Uniform Configuration and Minimal Administrative Effort for Windows Server 2016 Azure Virtual Machines | Azure DevOps Solutions

Uniform Configuration and Minimal Administrative Effort for Windows Server 2016 Azure Virtual Machines

Question

You have created an Azure DevOps project for a new application that will be deployed to a number of Windows Server 2016 Azure virtual machines.

You are preparing a deployment solution that allows for the virtual machines to maintain a uniform configuration, and also keep administrative effort with regards to configuring the virtual machines to a minimum.

Which of the following should be part of your solution? (Choose two.)

Answers

Explanations

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A. B. C. D. E.

AD

The Custom Script Extension downloads and executes scripts on Azure virtual machines. This extension is useful for post deployment configuration, software installation, or any other configuration or management tasks. Scripts can be downloaded from Azure storage or GitHub, or provided to the Azure portal at extension run time. The Custom Script Extension integrates with Azure Resource Manager templates, and can be run using the Azure CLI, PowerShell, Azure portal, or the Azure Virtual Machine REST API.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/extensions/custom-script-windows

The two components that should be part of the solution for deploying a new application to a number of Windows Server 2016 Azure virtual machines while maintaining uniform configuration and reducing administrative effort are Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates and the PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) extension for Windows.

Azure Resource Manager templates (Option A) is a tool that helps automate the deployment and management of Azure resources. It is a declarative language used to define and deploy resources in an Azure environment. An ARM template describes the resources and their dependencies, enabling you to create, configure, and deploy an entire infrastructure as a single template deployment. By using ARM templates, you can quickly and easily deploy virtual machines with the same configuration and settings across multiple regions, resource groups, or subscriptions. This simplifies the management of virtual machines by automating the deployment process, ensuring consistency across multiple environments, and reducing administrative effort.

The PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) extension for Windows (Option B) is a management platform in Windows PowerShell that enables administrators to define and manage the configuration of Windows systems. DSC enables you to write PowerShell scripts that declare the desired state of a system and then apply that configuration to one or more target systems. This ensures that the systems are configured consistently and that they remain in the desired state. By using DSC, you can define the configuration of your virtual machines in a central location, which can then be deployed to multiple virtual machines. DSC is particularly useful for configuring the settings of Windows Server roles and features, as well as deploying applications and managing user accounts.

Azure pipeline deployment groups (Option C) are a way to organize virtual machines into logical groups to simplify deployment and management. Deployment groups allow you to deploy a release to multiple virtual machines at once and manage those virtual machines as a single entity. However, deployment groups do not provide the same level of consistency and automation as ARM templates and DSC.

The Custom Script Extension for Windows (Option D) is an Azure Virtual Machine extension that allows you to run custom scripts on virtual machines after they are deployed. This extension enables you to customize virtual machines with specific software or configurations. However, the Custom Script Extension does not provide the same level of automation and consistency as ARM templates and DSC.

Azure pipeline stage templates (Option E) are reusable sets of tasks that can be added to a pipeline stage. They allow you to create templates for common stages and tasks that can be reused across multiple pipelines. However, pipeline stage templates do not provide the same level of automation and consistency as ARM templates and DSC.

In summary, the two options that should be part of the solution for deploying a new application to a number of Windows Server 2016 Azure virtual machines while maintaining uniform configuration and reducing administrative effort are Azure Resource Manager templates (Option A) and the PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) extension for Windows (Option B).