Microsoft.Compute/galleries/images - Bicep, ARM templates and Terraform AzAPI reference (2023)

FAQs

What is the difference between Azure bicep and terraform? ›

Bicep has an advantage over Terraform when it comes to configuring Azure resources. Bicep is deeply integrated with Azure services. Moreover, it offers immediate support for new Azure features. Terraform provides two providers that allow users to manage Azure: AzureRM and AzAPI.

Proprietary offerings like ARM templates allow infrastructure configuration exclusively on their respective cloud providers. On the other hand, a vendor-neutral tool like HashiCorp's Terraform supports multiple cloud providers.

The structure of the Bicep file is more flexible than the JSON template. You can declare parameters, variables, and outputs anywhere in the file. In JSON, you have to declare all parameters, variables, and outputs within the corresponding sections of the template.

HashiCorp Terraform and Azure Bicep are both declarative Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools for provisioning and managing infrastructure in the Microsoft Azure cloud. While they are really similar tools, they have different slightly different philosophies of use.

ARM templates are all created in one file. By contrast, Terraform evaluates every resource in the directory with a . tf extension -- and will do so for every command that runs the resource, which enables IT admins to break up resources into separate files to ease parsing.

Is there a way to convert ARM templates and CLI scripts into a terraform template? There's a tool called aztfy which can create terraform code from an existing environment, but there are currently no tools to transform ARM and CLI to native terraform. Nope, not for the way terraform usage would make sense anyway.

Declarative syntax: ARM templates allow you to create and deploy an entire Azure infrastructure declaratively. For example, you can deploy not only virtual machines, but also the network infrastructure, storage systems, and any other resources you may need.

The Terraform template-based configuration file syntax enables you to configure Azure resources in a repeatable and predictable manner. Automating infrastructure includes the following benefits: Lowers the potential for human errors while deploying and managing infrastructure.

What are ARM templates? ARM templates are a form of infrastructure as code, a concept where you define the infrastructure that needs to be deployed. ARM templates use declarative syntax, meaning you define the resources for Azure to deploy without specifying how the resources are created.

Known Limitations of Azure Bicep

The first limitation is the lack of support for single-line objects and arrays. The second limitation is Bicep's code's sensitivity to newline.

What are the three different data types of structure in JSON? ›

There's no need to choose between an ARM template and a blueprint. Each blueprint can consist of zero or more ARM template artifacts. This support means that previous efforts to develop and maintain a library of ARM templates are reusable in Azure Blueprints.

Terraform is still a useful tool in the tech space because it offers some specific advantages over its competitors as an infrastructure tool.

Terraform can automate and manage Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), or even Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) level capabilities and build all these resources across all those providers in parallel.

As established earlier, when a resource becomes misconfigured or corrupt, it is desirable to replace them with a new instance. The taint command updates the corresponding resource state as a “tainted” resource so that in the next apply cycle, Terraform replaces that resource.

What are ARM templates, and why should I use them? ARM templates are JSON files where you define what you want to deploy to Azure. Templates help you implement an infrastructure-as-code solution for Azure. Your organization can repeatedly and reliably deploy the required infrastructure to different environments.

In CloudFormation, it is possible to manage so-called “custom resources” by using an AWS Lambda function of your own creation as a back end. For Terraform, extensions are much easier to write and form part of the code. So there is an advantage for Terraform in this case. Terraform can handle many cloud vendors.

Terraform supports uniformed de-commission of the resources and updates state file but ARM Templates doesn't have such capability. Terraform also has a capability to import existing resources and generate a state file if it has to be run on existing environment.

You can use Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates to create preconfigured Azure virtual machines (VMs) in Azure DevTest Labs. A resource manager template is a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) file that defines the infrastructure and configuration for your project.

Is this ready for production use? Yes. Starting with version 0.3, Bicep is supported by Microsoft support plans. Bicep has parity with what can be accomplished with ARM Templates.

What are the limitations of ARM template? ›

Template limits

Limit the size of your template to 4 MB. The 4-MB limit applies to the final state of the template after it has been expanded with iterative resource definitions, and values for variables and parameters. The parameter file is also limited to 4 MB.

ARM (Azure Resource Manager) template is a block of code that defines the infrastructure and configuration for your project. These templates use a declarative syntax to let you define your deployment in the form of JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) files.

ARM Templates vs HashiCorp Terraform

ARM stands for Azure Resource Manager, and an ARM Template allows you to define resources that you'd like to stand up or manage within Azure.

Even if Terraform plan is green, Terraform apply might be errored. Terraform apply does real API calls, which might fail because of validation errors, eg. "resource name is too long" or network connectivity issues. For example, you might ask to create a database before the database server is created.

Terraform is built into Azure Cloud Shell and authenticated to your subscription, so it's integrated and ready to go.

Within an ARM template, you can use these data types: array. bool. int.

Apart from building muscle size, boosting athletic performance and facilitating daily activities, bicep curls build strength in the upper arm, train shoulder to be more stable and teaches the practitioner's core to engage.

What is arm and Bicep? ›

The biceps or biceps brachii (Latin: musculus biceps brachii, "two-headed muscle of the arm") is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join to form a single muscle belly which is attached to the upper forearm.

JSON defines only two data structures: objects and arrays. An object is a set of name-value pairs, and an array is a list of values.

The common operations that can be performed on the data structures are as follows : Searching – We can easily search for any data element in a data structure. Sorting – We can sort the elements either in ascending or descending order. Insertion – We can insert new data elements in the data structure.

A Template is the basic model from which each Server gets created. A Blueprint is a saved workflow that can be defined and re-played at any time on the platform. Package is an invoked piece of software, uploaded to the cloud platform, which customizes a Server Template.

In a nutshell, a Landing Zone is a group of resources that provide the foundation of an organisation. A landing zone can use a blueprint to deploy that organisation. The blueprint is a super-template.

The basic syntax of the Azure Resource Manager template (ARM template) is JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). However, you can use expressions to extend the JSON values available within the template.

Go

Terraform / Programming language

Go is a statically typed, compiled high-level programming language designed at Google by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson. It is syntactically similar to C, but with memory safety, garbage collection, structural typing, and CSP-style concurrency.

Wikipedia

Both Terraform and Kubernetes rely on source-controlled configuration files to be used for orchestration. Although there is an overlap in scope, most cases don't allow for one to replace the other. They can, however, work in tandem to provide a full-stack deployment solution.

Ansible does an excellent job handling provisioning and configuration management. Terraform excels in provisioning infrastructure across multiple cloud platforms, with support for many providers.

Is Kubernetes considered IaaS or PaaS? ›

Kubernetes is a powerful open-source container orchestration engine, upon which you could setup PaaS (Platform as a Service). Many companies offer IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) version of Kubernetes by adding a layer of IaaS below K8. So, Kubernetes is neither IaaS nor PaaS.

Terraform then provisions and manages these resources across multiple cloud providers, ensuring consistency and repeatability. Jenkins, on the other hand, does not have built-in infrastructure provisioning capabilities. It is more focused on the build, test, and deployment stages of the CI/CD process.

Terraform is specifically designed to deploy infrastructure, so any cloud hardware can be deployed regardless of the cloud platform. Kubernetes is specific to containers, so it only handles infrastructure used in containerized environments.

Ansible, Kubernetes, Packer, Cloud Foundry, and Pulumi are the most popular alternatives and competitors to Terraform.

Terraform lets you define and manage your entire infrastructure via configuration files and version control. It accomplishes this by using the two main components of Terraform architecture: Core and Providers.

HashiCorp Terraform is an infrastructure as code tool that lets you define infrastructure resources in human-readable configuration files that you can version, reuse, and share. You can then use a consistent workflow to safely and efficiently provision and manage your infrastructure throughout its lifecycle.

Bicep is a language for declaratively deploying Azure resources. You can use Bicep instead of JSON for developing your Azure Resource Manager templates (ARM templates).

Terraform supports uniformed de-commission of the resources and updates state file but ARM Templates doesn't have such capability. Terraform also has a capability to import existing resources and generate a state file if it has to be run on existing environment.

What is the difference between Terraform and CloudFormation? Terraform and CloudFormation are both infrastructure-as-code (IaC) tools. CloudFormation is developed by AWS and only manages AWS resources. Terraform is developed by HashiCorp and can manage resources across a wide range of cloud vendors.

Terraform is an open source IaC tool used for managing and automating infrastructure, platforms, and services. Finally, it helps to change and build version infrastructure through code. Meanwhile, Helm is a Kubernetes package manager that deploys repeatable services and apps to clusters.

Why use Azure ARM templates? ›

Declarative syntax: ARM templates allow you to create and deploy an entire Azure infrastructure declaratively. For example, you can deploy not only virtual machines, but also the network infrastructure, storage systems, and any other resources you may need.

It helps create virtual machines, network components, databases, etc., to support the application architecture. Virtual resources often need additional configuration files – in various formats – to function. Terraform templates provide a way to create these files in the desired format on the target resource.

Using modules in terraform is similar to using resources except we use module clause for modules instead of resource clause. In modules, we only specify a name, which is used elsewhere in the configuration to reference module outputs. Source parameter is a required field for modules.

Terraform lets you both deploy a Kubernetes cluster and manage its resources (e.g., pods, deployments, services, etc.). You can also use the Kubernetes Operator for Terraform to manage cloud and on-prem infrastructure through a Kubernetes Custom Resource Definition (CRD) and Terraform Cloud.

In short, Terraform is an open-source Infrastructure as Code tool that has the ability to deploy resources to multiple cloud providers, while CloudFormation is an AWS service designed specifically for provisioning AWS resources.

A benefit of Terraform is increased flexibility over CloudFormation with regards to modularity. Terraform modules can be pulled in for any provider supported, or organizations can roll their own.

Scope. CloudFormation covers most parts of AWS and needs some time to support new service capabilities. Terraform covers most AWS resources as well and is often faster than CloudFormation when it comes to supporting new AWS features. On top of that, Terraform supports other cloud providers as well as 3rd party services ...

Helm takes the complexity out of the process and makes Kubernetes deployment extremely simple and easy to handle. Just like the helm enables a pilot to steer a ship, Helm enables a Kubernetes operator to have greater control of his/her Kubernetes cluster. [Good Read: “3 Best Tools to Manage Your Kubernetes Cluster!”]

A Terraform module (usually the root module of a configuration) can call other modules to include their resources into the configuration. A module that has been called by another module is often referred to as a child module.