Quick ways to check diffs between Virtual machines?

Question

hey!

We are running multiple VMs on different environments(4 total) and try to keep them in check so they are same so testing even makes sense ( content build process and staged releases) and they run on RHEL. I was wondering if there is some sort of 'azure way' to do this or creating script to list packages and compare them is the only solution here?

Answer 1

Hello @Mazurek, Jakub

There are several ways to keep your RHEL VMs in sync across different environments in Azure. I could suggest some approaches with high level steps here

Use Azure Automation: Azure Automation is a cloud-based automation and configuration management service that can help you manage your RHEL VMs in Azure. You can use Azure Automation to create and manage runbooks that automate common tasks such as software updates, configuration changes, and maintenance tasks. You can also use Azure Automation to manage your RHEL VMs across multiple environments, such as dev, test, and production.

Use Configuration Management Tools: Configuration management tools such as Ansible, Chef, and Puppet can help you manage your RHEL VMs across multiple environments. These tools allow you to define and enforce configuration policies across your VMs, ensuring that they are consistent and up-to-date. You can use these tools to manage your RHEL VMs in Azure, as well as on-premises and in other cloud environments.

Use Custom Scripts: You can create custom scripts to list packages and compare them across your RHEL VMs in Azure. These scripts can be run manually or scheduled to run automatically using tools such as cron or Azure Automation. You can also use tools such as Git to version control your scripts and ensure that they are consistent across your environments.

Regardless of the approach you choose, it is important to have a consistent and repeatable process for managing your RHEL VMs across multiple environments. This can help ensure that your VMs are up-to-date, secure, and consistent, and that your testing and release processes are reliable and predictable.

Adding few document references, that would come handy

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automation/update-management/enable-from-runbook

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/itops-talk-blog/step-by-step-how-to-update-an-azure-linux-vm-using-update/ba-p/1081576

Hope this helps! Please upvote this response, if the reply is helpful.