# Exercise: Configuring and Using Remote State in Azure

# Objective

Participants will configure their Terraform setup to use remote state stored in Azure Blob Storage, which allows for better collaboration and state management in team environments.

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# Steps

# Step 1: Create an Azure Storage Account and Blob Container

1. Open Azure CLI or Azure Portal:

   • You can use either the Azure CLI (recommended for automation) or the Azure Portal to create the necessary resources.

2. Create a Resource Group (if not already created):

   • Replace <your-resource-group> and <location> with your desired resource group name and Azure region.
   • Using the Azure CLI:

     az group create --name <your-resource-group> --location <location>

3. Create a Storage Account:

   • Replace <your-storage-account-name> with a unique name for the storage account.
   • Using the Azure CLI:

     az storage account create \
       --name <your-storage-account-name> \
       --resource-group <your-resource-group> \
       --location <location> \
       --sku Standard_LRS

   • Note: Storage account names must be globally unique and can only contain lowercase letters and numbers.

4. Create a Blob Container:

   • Replace <your-container-name> with a name for the container, such as tfstate.
   • Using the Azure CLI:

     az storage container create \
       --name <your-container-name> \
       --account-name <your-storage-account-name>

5. Get the Storage Account Key:

   • You will need the storage account key to configure remote state in Terraform.
   • Using the Azure CLI:

     az storage account keys list \
       --resource-group <your-resource-group> \
       --account-name <your-storage-account-name> \
       --query "[0].value" --output tsv

   • Copy the storage account key for use in the Terraform configuration.

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# Step 2: Modify the Terraform Configuration to Add the Remote State Backend Block

1. Open Your main.tf File:

   • Open your Terraform configuration file, main.tf, in your code editor.

2. Add the Remote State Backend Block:

   • At the top of main.tf, add the backend configuration block under terraform {} to enable remote state storage in Azure.
   • Replace <your-storage-account-name>, <your-container-name>, <your-resource-group>, and <your-state-file-name> as necessary.
   • Example:

     terraform {
       backend "azurerm" {
         resource_group_name  = "<your-resource-group>"
         storage_account_name = "<your-storage-account-name>"
         container_name       = "<your-container-name>"
         key                  = "<your-state-file-name>.tfstate"
       }
     }

   • The key value specifies the name of the state file in the Blob container (e.g., terraform.tfstate).

3. Configure Environment Variables (Optional):

   • You can set the storage account key as an environment variable to avoid hardcoding sensitive information.
   • In your terminal, set the environment variable:

     export ARM_ACCESS_KEY="<your-storage-account-key>"

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# Step 3: Run terraform init to Initialize the Backend and Migrate the State

1. Initialize Terraform:

   • In the terminal, run the following command to initialize the backend and migrate the local state to Azure Blob Storage:

     terraform init

   • Terraform will prompt you to confirm the migration of your state file from local to remote storage.

2. Confirm Migration:

   • Review the prompt and type yes to allow Terraform to move the state file to Azure Blob Storage.
   • Once the initialization completes, you should see a message confirming that the backend has been successfully configured.

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# Step 4: Verify the State File in Azure Blob Storage

1. Log in to the Azure Portal:

   • Go to the Azure Portal and navigate to the resource group where you created the storage account.

2. Navigate to the Storage Account and Blob Container:

   • Open the storage account you created.
   • In the left-hand menu, select Containers and then choose the container (e.g., tfstate) where you configured the remote state.

3. Verify the State File:

   • You should see a file with the name you specified in the key field (e.g., terraform.tfstate).
   • This file contains the Terraform state, which is now stored in Azure Blob Storage and can be accessed and locked remotely by Terraform.

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# Verification

• Confirm Remote State Initialization:

  • Verify that terraform init completed successfully and that the state file has been moved to the specified Azure Blob Storage container.

• Check the State File Contents (optional):

  • You can download the .tfstate file from Azure Blob Storage to inspect its contents, ensuring it contains the correct state information.

• Troubleshoot Issues:

  • If there are issues with accessing the Blob Storage or state file, verify that you correctly entered the resource names and storage account key in the configuration.

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