Comparing Terraform and Ansible for Infrastructure as Code: A Containerized Full-Stack Web Application Case Study

Djajkovska, Anastasija (author), Jurič, Branko Matjaž (mentor)

This thesis compares Terraform and Ansible for Infrastructure as Code (IaC) through a containerized full-stack web application case study. Three ap- proaches are tested: Terraform-only, Ansible-only, and hybrid implementa- tions, measuring their performance in infrastructure provisioning, application deployment, and resource cleanup. The thesis tracks deployment times and reliability, error rates, and operational complexity across Azure cloud infras- tructure using Docker Compose for consistent testing. Insights into each tool’s strengths and limitations are provided. The findings offer practical guidance for developers and organizations with containerized applications, helping them choose the most suitable IaC approach for their deployment needs without requiring complex orchestration platforms.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Infrastructure as Code, Terraform, Ansible, containerization, Azure, DevOps, automation.
• Work type: Bachelor thesis/paper
• Typology: 2.11 - Undergraduate Thesis
• Organization: FRI - Faculty of Computer and Information Science
• Year: 2025
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-170755
• COBISS.SI-ID: 227808771
• Publication date in RUL: 14.07.2025

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Primerjava orodij Terraform in Ansible za infrastrukturo kot kodo: Študija primera kontejnerizirane celostne spletne aplikacije

Abstract

Ta diplomska naloga primerja Terraform in Ansible za infrastrukturo kot kodo (IaC) s pomočjo študije primera kontejnerizirane spletne aplikacije s polnim skladom. Preizkušeni so trije pristopi: samo Terraform, samo An- sible in hibridne implementacije, pri čemer merimo njihovo učinkovitost pri vzpostavljanju infrastrukture, uvajanju aplikacij in čiščenju virov. Diplomska naloga spremlja čase uvajanja in zanesljivost, stopnje napak in operativno kompleksnost na oblačni infrastrukturi Azure z uporabo Docker Compose za dosledno testiranje. Ta raziskava ponuja vpogled v prednosti in ome- jitve vsakega orodja. Ugotovitve ponujajo praktične smernice za razvijalce in organizacije z kontejneriziranimi aplikacijami, ki jim pomagajo izbrati na- jprimernejši pristop IaC za njihove potrebe pri uvajanju, ne da bi pri tem potrebovali kompleksne platforme za orkestracijo.

• Keywords: Infrastruktura kot koda, Terraform, Ansible, kontejnerizacija, Azure, DevOps, avtomatizacija