Revolutionizing DevOps: How Framework-Defined Infrastructure (FdI) Transforms IaC

Introduction to Framework-Defined Infrastructure (FdI)

• Malta, the CTO of Vercel, discusses the concept of Framework-Defined Infrastructure (FdI) and its impact on Infrastructure as Code (IaC). (3s)
• Vercel provides tools for teams to develop, preview, and ship applications efficiently, handling deployment and serving of applications. (20s)
• The platform automatically deploys pull requests from development environments like GitHub, providing preview URLs for changes and redeploying sites when pushed to production. (1m0s)
• Vercel analyzes applications, such as Next.js, to optimize deployment, highlighting the importance of understanding application content for effective deployment. (1m28s)
• Next.js, a popular React framework developed by Vercel, is widely used by major brands on the web. (1m47s)
• The evolution of infrastructure deployment is outlined, from manual methods in the '90s to semi-automated deployments and the rise of Infrastructure as Code. (2m52s)
• Framework-Defined Infrastructure is presented as an evolution of IaC, offering compatibility across different infrastructure providers and reducing the need for manual configuration. (3m45s)
• FdI allows developers to focus more on writing product code rather than system management, and enables the use of preferred frameworks and local development tools without changes. (4m11s)

Defining Infrastructure and Frameworks

• Infrastructure is defined as network equipment, setups, web application servers, databases, and other components found in data centers, which need to be deployed. (4m23s)
• A framework is distinguished from a library by the Hollywood principle, "don't call us, we'll call you," meaning the framework controls the lifecycle and invokes the code written to its pattern. (5m1s)
• Frameworks help solve the halting problem by allowing an understanding of what a program will do if it complies with the framework's flow and lifecycle. (6m12s)

Framework-Defined Infrastructure (FdI) Explained

• Framework-Defined Infrastructure (FdI) involves writing code in a framework dialect, which is then compiled into infrastructure as code definitions. This process uses a compiler specific to each framework to map the code to deployable infrastructure primitives. (6m44s)

Common Features of Modern Frontend Frameworks

• Modern frontend frameworks, supported by platforms like Vercel, share common features such as isomorphic rendering, which allows code to be executed on both the client and server sides. (7m53s)
• Frameworks facilitate routing by mapping requests to specific functions or functionalities, which is a core function of frameworks. This involves handling requests and determining the appropriate actions to take, such as routing, data fetching, and caching. (8m38s)
• In front-end frameworks, features like pages, API routes, and middleware are common. Pages are visible to users, while API routes are accessed indirectly by machines. Middleware allows for code execution within the routing process, affecting how routing operates. (9m2s)
• Asset optimization, such as image serving, is specific to front-end frameworks, enhancing performance by optimizing assets like images. (9m26s)

Example of a Next.js Application and Deployment

• In a Next.js application, files like index.tsx and SL block.tsx demonstrate different rendering methods. The getServerSideProps function in index.tsx triggers server-side computation each time the page is invoked, leading to the deployment of a serverless function. (9m44s)
• The getStaticProps method in SL block.tsx allows for build-time rendering, resulting in the deployment of static files for high-performance service. (10m16s)
• Middleware files require global deployment, such as a global edge worker, to handle routing tasks. (10m48s)
• Image files can be served via high-performance static file services, but larger images may benefit from image optimization services to ensure quality delivery. (11m0s)

Application Routing and Dynamic Deployment

• The application routing table is crucial for mapping files to services and ensuring that ingress traffic is directed to the correct infrastructure, facilitating efficient application deployment and service routing. (11m24s)
• Changes in source code, such as switching from getServerSideProps to getStaticProps, affect the deployment process, demonstrating the dynamic nature of framework-defined infrastructure. (12m21s)
• Framework-Defined Infrastructure (FdI) allows for rendering at build time and deploying static files to production, enabling infrastructure changes with code redeployment. This process involves orchestration managed by the FDI compiler. (12m33s)
• A subtle change involves adding a line of code, "revalidate 60," which ensures that a page is rendered every 60 seconds with traffic, while serving a static file outside of these renderings. This requires deploying both a static file and a serverless function. (12m53s)
• The deployment process includes a middleware file in the project that leads to the global provisioning of an edge worker, which performs necessary tasks. Deployment to Vercel provides a summary of the infrastructure needed, determined by the FDI compiler from the program provided. (13m41s)

Benefits of FdI: Vendor Independence and Flexibility

• FdI differentiates itself by reducing vendor lock-in, unlike other methods such as Terraform, which ties users to specific cloud providers like AWS. FdI allows deployment without specifying the cloud provider, avoiding direct connection to a deployment target. (14m37s)
• Other vendors may require using specific CLI tools or syntax, which can lock users into their platforms. FdI and Vercel aim to avoid such dependencies, allowing more flexibility in deployment. (15m51s)

Real-World Application and Automated Deployment

• The application discussed is highly sophisticated, generating over a billion dollars annually, and is deployed automatically without manual intervention, relying on conventions of the chosen framework. (16m55s)

Improved Local Development Experience and Immutable Deployments

• Framework-Defined Infrastructure (FdI) enhances the local development experience by providing clear instructions for running applications locally, which is crucial for complex cloud setups. This approach ensures a seamless and efficient development process. (17m43s)
• Immutable deployment is a key feature, where each commit results in a new virtual infrastructure, allowing for instant rollbacks. This means previous deployments remain intact, enabling developers to revert to any prior state if issues arise. (18m53s)
• The rollback process is simplified by using immutable deployments, where switching to a previous deployment is as easy as redirecting traffic to a different version, without the complexities of traditional rollback methods. (20m33s)

Skew Protection and Serverless Infrastructure

• Framework-Defined Infrastructure (FdI) includes a feature called skew protection, which allows clients to ensure that servers run the same version, preventing communication issues due to server changes. This is possible because FdI can manage different deployments simultaneously. (21m10s)
• FdI relies on serverless infrastructure, which is essential for handling multiple deployments without requiring a separate computer for each one. This infrastructure can scale to zero, meaning it doesn't consume resources when not in use, except for minimal storage costs. (21m51s)

Challenges and Trade-offs of FdI

• While FdI is more challenging to implement for stateful workloads like databases, it is not impossible. It requires lazy provisioning of infrastructure when usage is detected and isolating changes to specific branches. Some providers, like Neon, offer features such as copy-on-write branching to support FdI for stateful workloads. (22m42s)
• There are trade-offs with FdI, particularly for DevOps professionals, as it can be difficult to understand what is happening in production due to the code-driven nature of deployments. This can lead to a lack of direct visibility and requires a different approach to observability, accounting for the ephemeral nature of resources. (24m4s)

Evolution of Infrastructure Management: IaC, Infrastructure from Code, and FdI

• The original concept of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) was typically declarative, where users specified the desired infrastructure, sometimes using imperative code. (25m9s)
• An evolution of IaC is Infrastructure from Code, where business logic is written using a specific SDK tightly bound to the infrastructure, eliminating the need to think about infrastructure directly. (25m35s)
• Framework-Defined Infrastructure (FdI) is related to this evolution, as it allows the compiler to extract logic from the framework, focusing on the framework rather than the infrastructure. (26m5s)
• Examples of technologies in this space include Google's Service Weaver, which focuses on deploying serverless services in a microservice architecture, and Dino KV, which offers seamless deployment from local to production environments. (26m23s)
• Other frameworks like encor and Nitric are also part of this continuum, bridging the gap between infrastructure from code and traditional IaC. (26m45s)

Goals and Security Focus of Modern Frameworks

• The goal of these frameworks is to enhance portability between different infrastructure providers, reduce the need for manual configuration, and increase the time spent on writing product code rather than system management. (27m12s)
• Security is also a focus, as these systems restrict actions to what the system allows, preventing unauthorized deployments to production. (27m35s)