Automate deployment of resources using ARM templates or Bicep

📘Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)

1. What Does “Deploy Resources Using ARM or Bicep” Mean?

When you deploy using ARM or Bicep, you use a file that defines:

What resources to create
What their settings should be
Which locations to use
Names, SKU sizes, tags, networking options, etc.

You do not click through the Azure portal manually.
Deployment becomes:
✔ repeatable
✔ error-free
✔ consistent across environments
✔ version-controlled

2. Deployment Models in Azure

Azure offers several deployment scopes using ARM/Bicep:

Scope	What you can deploy	Notes
Resource Group	Most Azure resources (VM, storage, VNet, NIC, etc.)	Most common deployment scope
Subscription	Policies, role assignments, resource groups	Uses `az deployment sub create`
Management Group	Policies, role assignments, multiple subscriptions	For large organizations
Tenant	Identity & Azure AD–related resources	Least common

3. Deploy Using ARM Templates

ARM templates use JSON syntax. They include sections such as:

$schema
contentVersion
parameters
variables
resources
outputs

3.1 Ways to Deploy an ARM Template

a) Azure Portal

Upload or paste the template into the “Deploy a custom template” page.
Provide parameter values.
Deploy into a resource group or subscription.

b) Azure CLI

Most frequently tested on AZ-104.

Deploy to a resource group

az deployment group create \
  --resource-group MyRG \
  --template-file template.json \
  --parameters parameters.json

Important exam notes:

Use az deployment group create for resource-group deployments.
If using parameter files: use --parameters @parameters.json.

c) Azure PowerShell

New-AzResourceGroupDeployment `
  -ResourceGroupName MyRG `
  -TemplateFile template.json `
  -TemplateParameterFile parameters.json

PowerShell command begins with:

New-AzResourceGroupDeployment → must remember for exam.

4. Deploy Using Bicep Files

Bicep is a higher-level language that simplifies ARM.
A Bicep file is clean and readable, for example:

resource stg 'Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts@2023-01-01' = {
  name: 'stgaccount01'
  location: resourceGroup().location
  sku: {
    name: 'Standard_LRS'
  }
  kind: 'StorageV2'
}

4.1 Deploy Bicep with Azure CLI

az deployment group create \
   --resource-group MyRG \
   --template-file main.bicep \
   --parameters storageName=stgaccount01

4.2 Deploy Bicep with PowerShell

New-AzResourceGroupDeployment `
  -ResourceGroupName MyRG `
  -TemplateFile main.bicep `
  -storageName stgaccount01

Same commands as ARM template deployments—Azure automatically converts Bicep to ARM internally.

5. Deployment Parameters

Parameters allow templates to be reusable.

You can pass parameters in 3 ways:

Parameter file (.json) --parameters @myparams.json
Inline parameters --parameters vmSize=Standard_B2s
Interactive prompts (only in portal)

Exam-important details:

Parameters reduce hardcoding.
Parameter files must be JSON.
Use secure parameters for secrets: "adminPassword": { "type": "securestring" }

6. Deployment Modes (Exam Important!)

When deploying via ARM/Bicep, you choose mode:

1. Incremental Mode (default)

Only adds or updates resources defined in the template
Does not delete resources that are not in the template

2. Complete Mode

Adds or updates resources in the template
Deletes any resources in the resource group not present in the template

Azure CLI example:

az deployment group create \
  --resource-group MyRG \
  --template-file main.bicep \
  --mode Complete

Exam Tip:
If you see “remove resources not in the template,” the correct answer is Complete mode.

7. Deployment Scopes & Commands (Must Memorize)

Scope	Azure CLI Command
Resource Group	`az deployment group create`
Subscription	`az deployment sub create`
Management Group	`az deployment mg create`
Tenant	`az deployment tenant create`

PowerShell equivalents:

Scope	PowerShell Command
Resource Group	`New-AzResourceGroupDeployment`
Subscription	`New-AzDeployment`
Management Group	`New-AzManagementGroupDeployment`
Tenant	`New-AzTenantDeployment`

These mappings are highly testable.

8. Use of Template Specs (Azure Service)

Template Specs let you store ARM/Bicep templates inside Azure so teams can reuse them.

Upload Template Spec

az ts create \
  --name WebAppSpec \
  --resource-group InfraRG \
  --location eastus \
  --version 1.0 \
  --template-file main.bicep

Deploy from Template Spec

az deployment group create \
  --resource-group AppRG \
  --template-spec "/subscriptions/xxx/resourceGroups/InfraRG/providers/Microsoft.Resources/templateSpecs/WebAppSpec/versions/1.0"

Exam relevance:

Template Specs help store reusable templates securely.
Ideal when many teams deploy with standard company templates.

9. Linked and Nested Templates

ARM supports linking multiple templates together for modular design.

Linked template → stored externally; referenced by a URL.
Nested template → included inside the parent template.

These are used to break large deployments into smaller pieces.

You must know:

A templateLink property is required for linked templates.
Nested templates use the Microsoft.Resources/deployments resource type.

10. Validating and Previewing Deployments

Before deploying, you can validate the template:

Azure CLI

az deployment group validate \
  --resource-group MyRG \
  --template-file main.bicep

PowerShell

Test-AzResourceGroupDeployment `
  -ResourceGroupName MyRG `
  -TemplateFile main.bicep

Validation checks syntax and parameter correctness.

11. Deployment Outputs

Outputs return values after deployment—for example:

output storageEndpoint string = stg.properties.primaryEndpoints.blob

Outputs are useful for automation pipelines.

12. Key AZ-104 Exam Tips for This Topic

✔ Know how to deploy ARM and Bicep files using CLI and PowerShell
✔ Understand the difference between Incremental vs. Complete mode
✔ Remember deployment scopes and correct commands
✔ Understand parameters, variables, outputs
✔ Know that Bicep automatically compiles to ARM
✔ Know how to validate deployments
✔ Know template specs and when they’re used
✔ Understand linked and nested templates

Conclusion

Deploying resources using ARM templates or Bicep is a core part of the AZ-104 exam.
You must understand how templates work, how to deploy them, and how to manage deployments at various scopes. Mastering these concepts ensures you can automate Azure resource creation accurately and efficiently.

Deploy resources using ARM or Bicep