AWS Cloud Development Kit vs Azure Resource Manager

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AWS Cloud Development Kit

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Azure Resource Manager

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AWS Cloud Development Kit vs Azure Resource Manager: What are the differences?

Key Differences between AWS Cloud Development Kit and Azure Resource Manager

AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) and Azure Resource Manager (ARM) are both infrastructure-as-code (IaC) tools that allow developers to define and manage cloud resources using code. While they share similar objectives, there are several key differences between the two platforms.

  1. Language and Framework: One significant difference between CDK and ARM is the programming languages and frameworks they support. CDK allows developers to define cloud infrastructure using familiar programming languages like TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Java, and .NET. On the other hand, ARM primarily relies on JSON or YAML templates for infrastructure definition.

  2. Level of Abstraction: CDK operates at a higher level of abstraction compared to ARM. It provides a more developer-friendly experience by leveraging object-oriented programming concepts, allowing developers to define infrastructure resources using constructs and classes. In contrast, ARM is a declarative language that defines resources and their properties using JSON or YAML templates.

  3. Multi-Cloud Support: CDK supports multi-cloud environments, enabling developers to define infrastructure resources for different cloud providers using the same codebase. It offers a level of portability by abstracting cloud-specific details. In contrast, ARM is specific to the Microsoft Azure ecosystem and is not designed to work with other cloud providers.

  4. Ease of Deployment: CDK provides a streamlined deployment process by leveraging AWS CloudFormation. It automates the creation and management of AWS resources, making it easier to deploy infrastructure changes. On the other hand, ARM relies on Azure Resource Manager for resource provisioning, which may involve additional steps and configurations.

  5. Community and Ecosystem: CDK benefits from a broader community and ecosystem due to its support for multiple programming languages. It has a more active and growing community, which results in a wider range of libraries, examples, and documentation. ARM, being specific to Azure, has its own community, but it may not be as extensive or diverse as CDK.

  6. Maturity and Adoption: CDK is a relatively newer platform compared to ARM, which has been in use for a longer period. While CDK has gained rapid adoption and popularity, ARM has a more extensive track record, with many enterprises already heavily relying on it for managing Azure resources.

In summary, the key differences between AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) and Azure Resource Manager (ARM) include programming language and framework support, level of abstraction, multi-cloud capability, ease of deployment, community and ecosystem, as well as maturity and adoption. These distinctions offer developers various options and considerations when choosing an infrastructure-as-code tool.

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Pros of AWS Cloud Development Kit
Pros of Azure Resource Manager
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    • 3
      Bicep - Simple Declarative Language
    • 1
      Infrastructure-as-Code
    • 1
      Over 1K samples the QuickStart repo
    • 1
      Deep integration with Azure services like Azure Policy
    • 1
      Day 1 resource support
    • 1
      RBAC and Policies in templates
    • 1
      Versioned deployment via Blueprints

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    What is AWS Cloud Development Kit?

    It is an open source software development framework to model and provision your cloud application resources using familiar programming languages. It uses the familiarity and expressive power of programming languages for modeling your applications. It provides you with high-level components that preconfigure cloud resources with proven defaults, so you can build cloud applications without needing to be an expert.

    What is Azure Resource Manager?

    It is the deployment and management service for Azure. It provides a management layer that enables you to create, update, and delete resources in your Azure subscription. You use management features, like access control, locks, and tags, to secure and organize your resources after deployment.

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    What companies use AWS Cloud Development Kit?
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    See which teams inside your own company are using AWS Cloud Development Kit or Azure Resource Manager.
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    What tools integrate with AWS Cloud Development Kit?
    What tools integrate with Azure Resource Manager?

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    What are some alternatives to AWS Cloud Development Kit and Azure Resource Manager?
    AWS CloudFormation
    You can use AWS CloudFormation’s sample templates or create your own templates to describe the AWS resources, and any associated dependencies or runtime parameters, required to run your application. You don’t need to figure out the order in which AWS services need to be provisioned or the subtleties of how to make those dependencies work.
    Packer
    Packer automates the creation of any type of machine image. It embraces modern configuration management by encouraging you to use automated scripts to install and configure the software within your Packer-made images.
    Pulumi
    Pulumi is a cloud development platform that makes creating cloud programs easy and productive. Skip the YAML and just write code. Pulumi is multi-language, multi-cloud and fully extensible in both its engine and ecosystem of packages.
    Yocto
    It is an open source collaboration project that helps developers create custom Linux-based systems regardless of the hardware architecture. It provides a flexible set of tools and a space where embedded developers worldwide can share technologies, software stacks, configurations, and best practices that can be used to create tailored Linux images for embedded and IOT devices, or anywhere a customized Linux OS is needed.
    GeoEngineer
    GeoEngineer uses Terraform to plan and execute changes, so the DSL to describe resources is similar to Terraform's. GeoEngineer's DSL also provides programming and object oriented features like inheritance, abstraction, branching and looping.
    See all alternatives