ARM Templates

IntermediateCloud & Azure
ARMJSONAzure CLIVS Code

Objective

Deploy Azure resources with ARM template JSON files.

Tools & Technologies

  • ARM
  • JSON
  • Azure CLI
  • VS Code

Key Commands

az deployment group create --template-file azuredeploy.json
az deployment group validate --template-file template.json
az group export --name MyRG > export.json

Lab Steps

01
Template Structure

Understand ARM template sections: parameters, variables, resources, outputs.

02
Deploy Template

Deploy a storage account and VM using an ARM template.

03
Parameters File

Separate environment-specific values into parameters files.

04
Export Resources

Export existing resources to ARM templates for documentation.

Challenges Encountered

  • ARM template JSON syntax errors give unhelpful error messages
  • Parameter defaultValue vs allowedValues interaction

Key Takeaways

  • Use what-if deployment to preview changes before applying
  • Bicep is the modern replacement for ARM JSON — consider migrating