Show-Feature -Name Microsoft.Resources/deploymentStacks - Jan Egil Ring - PSConfEU 2023

Today, I have the opportunity to introduce a new service in Azure called Deployment Stacks. This service is currently in private preview but will be available for public preview next month. I started by thanking our sponsors for making this event possible and introduced myself as Jan, a Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft.

I then dove into the details of Deployment Stacks, starting with a discussion about the different levels and scopes in Azure, such as Azure AD, root management group, subscription level, and resource group level. I explained that while there are existing methods like PowerShell and Azure CLI for deployments, they have limitations, such as not being able to perform multi-resource group deployments without multiple calls.

Deployment Stacks aims to solve these limitations by allowing you to define collections of resources with the same lifecycle, whether they are in the same resource group or different scopes in the hierarchy. By treating the deployment stack as a native Azure resource, you can perform ARM operations on it and manage the resources created by the stack through it.

I then went into more detail about the lifecycle of a deployment stack, starting with the day one deployment and explaining how the stack manages the resources deployed by it. I also discussed how the stack handles resources that are removed from the template and how it can be configured to detach or delete them.

Next, I moved on to the demos, where I showed how to deploy resources using Bicep and the new Deployment Stacks commands. I explained the process of creating a Bicep resource and deploying it using the new command for deployment stacks. I also demonstrated checking existing deployment stacks and making updates to the stack by modifying the Bicep template and running the commands.

I discussed the importance of being intentional with resource deletion when working with deployment stacks and showed how to delete specific resources or delete the entire stack with all associated resources. I also mentioned that errors can be troubleshooted by examining the error property of the stack object and discussed how to view deny assignments in the Azure portal.

To provide a real-world scenario, I shared a deployment flow used in Azure Landing Zones, which involves deploying using deployment stacks to manage the lifecycle of resources efficiently. I explained the setup of the management group hierarchy and the modules used in the deployment stacks. I also mentioned the use of the Azure Landing Zones Bicep Accelerator and showed the GitHub Actions workflow used for deployment.

I concluded by emphasizing that the Azure Landing Zones scenario is just one example and can be adapted to specific needs. I provided links to access the slides, demos, and recommended product documentation. I also encouraged participants to reach out for further assistance and answered some questions from the audience.

Overall, the session was informative and provided valuable insights into the use of Deployment Stacks in Azure.

Chapters:
00:00:00 Show-Feature -Name Microsoft.Resources/deploymentStacks - Jan Egil Ring - PSConfEU 2023
00:00:07 Introduction to Deployment Stacks in Azure
00:04:07 Introducing Deployment Stacks: Solving Resource Lifecycle Management
00:10:57 Scoping Resource Groups for Deployment Stacks
00:13:24 Introduction to VS Code and demo scenarios
00:15:30 Overview of available commands and guide for creating a stack
00:20:26 Creating Resources at Different Scopes
00:20:53 Managing Resources and Deny Status
00:22:06 Configuration and Flipping Properties
00:23:15 Deleting Resources from the Stack
00:24:32 Refreshing the page to complete the command.
00:26:39 Deploying Bicep templates using a stack instead of regular deployment
00:28:06 Unable to Modify or Delete Resources in Azure
00:30:09 Deleting Resources Results in Same Error Message
00:34:15 Using Bicep module for Azure Learning Zones
00:36:28 Modifying …