Home labs & practical projects

Reconcile infrastructure drift without losing state

A project to do with your own tools, with guidance on what to create and capture.

Local lab Suggested time: 2–3 hoursYour own authorised environment

What you could create

A teammate changes a local disposable resource outside Terraform. You need to explain the plan and restore agreement between configuration, state and reality.

Example evidence format

Project evidence map (example)

Before-and-after plansScope and inputs

Drift decision record and reproducible configurationDecisions and reasoning

Evidence record (example)

Evidence	What to capture
Before-and-after plans	Show the inputs, scope and decisions behind this record. The final plan contains no unintended changes.
Drift decision record and reproducible configuration	Include the evidence supporting your conclusion. The explanation distinguishes configuration from state and actual resources.

What you'll need

Local lab

Use Terraform with a suitable local provider and version-controlled configuration. Create a small disposable resource and retain a clean initial plan.

Project record

Keep the working files for before-and-after plans and record assumptions as you go.

Current reference material

Use the linked provider resources to verify the features, access terms and version relevant to your project.

Access & cost

Uses your own computer. Confirm hardware capacity, software licences and download terms before setup.

Use disposable VMs, containers or a simulator. Keep the lab separate from your everyday machine and work network.

Suggested milestones

1
Plan and investigate
Introduce a reversible out-of-band change and inspect the next plan.
2
Develop your approach
Decide whether the configuration or the manual change is the intended state.
3
Verify and explain
Apply the chosen correction, rerun the plan and document safe state handling.

Evidence worth keeping

Keep clear, organised evidence of your design and any testing you carry out.

1
Before-and-after plans
Show the inputs, scope and decisions behind this record. The final plan contains no unintended changes.
2
Drift decision record and reproducible configuration
Include the evidence supporting your conclusion. The explanation distinguishes configuration from state and actual resources.

Label design proposals and observed results clearly.

Explain your work

Use these prompts to reflect on your decisions and what you learned.

Which part of your before-and-after plans needed the most judgement?
What observation or assumption changed your approach?
What would you improve, and what have you not verified?

Describe this as a personal project in your portfolio.

Useful resources

Use these resources to deepen your understanding and check key details.

Official certification objectives

Review the current provider requirements and relevant subject areas.

Explore external learning resources

Find relevant providers and check features, access requirements and costs.

A useful starting point

Use Terraform with a suitable local provider and version-controlled configuration. Create a small disposable resource and retain a clean initial plan.

What a good result looks like

The final plan contains no unintended changes.
The explanation distinguishes configuration from state and actual resources.
State and output files are checked for sensitive values before sharing.

Finish the project

Save sanitised evidence, then remove the lab instances or revert to the clean snapshot. Remove temporary accounts and credentials.

Independent home-project guidance, not an official vendor lab or a claim of complete exam coverage. Use your own tools and label the work accurately.