How do I create and manage resources in Azure?

This article is part five in a series of seven articles that help developers get started with Azure.

• Part 1: Azure for developers overview
• Part 2: Key Azure services for developers
• Part 3: Hosting applications on Azure
• Part 4: Connect your app to Azure services
• Part 5: How do I create and manage resources in Azure?
• Part 6: Key concepts for building Azure apps
• Part 7: How am I billed?

Azure offers various tools to create and manage the resources your application used by your application.

Different tools support various use cases, and most Azure developers use a combination of tools depending on the job. For example, you might:

• Use a GUI tool like the Azure portal or the Azure Tools extension for VS Code when prototyping Azure resources for a new application. GUI tools guide you through the process of creating new services and let you review and select the options for a service using drop-down menus and other graphical elements.

• Write a script using the Azure CLI or Azure PowerShell to automate a common task. For example, you might create a script that creates a basic dev environment for a new web application consisting of an Azure App Service, a database, and blob storage. Writing a script ensures consistent resource creation and is faster than using a UI.

• Use Infrastructure as code (IaC) tools to declaratively deploy and manage Azure resources. Tools like Terraform, Ansible, and Bicep let you codify Azure resources in declarative syntax, ensuring consistent deployment across environments and preventing environmental drift.

Azure portal

The Azure portal is a web-based interface designed for managing Azure resources. The Azure portal features:

• An easy-to-use, web-based UI for creating and managing Azure resources
• Create configurable dashboards
• Access subscription settings and billing information

VS Code Azure Tools Extension Pack

Developers using Visual Studio Code manage Azure resources directly in VS Code with the Azure Tools Extension Pack for VS Code. The Azure Tools Extension Pack lets you:

• Create, manage, and deploy code to websites with Azure App Service
• Create, browse, and query Azure databases
• Create, debug, and deploy Azure Functions directly in VS Code
• Deploy containerized applications in VS Code

For the full list of features, see the extension's download page.

Command line tools

Command line tools offer efficiency, repeatability, and the ability to script recurring tasks. Azure provides two command line tools: Azure CLI and Azure PowerShell. Both tools are functionally equivalent, so select the one that fits your workflow.

Azure CLI

The Azure CLI is a cross-platform command line tool that runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS. The Azure CLI:

• Features a concise, efficient syntax for managing Azure resources
• Outputs results as JSON (by default). Results can also be formatted as YAML, an ASCII table, or tab-separated values with no keys
• Provides the ability to query and shape output by using JMESPath queries

Azure CLI commands integrate easily into popular scripting languages like Bash, letting you script common tasks.

LOCATION='eastus'                                        
RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME='msdocs-expressjs-mongodb-tutorial'

WEB_APP_NAME='msdocs-expressjs-mongodb-123'
APP_SERVICE_PLAN_NAME='msdocs-expressjs-mongodb-plan-123'    
RUNTIME='NODE|14-lts'

# Create a resource group
az group create \
    --___location $LOCATION \
    --name $RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME

# Create an app service plan
az appservice plan create \
    --name $APP_SERVICE_PLAN_NAME \
    --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME \
    --sku B1 \
    --is-linux

# Create the web app in the app service
az webapp create \
    --name $WEB_APP_NAME \
    --runtime $RUNTIME \
    --plan $APP_SERVICE_PLAN_NAME \
    --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME 

Azure PowerShell

Azure PowerShell is a set of cmdlets for managing Azure resources directly from PowerShell. Azure PowerShell is installed as a PowerShell module and works with PowerShell 7.0.6 LTS and PowerShell 7.1.3 or higher on all platforms including Windows, macOS, and Linux. It's also compatible with Windows PowerShell 5.1.

Azure PowerShell integrates tightly with the PowerShell language. Commands use a verb-noun format, and data returns as PowerShell objects. If you're already familiar with PowerShell scripting, Azure PowerShell is a natural choice.

$___location = 'eastus'
$resourceGroupName = 'msdocs-blob-storage-demo-azps'
$storageAccountName = 'stblobstoragedemo999'

# Create a resource group
New-AzResourceGroup `
    -Location $___location `
    -Name $resourceGroupName

# Create the storage account
New-AzStorageAccount `
    -Name $storageAccountName `
    -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroupName `
    -Location $___location `
    -SkuName Standard_LRS

For more information on choosing between Azure CLI and Azure PowerShell, see the article Choose the right command-line tool.

Infrastructure as code tools

Infrastructure as code is the process of managing and provisioning resources through declarative configuration files. Infrastructure as code tools use a declarative end state specification to guarantee a set of resources are created and configured the same way each time. Most infrastructure as code tools also monitor resources to ensure they remain configured in the desired state.

Azure supports various infrastructure as code tools for automated, repeated, and reliable deployments.

Bicep

Bicep is a ___domain-specific language (DSL) that uses declarative syntax to deploy Azure resources. It provides concise syntax, reliable type safety, and support for code reuse.

param ___location string = resourceGroup().___location
param storageAccountName string = 'toylaunch${uniqueString(resourceGroup().id)}'

resource storageAccount 'Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts@2021-06-01' = {
  name: storageAccountName
  ___location: ___location
  sku: {
    name: 'Standard_LRS'
  }
  kind: 'StorageV2'
  properties: {
    accessTier: 'Hot'
  }
}

Terraform

Hashicorp Terraform is an open-source tool for provisioning and managing cloud infrastructure. It codifies infrastructure in configuration files that describe the topology of cloud resources. The Terraform CLI provides a simple mechanism to deploy and version configuration files to Azure.

provider "azurerm" {
  features {}
}

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "main" {
  name     = "${var.prefix}-resources"
  ___location = var.___location
}

resource "azurerm_app_service_plan" "main" {
  name                = "${var.prefix}-asp"
  ___location            = azurerm_resource_group.main.___location
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.main.name
  kind                = "Linux"
  reserved            = true

  sku {
    tier = "Standard"
    size = "S1"
  }
}

resource "azurerm_app_service" "main" {
  name                = "${var.prefix}-appservice"
  ___location            = azurerm_resource_group.main.___location
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.main.name
  app_service_plan_id = azurerm_app_service_plan.main.id

  site_config {
    linux_fx_version = "NODE|10.14"
  }
}

Ansible

Ansible is an open-source product that automates cloud provisioning, configuration management, and application deployments. Using Ansible, you can provision virtual machines, containers, networks, and complete cloud infrastructures. Ansible also lets you automate the deployment and configuration of resources in your environment.

- hosts: localhost
  connection: local
  vars:
    resource_group: myResourceGroup
    webapp_name: myfirstWebApp
    plan_name: myAppServicePlan
    ___location: eastus
  tasks:
    - name: Create a resource group
      azure_rm_resourcegroup:
        name: "{{ resource_group }}"
        ___location: "{{ ___location }}"

    - name: Create App Service on Linux with Java Runtime
      azure_rm_webapp:
        resource_group: "{{ resource_group }}"
        name: "{{ webapp_name }}"
        plan:
          resource_group: "{{ resource_group }}"
          name: "{{ plan_name }}"
          is_linux: true
          sku: S1
          number_of_workers: 1
        frameworks:
          - name: "java"
            version: "8"
            settings:
              java_container: tomcat
              java_container_version: 8.5

Azure SDK and REST APIs

Azure resources can be created programmatically from code. This lets you write applications that dynamically provision Azure resources in response to user requests. The Azure SDK provides resource management packages in .NET, Go, Java, JavaScript, and Python that let you create and manage Azure resources directly in code. Alternatively, the Azure REST API lets you manage Azure resources through HTTP requests to a RESTful endpoint.