Introduction

  • 1 minute

JSON Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates have numerous constructs, and are able to handle both simple and complex setups. These constructs help you run statements conditionally, define dependencies between resources, and read secrets at deployment time.

Let's say you're on a software team at Tailwind Traders. You plan to deploy infrastructure to Azure by using ARM templates. There are various challenges that you need to address, including managing secrets, assigning secrets to template resources, and dealing with repetitive resources. You also need to look into how you can express dependencies to control the order in which resources are deployed.

In this module, you'll gain an understanding for how to handle more complex scenarios that you'll face. You'll use constructs like copy and dependsOn, as well as learn how to manage secrets during deployment.

Note

Bicep is a language for defining your Azure resources. It has a simpler authoring experience than JSON, along with other features that help improve the quality of your infrastructure as code. We recommend that anyone new to infrastructure as code on Azure use Bicep instead of JSON. To learn about Bicep, see the Fundamentals of Bicep learning path.

Learning objectives

After completing this module, you'll be able to:

  • Control the deployment order of resources by using the dependsOn construct.
  • Securely assign secrets like passwords to resources in your templates by using Azure Key Vault and your ARM template.
  • Conditionally deploy resources by using the condition construct and parameters at deployment time.
  • Deploy multiple resources of the same type by using the copy construct to reduce repetitive configuration.

Prerequisites