Azure Powershell and CLI
Scripting is an important part of being an Azure admin. There are three main ways in which we can access resources in Azure. They are,
- Azure Portal - Point and click interface
- Azure PowerShell AZ - Scripting
- Bash/CLI - Scripting
Why scripting?
The need for scripting is,
- Automation - To perform repetitive tasks in scripts so that they can be done automatically.
- Source Control - To track changes to processes that are being followed.
- Reduce Errors - To reduce errors that can occur when doing the steps manually.
- A form of documentation - A living documentation of the processes followed by the team.
Memorizing PowerShell and CLI Commands
You get used to these commands the more you use them, but Microsoft does follow some common naming patterns that make it easy to memorize them,
CLI
The pattern for CLI is as follows,
az <resource> <verb>
Example
az vm list
az vm create
az vm delete
If there are subcategories it’s as follows,
az network vnet list
az network vnet create
az network vnet delete
PowerShell
The pattern for PowerShell is as follows,
<verb>-Az-<resource>
Example
Get-AzVM
New-AzVM
Remove-AzVM
The easiest way to get started with these CLI’s is in the portal. The Cloud Shell needs no installation and can be used directly from the browser.