Getting Started with InfraHub

From Zero to Deployed Infrastructure in 5 Minutes

Let's get your first cloud resource running on Planton Cloud. By the end of this guide, you'll have:

Connected your cloud provider account
Browsed the deployment component catalog
Deployed real infrastructure
Watched it happen through Stack Jobs

Prerequisites: You'll need a Planton Cloud account and access to an AWS, GCP, or Azure account where you want to deploy resources.

Step 1: Connect Your Cloud Provider

First, let's add your cloud provider credentials so Planton Cloud can provision resources on your behalf.

AWS

# Create AWS credential
apiVersion: connect.planton.cloud/v1
kind: AwsCredential
metadata:
  name: aws-dev-account
  org: your-org
spec:
  accessKeyId: ${AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID}
  secretAccessKey: ${AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY}
  region: us-east-1

GCP

# Create GCP credential
apiVersion: connect.planton.cloud/v1
kind: GcpCredential
metadata:
  name: gcp-dev-project
  org: your-org
spec:
  projectId: my-project-123
  serviceAccountKeyBase64: ${GCP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY_BASE64}

Azure

# Create Azure credential
apiVersion: connect.planton.cloud/v1
kind: AzureCredential
metadata:
  name: azure-dev-subscription
  org: your-org
spec:
  subscriptionId: ${AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID}
  tenantId: ${AZURE_TENANT_ID}
  clientId: ${AZURE_CLIENT_ID}
  clientSecret: ${AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET}

Security Note: Credentials are encrypted at rest and in transit. Only authorized Stack Jobs can access them during execution.

Step 2: Create an Environment

Environments organize your resources and control which credentials are used:

apiVersion: resource-manager.planton.cloud/v1
kind: Environment
metadata:
  name: development
  org: your-org
spec:
  description: Development environment for testing
  environmentType: development

After creating the environment, the system automatically maps your credential to it if it's the first credential for that provider.

Step 3: Browse the Deployment Component Catalog

Now for the fun part—let's explore what you can deploy! The Deployment Component catalog offers 50+ pre-configured infrastructure components.

Popular Components by Provider

AWS Components

VPC: Complete network setup with subnets and routing
EKS Cluster: Managed Kubernetes with best practices
RDS Database: PostgreSQL/MySQL with backups
S3 Bucket: Object storage with versioning
ALB: Application Load Balancer with SSL

GCP Components

GKE Cluster: Google Kubernetes Engine
Cloud SQL: Managed PostgreSQL/MySQL
GCS Bucket: Cloud Storage bucket
Cloud Run: Serverless containers

Kubernetes Components

PostgreSQL: Production-ready database
Redis: In-memory cache
Kafka: Event streaming platform
Elasticsearch: Search and analytics

Step 4: Deploy Your First Resource

Let's deploy a PostgreSQL database—a common first resource that shows the power of InfraHub.

Option A: Deploy to Kubernetes

apiVersion: infra-hub.planton.cloud/v1
kind: PostgresKubernetes
metadata:
  name: my-first-db
  org: your-org
  env: development
spec:
  version: "15.3"
  resources:
    requests:
      cpu: 100m
      memory: 256Mi
    limits:
      cpu: 1000m
      memory: 1Gi
  storage:
    size: 10Gi
    class: gp3
  backup:
    enabled: true
    schedule: "0 2 * * *"  # 2 AM daily

Option B: Deploy to AWS RDS

apiVersion: infra-hub.planton.cloud/v1
kind: AwsRds
metadata:
  name: my-first-rds
  org: your-org
  env: development
spec:
  engine: postgres
  engineVersion: "15.3"
  instanceClass: db.t3.micro
  allocatedStorage: 20
  multiAz: false
  publiclyAccessible: false
  backupRetentionPeriod: 7

Step 5: Watch the Magic Happen

As soon as you submit the configuration, InfraHub springs into action:

Stack Job Created: A new job appears with status "Pending"
Pre-flight Checks: Validates credentials and permissions
Execution Begins: The Stack Job Runner picks up the job
Real-time Progress: Watch each step execute

# Follow the deployment
planton stack-job logs sj_<job-id> --follow

# You'll see:
[INIT] Downloading Terraform providers...
[INIT] ✓ Providers initialized
[REFRESH] Checking current state...
[REFRESH] ✓ No existing resources found
[PLAN] Planning infrastructure changes...
[PLAN] + aws_db_instance.main
[PLAN] + aws_db_subnet_group.main
[PLAN] + aws_security_group.rds
[PLAN] ✓ Plan: 3 to add, 0 to change, 0 to destroy
[APPLY] Creating resources...
[APPLY] ✓ aws_security_group.rds created
[APPLY] ✓ aws_db_subnet_group.main created
[APPLY] ✓ aws_db_instance.main created (5m 23s)
[COMPLETE] ✓ Deployment successful!

Step 6: Access Your Resource

Once deployed, your resource details are available:

# Resource status shows outputs
status:
  outputs:
    endpoint: my-first-rds.c9ak3.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com
    port: 5432
    username: postgres
    secretName: rds-my-first-rds-credentials

For Kubernetes resources, connection details are stored in secrets:

# Get connection details
kubectl get secret postgres-my-first-db-credentials -o yaml

Common First Deployments

Simple Web App Infrastructure

Deploy everything needed for a basic web application:

1. Network Layer (AWS VPC)

apiVersion: infra-hub.planton.cloud/v1
kind: AwsVpc
metadata:
  name: app-network
spec:
  cidrBlock: "10.0.0.0/16"
  enableDnsHostnames: true
  enableNatGateway: true
  singleNatGateway: true  # Save costs in dev

2. Kubernetes Cluster (EKS)

apiVersion: infra-hub.planton.cloud/v1
kind: AwsEksCluster
metadata:
  name: app-cluster
spec:
  version: "1.28"
  vpcId: ${vpc.app-network.id}
  nodeGroups:
    - name: general
      instanceTypes: ["t3.medium"]
      minSize: 2
      maxSize: 5

3. Database (RDS)

apiVersion: infra-hub.planton.cloud/v1
kind: AwsRds
metadata:
  name: app-database
spec:
  engine: postgres
  instanceClass: db.t3.small
  vpcId: ${vpc.app-network.id}

4. Load Balancer (ALB)

apiVersion: infra-hub.planton.cloud/v1
kind: AwsAlb
metadata:
  name: app-lb
spec:
  vpcId: ${vpc.app-network.id}
  certificateArn: ${acm.app-cert.arn}

Development Database Stack

Quick PostgreSQL with Redis cache:

# PostgreSQL for persistent data
apiVersion: infra-hub.planton.cloud/v1
kind: PostgresKubernetes
metadata:
  name: dev-postgres
spec:
  version: "15"
  storage:
    size: 20Gi
---
# Redis for caching
apiVersion: infra-hub.planton.cloud/v1
kind: RedisKubernetes
metadata:
  name: dev-redis
spec:
  version: "7"
  persistence:
    enabled: false  # Cache only

Understanding What Just Happened

When you deployed your first resource, InfraHub orchestrated a complex workflow:

1. Configuration Processing

Validated your YAML against the resource schema
Resolved any variable references
Created a versioned configuration entry

2. Stack Job Creation

Determined which IaC module to use (Terraform/Pulumi)
Selected the appropriate credentials
Configured the state backend
Applied your organization's flow control policy

3. Execution

Stack Job Runner received the job
Downloaded the IaC module from the registry
Injected your configuration as variables
Executed the multi-step workflow
Streamed logs back to you

4. State Management

Stored Terraform/Pulumi state securely
Recorded outputs for reference
Updated resource status

Customizing Your Deployment

Choose Your IaC Tool

By default, your organization uses either Terraform or Pulumi. You can check:

# See your organization's default
planton org describe your-org

# Output includes:
iacProvisioner: terraform  # or pulumi

Control the Flow

Want manual approvals for production? Configure a flow control policy:

apiVersion: infra-hub.planton.cloud/v1
kind: FlowControlPolicy
metadata:
  name: production-careful
spec:
  selector:
    kind: environment
    id: production
  flowControl:
    previewBeforeUpdate: true
    pauseBetweenPreviewAndUpdate: true  # Manual approval

Bring Your Own Modules

Not happy with the default PostgreSQL module? Bring your own:

apiVersion: infra-hub.planton.cloud/v1
kind: IacModule
metadata:
  name: custom-postgres
  org: your-org
spec:
  provisioner: terraform
  cloudResourceKind: postgres_kubernetes
  gitRepo:
    cloneUrl: https://github.com/your-org/postgres-module
    branch: main
    projectDir: terraform

Troubleshooting Your First Deployment

Stack Job Fails with "Invalid credentials"

Check that your credential is properly authorized for the environment:

# List credential mappings
planton env describe development

# Re-authorize if needed
planton credential authorize aws-dev-account --env development

"Resource already exists" Error

If you're retrying a deployment:

# Option 1: Import existing resource
planton infra import my-first-db --resource-id i-1234567

# Option 2: Choose a different name
metadata:
  name: my-second-db

Can't Find the Component I Need

The catalog is constantly growing. If you need something specific:

Check if a similar component exists
Use a generic component (like KubernetesManifest)
Create a custom IaC module
Request it in the community forum

What's Next?

Congratulations! You've deployed your first infrastructure with InfraHub. Here's where to go next:

Deployment Components - Explore the full catalog
Stack Jobs Deep Dive - Understand the execution model
Flow Control - Set up governance policies
Multi-Environment Guide - Dev, staging, and production

Pro tip: Start simple with one or two resources, then build up your infrastructure incrementally. InfraHub makes it easy to evolve your setup over time.

Quick Reference

Essential Commands

# List available components
planton component list

# Deploy a resource
planton apply -f resource.yaml

# Check deployment status
planton stack-job list --env development

# Get resource details
planton describe <kind> <name>

# Delete a resource
planton delete <kind> <name>

Next Resource Ideas

After your database, consider:

Message Queue: Kafka or RabbitMQ for async processing
Cache Layer: Redis for performance
Object Storage: S3/GCS for file storage
CDN: CloudFront for static assets
Monitoring: Prometheus and Grafana

Remember, InfraHub is designed to make infrastructure as easy as deploying code. Start small, experiment, and build confidence. You've got this! 🚀

Planton Documentation

Getting Started with InfraHub

Getting Started with InfraHub

From Zero to Deployed Infrastructure in 5 Minutes

Step 1: Connect Your Cloud Provider

AWS

GCP

Azure

Step 2: Create an Environment

Step 3: Browse the Deployment Component Catalog

Popular Components by Provider

Step 4: Deploy Your First Resource

Option A: Deploy to Kubernetes

Option B: Deploy to AWS RDS

Step 5: Watch the Magic Happen

Step 6: Access Your Resource

Common First Deployments

Simple Web App Infrastructure

Development Database Stack

Understanding What Just Happened

1. Configuration Processing

2. Stack Job Creation

3. Execution

4. State Management

Customizing Your Deployment

Choose Your IaC Tool

Control the Flow

Bring Your Own Modules

Troubleshooting Your First Deployment

Stack Job Fails with "Invalid credentials"

"Resource already exists" Error

Can't Find the Component I Need

What's Next?

Quick Reference

Essential Commands

Next Resource Ideas

Stack Jobs Deep Dive

Contributors

Swarup Donepudi