1. Terraform Core Concepts
- Can you explain the difference between terraform plan, terraform apply, and terraform destroy?
- How does Terraform’s state management work, and what are some best practices for managing state files?
- What is the purpose of the terraform refresh command, and when would you use it?
- How does Terraform handle dependencies between resources?
2. State Management
- How do you handle remote state in Terraform, and what are the benefits of using remote state backends?
- What strategies do you use to manage Terraform state files in a team environment?
- How do you handle state file locking in Terraform, and why is it important?
- What are some common issues you might encounter with Terraform state, and how do you resolve them?
3. Terraform Modules
- What are Terraform modules, and how do they promote code reusability?
- How do you structure Terraform modules to make them reusable and maintainable?
- Can you explain how to pass variables and outputs between modules in Terraform?
- How do you version and manage Terraform modules in a production environment?
4. Advanced Terraform Features
- What are Terraform workspaces, and how do you use them to manage different environments?
- How does the terraform import command work, and when would you use it?
- What is the purpose of Terraform data sources, and how do they differ from resources?
- Can you explain the concept of provisioners in Terraform, and when should they be used?
5. Terraform and CI/CD
- How do you integrate Terraform with CI/CD pipelines?
- What are some best practices for automating Terraform deployments in a CI/CD environment?
- How do you handle secrets and sensitive data in Terraform within a CI/CD pipeline?
- What strategies do you use to manage multiple environments (e.g., dev, staging, prod) with Terraform in CI/CD?
6. Error Handling and Troubleshooting
- What are some common errors you might encounter when running terraform apply, and how do you troubleshoot them?
- How do you debug and resolve issues related to Terraform plan changes that seem unexpected?
- Can you describe a situation where you had to troubleshoot a complex Terraform issue, and how you resolved it?
- How do you handle resource drift in Terraform, and what tools do you use to detect and fix drift?
7. Terraform Performance and Optimization
- How do you optimize Terraform configurations for large-scale deployments?
- What are some techniques to reduce plan and apply times for large Terraform projects?
- How do you manage and optimize the performance of Terraform state files in large infrastructures?
- What are some strategies for managing and reducing the size of Terraform state files?
8. Security and Compliance
- How do you ensure Terraform configurations adhere to security best practices?
- What strategies do you use to manage access control for Terraform state files and backends?
- How do you handle secrets management in Terraform, especially in a production environment?
- Can you explain how to enforce compliance policies with Terraform using tools like Sentinel or OPA?
9. Terraform Cloud and Enterprise
- What are the key differences between Terraform Open Source and Terraform Cloud/Enterprise?
- How do you manage collaboration and state management in Terraform Cloud or Enterprise?
- Can you explain the use of Terraform Cloud’s Sentinel policy-as-code framework?
- How do you manage cost estimation and governance using Terraform Cloud?
10. Working with Providers
- How do you handle custom Terraform providers, and when would you need to create one?
- Can you explain the provider versioning in Terraform and how to manage it effectively?
- How do you troubleshoot and resolve issues related to provider-specific limitations or bugs?
- What strategies do you use to manage multiple providers in a single Terraform configuration?
11. Terraform Best Practices
- What are some best practices for writing and organizing Terraform code in large projects?
- How do you manage Terraform configurations across multiple regions and accounts?
- What is your approach to version control with Terraform, especially in a collaborative environment?
- How do you ensure that Terraform code is maintainable, readable, and follows best practices?
12. Case Studies and Scenarios
- Can you describe a complex infrastructure setup you managed using Terraform?
- How did you handle a situation where Terraform’s default behavior was not sufficient for your requirements?
- Can you discuss a time when you had to refactor a large Terraform codebase, and what challenges you faced?
- How did you approach scaling a Terraform deployment as the infrastructure grew?
These questions aim to gauge a candidate’s deep technical understanding of Terraform, their ability to solve complex problems, and their experience in deploying and managing infrastructure at scale using Terraform.
