DevOps Configuration Management & Infrastructure as Code Flashcards
7 cards from real AWS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 DevOps Configuration Management & Infrastructure as Code flashcards as text
What does 'configuration drift' mean in the context of infrastructure management?
Answer: Differences between the intended configuration state and the actual running state of resources
Configuration drift occurs when the actual state of infrastructure diverges from the desired state defined in configuration code or templates.
A team uses AWS Config to monitor CloudFormation stacks. Which AWS Config feature detects when a stack's actual resource configuration diverges from its template?
Answer: CloudFormation Drift Detection
CloudFormation Drift Detection compares the current configuration of stack resources against the expected configuration defined in the stack template.
In a CI/CD pipeline for infrastructure, which practice involves testing CloudFormation templates for syntax errors and policy compliance before deployment?
Answer: Infrastructure pipeline with linting and policy-as-code gates
Running linters (like cfn-lint) and policy-as-code tools (like cfn-guard or OPA) in the pipeline catches template errors and compliance violations before any resources are deployed.
Which AWS service enables you to author, test, and deploy OpsCenter runbooks (automation documents) to remediate operational issues automatically?
Answer: AWS Systems Manager Automation
AWS Systems Manager Automation runs runbooks (SSM Documents of type Automation) that can perform multi-step remediation tasks across AWS resources.
When using Terraform with a remote backend on Amazon S3, why is DynamoDB table locking recommended?
Answer: To prevent concurrent state modifications that could corrupt the state file
DynamoDB state locking prevents multiple team members or pipeline runs from simultaneously modifying the Terraform state file, which would cause corruption.
A CloudFormation stack uses a Lambda-backed custom resource. When should the custom resource's Lambda function signal SUCCESS or FAILURE to CloudFormation?
Answer: By sending a response to the pre-signed S3 URL provided in the CloudFormation event
Lambda-backed custom resources must send a JSON response to the pre-signed S3 URL in the CloudFormation event's ResponseURL field to signal completion status.
Which feature of AWS AppConfig differentiates it from SSM Parameter Store for feature flag management?
Answer: AppConfig provides built-in deployment strategies with monitoring and automatic rollback
AppConfig adds deployment strategies (linear, exponential, all-at-once) with CloudWatch alarm integration for automatic rollback, making it safer than directly reading from Parameter Store.