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Deployment Paths

Overview

The SOFS deployment spans two domains — Azure-side provisioning and guest OS configuration — each requiring different tools. You choose one tool for each domain, or use PowerShell for end-to-end.

Valid Combinations

# Azure Provisioning Guest Configuration Notes
1 PowerShell PowerShell Only end-to-end path with a single tool. Tested
2 Terraform PowerShell Default guest_config_engine=powershell. Run Configure-SOFS-Cluster.ps1 after terraform apply.
3 Terraform Ansible Set guest_config_engine=ansible_create or ansible_existing. Auto-generated inventory.
4 Bicep PowerShell Deploy-SOFS-Azure.ps1 wrapper deploys Bicep, then run Configure-SOFS-Cluster.ps1.
5 ARM PowerShell az deployment sub create, then Configure-SOFS-Cluster.ps1.
6 Ansible Ansible deploy-azure-resources.yml → configure-sofs-cluster.yml. Tested

Decision Tree

flowchart TD
    Start([Choose Your Path]) --> Q1{Need end-to-end<br/>with one tool?}
    Q1 -->|Yes| PS["<b>PowerShell</b><br/>Deploy-SOFS-Azure.ps1<br/>→ Configure-SOFS-Cluster.ps1"]
    Q1 -->|No| Q2{Azure provisioning tool?}

    Q2 -->|Terraform| Q3{Guest config tool?}
    Q2 -->|Bicep| BCP_PS["<b>Bicep + PowerShell</b><br/>Deploy-SOFS-Azure.ps1 wrapper<br/>→ Configure-SOFS-Cluster.ps1"]
    Q2 -->|ARM| ARM_PS["<b>ARM + PowerShell</b><br/>az deployment sub create<br/>→ Configure-SOFS-Cluster.ps1"]
    Q2 -->|Ansible| ANS["<b>Ansible End-to-End</b><br/>deploy-azure-resources.yml<br/>→ configure-sofs-cluster.yml"]

    Q3 -->|PowerShell| TF_PS["<b>Terraform + PowerShell</b><br/>terraform apply<br/>→ Configure-SOFS-Cluster.ps1"]
    Q3 -->|Ansible| TF_ANS["<b>Terraform + Ansible</b><br/>terraform apply<br/>→ configure-sofs-cluster.yml"]

    style PS fill:#28a745,color:#fff
    style TF_PS fill:#844FBA,color:#fff
    style TF_ANS fill:#844FBA,color:#fff
    style BCP_PS fill:#0078D4,color:#fff
    style ARM_PS fill:#0078D4,color:#fff
    style ANS fill:#EE0000,color:#fff

What Each Domain Covers

Azure-Side Provisioning

All five tools can create Azure resources through the control plane:

  • Resource group
  • Cloud witness storage account
  • NICs on Azure Local compute logical network
  • Arc VM placeholders + VM instances
  • Data disks for the S2D pool
  • Domain join via JsonADDomainExtension Arc extension

Domain join

Domain join is an Azure resource deployment, not a guest OS operation. All five tools deploy the JsonADDomainExtension extension on Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines as part of Phase 4.

Guest OS Configuration

Only PowerShell and Ansible can configure the Windows Server guest VMs (via WinRM):

  • Anti-affinity rules on the Azure Local host cluster
  • Failover Clustering role installation
  • Cluster creation + cloud witness
  • Storage Spaces Direct enable + guest tuning
  • SOFS role + SMB share creation
  • NTFS permissions
  • Antivirus exclusions
  • Validation

These are multi-node orchestrated operations that require remote access to the VMs from a management workstation or Ansible controller.

Choosing a Path

If you... Use
Want the simplest, tested path PowerShell end-to-end
Prefer IaC with state management Terraform + PowerShell or Ansible
Are in an Azure-native shop Bicep + PowerShell
Need JSON templates (policy/legacy) ARM + PowerShell
Run a Linux-based automation platform Ansible end-to-end or Terraform + Ansible

Next Steps