Unlocking Terraform: A Beginner’s Guide with Practical Examples | Question Set-1

1. What is Terraform?
   • Answer: Terraform is an Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool used for building, changing, and versioning infrastructure efficiently and safely.
     
2. What are the key features of Terraform?
   • Answer: Key features include Infrastructure as Code (IaC), execution plans, resource graphing, change automation, and immutable infrastructure.
     
3. How do you define infrastructure in Terraform?
   • Answer: Infrastructure is defined using configuration files written in HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) or JSON format.
     
4. What is the purpose of Terraform’s state file?
   • Answer: The state file maintains a mapping between resources in your configuration and real-world infrastructure. It’s used to track resource dependencies and manage updates.
     
5. How do you initialize a Terraform configuration?
   • Answer: Use the terraform init command to initialize a Terraform configuration. This command downloads the necessary plugins and modules.
     
6. Can you provide an example of a basic Terraform configuration file?
   • Answer:

provider "aws" {
  region = "us-west-2"
}

resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  ami           = "ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0"
  instance_type = "t2.micro"
}

7. What is the purpose of providers in Terraform?
   • Answer: Providers are responsible for interacting with APIs and exposing resources. They are essential for defining the target infrastructure platform.
     
8. How do you apply changes to infrastructure with Terraform?
   • Answer: Use the terraform apply command. It evaluates the configuration, generates an execution plan, and applies changes to the infrastructure.
     
9. What is a Terraform module?
   • Answer: A module is a reusable collection of Terraform configuration files. It encapsulates a set of resources and can be shared across different configurations.
     
10. How do you destroy infrastructure provisioned by Terraform?
    • Answer: Use the terraform destroy command. It removes all resources defined in the configuration from the target infrastructure.
      
11. How can you manage sensitive data such as passwords or API tokens in Terraform?
    • Answer: Terraform supports input variables and environment variables, allowing you to pass sensitive data securely without storing it in configuration files.
      
12. What is the purpose of the terraform plan command?
    • Answer: The terraform plan the command generates an execution plan based on the current configuration and displays the actions Terraform will take when applying changes.
      
13. How do you manage multiple environments (e.g., dev, staging, production) with Terraform?
    • Answer: Use Terraform workspaces or separate configuration files for each environment, each with environment-specific variables and settings.
      
14. Explain the difference between Terraform’s state file and configuration files.
    • Answer: Configuration files (.tf files) define the desired state of infrastructure, while the state file (usually terraform.tfstate) maintains the current state of deployed infrastructure.
      
15. Can you specify multiple providers in a single Terraform configuration? If yes, how?
    • Answer: Yes, you can specify multiple providers by defining each with a unique provider block. For example:
    • /code

provider "aws" {
  region = "us-west-2"
}

provider "google" {
  project = "my-project"
  region  = "us-central1"
}

16. How does Terraform handle dependencies between resources?
    • Answer: Terraform automatically manages resource dependencies based on resource definitions in the configuration. It creates resources in the correct order to satisfy dependencies.
      
17. What is the purpose of the .terraform directory?
    • Answer: The .terraform directory contains plugin binaries, module dependencies, and other internal Terraform files used to manage and execute configurations.
      
18. Explain the difference between Terraform’s plan and apply commands.
    • Answer: The terraform plan command generates an execution plan without applying changes, while terraform apply executes the plan and applies changes to the infrastructure.
      
19. How do you manage third-party Terraform modules?
    • Answer: Third-party modules can be sourced from version control repositories (e.g., GitHub) or the Terraform Registry using module blocks in configuration files.
      
20. Can you use Terraform to manage resources across different cloud providers (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP)?
    • Answer: Yes, Terraform is cloud-agnostic and supports managing resources across various cloud providers by configuring appropriate provider blocks for each provider.