Infrastructure Management Tools: Terraform and Alternatives

For effective management of growing infrastructure, it’s recommended to transition from spreadsheets to specialized Infrastructure as Code (IaC) management tools and asset inventory systems. Terraform and its alternatives (OpenTofu, Pulumi) provide automation and data synchronization, while tools like Lansweeper, Device42, and specialized IPAM systems offer comprehensive tracking of servers, domains, and IP addresses with automatic discovery and data updates.

Table of Contents

• Main Approaches to Infrastructure Management
• Asset Management and Inventory Tools
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
• IP Address and Domain Management
• Integration with Existing Systems
• Migration Recommendations
• Conclusion

Main Approaches to Infrastructure Management

Growing infrastructure requires a systematic approach to management that goes beyond spreadsheets. The main approaches include:

1. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) - automation of resource creation and management through code
2. Centralized inventory - a single system for tracking all assets
3. Automatic discovery - network self-scanning to keep data up-to-date
4. Service integration - combining various tools into a single ecosystem

Modern approaches help avoid desynchronization between spreadsheet data and actual infrastructure state, which is a key problem when using Google Sheets.

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Asset Management and Inventory Tools

Specialized Management Systems

Lansweeper automatically scans the network to identify all assets and provides detailed information about each device. The system can scan IP ranges to discover connected devices and sort them by type, allowing quick location of required infrastructure components [source].

Device42 is used by large companies to eliminate “blind spots” in assets and optimize infrastructure. It provides absolute visibility across AWS, Azure, GCP, and on-premises environments [source].

Total Network Inventory - professional software for PC auditing and network inventory management, available free for 30 days [source].

Open Source Solutions

Snipe-IT - a free open-source IT asset management system in PHP, ideal for small and medium-sized businesses [source].

Open-AudIT - a powerful inventory tool that can be run on Windows or Linux. It collects information about licenses, software versions, and even license keys [source].

Benefits of specialized systems:

• Automatic discovery of new assets
• Detailed reporting and analytics
• Integration with other tools
• Reduced risk of human errors during manual input

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Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Terraform and its Alternatives

Terraform is the industry standard for Infrastructure as Code management. It uses providers to interact with cloud services and allows using SSH to perform basic configuration tasks [source].

OpenTofu - a reliable, flexible, community-driven tool under the Linux Foundation that serves as a direct replacement for Terraform, preserving existing workflows and configurations [source].

Pulumi offers a wide range of integrations with various cloud providers (AWS, GCP, Azure) and automatically manages infrastructure state. It provides secure handling of sensitive information through integration with AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, or HashiCorp Vault [source].

Approach Comparison

Ansible thanks to its agentless architecture doesn’t require installation of client or server software and can work on any server or system supporting Python Paramiko modules and SSH protocols [source].

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IP Address and Domain Management

IPAM Systems (IP Address Management)

EfficientIP SOLIDserver combines DHCP, DNS, and IPAM into a single automated system. Within the DDI suite, administrators can view all IP-assigned devices, DNS-DHCP configurations, and automate management of VLAN/VXLAN/VRF across the network [source].

Specialized IPAM tools provide:

• Automatic IP address allocation
• DNS record management
• Monitoring of IP space usage
• Integration with cloud services

Domain Management

For managing domains registered with different registrars, you can use:

1. Consolidated control panels - combining domains into a single system
2. API integrations - automatic record updates through registrar APIs
3. CloudFlare integration - centralized DNS record management through CloudFlare API
4. Domain monitoring systems - automatic notifications about renewals

Modern IPAM solutions support both cloud and on-premises infrastructure, providing full control over IP space without manual tracking in spreadsheets.

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Integration with Existing Systems

Integration with CloudFlare

Since you’re using CloudFlare for DNS record management, most modern tools support integration through API. This allows:

• Automatic synchronization of DNS records
• Management of SSL/TLS certificates
• Monitoring of domain status
• Automation of A, AAAA, CNAME, and other record updates

Integration with Containerized Services

For accounting of containerized services, you can use:

• Kubernetes-native tools - for containers
• Orchestrators - Docker Swarm, Kubernetes
• Monitoring systems - Prometheus, Grafana
• Observability tools - ELK stack, Loki

The key integration point is to ensure bidirectional data synchronization between different tools and avoid information duplication.

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Migration Recommendations

Gradual Transition from Google Sheets

1. Start with inventory - choose one tool for asset management (e.g., Lansweeper or Snipe-IT)
2. Automate discovery - set up network scanning for automatic detection of servers and IP addresses
3. Integrate domain management - connect registrar APIs and CloudFlare
4. Implement IaC - start small, for example, with SSH key management through Ansible
5. Centralize data - create a single source of truth for all infrastructure

Learning Terraform

Yes, learning Terraform is worth it despite migration complexities, because:

• It solves the data desynchronization problem between spreadsheets and actual state
• Ensures reproducibility and versioning of infrastructure
• Supports multi-cloud scenarios
• Has a huge community and documentation
• Integrates with other tools in the DevOps ecosystem

Migration tip: Start by creating a test environment in Terraform for managing new resources, while continuing to use Google Sheets for existing assets. As you gain confidence, gradually migrate resources to Terraform.

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Conclusion

1. Priority transition to specialized tools - moving away from Google Sheets in favor of inventory systems and IaC will prevent data desynchronization and improve infrastructure manageability.

2. Comprehensive solution includes both asset management tools (Lansweeper, Device42) and infrastructure as code management systems (Terraform, OpenTofu, Pulumi).

3. Integration with existing services - it’s especially important to maintain CloudFlare API functionality for DNS record management.

4. Gradual migration - start small, for example, with SSH key automation through Ansible or OpenTofu, and gradually expand coverage.

5. IaC learning is justified - despite initial challenges, investments in learning Terraform or its alternatives will pay off through automation, reproducibility, and reduced risk of human errors.

For your specific situation with VPS servers, SSH keys, and domains, it’s recommended to start with a combination of Snipe-IT (for asset management) and OpenTofu (for infrastructure management), gradually adding specialized IPAM systems as complexity grows.

Sources

1. Slashdot - Best Tools For Network Inventory Management
2. Total Network Inventory - Professional PC audit and network inventory management software
3. Comparitech - 12 Best Computer Inventory Management Software for 2025
4. Networks Training - 11 Best IT & Network Inventory Software Tools (Free & Paid) in 2025
5. DNSstuff - 5 Best IPAM Software & IP Address Management Tools
6. LinuxLinks - 13 Best Free and Open Source Network Inventory Management
7. CloudAware - Expert Review of Top 10 IT Inventory Management Software
8. DNSstuff - 7 Best Network Inventory Software and Tools
9. Networks Training - 14 Best IP Address Management (IPAM) and DDI Software/Tools in 2025
10. Snipe-IT - Free open source IT asset management
11. Spacelift - Terraform vs. Ansible: Differences and Comparison of Tools
12. OpenTofu - Community-driven Infrastructure as Code
13. env0 - Best Infrastructure as Code Tools and Terraform Alternatives
14. Pulumi Blog - Most Effective Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Tools
15. Northflank - Top 10 Terraform alternatives to optimize your infrastructure in 2025