avoids duplication of the same updates to resources. Both these strategies together do not create any inconsistency or clash in the IaC repository.