The terraform taint command is used to manually mark a Terraform-managed resource as "tainted." A tainted resource will be planned for destruction and recreation on the next terraform apply. This forces a replacement of the resource instance without requiring any changes to the configuration code. By targeting only the virtual machine resource with the taint command, you ensure that the database resource remains unaffected during the subsequent apply operation, precisely matching the user's requirement to replace only the VM.

A. terraform state rm only removes the resource from the state file, orphaning the actual cloud resource. It does not trigger a replacement.

C. terraform apply -target is used to focus an apply operation on a subset of resources, but it will not replace a resource unless its configuration has changed.

D. This manual, two-step process (remove/apply, then add/apply) is inefficient, error-prone, and not the intended workflow for replacing a resource.

1. HashiCorp Terraform Documentation

taint Command: "The terraform taint command manually marks a Terraform-managed resource as tainted

forcing it to be destroyed and recreated on the next apply." This documentation confirms that taint is the specific command for forcing replacement.

Source: HashiCorp

Terraform CLI Documentation

Command: taint. (Note: The page mentions the command is deprecated in favor of terraform apply -replace

but its function is as described and it remains a valid concept for the exam).

2. HashiCorp Terraform Documentation

state rm Command: "This command removes the resource from the state

but does not destroy the actual infrastructure object... This is a destructive operation." This clarifies that state rm is for state file manipulation

not for replacing infrastructure.

Source: HashiCorp

Terraform CLI Documentation

Command: state rm.

3. HashiCorp Terraform Documentation

Resource Targeting: "Use of -target is not recommended for routine operations... it can cause undetected configuration drift... The -target option is provided for exceptional circumstances". This explains that targeting is not for standard operations like resource replacement.

Source: HashiCorp

Terraform CLI Documentation

Command: plan

Resource Targeting (-target option).