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Mike Tyson of the Cloud
Mike Tyson of the Cloud

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Brainboard vs. Traditional IaC Management Comparison

When it comes to managing cloud infrastructure, the choice of tools can greatly impact the efficiency and security of operations. Brainboard introduces a novel approach to Infrastructure as Code (IaC) management, offering a suite of features designed to streamline the entire lifecycle of cloud infrastructure deployment. This comparison aims to highlight the distinctions between using Brainboard and traditional IaC management practices, specifically focusing on the areas of security and infrastructure management.

With Brainboard, teams are equipped with advanced tools for collaboration, policy enforcement, and multi-cloud management. Conversely, without Brainboard, teams might face limitations in these critical areas. The following tables provide a side-by-side comparison to showcase how Brainboard's features can enhance and secure cloud infrastructure management:

Cloud Infrastructure Build

Build Azure cloud infrastructure

Feature With Brainboard Without Brainboard
Code Auto-generate the Terraform code from the design Write Terraform code manually
Collaboration Multiple users can design, edit and review the changes in real time No or low collaboration between DevOps & Cloud Architects
Design the infrastructure Create the infrastructure diagram and the IaC code that match 100% the deployed infrastructure No live diagram view of infrastructures
IaC templates catalog Have architectures along with their IaC configuration as templates, public or private Not supported
Import existing infrastructure Import your existing Terraform code to visualize your resources & convert your legacy infrastructure into Terraform code - within minutes 6-9 months of dedicated work for a cloud architect to manually write everything
Modules Add, delete, use and manage Terraform & OpenTofu modules, public or private. Modules catalog automatically created. Private & public Modules supported
Tooling Brainboard (Terraform 100% coverage) Diagramming + IaC + CI/CD Engine + Management Solution
Variables Terraform variables that can be defined across organization, projects, environments and architectures Terraform Variables

CICD Engine

best CICD for devops

Feature With Brainboard Without Brainboard
CI/CD Engine Visually build and run pipelines and also manage dependencies between stages (external system when a condition is met) YAML or specific DSL Language needed
CI/CD pipelines Custom runners hosted by Brainboard that will execute the pipeline Supported
CI/CD templates Convert any pipeline into template and use it Supported
Costs estimation Estimate the cost of the infrastructure (based on code) using infracost External tool
Webhooks The possibility to call an external system when a condition is met Supported

Security

Terraform action

Feature With Brainboard Without Brainboard
Approval Approve or reject the execution of any task with maximum granularity per task Not supported
Authentication SSO OIDC & SAML, Different IDP providers (Okta, Azure AD...) with federation N/A
Policy as code Define/codify policies used to manage the infrastructure with: OPA, AWS config rules Not supported
RBAC Role Based Access Control supported Not supported
Remote backend Supports all types of backends: AWS S3, Azure blob storage, Google GCS, Terraform HTTP, GitLab, Brainboard backend, cloud endpoints, Brainboard remote backend Limited & depending to local environment & hosted services
Security plugins supported Scan the IaC code for security with: tfsec, OPA, Checkov, Terrascan Not supported

Infrastructure Management

Terraform State Management

Feature With Brainboard Without Brainboard
Cloud providers supported AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI, Azure stack, Azure DevOps, Scaleway and more planned for 2024. Multicloud is supported. Limited to one cloud provider or 2 major
Documentation Unified Readme documentation, diagram, and code for everyone. Potential drift between the design and the code.
Drift detection Detect changes that either doesnโ€™t match the code or doesnโ€™t match the deployed infrastructure. The possibility to prevent drift between environments. Manual work
Git providers supported Support GitLab, GitHub, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps Git supported
Inventory view of cloud environments Unified view of infrastructure projects, environments and architectures Requires a dedicated management tool.
Synchronize environments Native mechanism to synchronize environments (e.g., staging, QA and production (Terragrunt like)) Not supported
Terraform registry Use modules from Terraform registry Not supported
Versioning Keep track of every modification you do on design / code and or go to any specific point-in-time. Native versioning or Git supported. Not supported

Next Steps

In the rapidly evolving landscape of cloud infrastructure, Brainboard stands out as a comprehensive solution that not only simplifies the complexities of IaC management but also provides robust security features and efficient multi-cloud support. As our comparison has shown, Brainboard's innovative tools offer a significant advantage over traditional methods, enabling teams to collaborate effectively, enforce policies seamlessly, and manage their cloud environments with greater ease and confidence.

If you're looking to enhance your cloud management capabilities, reduce operational risks, and embrace a future-proof platform for your IaC needs, consider giving Brainboard a try. Ready to transform the way you build, deploy, and manage your cloud infrastructure?

Sign up for Brainboard today and take the first step towards streamlined and secure cloud infrastructure management.

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