# Bonus Hands-On Exercise: Using Remote State with Workspaces

# Exercise Objective

Participants will extend their remote state setup by using Terraform workspaces. This will allow them to manage different environments (e.g., dev, staging, prod) using the same remote state backend in Azure Blob Storage.

# Prerequisites

Azure Storage Account and Blob Container: Ensure that you have already set up Azure Blob Storage for remote state, as outlined in the previous exercise.
Terraform Backend Configured: Make sure that your main.tf file includes the backend block pointing to Azure Blob Storage.

# Steps

# Step 1: Modify the Backend Configuration to Use Workspaces

Open Your main.tf File:
- Open your main.tf file where the Azure provider and backend configuration are defined.
Update the Backend Block for Workspace Support:
- Modify the key parameter in the backend block to use the terraform.workspace interpolation syntax, which will dynamically set the state file path based on the current workspace.
- Example:
```
terraform {
  backend "azurerm" {
    resource_group_name  = "<your-resource-group>"
    storage_account_name = "<your-storage-account-name>"
    container_name       = "<your-container-name>"
    key                  = "${terraform.workspace}/terraform.tfstate"
  }
}
```
- Here, ${terraform.workspace} will dynamically create a separate state file for each workspace (e.g., dev/terraform.tfstate, staging/terraform.tfstate, etc.).
Save the main.tf File:
- Save your changes in main.tf.

# Step 2: Initialize the Backend and Workspaces

Run terraform init to Reinitialize the Backend:
- In the terminal, run the following command to reinitialize the backend with the updated configuration:
```
terraform init
```
- Terraform will detect the change in backend configuration and ask for confirmation to initialize with the new settings.
Confirm Backend Initialization:
- Follow the prompts in the terminal and confirm the initialization.

# Step 3: Create and Switch Between Workspaces

Create a New Workspace for the Development Environment:
- Use the following command to create a new workspace called dev:
```
terraform workspace new dev
```
- Terraform will switch to the dev workspace after creating it. This workspace will now have its own state file in Azure Blob Storage (dev/terraform.tfstate).
Create a Workspace for Staging:
- Create another workspace called staging:
```
terraform workspace new staging
```
- Terraform will automatically switch to the staging workspace after creating it. The state file for this workspace will be stored in staging/terraform.tfstate.
Create a Workspace for Production:
- Similarly, create a prod workspace for the production environment:
```
terraform workspace new prod
```
- The state file for this workspace will be stored in prod/terraform.tfstate.
Switch Between Workspaces:
- You can switch between the workspaces using the select command:
```
terraform workspace select dev
```
- This command switches the current workspace back to dev, allowing you to manage resources specific to that environment.

# Step 4: Apply the Configuration in Each Workspace

Run terraform apply in the Dev Workspace:
- Make sure you are in the dev workspace by running:
```
terraform workspace select dev
```
- Run terraform apply to apply the configuration in the dev environment:
```
terraform apply
```
- Type yes when prompted to confirm.
Repeat for Staging and Production Workspaces:
- Switch to the staging workspace and apply the configuration:
```
terraform workspace select staging
terraform apply
```
- Switch to the prod workspace and apply the configuration:
```
terraform workspace select prod
terraform apply
```
- Each environment will have its own state file stored in Azure Blob Storage under the respective workspace directory (e.g., dev/terraform.tfstate, staging/terraform.tfstate, prod/terraform.tfstate).

# Step 5: Verify State Files in Azure Blob Storage

Log in to the Azure Portal:
- Go to the Azure Portal and navigate to the resource group containing the storage account.
Navigate to the Storage Account and Container:
- Open the storage account.
- In the left-hand menu, select Containers and then open the container where you stored the Terraform state files.
Verify the State Files:
- You should see separate directories or state files for each workspace (e.g., dev/terraform.tfstate, staging/terraform.tfstate, and prod/terraform.tfstate).
- Each state file will contain the specific resources applied in that workspace, allowing you to manage separate environments.

# Verification

Confirm Workspace Creation:
- Use terraform workspace list to view all created workspaces and verify that dev, staging, and prod are present.
Check Azure Blob Storage:
- Verify that each workspace has its own state file in Azure Blob Storage, confirming that remote state is correctly isolated by environment.
Troubleshoot Issues:
- If state files are not appearing as expected, ensure that the key parameter in the backend configuration uses ${terraform.workspace} syntax correctly.