We already talked about ARM templates and how they can help us automate things. For this chapter, I created a virtual network and joined one virtual machine to that network.
If you move to automation, you can find an ARM template in JSON format that you can use to redeploy my resources. The ARM template will contain all the resources and all the settings: a virtual network and parameters, a virtual machine with information about the image and size, NSG rules, and so on. It will contain information on all dependencies and information on what needs to be created first. For example, in order to create a VM, a subnet needs to be created in order to join the VM to that subnet, and a subnet can't be created until a VNet is created.
Note that some parameters, such as passwords, are not provided as a password isn't allowed to be shown in clear text, but only as a secure string, so you need to provide these parameters manually:
{
"$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
"contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
"parameters": {
"virtualMachines_PacktVM1_name": {
"defaultValue": "PacktVM1",
"type": "String"
},
"virtualNetworks_PacktVNet_name": {
"defaultValue": "PacktVNet",
"type": "String"
},
"networkInterfaces_packtvm1240_name": {
"defaultValue": "packtvm1240",
"type": "String"
},
"publicIPAddresses_PacktVM1_ip_name": {
"defaultValue": "PacktVM1-ip",
"type": "String"
},
"networkSecurityGroups_PacktVM1_nsg_name": {
"defaultValue": "PacktVM1-nsg",
"type": "String"
},
"subnets_DMZ_name": {
"defaultValue": "DMZ",
"type": "String"
},
"subnets_default_name": {
"defaultValue": "default",
"type": "String"
},
"securityRules_default_allow_rdp_name": {
"defaultValue": "default-allow-rdp",
"type": "String"
},
"adminUsername": {
"type": "string",
"metadata": {
"description": "Default Admin username"
}
},
"adminPassword": {
"type": "securestring",
"metadata": {
"description": "Default Admin password"
}
}
},
"variables": {},
"resources": [
{
"type": "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines",
"name": "[parameters('virtualMachines_PacktVM1_name')]",
"apiVersion": "2017-12-01",
"location": "westeurope",
"scale": null,
"properties": {
"hardwareProfile": {
"vmSize": "Standard_B1s"
},
"storageProfile": {
"imageReference": {
"publisher": "MicrosoftWindowsServer",
"offer": "WindowsServer",
"sku": "2016-Datacenter",
"version": "latest"
},
"osDisk": {
"osType": "Windows",
"name": "[concat(parameters('virtualMachines_PacktVM1_name'),'_OsDisk_1_b6ae3bba44ef491f8c2acd7bfb5aa975')]",
"createOption": "FromImage",
"caching": "ReadWrite",
"managedDisk": {
"storageAccountType": "Standard_LRS"
},
"diskSizeGB": 127
},
"dataDisks": []
},
"osProfile": {
"computerName": "[parameters('virtualMachines_PacktVM1_name')]",
"adminUsername": "[parameters('adminUsername')]",
"adminPassword": "[parameters('adminPassword')]",
"windowsConfiguration": {
"provisionVMAgent": true,
"enableAutomaticUpdates": true
},
"secrets": []
},
"networkProfile": {
"networkInterfaces": [
{
"id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces', parameters('networkInterfaces_packtvm1240_name'))]"
}
]
},
"diagnosticsProfile": {
"bootDiagnostics": {
"enabled": true,
"storageUri": "https://nagiosdiag316.blob.core.windows.net/"
}
}
},
"dependsOn": [
"[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces', parameters('networkInterfaces_packtvm1240_name'))]"
]
},
{
"type": "Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces",
"name": "[parameters('networkInterfaces_packtvm1240_name')]",
"apiVersion": "2018-02-01",
"location": "westeurope",
"scale": null,
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"resourceGuid": "2d51720b-041b-4248-ab04-8dd9fd3fa7d9",
"ipConfigurations": [
{
"name": "ipconfig1",
"etag": "W/"b681e202-2d98-4d28-a30d-aaf93b9f1243"",
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"privateIPAddress": "10.1.1.4",
"privateIPAllocationMethod": "Static",
"publicIPAddress": {
"id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses', parameters('publicIPAddresses_PacktVM1_ip_name'))]"
},
"subnet": {
"id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets', parameters('virtualNetworks_PacktVNet_name'), parameters('subnets_DMZ_name'))]"
},
"primary": true,
"privateIPAddressVersion": "IPv4"
}
}
],
"dnsSettings": {
"dnsServers": [],
"appliedDnsServers": [],
"internalDomainNameSuffix": "gbyhmwrx0mmutogdwlxg2i521c.ax.internal.cloudapp.net"
},
"macAddress": "00-0D-3A-2E-EA-03",
"enableAcceleratedNetworking": false,
"enableIPForwarding": false,
"networkSecurityGroup": {
"id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups', parameters('networkSecurityGroups_PacktVM1_nsg_name'))]"
},
"primary": true
},
"dependsOn": [
"[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses', parameters('publicIPAddresses_PacktVM1_ip_name'))]",
"[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets', parameters('virtualNetworks_PacktVNet_name'), parameters('subnets_DMZ_name'))]",
"[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups', parameters('networkSecurityGroups_PacktVM1_nsg_name'))]"
]
},
{
"type": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups",
"name": "[parameters('networkSecurityGroups_PacktVM1_nsg_name')]",
"apiVersion": "2018-02-01",
"location": "westeurope",
"scale": null,
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"resourceGuid": "11b65174-a94e-44e1-947c-dd140c45a6c8",
"securityRules": [
{
"name": "default-allow-rdp",
"etag": "W/"9b7736d4-5a76-4804-a63f-6cd1875f1d5c"",
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"protocol": "TCP",
"sourcePortRange": "*",
"destinationPortRange": "3389",
"sourceAddressPrefix": "*",
"destinationAddressPrefix": "*",
"access": "Allow",
"priority": 1000,
"direction": "Inbound",
"sourcePortRanges": [],
"destinationPortRanges": [],
"sourceAddressPrefixes": [],
"destinationAddressPrefixes": []
}
}
],
"defaultSecurityRules": [
{
"name": "AllowVnetInBound",
"etag": "W/"9b7736d4-5a76-4804-a63f-6cd1875f1d5c"",
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"description": "Allow inbound traffic from all VMs in VNET",
"protocol": "*",
"sourcePortRange": "*",
"destinationPortRange": "*",
"sourceAddressPrefix": "VirtualNetwork",
"destinationAddressPrefix": "VirtualNetwork",
"access": "Allow",
"priority": 65000,
"direction": "Inbound",
"sourcePortRanges": [],
"destinationPortRanges": [],
"sourceAddressPrefixes": [],
"destinationAddressPrefixes": []
}
},
{
"name": "AllowAzureLoadBalancerInBound",
"etag": "W/"9b7736d4-5a76-4804-a63f-6cd1875f1d5c"",
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"description": "Allow inbound traffic from azure load balancer",
"protocol": "*",
"sourcePortRange": "*",
"destinationPortRange": "*",
"sourceAddressPrefix": "AzureLoadBalancer",
"destinationAddressPrefix": "*",
"access": "Allow",
"priority": 65001,
"direction": "Inbound",
"sourcePortRanges": [],
"destinationPortRanges": [],
"sourceAddressPrefixes": [],
"destinationAddressPrefixes": []
}
},
{
"name": "DenyAllInBound",
"etag": "W/"9b7736d4-5a76-4804-a63f-6cd1875f1d5c"",
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"description": "Deny all inbound traffic",
"protocol": "*",
"sourcePortRange": "*",
"destinationPortRange": "*",
"sourceAddressPrefix": "*",
"destinationAddressPrefix": "*",
"access": "Deny",
"priority": 65500,
"direction": "Inbound",
"sourcePortRanges": [],
"destinationPortRanges": [],
"sourceAddressPrefixes": [],
"destinationAddressPrefixes": []
}
},
{
"name": "AllowVnetOutBound",
"etag": "W/"9b7736d4-5a76-4804-a63f-6cd1875f1d5c"",
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"description": "Allow outbound traffic from all VMs to all VMs in VNET",
"protocol": "*",
"sourcePortRange": "*",
"destinationPortRange": "*",
"sourceAddressPrefix": "VirtualNetwork",
"destinationAddressPrefix": "VirtualNetwork",
"access": "Allow",
"priority": 65000,
"direction": "Outbound",
"sourcePortRanges": [],
"destinationPortRanges": [],
"sourceAddressPrefixes": [],
"destinationAddressPrefixes": []
}
},
{
"name": "AllowInternetOutBound",
"etag": "W/"9b7736d4-5a76-4804-a63f-6cd1875f1d5c"",
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"description": "Allow outbound traffic from all VMs to Internet",
"protocol": "*",
"sourcePortRange": "*",
"destinationPortRange": "*",
"sourceAddressPrefix": "*",
"destinationAddressPrefix": "Internet",
"access": "Allow",
"priority": 65001,
"direction": "Outbound",
"sourcePortRanges": [],
"destinationPortRanges": [],
"sourceAddressPrefixes": [],
"destinationAddressPrefixes": []
}
},
{
"name": "DenyAllOutBound",
"etag": "W/"9b7736d4-5a76-4804-a63f-6cd1875f1d5c"",
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"description": "Deny all outbound traffic",
"protocol": "*",
"sourcePortRange": "*",
"destinationPortRange": "*",
"sourceAddressPrefix": "*",
"destinationAddressPrefix": "*",
"access": "Deny",
"priority": 65500,
"direction": "Outbound",
"sourcePortRanges": [],
"destinationPortRanges": [],
"sourceAddressPrefixes": [],
"destinationAddressPrefixes": []
}
}
]
},
"dependsOn": []
},
{
"type": "Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses",
"sku": {
"name": "Basic",
"tier": "Regional"
},
"name": "[parameters('publicIPAddresses_PacktVM1_ip_name')]",
"apiVersion": "2018-02-01",
"location": "westeurope",
"scale": null,
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"resourceGuid": "972b3091-fe6e-49cc-bd06-22d260608254",
"ipAddress": "40.74.60.181",
"publicIPAddressVersion": "IPv4",
"publicIPAllocationMethod": "Dynamic",
"idleTimeoutInMinutes": 4,
"ipTags": []
},
"dependsOn": []
},
{
"type": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks",
"name": "[parameters('virtualNetworks_PacktVNet_name')]",
"apiVersion": "2018-02-01",
"location": "westeurope",
"scale": null,
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"resourceGuid": "5a767030-d337-4919-b8c3-b2ee6e23fcda",
"addressSpace": {
"addressPrefixes": [
"10.1.0.0/16",
"10.2.0.0/16"
]
},
"subnets": [
{
"name": "default",
"etag": "W/"98f91850-e7b2-40b6-8043-1caa5bf4865a"",
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"addressPrefix": "10.1.0.0/24",
"serviceEndpoints": []
}
},
{
"name": "DMZ",
"etag": "W/"98f91850-e7b2-40b6-8043-1caa5bf4865a"",
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"addressPrefix": "10.1.1.0/24",
"serviceEndpoints": []
}
}
],
"virtualNetworkPeerings": [],
"enableDdosProtection": false,
"enableVmProtection": false
},
"dependsOn": []
},
{
"type": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules",
"name": "[concat(parameters('networkSecurityGroups_PacktVM1_nsg_name'), '/', parameters('securityRules_default_allow_rdp_name'))]",
"apiVersion": "2018-02-01",
"scale": null,
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"protocol": "TCP",
"sourcePortRange": "*",
"destinationPortRange": "3389",
"sourceAddressPrefix": "*",
"destinationAddressPrefix": "*",
"access": "Allow",
"priority": 1000,
"direction": "Inbound",
"sourcePortRanges": [],
"destinationPortRanges": [],
"sourceAddressPrefixes": [],
"destinationAddressPrefixes": []
},
"dependsOn": [
"[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups', parameters('networkSecurityGroups_PacktVM1_nsg_name'))]"
]
},
{
"type": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets",
"name": "[concat(parameters('virtualNetworks_PacktVNet_name'), '/', parameters('subnets_default_name'))]",
"apiVersion": "2018-02-01",
"scale": null,
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"addressPrefix": "10.1.0.0/24",
"serviceEndpoints": []
},
"dependsOn": [
"[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks', parameters('virtualNetworks_PacktVNet_name'))]"
]
},
{
"type": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets",
"name": "[concat(parameters('virtualNetworks_PacktVNet_name'), '/', parameters('subnets_DMZ_name'))]",
"apiVersion": "2018-02-01",
"scale": null,
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"addressPrefix": "10.1.1.0/24",
"serviceEndpoints": []
},
"dependsOn": [
"[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks', parameters('virtualNetworks_PacktVNet_name'))]"
]
}
]
}
This can be particularly helpful once we have multiple resources deployed in our resource group. Using these templates, we can provision identical environments automatically, quickly, and with precision. Redeploying a resource group to recreate an environment by hand can lead to inconsistencies and missing steps. Using ARM templates produces the same result each and every time.