Terraform State Migration
Migrated Terraform backend state from cloud storage to PostgreSQL, creating a cloud-agnostic solution for infrastructure state management.
TerraformPostgreSQLAWSGCP
Overview
Led the migration of Terraform backend state from cloud-specific storage solutions (S3, GCS) to a centralized PostgreSQL database, creating a cloud-agnostic approach to infrastructure state management across a hybrid cloud environment.
Problem
With infrastructure spread across AWS, GCP, and Alibaba Cloud, Terraform state was fragmented across different cloud storage backends — S3 buckets for AWS resources, GCS buckets for GCP resources. This created operational complexity: different access patterns, inconsistent locking mechanisms, and no unified view of infrastructure state.
Solution
- Designed a centralized PostgreSQL-based backend that serves as a single state store across all cloud providers
- Developed a migration tool to safely move existing state files from S3 and GCS to PostgreSQL with zero downtime
- Implemented state locking using PostgreSQL advisory locks for consistent concurrent access
- Set up automated backups and point-in-time recovery for the state database
Impact
- Unified state management across all cloud providers into a single backend
- Simplified access control — one set of database credentials instead of IAM roles per cloud
- Improved auditability with database-level logging of all state changes
- Enabled easier disaster recovery with standard PostgreSQL backup and restore
Technical Details
- IaC: Terraform
- Backend: PostgreSQL (pg backend)
- Previous: S3, GCS
- Cloud Providers: AWS, GCP, Alibaba Cloud