Terraform with Azure
Introduction to Azure Provider
The Azure provider is used to interact with the many resources supported by Azure Resource Manager (ARM). It needs to be configured with proper credentials before it can be used.
Provider Configuration
provider "azurerm" {
features {}
}
Authentication
There are several ways to authenticate:
- Azure CLI
- Managed Service Identity
- Service Principal with a Client Secret
- Service Principal with a Client Certificate
Example using a Service Principal:
provider "azurerm" {
features {}
subscription_id = var.subscription_id
client_id = var.client_id
client_secret = var.client_secret
tenant_id = var.tenant_id
}
Common Azure Resources
- Resource Group
resource "azurerm_resource_group" "example" {
name = "example-resources"
location = "West Europe"
}
- Virtual Machine
resource "azurerm_virtual_machine" "example" {
name = "example-vm"
location = azurerm_resource_group.example.location
resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
network_interface_ids = [azurerm_network_interface.example.id]
vm_size = "Standard_DS1_v2"
# ... other configurations
}
- Storage Account
resource "azurerm_storage_account" "example" {
name = "examplestorageaccount"
resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
location = azurerm_resource_group.example.location
account_tier = "Standard"
account_replication_type = "GRS"
}
Best Practices
- Use Managed Identities when possible for authentication
- Implement least privilege principle for Azure AD roles
- Use Terraform workspaces or separate state files for different environments
- Utilize Azure-specific modules from the Terraform Registry
Advanced Topics
- Working with Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
- Managing Azure SQL Databases
- Setting up Application Gateways
- Implementing Azure Functions
Always refer to the official Terraform AzureRM provider documentation for the most up-to-date information on available resources and their arguments.