Starbucks Open Sources Their Terraform Provider for Meraki Networks

This blog was authored by Dexter Park,
Lead – Retail Infrastructure Development, Starbucks Coffee Company.

Here’s a note to all our fellow developers and network enthusiasts: We are excited to introduce a project that we believe will revolutionize Meraki network automation. We have poured our hearts and souls into it, and now we are thrilled to announce the open-sourcing of our new Terraform Provider Meraki.

Managing cloud infrastructure with code

In case you are not familiar with Terraform, Terraform is an open-source infrastructure as code (IaC) tool used for provisioning and managing cloud infrastructure resources across multiple cloud providers. It provides a declarative language called HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) that allows developers and operations teams to define the desired state of their infrastructure as code.

At Starbucks, we use Terraform extensively. Not only to power our network automation requirements of Starbucks’ core retail fleet, which consists of over 10,000 networks spanning 40,000 devices and over 250,000 endpoints – but also to manage cloud, edge compute, networking, and telemetry.

Improved response times and reduced security risks

Terraform allows us to truly manage our vast infrastructure as code, while managing the “state” for us – ensuring no configuration drifts occur. This means improved response times for business requests, reduced security risks as the configuration is consistent, and improved operations as rolling back a change is a matter of minutes.

“The team at Starbucks is passionate about engineering excellence and aligns to open-source software development practices wherever possible. As part of this commitment, we decided to contribute this Terraform provider back to the community. We believe in sharing our knowledge and tools to benefit others in the industry, and we are excited to be able to participate in this way.”

For more information, please visit the Terraform Registry  and our GitHub repository.

A focus on accessibility and simplicity

What sets our provider apart is its focus on accessibility and simplicity. We understand that not every network engineer is a hardcore programmer, and that’s perfectly fine! With a declarative approach, an intuitive config file, and just three commands, anyone can leverage the power of automation without requiring extensive coding skills. Say goodbye to the days of complicated imperative codebases, and hello to an intent-based, user-friendly experience.

Let’s build a robust open-source community

But here’s the best part: we want YOU to be part of this incredible journey! We’re calling upon the passionate developer community to join us in shaping the future of network infrastructure management as we continue to improve this provider. Together, we can create a technically excellent and innovative solution that empowers network engineers and makes their lives easier.

Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just dipping your toes into the world of network automation, we welcome you with open arms. Your ideas, insights, and contributions are invaluable to us. Let’s collaborate, share knowledge, and build a robust open-source community that thrives on collective expertise.

Join our mission to simplify network infrastructure management and unlock new possibilities for automation.

Download and try out our provider. If you encounter a bug, we’re looking forward to seeing an issue submitted on the Github repo. Or, even better, a pull request with a fix and new functionality. Together, we can make a difference!

Watch my conversation with  Jeff Bull, Cisco Leader of Software Engineering, recorded in the DevNet Zone at Cisco Live in Las Vegas:

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