This guide aims to clarify how Terraform interacts with Trusted Cloud by S3NS APIs (while differentiating between public and private APIs), and explain key concepts like API enablement and resource import. This understanding is crucial for effectively managing your Trusted Cloud by S3NS resources with Terraform and avoiding common pitfalls.
Public versus private Trusted Cloud by S3NS APIs
Trusted Cloud by S3NS services expose various APIs that allow applications and tools (like Terraform) to interact with and manage resources. These APIs broadly fall into two categories:
Public APIs
Purpose: These are the primary interfaces for customers and tools to create, configure, and manage Trusted Cloud by S3NS resources (e.g., Compute Engine instances, Cloud Storage buckets, BigQuery datasets).
Exposure: Public APIs are well-documented, have defined REST endpoints, and are intended for external consumption. They are the APIs that the google Terraform provider is built to interact with.
Examples: compute.googleapis.com, storage.googleapis.com, bigquery.googleapis.com.
Private (internal) APIs
Purpose: These APIs are internal to Trusted Cloud by S3NS services, used by Google itself for the internal operation, orchestration, and provisioning of its managed services. They expose functionalities that are not meant for direct customer interaction or management.
Exposure: Private APIs are generally not publicly documented, don't have stable external endpoints, and are not designed for direct access by third-party tools like Terraform. They are an implementation detail of the service.
Example: dataproc-control.googleapis.com is an internal API that Dataproc uses for its operational control plane. Customers don't directly interact with or manage this API.
API Enablement versus Resource Import in Terraform
Understanding the distinction between "enabling an API" and "importing a resource" is fundamental to using Terraform effectively with Trusted Cloud by S3NS.
Enabling an API
- What it means: When you "enable an API" in Trusted Cloud by S3NS, you are activating a specific Trusted Cloud by S3NS service for your project. This grants your project the necessary permissions and access to use the functionalities of that service and create resources managed by it.
Terraform context: In Terraform, this is typically done using the google_project_service resource. This resource verifies that a specified public API (e.g., compute.googleapis.com) is enabled for your Trusted Cloud by S3NS project.
Purpose: Enabling an API is a prerequisite for creating or managing resources that belong to that service. For example, you must enable compute.googleapis.com before you can create google_compute_instance resources.
Example (Terraform):
```hcl
resource "google_project_service" "compute_api" {
project = "your-gcp-project-id"
service = "compute.googleapis.com"
disable_on_destroy = false
}
```
Important Note: The google_project_service resource is designed exclusively for managing the enablement state of publicly accessible Trusted Cloud by S3NS APIs. It is not intended for, and won't work with, internal or private APIs. Attempting to use it for private APIs will result in errors, as those APIs are not exposed through the public API surface for such management.
Importing a Resource
What it means: In Terraform, "importing" refers to bringing an existing cloud resource (one that was created manually or by another process outside of Terraform) under Terraform's management. When you import a resource, Terraform generates a state entry for it, allowing you to manage its lifecycle (updates, deletion) using your Terraform configuration.
Terraform context: This is achieved using the terraform import command, or by utilizing import blocks introduced in Terraform 1.5+.
Purpose: To gain control over resources that were not initially provisioned by Terraform.
Example (Terraform CLI):
```bash
terraform import google_compute_instance.my_instance projects/your-gcp-project-id/zones/us-central1-a/instances/my-vm
```
Addressing Concerns about Private APIs (e.g., dataproc-control.googleapis.com)
Customers sometimes encounter references to private APIs (like
dataproc-control.googleapis.com for Dataproc) in logs or documentation and
wonder if they need to enable or import them with Terraform.
No Customer Action Required: If an API is identified as a private or
internal Trusted Cloud by S3NS API, you don't need to explicitly enable it using
google_project_service or attempt to import it with Terraform.
Internal Management: These APIs are crucial for the internal operation of Trusted Cloud by S3NS services. They are automatically managed by Google and are not designed for direct customer interaction or management through public tools.
No Impact on Service Usage: Your inability to "import" or explicitly
manage such a private API using Terraform will not impact your ability to
use the associated Trusted Cloud by S3NS service (e.g., Dataproc will function
correctly without you managing dataproc-control.googleapis.com). The
necessary internal API interactions are handled by Google.
Focus on Public APIs: When managing Trusted Cloud by S3NS resources with Terraform, your focus should solely be on enabling and configuring the public APIs that correspond to the services and resources you intend to provision.
Conclusion
By understanding the clear distinction between public and private Trusted Cloud by S3NS APIs, and the specific roles of "enabling" APIs versus "importing" resources in Terraform, you can effectively manage your Trusted Cloud by S3NS infrastructure. don't attempt to explicitly manage or import private Trusted Cloud by S3NS APIs; they are internal components handled by Google. Focus your Terraform configurations on the publicly exposed APIs and their corresponding resources.