Terraform-Associate-003 HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate (003) Questions and Answers

Terraform workspaces allow you to create multiple states but still be associated with your current code. Workspaces are like “environments” (e.g. staging, production) for the same configuration. You can use workspaces to spin up a copy of your production deployment for testing purposes without having to configure a new state backend. Terraform data sources, local values, and modules are not features that allow you to create multiple states. References = Workspaces and How to Use Terraform Workspaces

This is the command that lets you experiment with Terraform expressions, by providing an interactive console that allows you to evaluate expressions and see their results. You can use this command to test your expressions before using them in your configuration files.

This is the best way to delete the newly-created VM with Terraform, as it will only affect the resource that was created by your configuration and state file. The other options are either incorrect or inefficient.

The .terraform.lock.hcl file is a new feature in Terraform 0.14 that records the exact versions of each provider used in your configuration. This helps ensure consistent and reproducible behavior across different machines and runs.

To output returned values from a child module in the Terraform CLI output, you need to declare the output in both the child module and the root module. The child module output will return the value to the root module, and the root module output will display the value in the CLI. References = [Terraform Outputs]

This is the correct way to reference the volume IDs associated with the ebs_block_device blocks in this configuration, using the splat expression syntax. The other options are either invalid or incomplete.

It is not a best practice to store secret data in the same version control repository as your Terraform configuration, as it could expose your sensitive information to unauthorized parties or compromise your security. You should use environment variables, vaults, or other mechanisms to store and provide secret data to Terraform.

The Terraform binary version and provider versions do not have to match each other in a single configuration. Terraform allows you to specify provider version constraints in the configuration’s terraform block, which can be different from the Terraform binary version1. Terraform will use the newest version of the provider that meets the configuration’s version constraints2. You can also use the dependency lock file to ensure Terraform is using the correct provider version3. References =

•1: Providers - Configuration Language | Terraform | HashiCorp Developer

•2: Multiple provider versions with Terraform - Stack Overflow

•3: Lock and upgrade provider versions | Terraform - HashiCorp Developer

These are the parameters that terraform import requires, as they allow Terraform to identify the existing resource that you want to import into your state file, and match it with the corresponding configuration block in your files.

Variables declared within a module are only accessible within that module, unless they are explicitly exposed as output values1.

Theterraform plancommand does not update the state file. Instead, it reads the current state and the configuration files to determine what changes would be made to bring the real-world infrastructure into the desired state defined in the configuration. The plan operation is a read-only operation and does not modify the state or the infrastructure. It is theterraform applycommand that actually applies changes and updates the state file.References= Terraform's official guidelines and documentation clarify the purpose of theterraform plancommand, highlighting its role in preparing and showing an execution plan without making any changes to the actual state or infrastructure .

HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) does not support user-defined functions. You can only use the built-in functions that are provided by the language. The built-in functions allow you to perform various operations and transformations on values within expressions. The general syntax for function calls is a function name followed by comma-separated arguments in parentheses, such as max(5, 12, 9). You can find the documentation for all of the available built-in functions in the Terraform Registry or the Packer Documentation, depending on which tool you are using. References = : Functions - Configuration Language | Terraform : Functions - Configuration Language | Packer

This is what you must do to successfully retrieve this value from your networking module, as it will expose the attribute as an output value that can be referenced by other modules or resources. The error message indicates that the networking module does not have an output value named vnet_id, which causes the reference to fail.

This is a secure way to protect sensitive data in the state file, as it will be encrypted at rest and in transit2. The other options are not recommended, as they could lead to data loss, errors, or security breaches.

The terraform fmt command is used to rewrite Terraform configuration files to a canonical format and style. This command applies a subset of the Terraform language style conventions, along with other minor adjustments for readability. Running this command on your configuration files before committing them to source control can help ensure consistency of style between different Terraform codebases, and can also make diffs easier to read. You can also use the -check and -diff options to check if the files are formatted and display the formatting changes respectively2. Running the terraform fmt command during the code linting phase of your CI/CD process can help automate this process and enforce the formatting standards for your team. References = [Command: fmt]2

You do not need to use different Terraform commands depending on the cloud provider you use. Terraform commands are consistent across different providers, as they operate on the Terraform configuration files and state files, not on the provider APIs directly.

You must initialize your working directory before running terraform validate, as it will ensure that all the required plugins and modules are installed and configured properly. If you skip this step, you may encounter errors or inconsistencies when validating your configuration files.

A module cannot always refer to all variables declared in its parent module, as it needs to explicitly declare input variables and assign values to them from the parent module’s arguments. A module cannot access the parent module’s variables directly, unless they are passed as input arguments.

The public Terraform Module Registry automatically exposes all the information about published modules, including required input variables, optional input variables and default values, and outputs. This helps users to understand how to use and configure the modules.

This is a secure way to inject sensitive variables into your Terraform run, as they will not be stored in any file or source code repository. You can also use environment variables or variable files with encryption to pass sensitive variables to Terraform.

The public Terraform Module Registry is free to use, as it is a public service that hosts thousands of self-contained packages called modules that are used to provision infrastructure. You can browse, use, and publish modules to the registry without any cost.

This is a bad practice, as it exposes your credentials to anyone who can access your configuration files or state files. You should use environment variables, credential files, or other mechanisms to provide credentials to Terraform.

 This is the command that can add existing resources into Terraform state, by matching them with the corresponding configuration blocks in your files. 

The terraform import command is used to import existing infrastructure into Terraform’s state. This allows Terraform to manage and destroy the imported infrastructure as part of the configuration. The terraform import command does not modify the configuration, so the imported resources must be manually added to the configuration after the import. References = [Importing Infrastructure]

This is how the Terraform Cloud integration differs from other state backends such as S3, Consul, etc., as it allows you to perform remote operations on Terraform Cloud’s servers instead of your local machine. The other options are either incorrect or irrelevant.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) can indeed be stored in a version control system along with application code. This practice is a fundamental principle of modern infrastructure management, allowing teams to apply software development practices like versioning, peer review, and CI/CD to infrastructure management. Storing IaC configurations in version control facilitates collaboration, history tracking, and change management.References= While this concept is a foundational aspect of IaC and is widely accepted in the industry, direct references from the HashiCorp Terraform Associate (003) study materials were not found in the provided files. However, this practice is encouraged in Terraform's best practices and various HashiCorp learning resources.

This is how Terraform manages most dependencies between resources, by using the references between them in the configuration files. For example, if resource A depends on resource B, Terraform will create resource B first and then pass its attributes to resource A.

Option C is the correct way to configure multiple providers in a Terraform configuration. Each provider block must have a name attribute that specifies which provider it configures2. The other options are either missing the name attribute or using an invalid syntax.

Before using a remote backend in Terraform, it is mandatory to runterraform init. This command initializes a Terraform working directory, which includes configuring the backend. If aremote backend is specified,terraform initwill set up the working directory to use it, including copying any existing state to the remote backend if necessary.References= This principle is a fundamental part of working with Terraform and its backends, as outlined in general Terraform documentation and best practices. The specific HashiCorp Terraform Associate (003) study materials in the provided files did not include direct references to this information.

If you update the version constraint in your Terraform configuration, Terraform will update your lock file the next time you run terraform init3. This will ensure that you use the same provider versions across different machines and runs.

This is the workflow for deploying new infrastructure with Terraform, as it will create a plan and apply it to the target environment. The other options are either incorrect or incomplete.

This is what will happen if you run terraform destroy without any flags, as it will attempt to delete all the resources that are associated with your current working directory or workspace. You can use the -target flag to specify a particular resource that you want to destroy.

These are two ways to produce a list of the IDs from a list of objects that have an attribute id, using either a for expression or a splat expression syntax.

Running terraform fmt without any flags in a directory with Terraform configuration files will not check the formatting of those files without changing their contents, but will actually rewrite them to a canonical format and style. If you want to check the formatting without making changes, you need to use the -check flag.

This is how Terraform determines dependencies between resources, by using the references between them in the configuration files and other factors that affect the order of operations.

The terraform init command is used to initialize a working directory containing Terraform configuration files. This command performs several different initialization steps to prepare the current working directory for use with Terraform, which includes initializing the backend, installing provider plugins, and copying any modules referenced in the configuration. However, it does not validate whether all required variables are present; that is a task performed by terraform plan or terraform apply1.

References = This information can be verified from the official Terraform documentation on the terraform init command provided by HashiCorp Developer1.

The terraform import command is not part of any other Terraform workflow. It must be explicitly invoked by the user with the appropriate arguments, such as the resource address and the ID of the existing infrastructure to import. References = [Importing Infrastructure]

terraform validate does not confirm that your infrastructure matches the Terraform state file. It only checks whether the configuration files in a directory are syntactically valid and internally consistent3. To confirm that your infrastructure matches the Terraform state file, you need to use terraform plan or terraform apply with the -refresh-only option.

In Terraform, the backend configuration, which includes details about where and how state is stored, is specified within theterraformblock of your configuration. This block is the correct place to define the backend type and its configuration parameters, such as the location of the state file for a local backend or the bucket details for a remote backend like S3.References= This practice is outlined in Terraform's core documentation, which provides examples and guidelines on how to configure various aspects of Terraform's behavior, including state backends .

Setting the TF_LOG environment variable to DEBUG causes debug messages to be logged into stdout, along with other log levels such as TRACE, INFO, WARN, and ERROR. This can be useful for troubleshooting or debugging purposes.

Terraform configuration can import modules from various sources, not only from the public registry. Modules can be sourced from local file paths, Git repositories, HTTP URLs, Mercurial repositories, S3 buckets, and GCS buckets. Terraform supports a number of common conventions and syntaxes for specifying module sources, as documented in the [Module Sources] page. References = [Module Sources]

This will enable additional logging messages to find out from which paths Terraform is loading providers referenced in your Terraform configuration files, as it will set the log level to TRACE, which is the most verbose and detailed level.

The two steps that are required to provision new infrastructure in the Terraform workflow are init and apply. The terraform init command initializes a working directory containingTerraform configuration files. It downloads and installs the provider plugins that are needed for the configuration, and prepares the backend for storing the state. The terraform apply command applies the changes required to reach the desired state of the configuration, as described by the resource definitions in the configuration files. It shows a plan of the proposed changes and asks for confirmation before making any changes to the infrastructure. References = [The Core Terraform Workflow], [Initialize a Terraform working directory with init], [Apply Terraform Configuration with apply]