[User Guide] Quick Start Phase 2 Azure DevOps

2.2.1 Azure DevOps

You can choose to bootstrap with bicep or terraform skip to the relevant section below to do that.

Although you can just run Deploy-Accelerator and fill out the prompted inputs, we recommend creating an inputs file. This will make it easier to run the accelerator more than once in order to refine your preferred configuration. In the following docs, we'll show that approach, but if you want to be prompted for inputs, just go ahead and run Deploy-Accelerator now.

2.2.1.1 Azure DevOps with Bicep

1. Create a new folder on you local drive called accelerator.

2. Inside the accelerator create two folders called config and output. You'll store you input file inside config and the output folder will be the place that the accelerator stores files while it works.

3. Inside the config folder create a new file called inputs.yaml. You can use json if you prefer, but our examples here are yaml.

   # Windows
   New-Item c:\accelerator\config\inputs.yaml -Force
   New-Item c:\accelerator\output

   # Linux/Mac
   New-Item ~/accelerator/config/inputs.yaml -Force
   New-Item ~/accelerator/output

   📂accelerator
   ┣ 📂config
   ┃ ┗ 📜inputs.yaml
   ┗ 📂output
   

4. Open your inputs.yaml file in Visual Studio Code (or your preferred editor) and copy the content from inputs-azure-devops-bicep.yaml into that file.

5. Check through the file and update each input as required. It is mandatory to update items with placeholders surrounded by angle brackets <>:

   Input	Placeholder	Description
   iac	bicep	This is the choice of bicep or terraform. Keep this as bicep for this example.
   bootstrap	alz_azuredevops	This is the choice of Version Control System. Keep this as alz_azuredevops for this example.
   starter	complete	This is the choice of Starter Modules, which is the baseline configuration you want for your Azure landing zone. Keep this as complete for this example. This also determines the second set of inputs you'll be prompted for.
   root_parent_management_group_id	""	This is the id of the management group that will be the parent of the management group structure created by the accelerator. If you are using the Tenant Root Group management group, you leave this as an empty string "" or supply the tenant id.
   subscription_id_management	<management-subscription-id>	Replace <management-subscription-id> with the id of the management subscription you created in the previous phase.
   subscription_id_identity	<identity-subscription-id>	Replace <identity-subscription-id> with the id of the identity subscription you created in the previous phase.
   subscription_id_connectivity	<connectivity-subscription-id>	Replace <connectivity-subscription-id> with the id of the connectivity subscription you created in the previous phase.
   azure_devops_personal_access_token	<token-1>	Replace <token-1> with the token-1 Azure DevOps PAT you generated in a previous step.
   azure_devops_agents_personal_access_token	<token-2>	Replace <token-2> with the token-2 Azure DevOps PAT you generated in the previous step specifically for the self-hosted agents. This only applies if you have use_self_hosted_agents set to true. You can set this to an empty string "" if you are not using self-hosted agents.
   azure_devops_organization_name	<azure-devops-organization>	Replace <azure-devops-organization> with the name of your Azure DevOps organization. This is the section of the url after dev.azure.com or before .visualstudio.com. E.g. enter my-org for https://dev.azure.com/my-org.
   use_separate_repository_for_templates	true	Determine whether to create a separate repository to store pipeline templates as an extra layer of security. Set to false if you don't wish to secure your pipeline templates by using a separate repository. This will default to true.
   bootstrap_location	<region>	Replace <region> with the Azure region where you would like to deploy the bootstrap resources in Azure. This field expects the name of the region, such as uksouth. You can find a full list of names by running az account list-locations -o table.
   bootstrap_subscription_id	<bootstrap-subscription-id>	Replace <subscription-id> with the id of the subscription in which you would like to deploy the bootstrap resources in Azure. If left blank, the subscription you are connected to via az login will be used. In most cases this is the management subscription, but you can specifiy a separate subscription if you prefer.
   service_name	alz	This is used to build up the names of your Azure and Azure DevOps resources, for example rg-<service_name>-mgmt-uksouth-001. We recommend using alz for this.
   environment_name	mgmt	This is used to build up the names of your Azure and Azure DevOps resources, for example rg-alz-<environment_name>-uksouth-001. We recommend using mgmt for this.
   postfix_number	1	This is used to build up the names of your Azure and Azure DevOps resources, for example rg-alz-mgmt-uksouth-<postfix_number>. We recommend using 1 for this.
   azure_devops_use_organisation_legacy_url	false	If you have not migrated to the modern url (still using https://<organization_name>.visualstudio.com) for your Azure DevOps organisation, then set this to true.
   azure_devops_create_project	true	If you have an existing project you want to use rather than creating a new one, select true. We recommend creating a new project to ensure it is isolated by a strong security boundary.
   azure_devops_project_name	<azure-devops-project-name>	Replace <azure-devops-project-name> with the name of the Azure DevOps project to create or the name of an existing project if you set azure_devops_create_project to false.
   use_self_hosted_agents	true	This controls if you want to deploy self-hosted agents. This will default to true.
   use_private_networking	true	This controls whether private networking is deployed for your self-hosted agents and storage account. This only applies if you have use_self_hosted_agents set to true. This defaults to true.
   allow_storage_access_from_my_ip	false	This is not relecant to Bicep and we'll remove the need to specify it later, leave it set to false.
   apply_approvers	<email-address-list>	This is a list of service principal names (SPN) of people you wish to be in the group that approves apply of the Azure landing zone module. This is a comma-separated list like [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]. You may need to check what the SPN is prior to filling this out as it can vary based on identity provider. Use empty string "" to disable approvals.
   create_branch_policies	true	This controls whether to create branch policies for the repository. This defaults to true.

6. Now head over to your chosen starter module documentation to get the specific inputs for that module. Come back here when you are done.

   • Bicep Complete Starter Module

7. In your PowerShell Core (pwsh) terminal run the module:

   # Windows (adjust the paths to match your setup)
   Deploy-Accelerator -inputs "c:\accelerator\config\inputs.yaml" -output "c:\accelerator\output"

   # Linux/Mac (adjust the paths to match your setup)
   Deploy-Accelerator -inputs "~/accelerator/config/inputs.yaml" -output "~/accelerator/output"

8. You will see a Terraform init and apply happen.

9. There will be a pause after the plan phase you allow you to validate what is going to be deployed.

10. If you are happy with the plan, then type yes and hit enter.

11. The Terraform will apply and your environment will be bootstrapped.

2.2.1.2 Azure DevOps with Terraform

1. Create a new folder on you local drive called accelerator.

2. Inside the accelerator create two folders called config and output. You'll store you input file inside config and the output folder will be the place that the accelerator stores files while it works.

3. Inside the config folder create a new file called inputs.yaml. You can use json if you prefer, but our examples here are yaml.

   # Windows
   New-Item c:\accelerator\config\inputs.yaml -Force
   New-Item c:\accelerator\output

   # Linux/Mac
   New-Item ~/accelerator/config/inputs.yaml -Force
   New-Item ~/accelerator/output

   📂accelerator
   ┣ 📂config
   ┃ ┗ 📜inputs.yaml
   ┗ 📂output
   

4. Open your inputs.yaml file in Visual Studio Code (or your preferred editor) and copy the content from inputs-azure-devops-terraform.yaml into that file.

5. Check through the file and update each input as required. It is mandatory to update items with placeholders surrounded by angle brackets <>:

   Input	Placeholder	Description
   iac	terraform	This is the choice of bicep or terraform. Keep this as terraform for this example.
   bootstrap	alz_azuredevops	This is the choice of Version Control System. Keep this as alz_azuredevops for this example.
   starter	complete	This is the choice of Starter Modules, which is the baseline configuration you want for your Azure landing zone. Choose complete, hubnetworking or basic for this example. This also determines the second set of inputs you'll be prompted for.
   root_parent_management_group_id	""	This is the id of the management group that will be the parent of the management group structure created by the accelerator. If you are using the Tenant Root Group management group, you leave this as an empty string "" or supply the tenant id.
   subscription_id_management	<management-subscription-id>	Replace <management-subscription-id> with the id of the management subscription you created in the previous phase.
   subscription_id_identity	<identity-subscription-id>	Replace <identity-subscription-id> with the id of the identity subscription you created in the previous phase.
   subscription_id_connectivity	<connectivity-subscription-id>	Replace <connectivity-subscription-id> with the id of the connectivity subscription you created in the previous phase.
   azure_devops_personal_access_token	<token-1>	Replace <token-1> with the token-1 Azure DevOps PAT you generated in a previous step.
   azure_devops_agents_personal_access_token	<token-2>	Replace <token-2> with the token-2 Azure DevOps PAT you generated in the previous step specifically for the self-hosted agents. This only applies if you have use_self_hosted_agents set to true. You can set this to an empty string "" if you are not using self-hosted agents.
   azure_devops_organization_name	<azure-devops-organization>	Replace <azure-devops-organization> with the name of your Azure DevOps organization. This is the section of the url after dev.azure.com or before .visualstudio.com. E.g. enter my-org for https://dev.azure.com/my-org.
   use_separate_repository_for_templates	true	Determine whether to create a separate repository to store pipeline templates as an extra layer of security. Set to false if you don't wish to secure your pipeline templates by using a separate repository. This will default to true.
   bootstrap_location	<region>	Replace <region> with the Azure region where you would like to deploy the bootstrap resources in Azure. This field expects the name of the region, such as uksouth. You can find a full list of names by running az account list-locations -o table.
   bootstrap_subscription_id	<bootstrap-subscription-id>	Replace <subscription-id> with the id of the subscription in which you would like to deploy the bootstrap resources in Azure. If left blank, the subscription you are connected to via az login will be used. In most cases this is the management subscription, but you can specifiy a separate subscription if you prefer.
   service_name	alz	This is used to build up the names of your Azure and Azure DevOps resources, for example rg-<service_name>-mgmt-uksouth-001. We recommend using alz for this.
   environment_name	mgmt	This is used to build up the names of your Azure and Azure DevOps resources, for example rg-alz-<environment_name>-uksouth-001. We recommend using mgmt for this.
   postfix_number	1	This is used to build up the names of your Azure and Azure DevOps resources, for example rg-alz-mgmt-uksouth-<postfix_number>. We recommend using 1 for this.
   azure_devops_use_organisation_legacy_url	false	If you have not migrated to the modern url (still using https://<organization_name>.visualstudio.com) for your Azure DevOps organisation, then set this to true.
   azure_devops_create_project	true	If you have an existing project you want to use rather than creating a new one, select true. We recommend creating a new project to ensure it is isolated by a strong security boundary.
   azure_devops_project_name	<azure-devops-project-name>	Replace <azure-devops-project-name> with the name of the Azure DevOps project to create or the name of an existing project if you set azure_devops_create_project to false.
   use_self_hosted_agents	true	This controls if you want to deploy self-hosted agents. This will default to true.
   use_private_networking	true	This controls whether private networking is deployed for your self-hosted agents and storage account. This only applies if you have use_self_hosted_agents set to true. This defaults to true.
   allow_storage_access_from_my_ip	false	This controls whether to allow access to the storage account from your IP address. This is only needed for trouble shooting. This only applies if you have use_private_networking set to true. This defaults to false.
   apply_approvers	<email-address-list>	This is a list of service principal names (SPN) of people you wish to be in the group that approves apply of the Azure landing zone module. This is a comma-separated list like [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]. You may need to check what the SPN is prior to filling this out as it can vary based on identity provider. Use empty string "" to disable approvals.
   create_branch_policies	true	This controls whether to create branch policies for the repository. This defaults to true.

6. Now head over to your chosen starter module documentation to get the specific inputs for that module. Come back here when you are done.

   • Terraform Basic Starter Module: Management groups and policies.
   • Terraform Hub Networking Starter Module: Management groups, policies and hub networking.
   • Terraform Complete Starter Module: Management groups, policies, hub networking with fully custom configuration.

7. In your PowerShell Core (pwsh) terminal run the module:

   # Windows (adjust the paths to match your setup)
   Deploy-Accelerator -inputs "c:\accelerator\config\input.yaml" -output "c:\accelerator\output"

   # Linux/Mac (adjust the paths to match your setup)
   Deploy-Accelerator -inputs "~/accelerator/config/input.yaml" -output "~/accelerator/output"

8. You will see a Terraform init and apply happen.

9. There will be a pause after the plan phase you allow you to validate what is going to be deployed.

10. If you are happy with the plan, then type yes and hit enter.

11. The Terraform will apply and your environment will be bootstrapped.

Next Steps

Now head to Phase 3.