Azure Resource Manager and ARM Templates

Advantages of Azure Resource Manager

Below are some of the advantages:
 

• Resource Group Management: ARM allows users to create, modify, and delete resource groups. This helps in managing multiple resources as a single entity

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): ARM allows fine-grained access control using RBAC. It only grants permissions to specific users or groups to perform specific actions on resources within a resource group

• Reliability: ARM uses a variety of techniques to ensure the reliability of the resources. These techniques include resource redundancy, automated failover, and health checks
   
• Scalability: ARM can scale to support a large number of resources. This makes it a perfect choice for applications which need to scale up quickly

What are ARM Templates?

ARM Templates are declarative JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) files that describe the desired state of Azure resources or, in other words, a way to describe your Azure resources in code. ARM templates help automate the creation and management of resources.

Components of ARM Templates

ARM templates use a defined structure in JSON format comprising several key-value pairs. Take a look below at the different sections that are present in the ARM template:

Schema

The “schema” key points to the location of the JSON format. It helps in understanding the structure and syntax of the template.

For example:

"$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2023-08-01/test-Template.json#"

Variables

The variable section allows the user to provide a name to the reusable value which is been referenced multiple times throughout the template.

For example:

"variables": {
  "addressPrefix": "10.0.0.0/18",
  "subnetName": "Subnet",
  "subnetPrefix": "10.0.0.0/16",
  "publicIPAddressName": "anyPublicIP",
  "virtualNetworkName": "anyVNet"
}

Functions

The functions section contains user-defined functions which can be used within the template to provide the ability to create reusable logic and calculations.

For example:

"functions": [
  {
    "namespace": "contoso",
    "members": {
      "uniqueName": {
        "parameters": [
          {
            "name": "namePrefix",
            "type": "string"
          }
        ],
        "output": {
          "type": "string",
          "value": "[concat(toLower(parameters('namePrefix')), uniqueString(resourceGroup().id))]"
        }
      }
    }
  }
]

Parameters 

Parameters are variables that allow the user to customize the deployment of the resources and it is used to control the behaviour of the deployment.

Each parameter has a name, type, default value and metadata. 

For example:

"parameters": {
  "adminUsername": {
    "type": "string",
    "defaultValue": "Admin",
    "metadata": {
      "description": "Username for the Virtual Machine."
    }
  },
  "adminPassword": {
    "type": "securestring",
    "defaultValue": "12345",
    "metadata": {
      "description": "Password for the Virtual Machine."
    }
  }
}

Resources

Resources are the actual Azure resources that need to be deployed by the user. They are defined in the resources section of the template.

Each resource has some properties like type, name, apiVersion, configurations etc.

For example:

"resources": [
  {
    "type": "Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses",
    "name": "[variables('publicIPAddressName')]",
    "location": "[parameters('location')]",
    "apiVersion": "2018-08-01",
    "properties": {
      "publicIPAllocationMethod": "Dynamic",
      "dnsSettings": {
        "domainNameLabel": "[parameters('dnsLabelPrefix')]"
      }
    }
  }
]

Outputs

Outputs are the values returned from the deployment of the resources. Outputs are defined in the outputs section of the template.

For example:

"outputs": {
  "hostname": {
    "type": "string",
    "value": "[reference(variables('publicIPAddressName')).dnsSettings.fqdn]"
  }
}

So, now let us see the advantages of ARM templates

Advantages of ARM Templates

Below are some of the advantages:
 

• Consistent Deployment: ARM Templates help to deploy the resources in a consistent manner across multiple environments. This makes sure that the resources are configured in the same way irrespective of their deployed region
   
• Automation: ARM templates can be used to automate the creation, deployment, and management of resources. This saves time and reduces the chance of human error
   
• Modularity: ARM templates can be broken down into smaller components. Breaking o into smaller components enhances the code reusability and simplifies the management of complex infrastructures
   
• Version Control Integration: ARM Templates can be stored in version control systems like Git, which allows teams to teams to work together, track changes and feature to rollback to previous versions 

Create and Deploy ARM Template

Follow the below steps to create and deploy ARM templates 

Step 1: Follow this link and signup into the Azure account and click on the + sign button, i.e. create a resource 

Step 2: go to the search bar and type template; there, you will see template deployment click on that 

Step 3: Select a plan from the dropdown option and click create 

Step 4:  After clicking on create button, the Azure portal will show a Custom Deployment screen. Select build your own Template in editor option 

Step 5: The edit template screen will be shown with different options like adding your own template or so. after editing the template click on the save button 

Step 6: In Custom deployment, Azure provide an option for beginner to choose a quickstart template which is predefined for the user. So select that option, and then from the drop-down options list, select one that suits and last click on edit template 

Step 7: On Edit Template, the user could edit some of the things in the code according to its needs. 

Once ready, hit the Save button. After saving the template, another window opens to confirm the resources and verification. At last, deploy the template and purchase the resources.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the advantages of variables in ARM Templates?

Variables provide the user to define a reusable value through the ARM Template. This allows for making the updates easier and centralising the commonly used values.

What benefits offered by ARM Templates?

ARM Templates offer several benefits, such as Consistency, Increased automation,  and Improved security and integration of version control.

What is Azure Resource Manager?

Azure Resource Manager (ARM) is a service that helps the user to manage Azure resources effectively and allows the user to organise and control resources through resource groups.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you did a fantastic job!!. This article covered Azure Resource Manager and ARM Templates with their advantages and discussed the components of ARM templates. At last, some frequently asked questions were discussed.

Here are some more related articles:
 

• Intro to Azure
• AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud
• Intro to Cloud Computing

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