Getting Started with Terraform on Azure (with low cost and minimal configuration)

• Setup a Basic Terraform Configuration:
  
  
  • Install Terraform on your local machine.
  
  
  • Set up your Azure Service Principal for authentication.
  
  
  • Create a minimal Terraform script to deploy an Azure resource (like a simple virtual machine or storage account).
  
  
  • Example: You can use Terraform to create a basic Azure resource (e.g., a storage account) by defining the provider and resource in a .tf file.
  
  
  • Authenticate with Azure (after Azure CLI installation)
  
  
  • Before we run Terraform, make sure you’re authenticated with Azure using the Azure CLI. Open your terminal or command prompt and run:
  
  

  • az login

  
  
  • This command opens a browser window for you to authenticate your Azure account. Once you’re logged in, Terraform can interact with your Azure subscription.
  
  
  • Create a Service Principal (Optional but Recommended)
  
  
  • If you prefer to authenticate via a service principal (which is a more secure and common practice for automation), run:
  
  

  • az ad sp create-for-rbac --role="Contributor" --scopes="/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}"
    

  
  
  • This will return credentials (appId, password, and tenant) that you’ll need for Terraform configuration. Keep them handy.
  
  
  • Create a Terraform Configuration
  
  
  • Now that you’re authenticated, you can configure your main.tf file to define the Azure infrastructure you want to deploy. Here’s a simple example that creates a resource group in Azure:
  
  

  • 
    provider "azurerm" {
      features {}
    }
    resource "azurerm_resource_group" "example" {
      name     = "example-resources"
      location = "East US"
    }
    

    
    
  
  
  • Initialize Terraform
  
  
  • Navigate to the directory where your main.tf is located and run:
  
  

  • terraform init

  
  
  • This command initializes Terraform, downloading necessary plugins (like the Azure provider).
  
  
  • Plan Your Deployment
  
  
  • Next, you should check if your configuration is valid and see what Terraform plans to do:
  
  

  • terraform plan

  
  
  • This command gives you an overview of what Terraform will create or modify in your Azure environment based on your configuration.
  
  
  • Apply the Configuration
  
  
  • Once you’re satisfied with the plan, you can apply the configuration:
  
  

  • terraform apply

  
  
  • Terraform will ask for confirmation. Type yes to proceed. This will create the resource group in your Azure subscription.
  
  
  • Verify Resources in Azure
  
  
  • Once the terraform apply is successful, you can check your Azure portal to confirm that the resource group has been created under the specified location.
  
  
  • Stop Resources: After experimenting, use Terraform to destroy the resources
  
  

  • 
    terraform destroy
    

  
  
  • Again, Terraform will prompt for confirmation to ensure you’re aware of what will be destroyed.

Summary of Steps:

• Authenticate with Azure via CLI.
• Create a service principal if you want to use it for automation.
• Write your Terraform configuration to define the resources you want to deploy.
• Initialize Terraform (terraform init).
• Plan your deployment (terraform plan).
• Apply the configuration (terraform apply).
• Destroy resources when done (terraform destroy).