Terraform Associate Flashcards

All 24 terms

Infrastructure as code (IaC)

Defining and managing infrastructure through configuration files so it is versioned, repeatable and reviewable.

Terraform

An open-source IaC tool that provisions infrastructure across many providers using a declarative configuration and a plan/apply workflow.

HCL

HashiCorp Configuration Language: the declarative language used to write Terraform configurations.

Provider

A plugin that lets Terraform manage a platform's resources, such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud.

Resource

A block describing a piece of infrastructure Terraform creates and manages, such as a virtual machine.

Data source

A block that reads existing information from a provider without creating anything.

terraform init

The command that initialises a working directory and downloads the required providers.

terraform plan

The command that previews the changes Terraform will make to reach the desired state, without applying them.

terraform apply

The command that makes the changes described by the configuration and plan.

terraform destroy

The command that removes the infrastructure Terraform manages.

State

Terraform's record of the real-world resources it manages, used to map configuration to reality.

State file

The file (often terraform.tfstate) that stores the current state.

Remote state

State stored in a shared backend so a team can collaborate safely.

State locking

A mechanism that prevents concurrent operations from corrupting the state.

Backend

The configuration that determines where state is stored and, sometimes, where operations run.

Module

A reusable, parameterised group of resources that can be called with inputs and expose outputs.

Public registry

The Terraform Registry, a source of official and community modules and providers.

Input variable

A parameter that lets you pass values into a configuration or module.

Output value

A value a configuration or module exposes after apply, such as an IP address.

Built-in function

A function provided by Terraform (for strings, numbers, collections and more) used within configuration.

Dependency

A relationship between resources; Terraform infers order from references, or you set it explicitly with depends_on.

terraform import

A command that brings existing, unmanaged infrastructure under Terraform's management in state.

Workspace

A way to maintain multiple distinct states from the same configuration, for example per environment.

HCP Terraform

HashiCorp's managed service (formerly Terraform Cloud) for remote runs, shared state and collaboration.