Azure Resources Manager (ARM)

Deploy Azure Resources with Arm Templates & PowerShell

Video taught by Navika Chhauda

What are Azure Resources Manager (ARM) Templates and Why Use Them

Use case: Create infrastructure from code instead of manually and record infrastructure as code (IaC).

Benefits: reuse, time efficiency, continuous deployment and integration, track deployments

Parts of an ARM Template

Input: JavaScript Object Notation File (JSON)
Configure a resource
Declarative syntax

ARM Template Structure

Properties:

schema: template version
contentVersion: version of content
parameters: inputs from user
functions: methods
variables dynamic values
resources: what to deploy
outputs: what to generate after ARM template is applied

Demos: Deployment Resources using AR

Use VS Code, use ARM extension
Create ARM template from scratch using structure elements from above
Using ARM! snippet in VS Code, create a blank template

{
    "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
    // Parameters are to get input from user
    "parameters": {
        // example
        // "storagename": {
        //     "type": "string",
        //     "metadata": {
        //         "description": "Name of the storage account"
        //     }
        // }
    },
    "functions": [],
    // Optional variables can be reused
    "variables": {
        // Create storage account name from a
        // unique string generated from numbers 2,6,4
        "stname": "[concat('storage',uniqueString('264'))]"
    },
    // Most Azure resources are available for creation
    // In VS Code, see templates using arm- and C-Space
    "resources": [
        {
            // Refer to stname specificed in variables
            "name": "[variables('stname')]",
            "type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts",
            "apiVersion": "2023-04-01",
            "tags": {
                "displayName": "[variables('stname')]"
            },
            "location": "[resourceGroup().location]",
            "kind": "StorageV2",
            "sku": {
                "name": "Premium_LRS",
                "tier": "Premium"
            }
        }

    ],
    "outputs": {}
}

PowerShell Scripting

Use Case: Need software to automate, deploy, and manage Azure resources
PowerShell: Command line tool, helps with automation, scripting language, can do deployment of resources
Steps of deployment resources using PowerShell
- Connect to Azure
- Get/Set subscription
- Create
  - Create resource group (RG) if needed
- Deploy resources
  - During deploy, you can observe progress in Azure portal under resource group > Deployments
Commands may require Cmdlets to be installed from PowerShell gallery
Usage:
- Scripts of PowerShell commands
- Dynamic scripts
- Loops, conditions, error handling
- Define variables like $var, can add numbers and concatenate strings

ARM Templates and PowerShell

Deploy ARM json using CLI, like PowerShell, can run like in terminal or PowerShell ISE

# Connect to Azure
Connect-AzAccount
# Check subscription
Get-AzSubscription
# Can reuse existing RG or create new one like:
New-AzResourceGroup -Name "test1" -Location "CanadaCentral"
# Deployment the resource using an existing RG called test1
# Point to filled in ARM template file
New-AzResourceGroupDeployment -ResourceGroupName test1 -TemplateFile "/path/to/ARM-file.json"

# Get virtual machines
Get-AzVM
$totalVM=Get-AzVM
$count=0

foreach($vm in $totalVM) {
    $count = $count + 1
}
$count

Write-Host("Total VMs in subscription is $count")

if ($count -gt 1) {
    Write-Host("Sorry, no more VMs can be deployed, maximum 1 VMs reached")
}
else {
    # vm.json below has
    # - storage account
    # - public IP
    # - network
    # - NSG
    # - VNet
    # - Sub network
    # - VM
    #   - Password is specified as well
    New-AzResourceGroupDeployment -ResourceGroupName test1 -TemplateFile "vm.json"
    Write-Host("New VM deployed")
}

You can retrieve a template from an existing resources using export template in the Azure Portal from the resource

vm.json

Make sure the VM name is unique

{
    "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
    "parameters": {
        // specific relevant parameters below
    },
    "functions": [],
    "variables": {
        // specific relevant variables below
    },
    "resources": [
        {
            "type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts",
            "apiVersion": "2023-04-01",
            "name": "[variables('storageAccountName')]",
            "location": "[parameters('location')]",
            "sku": {
                "name": "Standard_LRS"
            },
            "kind": "Storage"
        },
        {
            "type": "Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses",
            "apiVersion": "2023-11-01",
            "name": "[parameters('publicIpName')]",
            "location": "[parameters('location')]",
            "sku": {
                "name": "[parameters('publicIpSku')]"
            },
            "properties": {
                "publicIPAllocationMethod": "[parameters('publicIPAllocationMethod')]",
                "dnsSettings": {
                    "domainNameLabel": "[parameters('dnsLabelPrefix')]"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "type": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups",
            "apiVersion": "2023-11-01",
            "name": "[variables('networkSecurityGroupName')]",
            "location": "[parameters('location')]",
            "properties": {
                "securityRules": [
                    {
                        "name": "default-allow-3389",
                        "properties": {
                            "priority": 1000,
                            "access": "Allow",
                            "direction": "Inbound",
                            "destinationPortRange": "3389",
                            "protocol": "Tcp",
                            "sourcePortRange": "*",
                            "sourceAddressPrefix": "*",
                            "destinationAddressPrefix": "*"
                        }
                    }
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "type": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks",
            "apiVersion": "2023-11-01",
            "name": "[variables('virtualNetworkName')]",
            "location": "[parameters('location')]",
            "properties": {
                "addressSpace": {
                    "addressPrefixes": [
                        "[variables('addressPrefix')]"
                    ]
                },
                "subnets": [
                    {
                        "name": "[variables('subnetName')]",
                        "properties": {
                            "addressPrefix": "[variables('subnetPrefix')]",
                            "networkSecurityGroup": {
                                "id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups', variables('networkSecurityGroupName'))]"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                ]
            },
            "dependsOn": [
                "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups', variables('networkSecurityGroupName'))]"
            ]
        },
        {
            "type": "Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces",
            "apiVersion": "2023-11-01",
            "name": "[variables('nicName')]",
            "location": "[parameters('location')]",
            "properties": {
                "ipConfigurations": [
                    {
                        "name": "ipconfig1",
                        "properties": {
                            "privateIPAllocationMethod": "Dynamic",
                            "publicIPAddress": {
                                "id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses', parameters('publicIpName'))]"
                            },
                            "subnet": {
                                "id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets', variables('virtualNetworkName'), variables('subnetName'))]"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                ]
            },
            "dependsOn": [
                "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses', parameters('publicIpName'))]",
                "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks', variables('virtualNetworkName'))]"
            ]
        },
        {
            "type": "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines",
            "apiVersion": "2023-03-01",
            "name": "[parameters('vmName')]",
            "location": "[parameters('location')]",
            "properties": {
                "hardwareProfile": {
                    "vmSize": "[parameters('vmSize')]"
                },
                "osProfile": {
                    "computerName": "[parameters('vmName')]",
                    "adminUsername": "[parameters('adminUsername')]",
                    "adminPassword": "[parameters('adminPassword')]"
                },
                "storageProfile": {
                    "imageReference": {
                        "publisher": "MicrosoftWindowsServer",
                        "offer": "WindowsServer",
                        "sku": "[parameters('OSVersion')]",
                        "version": "latest"
                    },
                    "osDisk": {
                        "createOption": "FromImage",
                        "managedDisk": {
                            "storageAccountType": "StandardSSD_LRS"
                        }
                    },
                    "dataDisks": [
                        {
                            "diskSizeGB": 1023,
                            "lun": 0,
                            "createOption": "Empty"
                        }
                    ]
                },
                "networkProfile": {
                    "networkInterfaces": [
                        {
                            "id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces', variables('nicName'))]"
                        }
                    ]
                },
                "diagnosticsProfile": {
                    "bootDiagnostics": {
                        "enabled": true,
                        "storageUri": "[reference(resourceId('Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts', variables('storageAccountName')), '2022-05-01').primaryEndpoints.blob]"
                    }
                },
                "securityProfile": "[if(equals(parameters('securityType'), 'TrustedLaunch'), variables('securityProfileJson'), null())]"
            },
            "dependsOn": [
                "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces', variables('nicName'))]",
                "[resourceId('Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts', variables('storageAccountName'))]"
            ]
        },
        {
            "condition": "[and(equals(parameters('securityType'), 'TrustedLaunch'), and(equals(variables('securityProfileJson').uefiSettings.secureBootEnabled, true()), equals(variables('securityProfileJson').uefiSettings.vTpmEnabled, true())))]",
            "type": "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/extensions",
            "apiVersion": "2023-03-01",
            "name": "[format('{0}/{1}', parameters('vmName'), variables('extensionName'))]",
            "location": "[parameters('location')]",
            "properties": {
                "publisher": "[variables('extensionPublisher')]",
                "type": "[variables('extensionName')]",
                "typeHandlerVersion": "[variables('extensionVersion')]",
                "autoUpgradeMinorVersion": true,
                "enableAutomaticUpgrade": true,
                "settings": {
                    "AttestationConfig": {
                        "MaaSettings": {
                            "maaEndpoint": "[variables('maaEndpoint')]",
                            "maaTenantName": "[variables('maaTenantName')]"
                        }
                    }
                }
            },
            "dependsOn": [
                "[resourceId('Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines', parameters('vmName'))]"
            ]
        }

    ],
    "outputs": {}
}

When to choose BICEP vs ARM

You can use both, no wrong choice
Bicep is more concise and easier to read
Export in Azure Portal uses ARM template and underneath a BICEP approach uses ARM for deployment