Quickstart: Create a lab in Azure DevTest Labs using Terraform

Article
02/23/2024

This article shows how to use Terraform to create a Windows Server 2019 Datacenter virtual machine in a lab within Azure DevTest Labs using Terraform.

In this article, you learn how to:

Create a random pet name for the Azure resource group name using random_pet
Create an Azure resource group using azurerm_resource_group
Create a random password using random_password
Create a lab within Azure DevTest Labs using azurerm_dev_test_lab
Create a virtual network within Azure DevTest Labs using azurerm_dev_test_virtual_network
Create a Windows virtual machine within Azure DevTest Labs using azurerm_dev_test_windows_virtual_machine

Prerequisites

Install and configure Terraform

Implement the Terraform code

Note

The sample code for this article is located in the Azure Terraform GitHub repo. You can view the log file containing the test results from current and previous versions of Terraform.

See more articles and sample code showing how to use Terraform to manage Azure resources

Create a directory in which to test and run the sample Terraform code and make it the current directory.

Create a file named main.tf and insert the following code:

resource "random_pet" "rg_name" {
  prefix = var.resource_group_name_prefix
}

resource "random_string" "vm_suffix" {
  length  = 5
  upper   = false
  special = false
  numeric = false
}

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "rg" {
  name     = random_pet.rg_name.id
  location = var.resource_group_location
}

resource "random_password" "password" {
  count       = var.password == null ? 1 : 0
  length      = 20
  special     = true
  min_numeric = 1
  min_upper   = 1
  min_lower   = 1
  min_special = 1
}

locals {
  password = try(random_password.password[0].result, var.password)
}

resource "azurerm_dev_test_lab" "lab" {
  name                = var.lab_name
  location            = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
}

resource "azurerm_dev_test_virtual_network" "vnet" {
  name                = "Dtl${var.lab_name}"
  lab_name            = azurerm_dev_test_lab.lab.name
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
}

resource "azurerm_dev_test_windows_virtual_machine" "vm" {
  name                   = "ExampleVM-${random_string.vm_suffix.result}"
  lab_name               = azurerm_dev_test_lab.lab.name
  lab_subnet_name        = "Dtl${var.lab_name}Subnet"
  resource_group_name    = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
  location               = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location
  storage_type           = "Standard"
  size                   = var.vm_size
  username               = var.user_name
  password               = local.password
  allow_claim            = false
  lab_virtual_network_id = azurerm_dev_test_virtual_network.vnet.id

  gallery_image_reference {
    offer     = "WindowsServer"
    publisher = "MicrosoftWindowsServer"
    sku       = "2019-Datacenter"
    version   = "latest"
  }
}

Create a file named outputs.tf and insert the following code:

output "resource_group_name" {
  value = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
}

output "lab_name" {
  value = azurerm_dev_test_lab.lab.name
}

output "vm_name" {
  value = azurerm_dev_test_windows_virtual_machine.vm.name
}

output "password" {
  sensitive = true
  value     = local.password
}

Create a file named providers.tf and insert the following code:

terraform {
  required_version = ">=0.12"
  required_providers {
    azurerm = {
      source  = "hashicorp/azurerm"
      version = "~>3.0"
    }
    random = {
      source  = "hashicorp/random"
      version = "~>3.0"
    }
  }
}
provider "azurerm" {
  features {}
}

Create a file named variables.tf and insert the following code:

variable "resource_group_location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "eastus"
  description = "Location for all resources."
}

variable "resource_group_name_prefix" {
  type        = string
  default     = "rg"
  description = "Prefix of the resource group name that's combined with a random ID so name is unique in your Azure subscription."
}

variable "lab_name" {
  type        = string
  description = "The name of the new lab instance to be created"
  default     = "ExampleLab"
}

variable "vm_size" {
  type        = string
  description = "The size of the vm to be created."
  default     = "Standard_D4_v3"
}

variable "user_name" {
  type        = string
  description = "The username for the local account that will be created on the new vm."
  default     = "exampleuser"
}

variable "password" {
  type        = string
  description = "The password for the local account that will be created on the new vm."
  sensitive   = true
  default     = null
}

Initialize Terraform

Run terraform init to initialize the Terraform deployment. This command downloads the Azure provider required to manage your Azure resources.

terraform init -upgrade

Key points:

The -upgrade parameter upgrades the necessary provider plugins to the newest version that complies with the configuration's version constraints.

Create a Terraform execution plan

Run terraform plan to create an execution plan.

terraform plan -out main.tfplan

Key points:

The terraform plan command creates an execution plan, but doesn't execute it. Instead, it determines what actions are necessary to create the configuration specified in your configuration files. This pattern allows you to verify whether the execution plan matches your expectations before making any changes to actual resources.
The optional -out parameter allows you to specify an output file for the plan. Using the -out parameter ensures that the plan you reviewed is exactly what is applied.

Apply a Terraform execution plan

Run terraform apply to apply the execution plan to your cloud infrastructure.

terraform apply main.tfplan

Key points:

The example terraform apply command assumes you previously ran terraform plan -out main.tfplan.
If you specified a different filename for the -out parameter, use that same filename in the call to terraform apply.
If you didn't use the -out parameter, call terraform apply without any parameters.

Verify the results

Get the Azure resource name in which the lab was created.

resource_group_name=$(terraform output -raw resource_group_name)

Get the lab name.

lab_name=$(terraform output -raw lab_name)

Run az lab vm list to list the virtual machines for the lab you created in this article.

az lab vm list --resource-group $resource_group_name \
               --lab-name $lab_name

Clean up resources

When you no longer need the resources created via Terraform, do the following steps:

Run terraform plan and specify the destroy flag.
```
terraform plan -destroy -out main.destroy.tfplan
```
Key points:
- The terraform plan command creates an execution plan, but doesn't execute it. Instead, it determines what actions are necessary to create the configuration specified in your configuration files. This pattern allows you to verify whether the execution plan matches your expectations before making any changes to actual resources.
- The optional -out parameter allows you to specify an output file for the plan. Using the -out parameter ensures that the plan you reviewed is exactly what is applied.
Run terraform apply to apply the execution plan.
```
terraform apply main.destroy.tfplan
```

Troubleshoot Terraform on Azure

Troubleshoot common problems when using Terraform on Azure

Next steps

Tutorial: Work with lab VMs

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Quickstart: Create a lab in Azure DevTest Labs using Terraform

Prerequisites

Implement the Terraform code

Initialize Terraform

Create a Terraform execution plan

Apply a Terraform execution plan

Verify the results

Clean up resources

Troubleshoot Terraform on Azure

Next steps

Feedback

Additional resources