Enable Azure VM extensions by using ARM template

Article
09/19/2024

This article shows you how to use an Azure Resource Manager template (ARM template) to deploy Azure VM extensions, supported by Azure Arc-enabled servers.

VM extensions can be added to an Azure Resource Manager template and executed with the deployment of the template. With the VM extensions supported by Azure Arc-enabled servers, you can deploy the supported VM extension on Linux or Windows machines using Azure PowerShell. Each sample below includes a template file and a parameters file with sample values to provide to the template.

Note

While multiple extensions can be batched together and processed, they are installed serially. Once the first extension installation is complete, installation of the next extension is attempted.

Note

Azure Arc-enabled servers does not support deploying and managing VM extensions to Azure virtual machines. For Azure VMs, see the following VM extension overview article.

Deploy the Log Analytics VM extension

To easily deploy the Log Analytics agent, the following sample is provided to install the agent on either Windows or Linux.

Template file for Linux

{
    "$schema": "http://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentTemplate.json",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
    "parameters": {
        "vmName": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "location": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "workspaceId": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "workspaceKey": {
            "type": "string"
        }
    },
    "resources": [
        {
            "name": "[concat(parameters('vmName'),'/OMSAgentForLinux')]",
            "type": "Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines/extensions",
            "location": "[parameters('location')]",
            "apiVersion": "2022-03-10",
            "properties": {
                "publisher": "Microsoft.EnterpriseCloud.Monitoring",
                "type": "OmsAgentForLinux",
                "enableAutomaticUpgrade": true,
                "settings": {
                    "workspaceId": "[parameters('workspaceId')]"
                },
                "protectedSettings": {
                    "workspaceKey": "[parameters('workspaceKey')]"
                }
            }
        }
    ]
}

Template file for Windows

{
    "$schema": "http://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentTemplate.json",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
    "parameters": {
        "vmName": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "location": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "workspaceId": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "workspaceKey": {
            "type": "string"
        }
    },
    "resources": [
        {
            "name": "[concat(parameters('vmName'),'/MicrosoftMonitoringAgent')]",
            "type": "Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines/extensions",
            "location": "[parameters('location')]",
            "apiVersion": "2022-03-10",
            "properties": {
                "publisher": "Microsoft.EnterpriseCloud.Monitoring",
                "type": "MicrosoftMonitoringAgent",
                "autoUpgradeMinorVersion": true,
                "enableAutomaticUpgrade": true,
                "settings": {
                    "workspaceId": "[parameters('workspaceId')]"
                },
                "protectedSettings": {
                    "workspaceKey": "[parameters('workspaceKey')]"
                }
            }
        }
    ]
}

Parameter file

{
    "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentParameters.json#",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
    "parameters": {
        "vmName": {
            "value": "<vmName>"
        },
        "location": {
            "value": "<region>"
        },
        "workspaceId": {
            "value": "<MyWorkspaceID>"
        },
        "workspaceKey": {
            "value": "<MyWorkspaceKey>"
        }
    }
}

Save the template and parameter files to disk and edit the parameter file with the appropriate values for your deployment. You can then install the extension on all the connected machines within a resource group with the following command. The command uses the TemplateFile parameter to specify the template and the TemplateParameterFile parameter to specify a file that contains parameters and parameter values.

New-AzResourceGroupDeployment -ResourceGroupName "ContosoEngineering" -TemplateFile "D:\Azure\Templates\LogAnalyticsAgent.json" -TemplateParameterFile "D:\Azure\Templates\LogAnalyticsAgentParms.json"

Deploy the Custom Script extension

To use the Custom Script extension, the following sample is provided to run on Windows and Linux. If you are unfamiliar with the Custom Script extension, see Custom Script extension for Windows or Custom Script extension for Linux. There are a couple of differing characteristics that you should understand when using this extension with hybrid machines:

The list of supported operating systems with the Azure VM Custom Script extension is not applicable to Azure Arc-enabled servers. The list of supported OSs for Azure Arc-enabled servers can be found here.
Configuration details regarding Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets or Classic VMs are not applicable.
If your machines need to download a script externally and can only communicate through a proxy server, you need to configure the Connected Machine agent to set the proxy server environmental variable.

The Custom Script extension configuration specifies things like script location and the command to be run. This configuration is specified in an Azure Resource Manager template, provided below for both Linux and Windows hybrid machines.

Template file for Linux

{
  "$schema": "http://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
  "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
  "parameters": {
    "vmName": {
      "type": "string"
    },
    "location": {
      "type": "string"
    },
    "fileUris": {
      "type": "array"
    },
    "commandToExecute": {
      "type": "securestring"
    }
  },
  "resources": [
    {
      "name": "[concat(parameters('vmName'),'/CustomScript')]",
      "type": "Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines/extensions",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "apiVersion": "2022-03-10",
      "properties": {
        "publisher": "Microsoft.Azure.Extensions",
        "type": "CustomScript",
        "autoUpgradeMinorVersion": true,
        "settings": {},
        "protectedSettings": {
          "commandToExecute": "[parameters('commandToExecute')]",
          "fileUris": "[parameters('fileUris')]"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Template file for Windows

{
    "$schema": "http://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
    "parameters": {
        "vmName": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "location": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "fileUris": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "arguments": {
            "type": "securestring",
            "defaultValue": " "
        }
    },
    "variables": {
        "UriFileNamePieces": "[split(parameters('fileUris'), '/')]",
        "firstFileNameString": "[variables('UriFileNamePieces')[sub(length(variables('UriFileNamePieces')), 1)]]",
        "firstFileNameBreakString": "[split(variables('firstFileNameString'), '?')]",
        "firstFileName": "[variables('firstFileNameBreakString')[0]]"
    },
    "resources": [
        {
            "name": "[concat(parameters('vmName'),'/CustomScriptExtension')]",
            "type": "Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines/extensions",
            "location": "[parameters('location')]",
            "apiVersion": "2022-03-10",
            "properties": {
                "publisher": "Microsoft.Compute",
                "type": "CustomScriptExtension",
                "autoUpgradeMinorVersion": true,
                "settings": {
                    "fileUris": "[split(parameters('fileUris'), ' ')]"
                },
                "protectedSettings": {
                    "commandToExecute": "[concat ('powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -File ', variables('firstFileName'), ' ', parameters('arguments'))]"
                }
            }
        }
    ]
}

Parameter file

{
  "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/0.1.2-preview/CreateUIDefinition.MultiVm.json#",
  "handler": "Microsoft.Azure.CreateUIDef",
  "version": "0.1.2-preview",
  "parameters": {
    "basics": [
      {}
    ],
    "steps": [
      {
        "name": "customScriptExt",
        "label": "Add Custom Script Extension",
        "elements": [
          {
            "name": "fileUris",
            "type": "Microsoft.Common.FileUpload",
            "label": "Script files",
            "toolTip": "The script files that will be downloaded to the virtual machine.",
            "constraints": {
              "required": false
            },
            "options": {
              "multiple": true,
              "uploadMode": "url"
            },
            "visible": true
          },
          {
            "name": "commandToExecute",
            "type": "Microsoft.Common.TextBox",
            "label": "Command",
            "defaultValue": "sh script.sh",
            "toolTip": "The command to execute, for example: sh script.sh",
            "constraints": {
              "required": true
            },
            "visible": true
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "outputs": {
      "vmName": "[vmName()]",
      "location": "[location()]",
      "fileUris": "[steps('customScriptExt').fileUris]",
      "commandToExecute": "[steps('customScriptExt').commandToExecute]"
    }
  }
}

Deploy the Dependency agent extension

To use the Azure Monitor Dependency agent extension, the following sample is provided to run on Windows and Linux. If you are unfamiliar with the Dependency agent, see Overview of Azure Monitor agents.

Template file for Linux

{
  "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
  "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
  "parameters": {
    "vmName": {
      "type": "string",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "The name of existing Linux machine."
      }
    }
  },
  "resources": [
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines/extensions",
      "name": "[concat(parameters('vmName'),'/DAExtension')]",
      "apiVersion": "2022-03-10",
      "location": "[resourceGroup().location]",
      "dependsOn": [
      ],
      "properties": {
        "publisher": "Microsoft.Azure.Monitoring.DependencyAgent",
        "type": "DependencyAgentLinux",
        "enableAutomaticUpgrade": true
      }
    }
  ],
  "outputs": {
  }
}

Template file for Windows

{
  "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
  "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
  "parameters": {
    "vmName": {
      "type": "string",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "The name of existing Windows machine."
      }
    }
  },
  "resources": [
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines/extensions",
      "name": "[concat(parameters('vmName'),'/DAExtension')]",
      "apiVersion": "2022-03-10",
      "location": "[resourceGroup().location]",
      "dependsOn": [
      ],
      "properties": {
        "publisher": "Microsoft.Azure.Monitoring.DependencyAgent",
        "type": "DependencyAgentWindows",
        "enableAutomaticUpgrade": true
      }
    }
  ],
  "outputs": {
  }
}

Template deployment

Save the template file to disk. You can then deploy the extension to the connected machine with the following command.

New-AzResourceGroupDeployment -ResourceGroupName "ContosoEngineering" -TemplateFile "D:\Azure\Templates\DependencyAgent.json"

Deploy Azure Key Vault VM extension (preview)

The following JSON shows the schema for the Key Vault VM extension (preview). The extension does not require protected settings - all its settings are considered public information. The extension requires a list of monitored certificates, polling frequency, and the destination certificate store. Specifically:

Template file for Linux

{
    "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
    "parameters": {
        "vmName": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "location": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "autoUpgradeMinorVersion":{
            "type": "bool"
        },
        "pollingIntervalInS":{
          "type": "int"
        },
        "certificateStoreName":{
          "type": "string"
        },
        "certificateStoreLocation":{
          "type": "string"
        },
        "observedCertificates":{
          "type": "string"
        },
        "msiEndpoint":{
          "type": "string"
        },
        "msiClientId":{
          "type": "string"
        }
},
"resources": [
   {
      "type": "Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines/extensions",
      "name": "[concat(parameters('vmName'),'/KVVMExtensionForLinux')]",
      "apiVersion": "2022-03-10",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "properties": {
      "publisher": "Microsoft.Azure.KeyVault",
      "type": "KeyVaultForLinux",
      "enableAutomaticUpgrade": true,
      "settings": {
          "secretsManagementSettings": {
          "pollingIntervalInS": <polling interval in seconds, e.g. "3600">,
          "certificateStoreName": <ignored on linux>,
          "certificateStoreLocation": <disk path where certificate is stored, default: "/var/lib/waagent/Microsoft.Azure.KeyVault">,
          "observedCertificates": <list of KeyVault URIs representing monitored certificates, e.g.: "https://myvault.vault.azure.net/secrets/mycertificate"
          },
          "authenticationSettings": {
                "msiEndpoint":  "http://localhost:40342/metadata/identity"
        }
      }
    }
  }
 ]
}

Template file for Windows

{
    "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
    "parameters": {
        "vmName": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "location": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "autoUpgradeMinorVersion":{
            "type": "bool"
        },
        "pollingIntervalInS":{
          "type": "int"
        },
        "certificateStoreName":{
          "type": "string"
        },
        "linkOnRenewal":{
          "type": "bool"
        },
        "certificateStoreLocation":{
          "type": "string"
        },
        "requireInitialSync":{
          "type": "bool"
        },
        "observedCertificates":{
          "type": "string"
        },
        "msiEndpoint":{
          "type": "string"
        },
        "msiClientId":{
          "type": "string"
        }
},
"resources": [
   {
      "type": "Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines/extensions",
      "name": "[concat(parameters('vmName'),'/KVVMExtensionForWindows')]",
      "apiVersion": "2022-03-10",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "properties": {
      "publisher": "Microsoft.Azure.KeyVault",
      "type": "KeyVaultForWindows",
      "enableAutomaticUpgrade": true,
      "settings": {
        "secretsManagementSettings": {
          "pollingIntervalInS": "3600",
          "certificateStoreName": <certificate store name, e.g.: "MY">,
          "linkOnRenewal": <Only Windows. This feature ensures s-channel binding when certificate renews, without necessitating a re-deployment.  e.g.: false>,
          "certificateStoreLocation": <certificate store location, currently it works locally only e.g.: "LocalMachine">,
          "requireInitialSync": <initial synchronization of certificates e.g.: true>,
          "observedCertificates": <list of KeyVault URIs representing monitored certificates, e.g.: "https://myvault.vault.azure.net"
        },
        "authenticationSettings": {
                "msiEndpoint": "http://localhost:40342/metadata/identity"
        }
      }
    }
  }
 ]
}

Note

Your observed certificates URLs should be of the form https://myVaultName.vault.azure.net/secrets/myCertName.

This is because the /secrets path returns the full certificate, including the private key, while the /certificates path does not. More information about certificates can be found here: Key Vault Certificates

Template deployment

Save the template file to disk. You can then deploy the extension to the connected machine with the following command.

Note

The VM extension would require a system-assigned identity to be assigned to authenticate to Key vault. See How to authenticate to Key Vault using managed identity for Windows and Linux Azure Arc-enabled servers.

New-AzResourceGroupDeployment -ResourceGroupName "ContosoEngineering" -TemplateFile "D:\Azure\Templates\KeyVaultExtension.json"

Next steps

You can deploy, manage, and remove VM extensions using the Azure PowerShell, from the Azure portal, or the Azure CLI.
Troubleshooting information can be found in the Troubleshoot VM extensions guide.

Share via

Enable Azure VM extensions by using ARM template

Deploy the Log Analytics VM extension

Template file for Linux

Template file for Windows

Parameter file

Deploy the Custom Script extension

Template file for Linux

Template file for Windows

Parameter file

Deploy the Dependency agent extension

Template file for Linux

Template file for Windows

Template deployment

Deploy Azure Key Vault VM extension (preview)

Template file for Linux

Template file for Windows

Template deployment

Next steps

Feedback

Additional resources