Top Terraform Interview Questions

Top 50+ Terraform Interview Questions

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Terraform is the most popular DevOps tool used by every cloud engineers. This has simplified the Infrastructure as a Code (IaC) concepts.

Why terraform in particular? Actually, almost every other aspect of the cloud computing landscape is a significant element for all IT professional job positions.

To top it all, the emergence of DevOps as a notable development philosophy is responsible for increasing the popularity of DevOps tools like Terraform. With the increasing importance of Terraform, candidates are move diverting towards Terraform certification to get ahead and take their level one level up.

In this article, we will delve into a comprehensive collection of Terraform interview questions designed to equip you with the knowledge and confidence needed to excel in your next Terraform interview. Whether you are a seasoned Terraform practitioner or a newcomer to the technology, these Terraform interview questions cover a wide range of topics, including Terraform basics, resource management, state management, modules, providers, and more.

By familiarizing yourself with these Terraform interview questions, you can effectively prepare, build confidence, and showcase your expertise in Terraform during job interviews. So, let’s explore the Terraform interview questions that will prepare you for success in your next job opportunity!

50+ Most Popular Terraform Interview Questions

Terraform is a notable tool in the DevOps ecosystem and is one of the most commonly used tools. The growth in the adoption of Terraform by 55% in 2019 as compared to the previous year depicts its potential. In your Terraform interview, you may find questions related to DevOps, various DevOps tools, Terraform, Terraform vs Ansible, and the comparison of Terraform with other DevOps tools.

Awareness of the mock terrafrom interview questions could help candidates improve their confidence for appearing in terraform related interviews. Furthermore, candidates could provide relevant answers for the latest Terraform interview questions in the proper format to interviewers by practicing mock interview questions. 

1. Define Terraform.

Answer: The first entry among Terraform interview questions always deals with the definition of Terraform. Terraform is a tool for creating, changing, and versioning infrastructure with higher safety and efficiency. Terraform is now popular all over the world as an important addition to the chain of important DevOps tools. Terraform provides essential functionalities of managing solutions for in-house issues. The facility of ‘infrastructure as a code’ model in Terraform is also one of the popular reasons for its adoption. 

2. What are the reasons to choose Terraform for DevOps?

Answer: Candidates would definitely encounter this mention among top Terraform interview questions. The foremost reason to choose Terraform for DevOps is evident in the improvement of quality and efficiency in software delivery. Terraform supports automation and helps in running infrastructure as code. Another potential reason for choosing Terraform is the facility for implementing almost any type of coding principle. 

3. What are the notable features of Terraform?

Answer: The features of Terraform would be one of the common topics of the latest Terraform interview questions. The key features of Terraform are as follows.

  1. In-built graphing features for visualization of infrastructure
  2. Friendly custom syntax helps in improving efficiency
  3. The ability for understanding resource relationships
  4. Contribution of updates and new features by the Open Source Project
  5. Capability for breaking down a configuration into smaller parts for ease of organization and maintenance

4. How does Terraform work?

Answer: The working of Terraform is a formidable topic that churns out many relevant Terraform interview questions. The best answer to this question would be to point towards the plugin-based architecture of Terraform. The plugin-based architecture helps developers in extending functionalities of Terraform. Developers could write new plugins or compile the modified versions of current plugins. 

5. What are the notable applications of Terraform?

Answer: The use cases of Terraform are also important aspects of the best Terraform interview questions. Generally, the applications of Terraform are very broad due to the facility for extending the abilities of Terraform for resource manipulation. Here are some of the notable applications of Terraform.

  • Heroku App setup
  • Self-service clusters
  • Development of multi-tier applications
  • Creation of disposable environments
  • Multi-cloud deployment
  • Resource schedulers
  • Developing software demos

6. What is the process for making the object of one module available for another module at a higher level?

Answer: This entry can be one of the difficult Terraform interview questions. Here is the process to make an object of one module available for another module at a higher level.

Define an output variable in a resource configuration. 

Declare the output variable of module_1 for use in another module’s configuration

Create a new key name and ensure that it is equivalent to the output variable of module_1

Now, create a file ‘variable.tf’ for module_2

Set up an input variable inside the ‘variable.tf’ the file that would enable dynamic configuration of the resource in a module

In order to ensure the availability of the variable to another module, repeat the process again. The reason for this is the restricted scope of the particular variable to module_2.

7. Do you know about the new factors in the latest v1.24.0 and v1.25.0 Terraform Azure Provider?

Answer: Candidates should prepare for such Terraform technical interview questions. You can find multiple new resources in the latest versions of Terraform alongside new data resources.

For example, Azurerm_batch_certificate. The new resource can support the management of certificates in the Azure batch. Furthermore, it also helps in the management of public IP and the prefix in networking. Another data resource in the latest versions is the Azurerm_firewall that helps in accessing data for a particular firewall existing already. In addition, the new versions also involve a lot of bug fixes. You can also find improvement in the azurerm_app_service resource in the latest versions.

8. Does Terraform support themes?

Answer: Candidates could land up with this entry among Terraform technical interview questions generally. The answer implies that the v0.3.1 of Terraform supports Gtk themes. We can use the command “cp/usr/wherever/THEMENAME/gtk/gtkrc $HOME/.gtkrc” for enabling gtk theme in a system. If the command shows error in opening the theme files or in the event of failure of the files to open, edits in the .gtkrc are mandatory. After editing, you have to attach the line “pixmap_path/usr/wherever/THEMENAME/gtk” at the start of the file name. Now, the theme could load at startup. 

9. What are the components of Terraform?

Answer: The structure of Terraform is another notable point for the best Terraform interview questions. The logical division of Terraform into distinct structures refers to two distinct components. The two components are the Terraform Core and Terraform Plugins. The Terraform Core utilizes remote procedure calls (RPCs) for communicating with Terraform Plugins. In addition, Terraform Core also offers diverse ways of discovering and loading plugins according to requirements. The Terraform Plugins represent an implementation for a specific service such as bash or AWS or provisioner. 

10. What are the primary responsibilities of Terraform Core?

Answer: This is one of the basic Terraform interview questions that you can face. The Terraform Core is a statically-compiled binary written by using the Go programming language. The compiled binary offers an entry-point for Terraform users. The primary responsibilities of the Terraform Core are as follows.

  • Resource state management
  • Execution of plans
  • Communication with plugins through RPC
  • Construction of Resource Graph
  • Infrastructure as code functionalities for reading and interpolation of configuration files and modules

11. What is the Terraform Plugins?

Answer: Candidates should prepare for Terraform interview questions based on this topic. Terraform Plugins are executable binaries written in Go programming language. Plugins are basically the providers and provisioners in Terraform configurations. Terraform has various in-built provisioner plugins, and users have to discover provider plugins dynamically according to their requirements. The Terraform plugins help in domain-specific implementation of the service they represent. 

12. What are the primary responsibilities of the provider and provisioner plugins?

Answer: Candidates could find this entry as a follow up to Terraform interview questions on architecture or the Terraform plugins. The primary responsibilities for provider plugins are as follows.

  • Authentication with infrastructure provider
  • Definition of resources that map to particular services
  • Initialization of libraries used for making API calls

The primary responsibility of provisioner plugins is the execution of commands or scripts on a specific resource after creation or upon its destruction.

13. How does Terraform help in discovering plugins?

Answer: This entry is one of the most popular Terraform interview questions. The command “terraform init” helps Terraform read configuration files in the working directory. Then, Terraform finds out the necessary plugins and searches for installed plugins in different locations. In addition, Terraform also downloads additional plugins at times. Then, it decides the plugin versions for using and writes a lock file for ensuring that Terraform will use the same plugin versions. 

 14. What are the different behaviors of Terraform plugins during discovery?

Answer: This question is one of the tricky Terraform interview questions that can confuse many expert candidates. The behavior of the plugins depends on their type. The three kinds of plugins are built-in provisioners, providers by HashiCorp, and third-party providers and provisioners. The in-built provisioner plugins are always available in the Terraform binary. The providers by HashiCorp download automatically if not installed already. Regarding the third-party providers and provisioners, you have to install them manually. 

15. What is the Terraform configuration for creating a single EC2 instance on AWS?

Answer: Candidates could land up with this interesting entry among Terraform DevOps interview questions. The following Terraform configuration helps in creating a single EC2 instance on AWS.

provider "aws" {

region = "ap-south-1"

}

resource "aws_instance"

"example" {

ami = "ami-4fc58420"

instance_type = "t2.micro"

tags {

 Name = "terraform-example"

}

}

16. Why does POVRay render fields and does not display sometimes?

Answer: This is one of the critical Terraform DevOps interview questions. The primary reason for the failure of default export to POVRay could be the lower version of POVRay. Version 3.0 of POVRay does not support the display. The same reason could be evident in the case of failure in a display of POVRay without error reports. Terraform works effectively with the 3.1 version of POVRay. So, you should use the –pov30 switch for informing Terraform about the issue. You can check the version of POVRay by typing “POVRay” and observing the first line of the output. 

17. How can I check if the POVRay install is compatible with Terraform?

Answer: Candidates could find tough Terraform interview questions like this one. You can try “povray+l tf_land.pov” to check whether the POVRay installs on your system is ok with Terraform. You can find two outcomes – one good and one bad. The good message is an error “tf_land.pov:26:error: Error opening TGA image”. The “tf_land.pov” denotes the file distributed in the root directory of terraforming. It means that you can find the included file in the POV on your system. The second message is about ‘colors.inc,’ that indicates the absence of files in your POV. As a result, you can clearly find out whether the POVRay installs works with Terraform or not. 

18. What if I encounter a serious error and want to rollback?

Answer: Candidates should find this entry among practical Terraform interview questions. The answer is recommitting the previous version of the code for making it the new and current version in a VCS (Version Control System). As a result, a terraform run triggers and runs the old code. It is essential to ensure that the old code contains all entities provisioned in the code for rollback. If the state file has been subject to corruption from a recent Terraform run, then you can opt for State Rollback Feature in Terraform Enterprise. It can help you to roll back to the previous latest state. The validation for this process is the versioning of every state change. 

19. Can I add policies to the open-source or Pro version of Terraform Enterprise?

Answer: This is one of the most popular Terraform interview questions coming up in recent interviews. First of all, you cannot add policies to the open-source version of Terraform Enterprise. The same also goes for the Enterprise Pro version. The Premium version of Terraform Enterprise only could access the sentinel policies.

20. What are the ways to lock Terraform module versions?

Answer: Candidates could find such technical Terraform interview questions difficult. Preparing for such questions in advance gives candidates a definite advantage. The answer is that there is a proven way of locking Terraform module versions. Using the Terraform module registry as a source, you can use the ‘version’ attribute in the module in the Terraform configuration file. Using a GitHub repository as a source, you have to specify branch, versions, and query string with ‘?ref’.

21. Are callbacks possible with Terraform on Azure?

Answer: This is also one of the new Terraform interview questions for aspiring candidates. Callbacks are possible on Azure with Terraform by using the Azure Event Hubs. AzureRM provider of Terraform provides this functionality easily to users. Most important of all, Azure Cloud Shell of Microsoft provides an already installed instance of Terraform. 

If you’re a cloud professional preparing for an Azure interview, we recommend you to prepare with the top Azure interview questions.

22. Can I use Terraform for on-premises infrastructure?

Answer: Candidates could find this question as one of the tough ones based on real experience. The answer to this question clearly implies the feasibility of using Terraform with on-premises infrastructure. Many providers offer this functionality, and you can choose one according to your requirements. Certain providers also have APIs for accessing Terraform in on-premises infrastructure.

23. What are the version controls supported on Terraform?

Answer: The candidate could find this entry as one of the important Terraform interview questions. Although this question may seem to be the simplest of the lot, it is essential to point out the precise responses. First of all, GitHub is the basic version control supported on Terraform. In addition, you can also find the support of GitLab CE and GitLab EE on Terraform. Furthermore, Terraform also supports the Bucket Cloud. 

24. Is there any similarity between the management of Azure Availability Zones and management by other available cloud providers?

Answer: The response to this question would directly refer to the fact that availability zones have different areas and zones. Every availability zone has a specific power source and network. Any region with an enabled availability zone would have three different availability zones. You need to note that AzureRM Terraform provider does not have any accessible resources for the management of Azure Availability Zones. However, this is the present scenario, and AzureRM Terraform provider could include some improvements in the future for this issue. 

25. How can I upgrade plugins on Terraform?

Answer: The answer would start off with running ‘terraform init’ with the ‘-upgrade’ option. The command helps in rechecking the releases.hashicorp.com to find out new acceptable provider versions. The command also downloads the available provider versions. Such types of actions are evident in the case of providers which have their acceptable versions in the automatic downloads directory. The automatic downloads directory is “.terraform/plugins/<OS>_<ARCH>.”

In case of installation of any acceptable version of a specific provider in another location, the ‘terraform init -upgrade’ command will not download a new version. 

Updated Terraform Interview Questions 

26. Define IAC in Terraform?

IAC stands for “Infrastructure as Code”. It refers to the practice of managing infrastructure resources, such as servers, networks, and databases, using code and configuration files, instead of manual processes. Terraform is a tool that supports IAC and allows infrastructure to be defined, managed, and versioned in a declarative way.

27. What do you mean by Terraform cloud?

Terraform Cloud is a SaaS offering by HashiCorp, the company behind Terraform. It is a web-based platform that provides a centralized and automated way to manage Terraform runs and state storage, as well as collaborate with teams and integrate with other tools. Terraform Cloud provides features such as remote state management, policy enforcement, team management, private module registry, and more, to help organizations streamline and improve their Terraform workflow.

28. What do you understand about terraform backend?

Terraform backend refers to the storage location for Terraform state files, which store information about the infrastructure managed by Terraform. The backend determines how Terraform state is loaded, stored, and shared between multiple users and runs of Terraform. Terraform supports various types of backends, including local file system, remote object storage, and cloud-based storage solutions. By choosing the right backend, Terraform users can ensure the safety and availability of state information, and enable collaboration and automation in their Terraform workflows.

29. Mention some of the built-in provisioners available in Terraform?

Some of the built-in provisioners in Terraform are:

  1. File provisioner: Copies files from the local machine to the remote resource.
  2. Remote-exec provisioner: Executes commands on the remote resource over SSH or WinRM.
  3. Local-exec provisioner: Executes local commands on the machine running Terraform.
  4. Chef provisioner: Installs and configures software using Chef on the remote resource.
  5. Puppet provisioner: Installs and configures software using Puppet on the remote resource.
  6. Salt provisioner: Installs and configures software using Salt on the remote resource.
  7. Ansible provisioner: Installs and configures software using Ansible on the remote resource.

30. What is the Resource Graph in Terraform?

The Resource Graph in Terraform is a visual representation of the resources and their dependencies that Terraform manages. It shows the relationships between resources and how they depend on each other. The Resource Graph is generated by Terraform during its planning phase and is used to determine the order in which resources will be created, updated, or deleted. By analyzing the Resource Graph, Terraform can detect any conflicts or errors in the configuration, and provide a clear understanding of the infrastructure changes that will occur when Terraform is applied. The Resource Graph is a valuable tool for troubleshooting and understanding the impact of changes to Terraform configurations.

31. How do you Store Sensitive Data in Terraform?

Sensitive data in Terraform can be stored in various ways:

  1. Environment Variables: Sensitive data can be passed to Terraform as environment variables, which are masked in Terraform’s CLI output.
  2. Terraform Variables: Sensitive data can be stored in Terraform variables files, which can be encrypted using tools such as Hashicorp Vault.
  3. Terraform State: Terraform state can be stored in an encrypted format using a backend that supports encryption, such as Azure Storage or Amazon S3.
  4. External Data Sources: Sensitive data can be stored in external sources, such as Hashicorp Vault, and retrieved in Terraform configurations using data sources.

32. What is Terragrunt, and what are its uses?

Terragrunt is a thin wrapper for Terraform that provides extra tools for keeping Terraform configurations DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself), managing remote state, and extending Terraform. Terragrunt’s primary use cases are:

  1. Reusable Terraform configurations: Terragrunt allows for sharing and reusing Terraform code and configurations across multiple projects and environments.
  2. Centralized State Management: Terragrunt provides a centralized and automated way to manage Terraform state and lock files, improving collaboration and state consistency across teams.
  3. Controlled Deployments: Terragrunt enables versioning and environment-specific configurations, making it easier to control and track Terraform deployments.
  4. Improved Debugging: Terragrunt provides additional logging and error handling, making it easier to debug and troubleshoot Terraform runs.

33. Mention some of the major competitors of Terraform

Some of the major competitors of Terraform are:

  1. AWS CloudFormation
  2. Google Cloud Deployment Manager
  3. Azure Resource Manager (ARM)
  4. Puppet Enterprise
  5. Chef
  6. Ansible
  7. SaltStack
  8. Cloudify

These tools provide similar functionality to Terraform, allowing users to manage and provision infrastructure as code.

34. What are the benefits of using modules in Terraform?

Modules in Terraform offer several benefits, including:

  1. Reusability: Modules allow for encapsulating and sharing Terraform code across multiple projects, making it easier to reuse code and reduce duplication.
  2. Abstraction: Modules provide a way to abstract infrastructure components into reusable and self-contained units, making it easier to manage and maintain complex infrastructure.
  3. Modularity: Modules allow for breaking down complex infrastructure into smaller, more manageable components, improving the overall organization and readability of Terraform configurations.
  4. Improved Collaboration: Modules provide a way for teams to collaborate and share code and infrastructure components, improving consistency and reducing errors.
  5. Versioning: Modules can be versioned, making it easier to track changes and roll back to previous versions if necessary.

35. Explain null resource in the context of Terraform.

A null resource in Terraform is a resource that doesn’t create any infrastructure but instead runs arbitrary scripts or commands. It is often used to run custom scripts or commands that interact with external systems, and it can be useful in several scenarios, such as:

  1. Provisioning additional dependencies: Null resources can be used to provision additional dependencies that are not directly managed by Terraform, such as installing packages or configuring systems.
  2. Interacting with external APIs: Null resources can be used to interact with external APIs, such as making API calls or sending messages, as part of a Terraform run.
  3. Running custom scripts: Null resources can be used to run custom scripts or commands that perform additional actions, such as configuring firewalls or updating databases.

36.Mention some of the version control tools supported by Terraform.

Terraform supports several version control tools, including:

  1. Git
  2. Mercurial
  3. Subversion

By storing Terraform configurations in a version control system, users can track changes, collaborate with others, and roll back to previous versions if necessary. This makes it easier to manage infrastructure as code, improving reliability, consistency, and accountability. Additionally, using a version control system with Terraform helps to ensure that the state of an infrastructure is always stored in a known and versioned location, reducing the risk of data loss or corruption.

37. Differentiate between Terraform and Cloudformation.

  1. Provider support: Terraform supports multiple cloud providers, including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and others, while CloudFormation is specific to AWS.
  2. Syntax: Terraform uses its own syntax, HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL), while CloudFormation uses JSON or YAML templates.
  3. Resource management: Terraform uses a state file to manage resources, while CloudFormation uses a stack to manage resources.
  4. Changes and rollbacks: Terraform allows for creating and managing changes to infrastructure in a more controlled and granular way, while CloudFormation uses change sets to manage changes and rollbacks.
  5. Performance: Terraform can be faster than CloudFormation for provisioning large infrastructure, as Terraform is designed to be faster and more efficient.
  6. Community support: Terraform has a large and active community of users and contributors, while CloudFormation has a more limited community and resources.

38. Can you provide a few examples where we can use Sentinel policies?

Sentinel policies can be used in several different scenarios to enforce compliance and governance in Terraform configurations. Here are a few examples:

  1. Cost Controls: Sentinel policies can be used to enforce cost controls, such as setting limits on the number of resources that can be created, or the cost of specific resources.
  2. Resource Tagging: Sentinel policies can be used to enforce resource tagging, ensuring that all resources created through Terraform have the required tags and metadata.
  3. Security Standards: Sentinel policies can be used to enforce security standards, such as ensuring that all resources are created with the required encryption settings or access controls.
  4. Environment Separation: Sentinel policies can be used to enforce environment separation, ensuring that resources are created in the correct environment, and are not mixed between development, staging, and production environments.
  5. Resource Constraints: Sentinel policies can be used to enforce resource constraints, such as limiting the types of resources that can be created, or the size and configuration of specific resources.

39. Why is Terraform preferred as one of the DevOps tools?

Terraform is preferred as a DevOps tool for several reasons:

  1. Infrastructure as code: Terraform allows infrastructure to be managed as code, making it easier to version, automate, and manage infrastructure changes.
  2. Multi-cloud support: Terraform supports multiple cloud providers, including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and others, making it a flexible and scalable tool for managing infrastructure across multiple clouds.
  3. Improved collaboration: Terraform makes it easier to collaborate on infrastructure changes, reducing the risk of human error and improving the speed and efficiency of infrastructure deployments.
  4. Improved visibility: Terraform provides a clear and concise view of the state of infrastructure, making it easier to understand and manage infrastructure changes.
  5. Repeatable processes: Terraform provides a repeatable and automated process for managing infrastructure, reducing the risk of manual errors and improving the reliability of infrastructure deployments.
  6. Scalability: Terraform is designed to be scalable, making it suitable for managing large and complex infrastructure systems.
  7. Community support: Terraform has a large and active community of users and contributors, providing a wealth of resources and support for organizations looking to implement Terraform.

40. What do you understand about Terraform modules?

Terraform modules are units of Terraform code that are designed to be reused across multiple infrastructure deployments. Modules are a way to organize and abstract Terraform code, making it easier to reuse and manage Terraform configurations.

Modules can be used to encapsulate common infrastructure patterns, such as the creation of an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) or a deployment of a database cluster. By using modules, organizations can standardize and simplify their Terraform configurations, reducing the effort required to create and maintain Terraform code.

Terraform modules are typically stored in a version control system, such as Git, making it easy to share and collaborate on modules. Additionally, Terraform modules can be shared with the Terraform community, making it easy to reuse existing modules and accelerate the development of new Terraform configurations.

41. What are the components that makeup Terraform’s architecture?

Terraform’s architecture is comprised of the following components:

  1. Terraform CLI: The Terraform Command Line Interface (CLI) is the primary tool for executing Terraform configurations and managing Terraform state. The Terraform CLI is used to run Terraform commands, such as apply, plan, and destroy.
  2. Terraform Configuration Files: Terraform Configuration Files define the infrastructure that Terraform will create, manage, and update. These files are written in Terraform’s HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) and describe the desired state of infrastructure resources.
  3. Terraform State: Terraform State is a record of the resources that Terraform is managing. Terraform state is used to track the state of infrastructure resources, including their current and desired state, and is used to make decisions about the changes that Terraform needs to make to the infrastructure.
  4. Terraform Providers: Terraform Providers are plugins that allow Terraform to interact with specific cloud providers, such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. Providers are responsible for translating Terraform configurations into API calls to the underlying cloud provider, creating and updating infrastructure resources.
  5. Terraform Resource Graph: The Terraform Resource Graph is a visual representation of the resources that Terraform is managing. The Terraform Resource Graph is used to understand the dependencies between resources, and to ensure that Terraform is able to create and update infrastructure resources in the correct order.

42. What are the different degrees of Sentinel policing?

Sentinel policies in Terraform can enforce compliance at different levels, or degrees, of policing. Here are the three degrees of Sentinel policing:

  1. Soft-Mandatory: Soft-Mandatory policies are designed to enforce best practices and recommendations, but do not prevent Terraform from applying changes if the policy is violated. In this case, the violation is logged, and the Terraform apply continues.
  2. Hard-Mandatory: Hard-Mandatory policies are designed to enforce strict compliance rules, and will prevent Terraform from applying changes if the policy is violated. In this case, Terraform will exit with an error message indicating the policy violation.
  3. Advisory: Advisory policies are designed to provide additional information and guidance, but do not enforce any specific rules. In this case, the policy violations are logged, but Terraform will continue to apply changes.

The degree of Sentinel policing that is used depends on the specific use case and requirements, and can be customized for each individual policy. The flexible and customizable nature of Sentinel policies makes it possible to enforce compliance and governance at different levels, depending on the specific needs of the organization.

43. What is the purpose of state file locking?

The purpose of state file locking in Terraform is to ensure that only one person can make changes to a Terraform state file at any given time. This is important because Terraform state files are used to store information about the resources that have been created, and multiple users making changes to the same state file at the same time can lead to conflicts and incorrect behavior.

State file locking helps to prevent this by ensuring that only one person can make changes to the state file at a time. When a user starts making changes to the state file, Terraform acquires a lock on the file. This lock ensures that no other users can make changes to the state file while the first user is making changes. When the first user is done making changes, they release the lock, and another user can acquire the lock and make their own changes.

State file locking is an important feature in Terraform, as it helps to ensure the consistency and reliability of Terraform state files, even in large, complex, and multi-user environments.

44. How will you manage and regulate rollbacks if something goes wrong?

In Terraform, you can manage and regulate rollbacks if something goes wrong by using a few different techniques:

  1. Terraform Workspaces: Terraform Workspaces allow you to maintain separate versions of your Terraform state, so you can easily switch between different versions if something goes wrong.
  2. Terraform State Snapshots: Terraform state snapshots are snapshots of the Terraform state file taken at specific points in time. You can use state snapshots to quickly restore your state file to a previous version if something goes wrong.
  3. Version Control System: Terraform state files can be stored in a version control system, such as Git. This allows you to use the version control system’s built-in rollback and restore features to manage and regulate rollbacks if something goes wrong.
  4. Terraform CLI: Terraform CLI provides commands, such as “terraform state mv”, “terraform state rm”, and “terraform state show”, which allow you to manipulate, view, and restore the Terraform state file.
  5. Terraform Plan: Terraform Plan is a dry run of the Terraform apply, which can be used to preview changes before they are made. You can use Terraform Plan to catch and fix errors before they occur, reducing the likelihood of needing to roll back changes.

45. How will you upgrade Terraform plugins?

To upgrade Terraform plugins, you can follow these steps:

  1. Determine the version of the Terraform plugin that you want to upgrade to: Check the Terraform plugin repository or the plugin documentation to determine the latest version of the plugin that you want to upgrade to.
  2. Download the new version of the plugin: You can download the new version of the plugin from the Terraform plugin repository or from the plugin vendor’s website.
  3. Install the new version of the plugin: Depending on your operating system, you may need to run different commands to install the new version of the plugin. For example, on Linux, you may need to run “sudo mv plugin /usr/local/bin/terraform-provider-<name>” to install the new version of the plugin.
  4. Verify the installation: After installing the new version of the plugin, you can run “terraform init” to initialize the Terraform working directory, and “terraform providers” to verify that the new version of the plugin is installed and available for use.
  5. Remove the old version of the plugin: After verifying that the new version of the plugin is installed and working correctly, you can remove the old version of the plugin if desired.

By following these steps, you can upgrade Terraform plugins in a safe and reliable manner, ensuring that your Terraform infrastructure is up-to-date and fully functional.

46. What are some of the Terraform provisioners that are pre-installed?

Terraform has several built-in provisioners that are pre-installed:

  1. Local-exec: Runs a command locally on the machine running Terraform.
  2. Remote-exec: Runs a command remotely on a provisioned resource.
  3. File: Copies files to a provisioned resource.
  4. Chef: Uses Chef to provision and configure a resource.
  5. Puppet: Uses Puppet to provision and configure a resource.
  6. Ansible: Uses Ansible to provision and configure a resource.
  7. Salt: Uses Salt to provision and configure a resource.
  8. Script: Runs a script on a provisioned resource.

These provisioners can be used to automate various tasks, such as installing software, copying files, and configuring settings, as part of the Terraform deployment process.

47. What are some of the most recent Terraform Azure Provider considerations?

Some of the most recent Terraform Azure Provider considerations are:

  1. Azure Resource Manager (ARM) API Versioning: It is important to specify the desired API version for each Azure resource type in Terraform, as API versions can change over time and may not be backwards compatible.
  2. Azure AD Authentication: Terraform supports multiple methods for authenticating with Azure, including Azure AD authentication, which is recommended for managing resources in Azure subscriptions.
  3. Azure Policy and Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Terraform can be used to enforce Azure policies and manage Azure RBAC permissions, helping to secure your Azure infrastructure.
  4. Terraform Cloud vs Terraform Enterprise: Consider the differences between Terraform Cloud and Terraform Enterprise, and choose the one that best fits your organization’s needs.
  5. Workspaces: Terraform workspaces allow you to manage multiple environments (e.g. dev, stage, prod) with the same Terraform code, making it easier to manage your Azure infrastructure.
  6. State Management: Terraform state is critical for managing your Azure infrastructure, and it is important to properly manage and secure your Terraform state files.
  7. Modules: Terraform modules can be used to simplify and streamline the deployment of Azure resources, making it easier to manage your Azure infrastructure.

48. What Terraform commands are the most useful?

The most useful Terraform commands are:

  1. init: Initializes a Terraform working directory, downloading and installing required providers.
  2. plan: Generates and shows an execution plan, providing a preview of the resources that will be created, updated, or deleted.
  3. apply: Applies the changes required to reach the desired state of the configuration, creating, updating, or deleting resources as necessary.
  4. show: Shows the state or the plan file.
  5. destroy: Destroys Terraform-managed infrastructure.
  6. output: Displays outputs from the state file.
  7. fmt: Automatically formats the Terraform code, making it easier to read and maintain.

49. What version control systems do Terraform support in addition to GitHub?

Terraform supports multiple version control systems in addition to GitHub, including:

  1. GitLab
  2. Bitbucket
  3. AWS CodeCommit
  4. Azure DevOps
  5. Subversion (SVN)

These version control systems can be used as a backend for storing Terraform state files, which allows teams to collaborate and manage infrastructure as code.

50. What about Terraform in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

Terraform in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is an open-source tool that enables users to manage and provision infrastructure resources in the Oracle Cloud using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) techniques. With Terraform, users can define their desired infrastructure state in code, and use Terraform to create, update, and delete resources in OCI.

Terraform OCI supports a wide range of OCI services, including compute, storage, networking, databases, and more, allowing users to manage all aspects of their OCI infrastructure using Terraform. The tool integrates with other Terraform providers, allowing users to manage resources in multiple clouds, on-premises and in other environments, using a single, unified tool. By using Terraform to manage their infrastructure, organizations can achieve greater efficiency, consistency, and reliability, as well as reduce manual errors and the time required to perform infrastructure management tasks.

Conclusion

Based on an overview of the Terraform interview questions in the above-mentioned discussion, the level of preparation appears difficult. However, you could encourage the chances of landing up a promising job in the DevOps landscape with improved Terraform Expertise. How? Learning Terraform becomes an easier task with the Whizlabs DevOps training courses.

Even though you may not find a direct course based on Terraform on Whizlabs, the other courses are equally competent. These training courses could help you establish the perfect foundation as a DevOps professional and improve your DevOps skills. So, enhance your knowledge of DevOps tools and get ready for your Terraform interview to find your dream job!

About Dharmalingam N

Dharmalingam.N holds a master degree in Business Administration and writes on a wide range of topics ranging from technology to business analysis. He has a background in Relationship Management. Some of the topics he has written about and that have been published include; project management, business analysis and customer engagement.

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