Azure Basics · Module 03

Azure Resources – Tools, Resource Manager and ARM Templates

Work with Azure through the Portal, Cloud Shell, PowerShell and the CLI; organise resources with resource groups and locks; deploy infrastructure as code with ARM templates and Bicep.

Practice interactively →

What you will learn

• Use the Portal and Cloud Shell and know the limits of a Cloud Shell session
• Tell Azure PowerShell and Azure CLI syntax apart and look commands up
• Create resource groups, set locks, move and delete resources
• Read the structure of an ARM template, deploy it and preview it with what-if

Lessons

1. The Azure Portal and Cloud Shell

   The Portal is the web UI to find, create and manage resources; Cloud Shell is a Bash/PowerShell shell in the browser, already signed in, with az, PowerShell, git and terraform installed.

2. Azure PowerShell and Azure CLI

   Azure PowerShell uses Verb-AzNoun cmdlets; Azure CLI uses `az <group> <subgroup> <command> --flag`; both run on Windows, Linux, macOS and in Cloud Shell.

3. Resource Manager, Resource Groups and Locks

   ARM is the common management layer for every tool; resource groups hold resources that share a lifecycle; CanNotDelete or ReadOnly locks stop accidental deletes/changes and are inherited downwards.

4. ARM Templates, Bicep and QuickStarts

   An ARM template describes infrastructure in JSON (parameters, variables, resources, outputs); deploy it with `az deployment group create` and preview it with `what-if`; Bicep is a shorter syntax that compiles to ARM.