Chapter 7 of 10 · Microsoft AZ-400
Pipelines: infrastructure as code
Bicep, ARM and Terraform, configuration management, desired state, Machine Configuration and ADE.
- 2topics
- 11 minfast track
- 1diagrams and exhibits
Topics in this chapter
Take them in order, or jump to the one you need.
- 1Configuration Management and IaC StrategyAZ-400 IaC: Bicep, ARM, Terraform, Ansible, Chef and Puppet compared, plus source control, what-if and plan testing, remote state…Diagram5 min
- 2Desired State Configuration and Azure Deployment EnvironmentsAZ-400 desired state: PowerShell DSC, Automation State Configuration, Azure Machine Configuration with Policy, and Azure…6 min
About this chapter
What this chapter covers
Environments built by hand drift, differ and cannot be recreated. This chapter is part of the build and release pipelines domain, worth 50 to 55 percent of the exam in total. It covers choosing configuration management and IaC tools, an IaC strategy with source control and automated testing, desired state configuration for machines, and Azure Deployment Environments for on demand environments.
The key skill is separating three jobs: provisioning (creating resources), configuration (setting up what runs inside a machine) and governance (keeping it that way).
How the topics fit together
- Configuration management and IaC strategy compares tools and sets the rules for source control, testing and deployment.
- Desired state configuration and Azure Deployment Environments covers keeping machines in the right state and giving teams on demand environments.
Declarative tools say what the end result should be. Imperative scripts say how to get there. IaC prefers declarative.
How to use these pages
Each topic page has the same shape, so you can skim for what you need.
- What it is: the idea in plain words.
- How it works: the mechanism, with examples and tables.
- What to remember for the exam: the facts to memorise and how questions are phrased.
- Common mistakes: the classic traps.
- Check yourself: three questions to test your understanding.
Ready for more practice?
The full Microsoft AZ-400 question bank has 766 questions, with timed practice exams and an explanation for every answer.
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