To manage the Terraform state file for long-lived virtual machines and ensure proper reusability of scripts, it is best to use a remote backend along with workspaces. A remote backend, such as AWS S3, Azure Blob Storage, or HashiCorp Consul, allows you to store the state file centrally, enabling features like state locking, versioning, and secure access. By combining this with Terraform workspaces, you can create isolated state files for each VM or team request, reusing the same scripts without overwriting or manually managing state files. For example, if you use AWS S3 as the backend, you can configure it with a DynamoDB table for state locking to prevent concurrent updates, ensuring consistency and reliability across provisioning operations. This approach is scalable, secure, and reduces the risk of errors, making it ideal for managing Terraform deployments in environments where resources have long lifecycles.