Terraform Architect

Generate production-ready Terraform modules and configurations for Azure infrastructure.

What This Skill Does

• Generate Terraform configurations for Azure resources
• Design module structures for reusability
• Configure networking (VNets, Subnets, NSGs, Load Balancers)
• Set up AKS clusters with best practices
• Configure storage, Key Vault, and identity resources
• Provide state management guidance
• Generate variable files and outputs

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• Execute Terraform commands on user's environment
• Access or modify cloud resources directly
• Handle AWS/GCP resources (Azure-focused)
• Manage Terraform state storage setup
• Provide cost estimation

---

Before Implementation

Gather context for effective configuration:

Source	Gather
Requirements	Resource types needed, environment (dev/prod)
Existing Infra	Existing resources to reference or import
Naming Convention	Company naming standards
Networking	IP ranges, connectivity requirements

---

Required Clarifications

Ask about USER'S context before generating:

1. Resources: "What Azure resources do you need?"
2. Environment: "Is this for dev, staging, or production?"
3. Existing Infra: "Are there existing resources to integrate with?"

Optional Clarifications

Ask only if relevant to the user's context:

1. Naming: "What naming convention do you follow?" (if not evident from existing code)
2. State: "Where will Terraform state be stored?" (if not already configured)
3. Modules: "Do you want this as a reusable module or standalone configuration?"
4. Tags: "What tags should be applied to resources?"

---

Official Documentation

Resource	URL	Use For
Terraform Azure Provider	https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/azurerm/latest/docs	Resource reference
Azure Naming Conventions	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-adoption-framework/ready/azure-best-practices/resource-naming	Naming best practices
Terraform Best Practices	https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cloud-docs/recommended-practices	Structure and patterns
AKS Terraform Module	https://registry.terraform.io/modules/Azure/aks/azurerm/latest	Official AKS module

---

Workflow

Phase 1: Requirements Analysis

1. Identify required Azure resources
2. Determine dependencies between resources
3. Identify existing resources to reference
4. Plan module structure
5. Define input variables needed

Phase 2: Configuration Generation

1. Create provider configuration
2. Generate resource blocks with best practices
3. Define variables with descriptions and validation
4. Create outputs for resource attributes
5. Add data sources for existing resources

Phase 3: Review & Optimization

1. Verify resource dependencies
2. Check for hardcoded values
3. Ensure proper tagging
4. Add lifecycle rules if needed
5. Include comments for complex logic

---

Standard File Structure

terraform/
├── main.tf           # Main resource definitions
├── variables.tf      # Input variable declarations
├── outputs.tf        # Output definitions
├── providers.tf      # Provider configuration
├── versions.tf       # Required provider versions
├── locals.tf         # Local values
├── data.tf           # Data sources
├── terraform.tfvars  # Variable values (not in git)
└── modules/          # Reusable modules
    └── aks/
        ├── main.tf
        ├── variables.tf
        └── outputs.tf

---

Provider Configuration

Azure Provider

terraform {
  required_version = ">= 1.0"

  required_providers {
    azurerm = {
      source  = "hashicorp/azurerm"
      version = "~> 3.0"
    }
  }

  backend "azurerm" {
    resource_group_name  = "tfstate-rg"
    storage_account_name = "tfstate${var.environment}"
    container_name       = "tfstate"
    key                  = "terraform.tfstate"
  }
}

provider "azurerm" {
  features {}
}

---

Common Resource Patterns

Resource Group

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "main" {
  name     = "rg-${var.project}-${var.environment}-${var.location_short}"
  location = var.location

  tags = local.common_tags
}

Virtual Network with Subnets

resource "azurerm_virtual_network" "main" {
  name                = "vnet-${var.project}-${var.environment}"
  location            = azurerm_resource_group.main.location
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.main.name
  address_space       = [var.vnet_address_space]

  tags = local.common_tags
}

resource "azurerm_subnet" "aks" {
  name                 = "snet-aks"
  resource_group_name  = azurerm_resource_group.main.name
  virtual_network_name = azurerm_virtual_network.main.name
  address_prefixes     = [var.aks_subnet_prefix]
}

AKS Cluster

See references/aks-patterns.md for complete AKS configurations.

Load Balancer

See references/networking-patterns.md for load balancer configurations.

---

Variable Best Practices

variable "environment" {
  description = "Environment name (dev, staging, prod)"
  type        = string

  validation {
    condition     = contains(["dev", "staging", "prod"], var.environment)
    error_message = "Environment must be dev, staging, or prod."
  }
}

variable "location" {
  description = "Azure region for resources"
  type        = string
  default     = "eastus"
}

variable "tags" {
  description = "Additional tags for resources"
  type        = map(string)
  default     = {}
}

---

Local Values Pattern

locals {
  location_short = {
    "eastus"    = "eus"
    "westus"    = "wus"
    "westeurope" = "weu"
  }[var.location]

  common_tags = merge(
    {
      Environment = var.environment
      Project     = var.project
      ManagedBy   = "Terraform"
    },
    var.tags
  )
}

---

Data Source Patterns

# Reference existing resource group
data "azurerm_resource_group" "existing" {
  name = "existing-rg"
}

# Get current client configuration
data "azurerm_client_config" "current" {}

# Reference existing Key Vault
data "azurerm_key_vault" "existing" {
  name                = "existing-kv"
  resource_group_name = "existing-rg"
}

---

Output Patterns

output "resource_group_name" {
  description = "Name of the resource group"
  value       = azurerm_resource_group.main.name
}

output "aks_cluster_name" {
  description = "Name of the AKS cluster"
  value       = azurerm_kubernetes_cluster.main.name
}

output "aks_kube_config" {
  description = "Kubeconfig for AKS cluster"
  value       = azurerm_kubernetes_cluster.main.kube_config_raw
  sensitive   = true
}

---

Lifecycle Rules

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "main" {
  # ...

  lifecycle {
    prevent_destroy = true  # Prevent accidental deletion
  }
}

resource "azurerm_kubernetes_cluster" "main" {
  # ...

  lifecycle {
    ignore_changes = [
      default_node_pool[0].node_count,  # Ignore autoscaler changes
    ]
  }
}

---

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Hardcoded values - Use variables
2. Missing dependencies - Use depends_on when implicit not enough
3. No state locking - Configure backend with locking
4. Secrets in code - Use Key Vault references
5. No tagging - Always include standard tags
6. Wrong provider version - Pin versions

---

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
Resource already exists	Resource created outside Terraform	Use terraform import to bring into state
Provider version mismatch	Different versions across team	Pin version in versions.tf
State lock timeout	Previous run didn't release lock	Check for stuck processes, force unlock if safe
Insufficient permissions	Service principal lacks RBAC	Add required role assignments
Quota exceeded	Subscription limit reached	Request quota increase or use different region
Circular dependency	Resources reference each other	Refactor with depends_on or split resources

---

Output Checklist

Before delivering, verify:

• Provider version pinned
• All hardcoded values extracted to variables
• Variables have descriptions and validations
• Common tags applied to all resources
• Sensitive outputs marked as sensitive
• Dependencies properly defined
• Naming follows conventions
• Comments added for complex logic

---

Reference Files

File	When to Read
references/aks-patterns.md	For AKS cluster configurations
references/networking-patterns.md	For VNet, LB, and NSG patterns
references/storage-patterns.md	For storage account and blob patterns
references/identity-patterns.md	For managed identity and RBAC