Deploy with ARM, Bicep, PowerShell, and CLI | Guided by A Guide to Cloud

Infrastructure as Code for Azure SQL

Simple explanation

Instead of clicking buttons in the Azure Portal, you write a recipe.

ARM/Bicep templates are like a blueprint — “I want a SQL server in East US with a 4-vCore database.” You hand it to Azure, and it builds exactly that. Run the same blueprint in another region, get the exact same result.

PowerShell and CLI are like verbal instructions — “First create the server, then create the database, then set the firewall.” More flexible, but you control each step.

Bicep deployment

Bicep is Microsoft’s recommended IaC language for Azure (compiles to ARM JSON):

// deploy-sql.bicep — Azure SQL Database
param location string = resourceGroup().location
param serverName string
param databaseName string
param adminLogin string
@secure()
param adminPassword string

resource sqlServer 'Microsoft.Sql/servers@2023-05-01-preview' = {
  name: serverName
  location: location
  properties: {
    administratorLogin: adminLogin
    administratorLoginPassword: adminPassword
    minimalTlsVersion: '1.2'
  }
}

resource sqlDatabase 'Microsoft.Sql/servers/databases@2023-05-01-preview' = {
  parent: sqlServer
  name: databaseName
  location: location
  sku: {
    name: 'GP_Gen5'
    tier: 'GeneralPurpose'
    capacity: 4
  }
  properties: {
    collation: 'SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS'
    maxSizeBytes: 34359738368  // 32 GB
    zoneRedundant: false
    requestedBackupStorageRedundancy: 'Local'
  }
}

Deploy:

az deployment group create \
  --resource-group NorthStarRG \
  --template-file deploy-sql.bicep \
  --parameters serverName=northstar-sql databaseName=NorthStarERP \
               adminLogin=sqladmin adminPassword=<secure>

Azure PowerShell deployment

# Create a SQL server
New-AzSqlServer -ResourceGroupName "ScaleWaveRG" `
  -ServerName "scalewave-sql" `
  -Location "EastUS" `
  -SqlAdministratorCredentials (Get-Credential)

# Create a database
New-AzSqlDatabase -ResourceGroupName "ScaleWaveRG" `
  -ServerName "scalewave-sql" `
  -DatabaseName "TenantDB" `
  -Edition "GeneralPurpose" `
  -Vcore 4 `
  -ComputeGeneration "Gen5"

# Set firewall rule
New-AzSqlServerFirewallRule -ResourceGroupName "ScaleWaveRG" `
  -ServerName "scalewave-sql" `
  -FirewallRuleName "AllowOffice" `
  -StartIpAddress "203.0.113.10" `
  -EndIpAddress "203.0.113.10"

Azure CLI deployment

# Create a SQL server
az sql server create \
  --resource-group ScaleWaveRG \
  --name scalewave-sql \
  --location eastus \
  --admin-user sqladmin \
  --admin-password <secure>

# Create a database
az sql db create \
  --resource-group ScaleWaveRG \
  --server scalewave-sql \
  --name TenantDB \
  --edition GeneralPurpose \
  --capacity 4 \
  --compute-model Provisioned

# Set firewall rule
az sql server firewall-rule create \
  --resource-group ScaleWaveRG \
  --server scalewave-sql \
  --name AllowOffice \
  --start-ip-address 203.0.113.10 \
  --end-ip-address 203.0.113.10

Monitoring deployments

Azure Portal

Resource group → Deployments → view status, inputs, outputs, errors
Each Bicep/ARM deployment creates a deployment record

CLI / PowerShell

# Check deployment status
az deployment group show --resource-group NorthStarRG --name deploy-sql

# List all deployments
az deployment group list --resource-group NorthStarRG --output table

Common deployment failures

Error	Cause	Fix
NameNotAvailable	Server name already taken (globally unique)	Choose a different name
QuotaExceeded	Subscription limit hit (vCores, servers)	Request quota increase or use different region
InvalidParameterValue	Wrong SKU, tier, or capacity combination	Check valid combinations in docs
AuthorizationFailed	Deploying identity lacks RBAC permissions	Grant Contributor on the resource group
ConflictError	Resource already exists with different config	Use incremental mode or delete existing first

Exam tip: declarative vs imperative troubleshooting

Bicep/ARM failures: Check the deployment record in the portal — it shows the exact resource and property that failed
PowerShell/CLI failures: Check the error output — often includes a correlation ID for support tickets
Idempotent retry: Bicep/ARM deployments can be rerun safely. PowerShell/CLI may create duplicates unless you add existence checks.

Question

What is the advantage of Bicep over raw ARM JSON?

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Answer

Cleaner, more readable syntax (no JSON boilerplate). Bicep compiles to ARM templates — same deployment engine, same capabilities, but much easier to write and maintain.

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Question

Where do you check the status of a failed Bicep deployment?

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Answer

Azure Portal: Resource group → Deployments → click the failed deployment to see error details. Or use az deployment group show --name <deployment-name>.

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Knowledge Check

Priya's Bicep deployment fails with 'QuotaExceeded — not enough vCore quota in East US.' What are her two options?

🎬 Video coming soon

Next up: Elastic Jobs and Azure Automation — run T-SQL across multiple databases and automate Azure resource management.