To establish development, test, and production environments in Google Cloud for a project, while ensuring consistency and adhering to Google’s best practices, what is the recommended approach?
- Create a unified Terraform configuration for all environments.
- Utilize the Cloud Foundation Toolkit to design a versatile deployment template, deployable across all environments using Terraform.
- Develop a Cloud Shell script incorporating gcloud commands for environment deployment.
- Formulate separate Terraform configurations for each environment, deploying them as needed.
Explanation:
The optimal approach is to utilize the Cloud Foundation Toolkit to create a versatile deployment template that can be used across development, test, and production environments, and then deploy it with Terraform. This toolkit offers reference templates for both Deployment Manager and Terraform that align with Google Cloud’s best practices. By using a single, adaptable template, you ensure consistency across all environments while maintaining efficiency in deployment processes. Alternative methods like creating a single Terraform configuration, using Cloud Shell scripts, or having separate configurations for each environment may lack the consistency, scalability, and adherence to best practices that the Cloud Foundation Toolkit offers.