CONTINUAL INTEGRATION

Problem scenario
To use ARM templates you know know you should have three text files: 1) a PowerShell script 2) a template.json file and 3) a parameters.json file.

How do you create these for a given resource (e.g., a storage account, VM, or Function App)?

Solution
1.  In the Azure Portal web UI, start the process of creating a resource.  Right before you click "Create", and there may be a few intermediate steps before you get there, click on the nearby hyperlink that says "Download a template for automation" (or for a Function App it may say "Automation options").

2.  You can click on "Template" near the top.  The JSON should be copied into a file called template.json.

3.  You can click on "Parameters" near the top.  The JSON should be copied into a file called parameters.json.

4.  Click on "PowerShell" near the top.  This is the PowerShell you should use.  You should modify two PowerShell stanzas to have explicit paths to the template.json and parameters.json files:

 $templateFilePath = "C:\path\to\template.json",
 $parametersFilePath = "C:\path\to\parameters.json"

5.  Now you can run the PowerShell script to use ARM templates for the resource you were about to create.  Infastructure as a code is great for simplifying your standards and keeping a record of the configuration deployed.

Problem scenario
As a proof-of-concept you want to use an ARM template to create an Azure Function that uses Azure storage.  You want the template to create the Azure storage account as it is a dependency of the Azure Serverless Function (also known as an App Service).  How do you do this?

Overview
This will create an Azure Function also known as an App Service.  The name of it will be entered interactively when the PowerShell script is run (when you are prompted for a "nameFromTemplate").

Prerequisites
1.  If you are using Windows 7, you have installed Azure PowerShell; if you need assistance, see this posting.  If you are using Windows 10, you have installed the modules for Azure and the storage resource; if you need assistance with this, see this posting.

2.  You know your subscription ID.  If you need assistance, see this posting.

Procedures
1.  Create a template.json file with the following content (and remember its location for step #3):

{
    "resources": [
        {
            "apiVersion": "2016-03-01",
            "name": "[parameters('name')]",
            "type": "Microsoft.Web/sites",
            "properties": {
                "name": "[parameters('name')]",
                "siteConfig": {
                    "appSettings": [
                        {
                            "name": "FUNCTIONS_WORKER_RUNTIME",
                            "value": "node"
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "AzureWebJobsStorage",
                            "value": "[concat('DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=',parameters('storageName'),';AccountKey=',listKeys(resourceId('Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts', parameters('storageName')), '2015-05-01-preview').key1)]"
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "FUNCTIONS_EXTENSION_VERSION",
                            "value": "~2"
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "WEBSITE_CONTENTAZUREFILECONNECTIONSTRING",
                            "value": "[concat('DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=',parameters('storageName'),';AccountKey=',listKeys(resourceId('Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts', parameters('storageName')), '2015-05-01-preview').key1)]"
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "WEBSITE_CONTENTSHARE",
                            "value": "[concat(toLower(parameters('name')), 'ba80')]"
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "WEBSITE_NODE_DEFAULT_VERSION",
                            "value": "8.11.1"
                        }
                    ]
                },
                "clientAffinityEnabled": false,
                "reserved": false
            },
            "dependsOn": [
                "[resourceId('Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts', parameters('storageName'))]"
            ],
            "location": "North Central US",
            "kind": "functionapp"
        },
        {
            "apiVersion": "2015-05-01-preview",
            "type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts",
            "name": "[parameters('storageName')]",
            "location": "[parameters('location')]",
            "properties": {
                "accountType": "Standard_LRS"
            }
        }
    ],
    "parameters": {
        "name": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "storageName": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "location": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "subscriptionId": {
            "type": "string"
        }
    },
    "$schema": "http://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2014-04-01-preview/deploymentTemplate.json#",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0"
}

2.  Create a parameters.json file, start with the "{" as the first line as a draft with the following content (and remember its location for step #3).  Replace 1234-abcd-5678-efgh with your subscription ID, replace zzzxxxyyywww with what you want your storage account name to be:

{
    "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentParameters.json#",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
    "parameters": {
        "name": {
            "value": "ne3c8dnmq40328"
        },
        "storageName": {
            "value": "zzzxxxyyywww"
        },
        "location": {
            "value": "North Central US"
        },
        "subscriptionId": {
            "value": "1234-abcd-5678-efgh"
        }
    }
}

3.  Use the following PowerShell script as a draft.  Change the "path\to" on the lines that assign where the respective template.json and parameters.json files should be (so they match where you created them in the above two steps).

<#
 .SYNOPSIS
    Deploys a template to Azure

 .DESCRIPTION
    Deploys an Azure Resource Manager template

 .PARAMETER subscriptionId
    The subscription id where the template will be deployed.

 .PARAMETER resourceGroupName
    The resource group where the template will be deployed. Can be the name of an existing or a new resource group.

 .PARAMETER resourceGroupLocation
    Optional, a resource group location. If specified, will try to create a new resource group in this location. If not specified, assumes resource group is existing.

 .PARAMETER deploymentName
    The deployment name.

 .PARAMETER templateFilePath
    Optional, path to the template file. Defaults to template.json.

 .PARAMETER parametersFilePath
    Optional, path to the parameters file. Defaults to parameters.json. If file is not found, will prompt for parameter values based on template.
#>

param(
 [Parameter(Mandatory=$True)]
 [string]
 $subscriptionId,

 [Parameter(Mandatory=$True)]
 [string]
 $resourceGroupName,

 [string]
 $resourceGroupLocation,

 [Parameter(Mandatory=$True)]
 [string]
 $deploymentName,

 [string]
 $templateFilePath = "C:\Users\jdoe\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\c\template.json",

 [string]
 $parametersFilePath = "C:\Users\jdoe\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\c\parameters.json"
)

<#
.SYNOPSIS
    Registers RPs
#>
Function RegisterRP {
    Param(
        [string]$ResourceProviderNamespace
    )

    Write-Host "Registering resource provider '$ResourceProviderNamespace'";
    Register-AzureRmResourceProvider -ProviderNamespace $ResourceProviderNamespace;
}

#******************************************************************************
# Script body
# Execution begins here
#******************************************************************************
$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"

# sign in
Write-Host "Logging in...";
Login-AzureRmAccount;

# select subscription
Write-Host "Selecting subscription '$subscriptionId'";
Select-AzureRmSubscription -SubscriptionID $subscriptionId;

# Register RPs
$resourceProviders = @("microsoft.web","microsoft.storage");
if($resourceProviders.length) {
    Write-Host "Registering resource providers"
    foreach($resourceProvider in $resourceProviders) {
        RegisterRP($resourceProvider);
    }
}

#Create or check for existing resource group
$resourceGroup = Get-AzureRmResourceGroup -Name $resourceGroupName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if(!$resourceGroup)
{
    Write-Host "Resource group '$resourceGroupName' does not exist. To create a new resource group, please enter a location.";
    if(!$resourceGroupLocation) {
        $resourceGroupLocation = Read-Host "resourceGroupLocation";
    }
    Write-Host "Creating resource group '$resourceGroupName' in location '$resourceGroupLocation'";
    New-AzureRmResourceGroup -Name $resourceGroupName -Location $resourceGroupLocation
}
else{
    Write-Host "Using existing resource group '$resourceGroupName'";
}

# Start the deployment
Write-Host "Starting deployment...";
if(Test-Path $parametersFilePath) {
    New-AzureRmResourceGroupDeployment -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroupName -TemplateFile $templateFilePath -TemplateParameterFile $parametersFilePath;
} else {
    New-AzureRmResourceGroupDeployment -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroupName -TemplateFile $templateFilePath;
}

echo "If you are prompted for a nameFromTemplate (regarding a new-azurermresourcegroupdeployment), enter any arbitrary string.*"
echo "* The string must not already exist in the Microsoft Azure websites; so it must be unique.  It will be the name of your App Service"
echo "The above two-line FYI is for when you first run this script.  When the script is otherwise complete, ignore it."

In the future we want to re-write these directions to use write-verbose instead of write-host. We want to warn people that write-verbose is recommended instead of write-host (according to this posting).

Problem scenario
You want to use an ARM template via a PowerShell script to create a storage account in Azure.  How do you do this?

Solution
Prerequisites
1.  If you are using Windows 7, you have installed Azure PowerShell; if you need assistance with this, see this posting.  If you are using Windows 10, you have installed the modules for Azure and the storage resource; if you need assistance with this, see this posting.

2.  You know your subscription ID.  If you need assistance, see this posting.

Procedures
1.  Create a parameters.json file with the following content, but replace foobar with the name you want this storage account to have:

{
    "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentParameters.json#",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
    "parameters": {
        "location": {
            "value": "northcentralus"
        },
        "storageAccountName": {
            "value": "foobar"
        },
        "accountType": {
            "value": "Standard_RAGRS"
        },
        "kind": {
            "value": "StorageV2"
        },
        "accessTier": {
            "value": "Hot"
        },
        "supportsHttpsTrafficOnly": {
            "value": true
        }
    }
}

2.  Create a template.json file with the following content:

{
    "$schema": "http://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
    "parameters": {
        "location": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "storageAccountName": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "accountType": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "kind": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "accessTier": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "supportsHttpsTrafficOnly": {
            "type": "bool"
        }
    },
    "variables": {},
    "resources": [
        {
            "name": "[parameters('storageAccountName')]",
            "type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts",
            "apiVersion": "2018-07-01",
            "location": "[parameters('location')]",
            "properties": {
                "accessTier": "[parameters('accessTier')]",
                "supportsHttpsTrafficOnly": "[parameters('supportsHttpsTrafficOnly')]"
            },
            "dependsOn": [],
            "sku": {
                "name": "[parameters('accountType')]"
            },
            "kind": "[parameters('kind')]"
        }
    ],
    "outputs": {}
}

3.  Use this PowerShell script as a draft: first, modify "path\to" to be the paths of the respective files that are assigned.  Secondly change "foobargroup" to a Resource Group name; if you need assistance with finding an existing Resource Group, see this posting or this posting.

<#
 .SYNOPSIS
    Deploys a template to Azure

 .DESCRIPTION
    Deploys an Azure Resource Manager template

 .PARAMETER subscriptionId
    The subscription id where the template will be deployed.

 .PARAMETER resourceGroupName
    The resource group where the template will be deployed. Can be the name of an existing or a new resource group.

 .PARAMETER resourceGroupLocation
    Optional, a resource group location. If specified, will try to create a new resource group in this location. If not specified, assumes resource group is existing.

 .PARAMETER deploymentName
    The deployment name.

 .PARAMETER templateFilePath
    Optional, path to the template file. Defaults to template.json.

 .PARAMETER parametersFilePath
    Optional, path to the parameters file. Defaults to parameters.json. If file is not found, will prompt for parameter values based on template.
#>

param(
# [Parameter(Mandatory=$True)]
# [string]
# $subscriptionId,

# [Parameter(Mandatory=$True)]
# [string]
# $resourceGroupName = "foobargroup",

 [string]
 $resourceGroupLocation,

 [Parameter(Mandatory=$True)]
 [string]
 $deploymentName,

 [string]
 $templateFilePath = "C:\path\to\template.json",

 [string]
 $parametersFilePath = "C:\path\to\parameters.json"
)

<#
.SYNOPSIS
    Registers RPs
#>

Function RegisterRP {
    Param(
        [string]$ResourceProviderNamespace
    )

    Write-Host "Registering resource provider '$ResourceProviderNamespace'";
    Register-AzureRmResourceProvider -ProviderNamespace $ResourceProviderNamespace;
}

#******************************************************************************
# Script body
# Execution begins here
#******************************************************************************
$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"

# sign in
Write-Host "Logging in...";
Login-AzureRmAccount;

$subscriptions= Get-AzureRmSubscription
$subscriptionId = $subscriptions.Id

$resourceGroupName = "contintgroup"

# select subscription
#Write-Host "Selecting subscription '$subscriptionId'";
echo "This PowerShell Program assumes you have only one subscription ID.  If you have more than one, you'll need to re-write it around this statement"
echo "and in the parameters section."

Select-AzureRmSubscription -SubscriptionID $subscriptionId;

# Register RPs
$resourceProviders = @("microsoft.storage");
if($resourceProviders.length) {
    Write-Host "Registering resource providers"
    foreach($resourceProvider in $resourceProviders) {
        RegisterRP($resourceProvider);
    }
}

#Create or check for existing resource group
$resourceGroup = Get-AzureRmResourceGroup -Name $resourceGroupName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if(!$resourceGroup)
{
    Write-Host "Resource group '$resourceGroupName' does not exist. To create a new resource group, please enter a location.";
    if(!$resourceGroupLocation) {
        $resourceGroupLocation = Read-Host "resourceGroupLocation";
    }
    Write-Host "Creating resource group '$resourceGroupName' in location '$resourceGroupLocation'";
    New-AzureRmResourceGroup -Name $resourceGroupName -Location $resourceGroupLocation
}
else{
    Write-Host "Using existing resource group '$resourceGroupName'";
}

# Start the deployment
Write-Host "Starting deployment...";
if(Test-Path $parametersFilePath) {
    New-AzureRmResourceGroupDeployment -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroupName -TemplateFile $templateFilePath -TemplateParameterFile $parametersFilePath;
} else {
    New-AzureRmResourceGroupDeployment -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroupName -TemplateFile $templateFilePath;
}
echo "***********************************************"
echo "The deploymentName can be any arbitrary string.  (this statement is for when the program initially runs and prompts user for a deploymentname; ignore it later)"

In the future we want to re-write these directions to use write-verbose instead of write-host. We want to warn people that write-verbose is recommended instead of write-host (according to this posting).