A government operator runs terraform plan against a Nexus provider. The plan lists a VLAN to add. After the plan finishes, the switch does not have that VLAN. Why not?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
A blueprint is not a building permit that already poured the floor. terraform plan shows what would change if you applied it. The VLAN stays off the switch until terraform apply runs against that same state.
Full Explanation
Terraform's plan is a dry run. It refreshes state, compares it with the configuration, and prints the add. It does not push the VLAN. Apply is the step that talks to the provider and makes the change. A successful plan that lists an add is evidence the VLAN was not created, not evidence it was created and removed. Guest shell is an on-box Linux environment. Terraform on an operator workstation does not need a guest shell agent, and a missing agent is not why a plan leaves the switch alone. POAP runs when a switch boots without a startup configuration. A switch you can plan against is not being rebuilt by POAP, and POAP does not trigger because a startup configuration exists. Caveat: apply uses the state file you point it at. A plan against one state and an apply against another can add a different set of objects than the plan you just read. Operational check: run apply for that working directory, then show the VLAN on the switch. Read the plan's add and change lines before you apply. Apply will create every object that plan listed, including one you did not mean to leave in the configuration.