Helm Vs Terraform: Guide To Picking The Best Tool

Helm vs Terraform are two well-known DevOps tools that help manage infrastructure and applications. They both offer automation tools for your operations, but they cater to different scenarios.

Containerization has gained significant momentum in recent years. The more you work with containerization, the more Kubernetes clusters you’ll end up with. This leads to a greater need for effective management of these Kubernetes clusters. That’s where tools like Terraform and Helm come into play.

Today, I’ll tell you about the differences between Helm vs Terraform, their functionalities, and how they can complement each other in your DevOps toolkit.

What is Terraform?

Terraform is a tool for Infrastructure as Code (IaC) that automates the tasks of provisioning and managing infrastructure. It enables you to specify how your infrastructure should appear by setting a desired state in configuration files written in Hashicorp Configuration Language (HCL). After defining this state, you can use Terraform to automatically create, change, or delete infrastructure resources as needed.

Now, Terraform is a software system made up of two key components: Terraform Core and Plugins.

The Core handles the infrastructure life cycle, suggests plans for adding or removing components, and oversees resource provisioning. Plugins facilitate communication with infrastructure hosts or SaaS providers through Remote Procedure Call (RPC).

Terraform: Main Features

Planning before execution: It provides a plan of necessary actions prior to implementation.

Compatible with all cloud platforms: Terraform is not tied to any specific cloud, enabling integration with all major services.

Streamlines complex infrastructure updates: It automates tasks that would typically need manual intervention, saving time and letting engineers concentrate on development.

Utilizes declarative configuration: It employs a declarative model, enabling developers to specify the desired outcome without directing Terraform on how to achieve it.

Automatic drift detection: It verifies that the infrastructure aligns with the state outlined in configuration files, restoring the intended state if there are any differences.

Enables immutable infrastructure: It facilitates the creation and deletion of new resources, minimizing risk.

Terraform’s Benefits and Drawbacks

Pros:

• Open-source and well-established community for simple Kubernetes guidance.
• Provides a planning stage so users can observe outcomes prior making modifications.
• Makes server provisioning simple by using code.
• Has an unchangeable infrastructure, which lowers errors, threats, vulnerabilities, and failures.

Cons:

• Because beta objects are not supported, dealing with beta resources can be difficult.
• Does not have a feature for Kubernetes cluster component installation.
• A new Kubernetes service that offers pricey security and collaborative features.
• The Google Kubernetes engine (GKE) is not fully supported.
• Incorrect resource modifications cannot be rolled back directly or automatically.

What is Helm?

Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes that makes it easier to deploy and manage applications in a Kubernetes cluster. It uses Helm Charts, which are ready-made templates that package Kubernetes manifests together. This is why Helm is a must-have for Kubernetes users looking to handle complex deployments with ease.

Helm: Key Features

• Templating and Reusability: Helm allows you to create reusable Kubernetes YAML manifests using templates. This cuts down on duplication and improves the maintainability of your configurations.
• Version Control for Deployments: Helm charts come with versioning, so you can easily roll back to earlier versions of an application if needed.
• Dependency Management: Helm takes care of the dependencies between charts, ensuring that interconnected applications are deployed in the right order.
• Release Management: Helm keeps track of the applications that have been deployed, making it easy to upgrade or revert to earlier versions.
• Integration with Kubernetes: Since Helm is specifically designed for Kubernetes, it works smoothly with the platform to make application deployments more efficient.

Helm: Benefits and Drawbacks

Pros:

• Enables rollback after changes for easy mistake correction.
• Offers reusable charts and built-in upgrades for managing complex applications.
• User-friendly with extensive features for Kubernetes.
• Adaptable to various tasks on Kubernetes clusters.
• Supports defining variables and deploying applications across different environments and Kubernetes clusters.

Con’s:

• Steep learning curve for beginners due to the need to understand Helm functions.
• Requires creating images for each project to prevent confusion during command execution.
• Customizing Helm charts can be complicated and involves downloading complex packages of various full-stack application definitions.
• Does not directly manage sensitive values, necessitating the use of helm secrets plugins for encryption.

Helm vs Terraform: Side-by-Side Comparison

The table below shows the key differences, and will further explain in detail.

Now, here’s more detail on the Terraform vs Helm differences:

Terraform and Helm handle different kinds of infrastructure. Terraform gives you a generic model for providers and resources across the board, while Helm focuses on deploying apps into already set up Kubernetes clusters. With Terraform, you can create any kind of infrastructure in your cloud accounts.

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1. Kubernetes Support

Helm is designed specifically for Kubernetes. It is exclusively compatible with Kubernetes and utilizes all of its features, including direct support for Kubernetes YAML manifests. However, Helm is limited to managing objects within clusters, not the clusters themselves.

Terraform, while not exclusively a Kubernetes tool, has an official Kubernetes Provider that allows interaction with all Kubernetes resources. However, you must use Terraform’s HCL configuration language to create these resources, as Terraform does not natively process standard Kubernetes YAML files. This can make it a bit challenging for developers who are well-versed in Kubernetes but have limited experience with Terraform.

Additionally, Terraform can be used to create and manage your clusters, not just the resources within them. This is possible through Providers that connect with your cloud services to establish new managed clusters or by writing scripts that manually set up new compute resources, initiate the Kubernetes control plane, and register worker nodes.

2. Rollbacks

A significant difference between the two tools is how they handle rollbacks. Helm simplifies the rollback process to a previous version of a chart installation with the helm rollback command. It automatically restores the cluster’s state, which helps reduce the time needed to resolve issues.

In contrast, Terraform vs Helm lacks a built-in rollback feature for incorrect changes. Instead, it is recommended to restore by rolling forward. This means you need to check the previous versions of your state files from your source repository and reapply them using Terraform.

Overall, this process is more complicated and less dependable than Helm, as some actions cannot always be undone, like deleting a storage volume.

3. Drift Detection

Terraform has built-in drift detection features. Each time you execute a plan or apply your configuration, Terraform will identify and report any inconsistencies in your deployed infrastructure.

4. Beta Support

Terraform:

Terraform doesn’t support beta resources. This makes it tricky for Terraform to handle beta objects, and it gets even more complicated if you want to switch Terraform into a beta environment that’s already been set up.

Helm:

On the other hand, Helm is way more developed and offers plenty of support for various environments and resources, including beta resources. Plus, getting started with Helm is a breeze, which makes working with beta objects a lot easier.

When to Use Helm?

• When deploying and managing Kubernetes applications with a packaged method.
• If you want a simple way to handle application upgrades and rollbacks.
• When managing intricate Kubernetes setups that need templating and reusability.
• If your infrastructure is already set up, and you just need a Kubernetes-native tool for managing applications.

When to Use Terraform?

• If you need to set up infrastructure beyond Kubernetes (like AWS EC2, Azure VMs, networking, databases, etc.).
• When dealing with multi-cloud or hybrid cloud setups.
• If you need state management to monitor changes across the infrastructure.
• When you want a declarative approach to define and automate infrastructure.

Can Helm vs Terraform Be Used Together?

Both tools improve workflows.

You can combine Helm and Terraform to enhance your workflows. Terraform serves as a general-purpose Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool, whereas Helm acts as a package manager specifically for Kubernetes. It’s pretty straightforward to integrate Helm with Terraform using Terraform’s Helm Provider, which facilitates the installation and configuration of Helm charts.

This integration streamlines the deployment process, making it easy to deploy consistently onto new infrastructure. It’s perfect for tasks like migrating between platforms, disaster recovery, or creating development environments.

This setup creates a distinct separation of responsibilities, where Terraform takes care of the infrastructure while Helm oversees the application deployments.

Conclusion: Which Is Better?

Your specific requirements will dictate whether Helm or Terraform is the right choice for you. So If you’re looking to provision and manage infrastructure across different environments, go with Terraform. For deploying and managing applications within Kubernetes clusters, Helm is the way to go.

Often, the best approach is to use both tools together, Helm vs Terraform for app deployment and Terraform for setting up infrastructure. This combination ensures a robust, scalable, and maintainable system architecture.

FAQ’s

1: Can Terraform replace Helm?

No. Terraform is meant for setting up infrastructure, while Helm focuses on managing applications in Kubernetes. They have different roles but can work well together.

2: Is Helm only for Kubernetes?

Yes. Helm is specifically designed for deploying and managing applications in Kubernetes clusters.
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3: Do I need to learn both Helm vs Terraform?

It depends on your job. If you work with both infrastructure setup and application deployment in Kubernetes, knowing both tools is helpful.

4: How do rollbacks work in Helm vs Terraform?

Helm vs Terraform has built-in rollback features that let you easily go back to earlier application versions. Terraform needs manual steps to undo infrastructure changes.

5: Which tool is easier to learn?

Helm is usually simpler for those who know Kubernetes. Terraform vs Helm has a tougher learning curve but provides wider capabilities across different infrastructure elements.