This document discusses various options for automating an Azure environment including the Azure Management Library, PowerShell, and Azure Automation. It provides an overview of each option and demonstrates how to authenticate and perform tasks like creating virtual machines and stopping VMs on a schedule. The key points are that automation can help make deployments faster and more consistent, PowerShell allows scripting against the Azure APIs, and Azure Automation provides a built-in solution for defining and running automated tasks.

1. Automating Your Azure
Environment
Michael S. Collier
Cloud Solution Architect,
Microsoft
Level: Intermediate

2. Michael S. Collier
Cloud Solution Architect
Microsoft
michael.collier@microsoft.com
@MichaelCollier
www.MichaelSCollier.com
http://aka.ms/csablog

3. http://aka.ms/fundamentalsofazure

4. Today’s Agenda
1. Why Automation in Azure?
2. Azure Management Library
3. Azure PowerShell
a) Azure Service Management
b) Azure Resource Manager
4. Azure Automation

5. Why Automate in Azure?

6. Why Automation?
• Time to provision full environments
– Compute, storage, etc.
• Deployment to multiple geographies
– Change only configuration / parameters

7. Why Automation?
#1 source of failed projects (IMO)
Humans TERRIBLE at repetitive
tasks

8. A Few Options
REST API
• Service
Management
• Resource
Manager

9. A Few Options
REST API
• Service
Management
• Resource
Manager
Azure
Management
Library

10. A Few Options
REST API
• Service
Management
• Resource Manager
Azure
Management
Library
PowerShell
• Invoke REST
• Service
Management
• Resource Manager

11. A Few Options
REST API
• Service
Management
• Resource Manager
Azure
Management
Library
PowerShell
• Invoke REST
• Service
Management
• Resource Manager
XPlat CLI
• ??

12. A Few Options
REST API
• Service
Management
• Resource Manager
Azure
Management
Library
PowerShell
• Invoke REST
• Service
Management
• Resource Manager
XPlat CLI
• ??
Azure
Automation

13. A Few Options
REST API
• Service
Management
• Resource Manager
Azure
Management
Library
PowerShell
• Invoke REST
• Service
Management
• Resource Manager
XPlat CLI
• ??
Azure
Automation

14. Azure Management
Library

15. Azure Management Library
• Consistent modern libraries over the Azure
REST API
– NET, Java, Python, Go, & Ruby

16. Azure Management Library

17. Azure Management Library
• Scenarios
– Integration Testing
– Custom provisioning of services (SaaS)
– Dev/Test
– Resource Governance
• Almost anything you may want to automate

18. Azure Management Library
• Microsoft.WindowsAzure.*
– Older RDFE version
– Not recommended
• Microsoft.Azure.*
– Based on new Azure Resource Manager (ARM)
– Recommended

19. Azure Management Library
• Get all or
just the ones
you need

20. Authentication
• Azure Active Directory
• Create a service principal
– Password (PowerShell or CLI)
– Certificate (PowerShell)
• Assign necessary ROLE to the service principal

21. Create the Service Principal
Switch-AzureMode AzureResourceManager
Select-AzureSubscription -SubscriptionName “My MSDN Azure”
$appName = "VSLiveNYC2015"
$appHomePage = "http://localhost"
$appUri = "http://localhost"
$pwd = "test!123"
# Create a new Azure AD application
$azureAdApp = New-AzureADApplication -DisplayName $appName -HomePage $appHomePage -IdentifierUris $appUri -Password $pwd -Verbose
# Create a service principal
New-AzureADServicePrincipal -ApplicationId $azureAdApp.ApplicationId
# Assign a role to the service principal
New-AzureRoleAssignment -RoleDefinitionName Contributor -ServicePrincipalName $azureAdApp.ApplicationId
# Get the subscription for the role assignment
$subscription = Get-AzureSubscription | where { $_.IsCurrent }
# Create a new credential object to contain the credentials
$creds = Get-Credential -UserName $azureAdApp.ApplicationId -Message "enter your creds"
Add-AzureAccount -Credential $creds -ServicePrincipal -Tenant $subscription.TenantId
Get this at http://aka.ms/uognfb

22. Get the Authentication Token
private const string SubscriptionId = “[YOUR_AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID]";
private const string TenantId = “[YOUR_AZURE_AD_TENANT_ID]";
private const string ApplicationId = “[YOUR_NEWLY_REGISTERED_APP_id]";
private const string ApplicationPwd = "test!123";
public static string GetAToken()
{
var authenticationContext = new AuthenticationContext(string.Format("https://login.windows.net/{0}", TenantId));
var credential = new ClientCredential(clientId: ApplicationId, clientSecret: ApplicationPwd);
var result = authenticationContext.AcquireToken(resource: "https://management.core.windows.net/", clientCredential: credential);
if (result == null)
{
throw new InvalidOperationException("Failed to obtain the JWT token");
}
string token = result.AccessToken;
return token;
}
Get this at http://aka.ms/uognfb

23. Demo
Authenticate and Browse

24. Demo Recap
1. Create a Service Principal in Azure AD
2. Get the JWT authentication token
3. Create a credential object with token and
subscription
4. Create a resource client
5. Execute actions against the client

25. PowerShell Cmdlets
• Get the goods
http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/ https://github.com/Azure/azure-powershell/releases


26. PowerShell
• Use cmdlets and/or REST APIs
• Ability to script complex environments
– Template with an XML parameters file
– PowerShell learning curve
– Your responsibility to handle errors & ensure
consistency
• Consistent Deployments
– Build server or developer machine

27. Authentication Options
• Interactive
– Azure AD
PS C:> Add-AzureAccount
C:Users<user>AppDataRoamingWindows Azure Powershell

28. Authentication Options
• Interactive
– Azure AD
PS C:> Add-AzureAccount
VERBOSE: Account "michael.collier@live.com" has been added.
VERBOSE: Subscription "MSFT Azure Internal - Collier" is selected as the default subscription.
VERBOSE: To view all the subscriptions, please use Get-AzureSubscription.
VERBOSE: To switch to a different subscription, please use Select-AzureSubscription.
Id Type Subscriptions Tenants
-- ---- ------------- -------
michael.collier@live.com User 0bbbc191-0023-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx 9b6b07ee-3eb1-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx
278b93db-29ab-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx 715f4ed0-544a-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx
3acf171d-3d34-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx 72f988bf-86f1-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx
c68d7703-d6ed-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx 20acfbf0-4318-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx
57c8cb4e-3ce2-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx a28aed54-1dc8-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx
b5fb8dfb-3e0b-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx 362755da-bfb2-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx
9a94b816-e790-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx 7805bdb6-17da-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx
cd978409-0ac9-aaaa-yyyy-xxxxxxxxxxxx
C:Users<user>AppDataRoamingWindows Azure Powershell

29. Authentication Options
• Programmatic
– Management certificate
– New –credentials option
$userName = "<your work/school account user name>"
$securePassword = ConvertTo-SecureString -String "<your work/school account password>" -
AsPlainText -Force
$cred = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential($userName,
$securePassword)
Add-AzureAccount -Credential $cred

30. Demo
Create a VM with Custom Script Extension
Deploy a Cloud Service

31. Demo Recap
1. Authenticate PowerShell with Azure
2. Upload to blob storage a .ps1 script to format
drives
3. Provision new Azure VM via PowerShell.
a) Custom script extension to format data disks
4. Create Cloud Service (web role) project
5. PowerShell script to upload and deploy

32. Azure Resource Manager
What is Azure Resource Manager?
Unit of Management
• Lifecycle
• Identity
• Grouping
One Resource -> One Resource Group

33. ARM Benefits
Desired-state deployment
Faster deployment
Role-based access control (RBAC)
Resource-provider model
Orchestration
Resource configuration
SQL - A Website Virtual
Machines
SQL-A
Website
[SQL CONFIG] VM (2x)
DEPENDS ON SQLDEPENDS ON SQL
SQLCONFIG
Image source - http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2014/2-607

34. Consistent Management Layer
Resource
Provider
https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/{{subscriptionId}}/provide
rs?api-version={{apiVersion}}
?
REST API

35. ARM Functions
ARM Templates supports small set of built-in functions
parameters, variables
reference, resourceGroup, resourceId
base64, concat, padLeft, padLeft, replace, toLower, toUpper
deployment, provider, subscription
listKeys
Not supported
User-defined functions
Control constructs – if, while, etc.

36. Loops and Nested Templates
Loops
Provide basic copy capability
Useful in cloning resource configuration
For example, deploying multiple VMs
Nested Templates
One template can invoke another
Simplifies creation of sophisticated templates
Supports parameters
Supports output variables

37. ARM Deployment Logs
Logs
Provider
Resource group
Resource
Availability
Kept for 15 days
Default is last hour (PowerShell)
Filter by Status e.g., Failed
PowerShell
Get-AzureResourceProviderLog
Get-AzureResourceGroupLog
Get-AzureResourceLog

38. Demo
Create a new Azure Web App + SQL DB

39. Demo Recap
1. Get latest Azure SDK for Visual Studio
2. Create new ‘Azure Resource Group’ project
3. Add Web App + SQL template
4. Provide parameters
5. Deploy via PowerShell

40. What is Azure Automation?
• IT process automation solution for Azure
– Creation, monitoring, deployment, &
maintenance
– Runbooks & Assets
– Leverage existing PowerShell scripts

41. Runbook Types
• PowerShell Workflow
– Windows Workflow Foundation
• Checkpoint, suspend, & resume
– Parallel or serial execution
– Compilation (time increases as complexity increases)
• PowerShell (native)
– No checkpoint, suspend, or resume
– Serial execution only
– No compile step! Fast!

42. Demo
Stop VMs nightly

43. Demo Recap
1. Create Azure Automation account
a) Create an AAD user for Azure Automation
b) Create an Azure Connection Asset
2. Create Runbook to Stop VMs
1. Connect to Azure subscription
2. Iterate over all services and VMs
3. Test Runbook
4. Publish Runbook
5. Link Runbook to a Schedule

44. Choices . . . When to Use

45. Resources
• Azure Resource Manager Preview SDKs
– https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-resource-manager-preview-sdks/
• Authenticating a service principal with Azure Resource Manager
– https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/resource-group-authenticate-
service-principal/
• Keith Mayer’s blog posts on Azure Automation
– http://blogs.technet.com/b/keithmayer/archive/2014/04/04/step-by-step-getting-started-
with-windows-azure-automation.aspx

46. Questions?

47. Thank You!
Michael S. Collier
@MichaelCollier | www.michaelscollier.com
michaelscollier@gmail.com | michael.collier@microsoft.com