Azure Local ZTP¶
Zero-touch automation for Microsoft's Simplified machine provisioning feature (public preview, azloc-2604).
What this repo does¶
Microsoft's official Simplified machine provisioning workflow requires an operator to physically:
- Create a USB stick from the maintenance-environment ISO.
- Plug it into each server.
- Boot the server, wait, eject, repeat.
This repo bypasses that. It uses BMC/Redfish (iDRAC, XCC, iLO) to mount the maintenance-environment ISO as virtual media, set the boot source, and reboot — without anyone having to touch a USB stick or be physically in the rack.
The result is the same: each server boots into the maintenance environment, generates an FDO ownership voucher, and is ready to be claimed from the Azure portal. But you can drive it from anywhere.
What this repo is not¶
This is not a replacement for the Microsoft documentation. It is the automation layer on top of it. The voucher claiming, site configuration, and Azure-side provisioning steps still happen in the Azure portal — see Azure portal provisioning.
Status¶
- Microsoft feature: Public preview as of azloc-2604 (East US only)
- This repo: Active development; pipelines are stubbed pending real implementation. See Automation pipelines.
Where to start¶
| If you want to... | Read |
|---|---|
| Bring up servers via BMC automation (the differentiator) | Server preparation |
| Claim machines and configure the Azure side | Azure portal provisioning |
| Deploy a single-node Azure Local instance | Single-node S2D deployment |
| Understand the planned CI/CD pipeline surface | Automation pipelines |
Hardware support¶
This repo's BMC automation has been validated against:
- Dell — iDRAC 9 / iDRAC 10 (AX-650, AX-750)
- Lenovo — XCC2 (ThinkAgile MX650 V3, V4) — planned
- HPE — iLO 6 (ProLiant DL360 Gen11) — planned
The Microsoft-validated hardware list for Simplified machine provisioning is the source of truth: Hardware prerequisites.