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ARM Template Deployment

ARM Status: Tested Run on: Mgmt Workstation CI/CD: Examples Available

Bicep recommended for new deployments

ARM JSON templates are maintained for environments that require JSON (legacy tooling, policy constraints). For new deployments, use Bicep instead — it compiles to the same ARM JSON but is more readable and maintainable.

Overview

The ARM template is compiled from Bicep (az bicep build) and deploys all the same Azure-side resources. This ensures feature parity — any capability added to Bicep is automatically available in ARM.

Microsoft references used for this implementation:

  • ARM template deployments: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-resource-manager/templates/deploy-cli
  • Bicep docs (source of ARM compilation): https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-resource-manager/bicep/
  • AVM overview: https://azure.github.io/Azure-Verified-Modules/

Capability

Capability Supported
Azure resource provisioning ✅
Domain join (JsonADDomainExtension) ✅
Per-VM storage path mapping ✅
Guest OS configuration Delegates to PS/Ansible

Phase Ownership

Phase Group Ownership
Phase 0 (decision tree) Parameter validation only
Phases 1-2 (Azure/Host plane) Implemented by compiled ARM template
Phases 3-11 (Guest OS plane) Delegated to PowerShell or Ansible

Prerequisites

  • Azure CLI >= 2.50 or Az PowerShell >= 9.0
  • Azure subscription with Contributor or higher RBAC
  • All general prerequisites met

File Inventory

File Purpose
azuredeploy.json ARM template (compiled from Bicep) — full resource deployment
azuredeploy.parameters.example.json Example parameters file with all 50 parameters
build-arm.ps1 Script to recompile ARM JSON from Bicep source

Setup

cd src/arm
cp azuredeploy.parameters.example.json azuredeploy.parameters.json

Edit azuredeploy.parameters.json with values from your config/variables.yml. See azuredeploy.parameters.example.json for all parameters and descriptions.

Deployment

Azure CLI

az deployment sub create `
    --location eastus `
    --template-file azuredeploy.json `
    --parameters azuredeploy.parameters.json

Az PowerShell

New-AzSubscriptionDeployment `
    -Location "eastus" `
    -TemplateFile "azuredeploy.json" `
    -TemplateParameterFile "azuredeploy.parameters.json"

Recompiling from Bicep

When the Bicep source changes, regenerate the ARM template:

cd src/arm
.\build-arm.ps1
# Or manually:
az bicep build --file ..\bicep\main.bicep --outfile azuredeploy.json

Post-Deployment

After ARM deploys the Azure resources:

  1. Verify VMs are running in Azure portal
  2. Verify domain join — the JsonADDomainExtension is deployed automatically
  3. Run guest configuration using PowerShell or Ansible

Next Steps