Virtual Machine deployment models in Azure

If you have been using virtual machines in Azure for some time now, then you’ll be familiar that there are basically 2 models to deploy virtual machines in Azure.

1. Azure classic deployment model
2. Azure Resource Manager deployment model

Azure classic deployment model

• This is the legacy way of deploying virtual machines.
• It is also known as the Azure Service Management model (ASM).
• There is a cloud service which serves as a container for hosting virtual machines.
• Azure classic portal is mainly used for deploying VMs using the Azure classic deployment model.
• Please check the following link for more details on the design and architectural considerations of the classic deployment model.
• For automation and monitoring Azure provides the following options for the classic deployment model
  • Service Management (ASM) REST APIs
  • Azure Powershell
  • Azure CLI commands

Azure Resource Manager deployment model

• This is the new and recommended way to deploy Virtual Machines.
• It is also known as the Azure Resource Manager model (ARM).
• One of the main features of this model is the concept of Resource Group.
• You can deploy, manage, and monitor all of the services for your solution as a group, rather than handling these services individually.
• The Resource Group helps to apply and configure Role based access (RBAC) at a granular level in the deployment hierarchy. This I believe is the main advantage of this model.
• Please check the following link for more details on the design and architectural considerations of the Resource Manager deployment model.
• For automation and monitoring Azure provides the following options for the classic deployment model
  • Resource Manager (ARM) REST APIs
  • Azure Powershell
  • Azure CLI commands

With this background in the next article I’ll explain how we can use the Azure REST APIs for automation purposes for both the ASM and the ARM deployment models.