Infrastructure drift detection keeps your cloud resources in check

Managing cloud infrastructure can feel like herding cats. Resources get created outside of Infrastructure as Code (IaC), configurations drift from their defined state, and before you know it, your carefully crafted Terraform setup doesn’t match reality. Today, we’re excited to announce Infrastructure Drift Detection, a powerful new feature that helps you maintain control over your AWS resources.

The Infrastructure Drift Challenge

Every DevOps team has been there: a developer spins up an EC2 instance for testing, someone creates an S3 bucket through the AWS console for a quick fix, or a configuration gets changed manually during an incident. These actions, while sometimes necessary, create a gap between your infrastructure code and the actual state of your cloud resources.

Introducing Infrastructure Drift Detection

Our new Infrastructure Drift Detection feature brings transparency to your cloud resource management by:

1. Automatically Discovering Resources: Continuously scans your AWS accounts to maintain an up-to-date inventory of all resources.
2. Identifying Unmanaged Resources: Clearly shows which resources are managed by Terraform and which ones were created outside your IaC workflow.
3. Simplifying Migration: For supported services (currently EC2 and S3), automatically generate Terraform code to bring unmanaged resources under IaC control.

How It Works

The feature integrates seamlessly into your existing workflow:

1. Navigate to your project’s infrastructure page
2. View a comprehensive table of all resources, including:
   • Resource name and type
   • Management status (Terraform-managed or unmanaged)
   • Creation and modification timestamps
   • Environment information
3. Filter and sort resources to focus on what matters:
   • Show only unmanaged resources
   • Filter by service type
   • Sort by creation date
4. For eligible resources, click “Migrate to Terraform” to automatically generate the necessary Terraform code and create a pull request.

Best Practices

To get the most out of Infrastructure Drift Detection:

1. Regular Reviews: Make drift detection part of your regular infrastructure maintenance routine.
2. Team Communication: Use the feature to identify when and why resources are being created outside of IaC.
3. Progressive Migration: Start with critical resources and gradually bring everything under Terraform management.

Getting Started

Infrastructure Drift Detection is available now for all Cased users. Visit your project’s infrastructure page to start identifying and managing infrastructure drift.