-
Configuration Management
– Definition and core concepts
– Key benefits in Azure
– Overview of Azure configuration management tools and best practices -
Desired State Configuration (DSC)
– Azure Automation State Configuration
– Azure Resource Manager (ARM) and Bicep
– Azure Automanage Machine Configuration -
Building Your IaC Strategy
– Fundamental IaC principles
– Leveraging source control for infrastructure definitions
– Automating testing and deployment pipelines -
Azure Deployment Environments
– Understanding on-demand, self-service infrastructure
– Comparing blue-green, canary, and rolling deployment strategies
– Configuring Azure DevOps for automated provisioning
– Monitoring and maintaining deployment environments
1. Configuration Management in Azure
Configuration management ensures that your application infrastructure remains consistent, secure, and compliant. By defining your environment as code, you can:- Prevent configuration drift
- Enforce security standards
- Automate patching and updates
- Scale environments reliably
Key Azure Configuration Management Tools
| Tool | Purpose | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
| Azure Automation State Configuration | DSC-based configuration at scale | Learn more |
| Azure Resource Manager (ARM) | Declarative templates for resource delivery | Learn more |
| Bicep | Domain-specific language for ARM templates | Learn more |
| Azure Automanage Machine Configuration | Automated OS and VM guest configuration | Learn more |
Choosing the right configuration management tool depends on your organization’s scale, existing skill set, and compliance requirements.
2. Desired State Configuration (DSC)
Desired State Configuration (DSC) is a PowerShell-based platform that enables you to declaratively define and maintain system configurations.- Azure Automation State Configuration: Host DSC pull servers in Azure to manage Windows and Linux machines.
- ARM & Bicep: Use ARM templates or Bicep files to define the desired state of Azure resources.
- Azure Automanage Machine Configuration: Simplify VM configuration with managed services that automatically apply best practices.
3. Developing an IaC Strategy
A solid IaC strategy encompasses:- Core Concepts
– Declarative vs. imperative approaches
– Idempotency and immutability - Source Control Integration
– Storing templates in Git repositories
– Branching strategies (e.g., GitFlow, trunk-based development) - Pipeline Automation
– Unit testing templates (e.g., ARM-TTK)
– Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) workflows in Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions
Always validate your templates in a non-production environment before promoting to production to avoid unintended resource changes.
4. Designing Azure Deployment Environments
When architecting deployment environments in Azure, consider:- Environment Types: Development, testing, staging, production
-
Deployment Strategies:
Strategy Description Use Case Blue-Green Two identical environments, switch traffic Zero-downtime deployments Canary Incremental rollout to a subset of users Mitigate risk for new features Rolling Update small sets of instances sequentially Controlled, progressive upgrades - Self-Service Provisioning: Configure Azure DevOps pipelines and templates to allow teams to spin up environments on demand.
- Monitoring & Maintenance: Use Azure Monitor, Application Insights, and Policy for ongoing health checks and compliance.