AZ-400 Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions Exam

Configure and Secure Artifact-Based Deployments

Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)

When configuring and securing artifact-based deployments in Azure, leveraging Azure DevOps and its capabilities to manage build and release pipelines is crucial. Azure DevOps supports a wide range of deployment scenarios that ensure reliability and security.

Implementing Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) with tools like Azure Pipelines automates the deployment process, increases development velocity, and ensures consistent application performance. By setting up pipelines, you can automatically build, test, and deploy code updates.

• Azure Pipelines: It supports YAML and classic pipelines to define workflows for building and deploying applications. YAML pipelines are particularly useful for version control and reusable infrastructure.
• Ensure to configure pipelines with appropriate approvals, rollback strategies, and security scanning to maintain deployment integrity.

Artifact Management

Effective artifact management is essential for maintaining deployment workflows. Artifacts can include container images, binaries, and scripts which need to be securely stored and managed for deployments.

• Azure Artifacts: Use Azure Artifacts to create and share package feeds from public and private sources — fully integrated into CI/CD pipelines.
• Security: Enforce security policies like access controls and permissions to secure your packages.

Deployment Strategies

Choosing the right deployment strategy is key to minimizing downtime and ensuring smooth application updates:

• Blue-Green Deployment: This strategy involves running two identical production environments where one (green) serves live traffic while the other (blue) is staged. After successful validation, traffic is switched to the blue environment, minimizing downtime.
• Canary Releases: Deploy changes incrementally to a small subset of users before rolling out to the entire user base. This allows for monitoring and rollback if issues arise.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Utilize Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to automate resource provisioning using templates and scripts:

• ARM Templates: Define your infrastructure deployments using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates for repeatable and consistent deployments.
• Bicep: A more user-friendly extension of ARM templates that allows easier syntax for defining resources.

Local Development and Testing

Leverage local development tools to ensure your deployments are ready before going live:

• Visual Studio Code: Utilize the Azure Logic Apps extension to develop, test, and run workflows locally. This provides a consistent development experience without needing an active Azure subscription.
• Integrate with Azure Arc for a hybrid deployment model allowing on-premises resources to interact with Azure services.

Summary

In conclusion, configuring and securing artifact-based deployments in Azure involves automating pipelines, managing artifacts securely, choosing appropriate deployment strategies, using Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and leveraging local development tools. By following these practices, you can ensure reliable, secure, and efficient application deployments within your Azure environment.