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Configure a Remote Backend in Terraform

Hey there, Gurus! Welcome to the lab! This lab will demonstrate how to set up Terraform to use remote state. We will first set up our S3 bucket where we want to store our state file. We will then set up a locking table in DynamoDB, then we will create our remote backend configuration and deploy our resources. We will then end the lab by checking to make sure our state file was written to our S3 bucket successfully. Let's get started!

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Path Info

Level
Clock icon Intermediate
Duration
Clock icon 30m
Last updated
Clock icon May 31, 2025

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Table of Contents

  1. Challenge

    Environment Setup

    1. Log in to your lab provided AWS Management Console.
    2. Create an S3 bucket called twinkiestatebucket<RANDOM_NUMBER>.
    3. Create a DynamoDB table called terraformstatelock with a partition key named LockID.
    4. In the terminal, once logged in to your instance, change to the Remote_State directory.

  2. Challenge

    Add Backend Configuration

    1. In the Remote_State directory, edit the backend.tf file and add in your S3 bucket name, region, and DynamoDB table name.
    2. In the Remote_State directory, edit the main.tf file and add your Subnet ID.
    3. Initialize your working directory.
    4. Deploy your resources.

  3. Challenge

    Confirm Remote Backend Status

    1. Check your working directory for the state file.
    2. Check your S3 bucket for your state file.
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Pluralsight Skills

Pluralsight Skills gives leaders confidence they have the skills needed to execute technology strategy. Technology teams can benchmark expertise across roles, speed up release cycles and build reliable, secure products. By leveraging our expert content, skill assessments and one-of-a-kind analytics, keep up with the pace of change, put the right people on the right projects and boost productivity. It's the most effective path to developing tech skills at scale.

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