What is drift in the context of infrastructure as code?

What is drift in the context of infrastructure as code?

• A. Differences in user access levels
• B. Differences between code and production policy
• C. Differences between deployed state and desired IaC
• D. Differences in network latency.

Answer: (C)

Drift in infrastructure as code is the mismatch that can develop between what is actually running in your environment and what your IaC code declares as the intended state. When changes happen outside the IaC workflow—manual edits, automated updates, or external events—the live resources, configurations, or networking can diverge from the code's specifications. Detecting drift means comparing the current, deployed state to the desired state expressed in your IaC, often using a plan or drift-detection step. Then you reconcile by re-applying the IaC to bring the environment back in line, or by updating the code to reflect the actual desired configuration. This concept is central because it keeps deployments reproducible and predictable, preventing surprises from unmanaged changes. Differences in user access levels concern security permissions, not the ongoing state of resources. Differences in production policy can be related but describe policy alignment rather than the actual infrastructure state. And network latency is a performance issue, not a state drift issue.

Drift in infrastructure as code is the mismatch that can develop between what is actually running in your environment and what your IaC code declares as the intended state. When changes happen outside the IaC workflow—manual edits, automated updates, or external events—the live resources, configurations, or networking can diverge from the code's specifications. Detecting drift means comparing the current, deployed state to the desired state expressed in your IaC, often using a plan or drift-detection step. Then you reconcile by re-applying the IaC to bring the environment back in line, or by updating the code to reflect the actual desired configuration. This concept is central because it keeps deployments reproducible and predictable, preventing surprises from unmanaged changes. Differences in user access levels concern security permissions, not the ongoing state of resources. Differences in production policy can be related but describe policy alignment rather than the actual infrastructure state. And network latency is a performance issue, not a state drift issue.