Hands-on 3: State and drift

This exercise builds on Hands-on 2. Continue in the same cumulative Terraform project and keep the same SNOWFLAKE_PROFILE and terraform.tfvars.

Goal

Add a table and warehouse, inspect local Terraform state, and observe drift:

• Table TF_WORKSHOP_<USER_SUFFIX>.LAB.ORDERS
• Warehouse WORKSHOP_WH_<USER_SUFFIX>

Step 1: Add the table and warehouse

Add the following resources to main.tf:

resource "snowflake_table" "orders" {
  database = snowflake_database.workshop.name
  schema   = snowflake_schema.lab.name
  name     = "ORDERS"
  comment  = "Table created during the Terraform workshop"

  column {
    name     = "ORDER_ID"
    type     = "NUMBER"
    nullable = false
  }

  column {
    name = "CUSTOMER_NAME"
    type = "VARCHAR"
  }
}

resource "snowflake_warehouse" "workshop" {
  name                = "WORKSHOP_WH_${upper(var.user_suffix)}"
  warehouse_size      = "XSMALL"
  auto_suspend        = 60
  auto_resume         = true
  initially_suspended = true
  comment             = "Warehouse created during the Terraform workshop"
}

Resource references connect the table to the database and schema. The warehouse is independent of the database dependency.

Step 2: Review state and apply

terraform fmt
terraform validate
terraform plan
terraform apply
terraform output
terraform state list

Review the plan before confirming apply. The state list should contain the database, schema, table, and warehouse.

Step 3: Create controlled drift

Change the warehouse size manually in Snowflake, for example in Snowsight, from XSMALL to SMALL. Do not change the Terraform configuration.

Run:

terraform plan

Terraform should report the difference between the configured size and the remote size. This is drift: the remote object no longer matches the configuration and state.

Restore the declared state:

terraform apply
terraform plan

The final plan should report no changes.

Common pitfalls

The table has no columns

The Snowflake provider requires at least one column block. Keep the two columns from the example.

The warehouse is running unexpectedly

The example uses initially_suspended = true and auto_suspend = 60. Avoid leaving a warehouse running during exercises.

Drift is not visible

Run terraform plan after the manual Snowflake change. Do not edit the Terraform configuration while demonstrating drift.

Checkpoint

• State is Terraform’s last known relationship with remote objects.
• Compare configuration, state, and Snowflake after each command.
• Make only one controlled remote change so the plan remains easy to read.