Mimic existing landing zone to new landing zone

Question

Hi All,

I want to mimic dev environment of my landing zone to a new landing zone as UAT environment, what is the best way or tool to mimic my existing landing zone to a new landing zone.

Moreover, is there any in house tools for IAC. I want IAC for my existing landing zone so that it will help me to create new landing zone.

thanks,

Answer 1

To replicate your existing dev landing zone into a UAT landing zone in Azure, you will need a structured approach to Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and environment management.

1. Mimic Your Existing Landing Zone to UAT Environment You can replicate your existing dev environment to a new UAT environment using these approaches:

• Azure Resource Manager (ARM) Templates:
  • You can export your current dev environment's infrastructure as an ARM template. This will capture your current configuration (e.g., VMs, networks, storage, etc.) in a template format.
  • Steps:
    1. In the Azure portal, navigate to your resource group or individual resources in the dev environment.
    2. Choose Export template to download the ARM template, which defines your infrastructure.
    3. Customize the template if needed (e.g., change the resource names or regions for the UAT environment).
    4. Deploy the ARM template to the new UAT environment using the Azure portal, PowerShell, or Azure CLI.
• Terraform (recommended for more flexibility):
  • Terraform allows you to define infrastructure in a more modular and reusable way than ARM templates. With Terraform, you can export your current infrastructure and deploy it in your new UAT environment.
  • Steps:
    1. Use Terraform Azure provider to define the resources in your dev environment.
    2. Use Terraform’s state management to track and import your current infrastructure.
    3. Copy your configuration files and adjust the parameters for the new UAT environment.
    4. Apply the Terraform configuration to provision the new environment.
• Bicep (a newer option for IaC):
  • Bicep is a domain-specific language (DSL) that simplifies writing Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates, offering better syntax and modularization.
  • Bicep can be used to describe your dev environment in a more concise way than ARM templates.
  • You can export your dev environment to Bicep (using az bicep command) and modify it for the UAT environment.

To create IaC for existing landing zone:

1. Assess your existing dev environment: Identify all the resources you need to capture (e.g., VNets, subnets, NSGs, storage accounts, etc.).
2. Choose your IaC tool: Based on your preference for templates or code, you can use ARM templates, Terraform, or Bicep.
3. Export or create your IaC configuration: If you choose ARM templates or Bicep, export or manually create your dev environment infrastructure. With Terraform, you can use the terraform import command to import existing resources into the configuration.
4. Modify configuration for UAT environment: Adjust parameters (such as naming, resource groups, and regions) for the UAT environment.
5. Deploy to UAT: Use your IaC tool to deploy the modified configuration to the UAT environment.

---

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin