Microsoft.Insights/webtests - Bicep, ARM template & Terraform AzAPI reference (2023)

FAQs

What is the difference between ARM template and terraform? ›

To choose between the two, consider your project's needs and features. For instance, Terraform stores credentials in plain text in the state file, while ARM templates do not have a state file. If you are an engineer concerned with securing your configuration files, you might choose ARM templates over Terraform.

To reference an existing resource that isn't deployed in your current Bicep file, declare the resource with the existing keyword. Use the existing keyword when you're deploying a resource that needs to get a value from an existing resource. You access the existing resource's properties through its symbolic name.

Reference() Function Explained With Examples - ARM Template. In this post, we will review reference() function which often comes handy when working with ARM templates. This function allows to retrieving runtime state of a resource which contains useful information such as URIs, names or other settings.

Bicep is a transparent abstraction over ARM template JSON and doesn't lose any of the JSON template capabilities. During deployment, the Bicep CLI converts a Bicep file into ARM template JSON. Resource types, API versions, and properties that are valid in an ARM template are valid in a Bicep file.

Bicep is Azure-specific and not designed to work with other cloud services. If your goal is to automate deployments to any of the following environments, Terraform is likely the better option: Virtualization environments. Multicloud scenarios - such as Azure and other cloud(s)

ARM templates are all created in one file. By contrast, Terraform evaluates every resource in the directory with a . tf extension -- and will do so for every command that runs the resource, which enables IT admins to break up resources into separate files to ease parsing.

Decompile using the Bicep Playground

You can decompile your ARM template into a Bicep template. To convert your template, you only need to select the “Decompile” option and upload your ARM template, and you will get the Bicep file. Another option you have is to convert your Bicep template into an ARM template.

Deploy the Bicep file

Right-click the Bicep file inside the VSCode, and then select Deploy Bicep file. From the Select Resource Group listbox on the top, select Create new Resource Group.

What are ARM templates, and why should I use them? ARM templates are JSON files where you define what you want to deploy to Azure. Templates help you implement an infrastructure-as-code solution for Azure. Your organization can repeatedly and reliably deploy the required infrastructure to different environments.

What is the difference between Azure ARM and Bicep? ›

The first noticeable difference is that the bicep template is only half the size of that of ARM. Firstly, the parameters are more compact as the type, name, and default value can all be written in a single line. Secondly, Bicep is smart enough to determine if resources depend on each other.

The Bicep ternary operator is the equivalent to the if function in an ARM template JSON, not the condition property. The ternary syntax has to evaluate to one value or the other. If the condition is false in the preceding samples, Bicep outputs a hostname with an empty string, but JSON outputs no values.

On Azure, three of the most obvious choices for Infrastructure as Code (IaC) are Bicep, Terraform, and Pulumi. Bicep is Microsoft's own domain-specific language, whereas Terraform is the open-source tool that is cloud agnostic.

Deploying ARM Templates with Terraform

HashiCorp Terraform has a resource called azurerm_resource_group_template_deployment for the AzureRM provider. This resource allows you to deploy an ARM Template through HashiCorp Terraform.

There's a tool called aztfy which can create terraform code from an existing environment, but there are currently no tools to transform ARM and CLI to native terraform.

What is the difference between Terraform and CloudFormation? Terraform and CloudFormation are both infrastructure-as-code (IaC) tools. CloudFormation is developed by AWS and only manages AWS resources. Terraform is developed by HashiCorp and can manage resources across a wide range of cloud vendors.

It's a cloud-agnostic tool, meaning it can manage resources across Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and others. This makes Terraform a great choice for multi-cloud environments. Bicep, however, is Azure-specific. It's deeply integrated with Azure and provides a first-class experience for Azure resource management.