Configure resources with Azure Resource Manager templates

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Introduction
Completed100 XP
 3 minutes

Scenario
Your company needs to ensure virtual machine deployments are
consistent across the organization.

You use Azure Resource Manager templates to deploy resources including

virtual machines.

Skills measured
Deploying resources using Azure Resource Manager templates is part
of Exam AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator.

Deploy and manage Azure compute resources (20–25%)

Automate deployment of virtual machines (VMs) by using Azure Resource

Manager templates

 Modify an Azure Resource Manager template.

 Deploy from a template.
 Save a deployment as an Azure Resource Manager template.

Learning objectives
In this module, you'll learn how to:

 List the advantages of Azure templates.

 Identify the Azure template schema components.
 Specify Azure template parameters.
 Locate and use Azure Quickstart Templates.

Prerequisites
None

Next unit: Review Azure Resource Manager

template advantages
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Review Azure Resource Manager
template advantages
Completed100 XP
 3 minutes

An Azure Resource Manager template precisely defines all the

Resource Manager resources in a deployment. You can deploy a Resource
Manager template into a resource group as a single operation.

Using Resource Manager templates will make your deployments faster

and more repeatable. For example, you no longer have to create a VM in
the portal, wait for it to finish, and then create the next VM. Resource
Manager template takes care of the entire deployment for you.

Template benefits
 Templates improve consistency. Resource Manager
templates provide a common language for you and others to
describe your deployments. Regardless of the tool or SDK that
you use to deploy the template, the structure, format, and
expressions inside the template remain the same.
 Templates help express complex deployments. Templates
enable you to deploy multiple resources in the correct order.
For example, you wouldn't want to deploy a virtual machine
prior to creating an operating system (OS) disk or network
interface. Resource Manager maps out each resource and its
dependent resources, and creates dependent resources first.
Dependency mapping helps ensure that the deployment is
carried out in the correct order.
 Templates reduce manual, error-prone tasks. Manually
creating and connecting resources can be time consuming, and
it's easy to make mistakes. Resource Manager ensures that the
deployment happens the same way every time.
 Templates are code. Templates express your requirements
through code. Think of a template as a type of Infrastructure as
Code that can be shared, tested, and versioned similar to any
other piece of software. Also, because templates are code, you
can create a "paper trail" that you can follow. The template
code documents the deployment. Most users maintain their
templates under some kind of revision control, such as GIT.

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 When you change the template, its revision history also
documents how the template (and your deployment) has
evolved over time.
 Templates promote reuse. Your template can contain
parameters that are filled in when the template runs. A
parameter can define a username or password, a domain
name, and so on. Template parameters enable you to create
multiple versions of your infrastructure, such as staging and
production, while still using the exact same template.
 Templates are linkable. You can link Resource Manager
templates together to make the templates themselves
modular. You can write small templates that each define a
piece of a solution, and then combine them to create a
complete system.
 Templates simplify orchestration. You only need to deploy
the template to deploy all of your resources. Normally this
would take multiple operations.

Next unit: Explore the Azure Resource

Manager template schema

Explore the Azure Resource Manager template schema

Completed

100 XP

3 minutes

Azure Resource Manager templates are written in JSON, which allows you to express data stored as
an object (such as a virtual machine) in text. A JSON document is essentially a collection of key-value
pairs. Each key is a string, whose value can be:

A string

A number

A Boolean expression

A list of values

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An object (which is a collection of other key-value pairs)

A Resource Manager template can contain sections that are expressed using JSON notation, but
aren't related to the JSON language itself:

JSON

Copy

"$schema":
"http://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",

"contentVersion": "",

"parameters": {},

"variables": {},

"functions": [],

"resources": [],

"outputs": {}

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Next unit: Explore the Azure Resource Manager template parameters

Explore the Azure Resource

Manager template parameters
Completed100 XP
 3 minutes

6
In the parameters section of the template, you specify which values you
can input when deploying the resources. The available properties for a
parameter are:

JSONCopy
"parameters": {
"<parameter-name>" : {
"type" : "<type-of-parameter-value>",
"defaultValue": "<default-value-of-parameter>",
"allowedValues": [ "<array-of-allowed-values>" ],
"minValue": <minimum-value-for-int>,
"maxValue": <maximum-value-for-int>,
"minLength": <minimum-length-for-string-or-array>,
"maxLength": <maximum-length-for-string-or-array-parameters>,
"metadata": {
"description": "<description-of-the parameter>"
}
}
}

Here's an example that illustrates two parameters: one for a virtual

machine's username, and one for its password:

JSONCopy
"parameters": {
"adminUsername": {
"type": "string",
"metadata": {
"description": "Username for the Virtual Machine."
}
},
"adminPassword": {
"type": "securestring",
"metadata": {
"description": "Password for the Virtual Machine."
}
}
}
Note

You're limited to 256 parameters in a template. You can reduce the

number of parameters by using objects that contain multiple properties.

Next unit: Consider Bicep templates

7
Consider Bicep templates
Completed100 XP
 3 minutes

Azure Bicep is a domain-specific language (DSL) that uses declarative

syntax to deploy Azure resources. It provides concise syntax, reliable type
safety, and support for code reuse.

You can use Bicep instead of JSON to develop your Azure Resource
Manager templates (ARM templates). The JSON syntax to create an ARM
template can be verbose and require complicated expressions. Bicep
syntax reduces that complexity and improves the development
experience. Bicep is a transparent abstraction over ARM template JSON
and doesn't lose any of the JSON template capabilities.

How does Bicep work?

When you deploy a resource or series of resources to Azure, the tooling

that's built into Bicep converts your Bicep template into a JSON template.
This process is known as transpilation. Transpilation is the process of
converting source code written in one language into another language.

Bicep provides many improvements over JSON for template authoring,

including:

 Simpler syntax: Bicep provides a simpler syntax for writing

templates. You can reference parameters and variables
directly, without using complicated functions. String
interpolation is used in place of concatenation to combine
values for names and other items. You can reference the
properties of a resource directly by using its symbolic name
instead of complex reference statements. These syntax
improvements help both with authoring and reading Bicep
templates.
 Modules: You can break down complex template deployments
into smaller module files and reference them in a main
template. These modules provide easier management and
greater reusability.
 Automatic dependency management: In most situations,
Bicep automatically detects dependencies between your
resources. This process removes some of the work involved in
template authoring.
 Type validation and IntelliSense: The Bicep extension for
Visual Studio Code features rich validation and IntelliSense for
all Azure resource type API definitions. This feature helps
provide an easier authoring experience.

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Next unit: Review QuickStart templates

Review QuickStart templates

Completed100 XP
 3 minutes

Azure Quickstart Templates are Azure Resource Manager templates

provided by the Azure community.

Some templates provide everything you need to deploy your solution,

while others might serve as a starting point for your template. Either way,
you can study these templates to learn how to best author and structure
your own templates.

 The README.md file provides an overview of what the template

does.
 The azuredeploy.json file defines the resources that will be
deployed.
 The azuredeploy.parameters.json file provides the values the
template needs.
Note

Take a few minutes to browse the available templates. Anything of

interest?

Next unit: Interactive lab simulation -

templates

9
Interactive lab simulation -
templates
Completed100 XP
 17 minutes

Scenario
Tailwind Traders are migrating their storage needs to Azure. You've
successfully deployed a managed disk in a resource group. You've
decided to create an Azure Resource Manager template to simplify the
other disk deployments.

Architecture diagram
Your first disk deployment in the resource group az104-03a-rg1 is
complete. You plan to customize the template and use it to deploy
another disk in resource group az104-03b-rg1.

Tasks
Task 1: Review an ARM template for deployment of an Azure managed
disk.

Task 2: Create an Azure managed disk by using an ARM template.

Task 3: Review the ARM template-based deployment of the managed

disk.

Note

Click on the thumbnail image to start the lab simulation. When you're
done, be sure to return to this page so you can continue learning.

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Next unit: Knowledge check

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44
Knowledge check
Completed200 XP
 3 minutes

Choose the best response for each question. Then select Check your
answers.

1.

What is an Azure Resource Manager template?

A series of Azure CLI commands to deploy infrastructure to Azure.

Incorrect. An Azure Resource Manager template is a JSON file that
defines the infrastructure and configuration for the deployment.
A JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) file that defines the infrastructure and
configuration for the deployment.
Correct. An Azure Resource Manager template is a JSON file that
defines the infrastructure and configuration for the deployment.
A script used by the Azure Resource Manager to manage the Azure
storage account.
2.

Which of the following parameters is an element in the template

schema?

Includes
Incorrect. Includes aren't part of the template schema.
Scripts
Outputs
Correct. Outputs are part of the template schema. Outputs are
used to return values from the deployed resources.
3.

What happens if the same template is run a second time?

Azure Resource Manager deploys the new resources as copies of the

previously deployed resources.
Incorrect. If the resource already exists and no change is
detected in the properties, no action is taken. If the resource
already exists and a property has changed, the resource is
updated. If the resource doesn't exist, it's created.
Azure Resource Manager doesn't change the deployed resources.
Correct. If the resource already exists and no change is detected
in the properties, no action is taken. If the resource already exists

45
and a property has changed, the resource is updated. If the
resource doesn't exist, it's created.
Azure Resource Manager deletes the previously deployed resources and
redeploys them.

Next unit: Summary and resources

Summary and resources

Completed100 XP

 3 minutes

To implement infrastructure as code for your Azure solutions, use Azure

Resource Manager templates. The template is a JavaScript Object Notation
(JSON) file that defines the infrastructure and configuration for your
project. The template uses declarative syntax, which lets you state what
you intend to deploy without having to write the sequence of
programming commands to create it. In the template, you specify the
resources to deploy and the properties for those resources.

You should now be able to:

 List the advantages of Azure templates.

 Identify the Azure template schema components.
 Specify Azure template parameters.
 Locate and use Azure Quickstart Templates.

Learn more
You can learn more by reviewing the following. A sandbox indicates a
hands-on exercise.

 Azure Resource Manager template documentation

 Azure Quickstart Templates
 Deploy Azure infrastructure by using JSON Azure Resource Manager
templates (Sandbox)
 Create Azure resources using Azure Resource Manager templates
 Build your first Bicep template (Sandbox)

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All units complete:

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