Deployment Manager as native IaC in GCP - Step-by-Step Execution

Process Flow - Deployment Manager as native IaC

Write YAML/Template config

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Run deployment command

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Deployment Manager parses config

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Creates/Updates GCP resources

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Deployment state stored

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User verifies deployment status

Deployment Manager takes your config files, reads them, creates or updates resources in GCP, and keeps track of the deployment state.

Execution Sample

GCP

resources:
  - name: my-vm
    type: compute.v1.instance
    properties:
      zone: us-central1-a
      machineType: zones/us-central1-a/machineTypes/n1-standard-1
      disks:
        - deviceName: boot
          type: PERSISTENT
          boot: true
          autoDelete: true
          initializeParams:
            sourceImage: projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-10

This YAML defines a VM instance resource to be created in GCP.

Process Table

Step	Action	Input/Config	Result/State Change
1	Read YAML config	resources: my-vm VM definition	Parsed resource definition stored
2	Validate config	Check resource types and properties	Validation successful
3	Send create request	Create VM instance in zone us-central1-a	API call sent to GCP
4	GCP creates VM	VM creation in progress	VM instance created and running
5	Store deployment state	Record resource and status	Deployment state saved
6	User checks status	gcloud deployment-manager deployments describe	Shows VM created and active
7	Exit	All resources created successfully	Deployment complete

💡 All resources created and deployment state saved; deployment is complete.

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 3	After Step 5	Final
deployment_state	empty	parsed config loaded	create request sent	resources created	deployment complete
resource_status	none	defined	pending creation	created	active

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why does Deployment Manager need a config file before creating resources?

The config file tells Deployment Manager what resources to create and their settings. Without it, Deployment Manager doesn't know what to build. See execution_table step 1.

What happens if the config has an invalid resource type?

Deployment Manager will fail validation and stop before creating resources. This is shown in execution_table step 2 where validation must succeed.

How does Deployment Manager keep track of created resources?

It stores deployment state after resource creation (step 5), so it knows what exists and can update or delete later.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, what is the deployment_state after step 3?

A deployment complete

B resources created

C create request sent

D parsed config loaded

💡 Hint

Check variable_tracker row 'deployment_state' column 'After Step 3'

At which step does Deployment Manager validate the config?

A Step 2

B Step 1

C Step 4

D Step 5

💡 Hint

See execution_table step with action 'Validate config'

If the VM creation fails, which step would not complete successfully?

A Step 3

B Step 4

C Step 5

D Step 6

💡 Hint

Step 4 is where GCP creates the VM; failure happens here

Concept Snapshot

Deployment Manager uses YAML or templates to define GCP resources.
Run deployment commands to apply configs.
It validates configs, creates resources, and tracks state.
You can update or delete resources via updated configs.
Deployment state helps manage resource lifecycle.

Full Transcript

Deployment Manager is a tool in Google Cloud that lets you define your infrastructure using configuration files, usually in YAML. You write what resources you want, like virtual machines, and their settings. When you run the deployment command, Deployment Manager reads your config, checks it for errors, and then tells Google Cloud to create those resources. It keeps track of what it created so you can update or delete them later. This process helps automate and manage your cloud infrastructure easily and reliably.