Terraform plan for preview - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ service_behavior

intermediate

What does the Terraform plan command show?

When you run terraform plan, what is the main output you see?

A The current state of your infrastructure after applying changes.

B A detailed log of errors encountered during deployment.

C The final cost estimate of your cloud resources.

D A list of changes Terraform will make to your infrastructure without applying them.

💡 Hint

Think about what you want to see before making changes.

terraform plan previews the changes Terraform will make. It does not apply changes or show costs.

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Why use Terraform plan before apply?

Why is it important to run terraform plan before terraform apply?

A To speed up the deployment by skipping validation.

B To preview changes and avoid unexpected modifications to infrastructure.

C To delete all existing resources before creating new ones.

D To automatically fix errors in the configuration files.

💡 Hint

Consider safety and control over infrastructure changes.

Running terraform plan helps you see what will change, preventing surprises.

❓ Configuration

advanced

Which Terraform command previews changes without applying?

Given these commands, which one previews infrastructure changes without applying them?

A terraform plan

B terraform apply -auto-approve

C terraform destroy

D terraform init

💡 Hint

Look for the command that shows changes but does not make them.

terraform plan previews changes. apply makes changes, destroy deletes, init prepares the working directory.

❓ Architecture

advanced

What does Terraform plan use to compare infrastructure?

When running terraform plan, what two sources does Terraform compare to decide what changes to show?

A The last applied plan and the current configuration files.

B The cloud provider's billing data and the state file.

C The current state file and the desired configuration files.

D The local machine's resource usage and the cloud provider's API.

💡 Hint

Think about what Terraform knows and what you want it to do.

Terraform compares the saved state (what exists) with the configuration (what you want) to plan changes.

❓ security

expert

What security risk can occur if you skip Terraform plan?

If you skip running terraform plan and directly run terraform apply, what security risk might you face?

A Unintended deletion or exposure of sensitive resources without review.

B Automatic encryption of all data without user consent.

C Terraform will disable all security groups by default.

D Your credentials will be logged in plain text in the state file.

💡 Hint

Consider what happens if changes are applied without preview.

Skipping plan can cause unexpected changes like deleting or exposing resources, risking security.