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Migrate from AzureRM to Azure PowerShell Az in Azure Stack Hub

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The Az module has feature parity with AzureRM, but uses shorter and more consistent cmdlet names. Scripts written for the AzureRM cmdlets won't automatically work with the new module. To make the transition easier, Az offers tools to allow you to run your existing scripts using AzureRM. No migration to a new command set is ever convenient, but this article will help you get started on transitioning to the new module.

To see the full list of breaking changes between AzureRM and Az, see the Migration guide for Az 1.0.0

Check for installed versions of AzureRM

Before taking any migration steps, check which versions of AzureRM are installed on your system. Doing so allows you to make sure scripts are already running on the latest release, and let you know if you can enable command aliases without uninstalling AzureRM.

To check which version(s) of AzureRM you have installed, run the command:

Get-InstalledModule -Name AzureRM -AllVersions

Check current scripts work with AzureRM

This is the most important step! Run your existing scripts, and make sure that they work with the latest release of AzureRM (2.5.0). If your scripts don't work, make sure to read the AzureRM migration guide.

Install the Azure PowerShell Az module

The first step is to install the Az module on your platform. When you install Az, it's recommended that you uninstall AzureRM. In the following steps, you'll learn how to keep running your existing scripts and enable compatibility for old cmdlet names.

To install the Azure PowerShell Az module, follow these steps:

Enable AzureRM compatibility aliases

Important

Only enable compatibility mode if you've uninstalled all versions of AzureRM. Enabling compatibility mode with AzureRM cmdlets still available may result in unpredictable behavior. Skip this step if you decided to keep AzureRM installed, but be aware that any AzureRM cmdlets will use the older modules and not call any Az cmdlets.

With AzureRM uninstalled and your scripts working with the latest AzureRM version, the next step is to enable the compatibility mode for the Az module. Compatibility is enabled with the command:

Enable-AzureRmAlias -Scope CurrentUser

Aliases enable the ability to use old cmdlet names with the Az module installed. These aliases are written to the user profile for the selected scope. If no user profile exists, one is created.

Warning

You can use a different -Scope for this command, but it's not recommended. Aliases are written to the user profile for the selected scope, so keep enabling them to as limited a scope as possible. Enabling aliases system-wide could also cause issues for other users which have AzureRM installed in their local scope.

Once the alias mode is enabled, run your scripts again to confirm that they still function as expected.

Change module and cmdlet names

In general, the module names have been changed so that AzureRM and Azure become Az, and the same for cmdlets. For example, the AzureRM.Compute module has been renamed to Az.Compute. New-AzureRMVM has become New-AzVM, and Get-AzureStorageBlob is now Get-AzStorageBlob.

There are exceptions to this naming change that you should be aware of. Some modules were renamed or merged into existing modules without this affecting the suffix of their cmdlets, other than changing AzureRM or Azure to Az. Otherwise, the full cmdlet suffix was changed to reflect the new module name.

AzureRM module Az module Cmdlet suffix changed?
AzureRM.Profile Az.Accounts Yes
AzureRM.Insights Az.Monitor Yes
AzureRM.Tags Az.Resources No
AzureRM.UsageAggregates Az.Billing No
AzureRM.Consumption Az.Billing No

Summary

By following these steps, you can update all of your existing scripts to use the new module. If you have any questions or problems with these steps that made your migration difficult, please comment on this article so that we can improve the instructions.

Breaking changes for Az 1.0.0

This document provides detailed information on the changes between AzureRM 6.x and the new Az module, version 1.x and later. The table of contents will help guide you through a full migration path, including module-specific changes that may affect your scripts.

General breaking changes

This section details the general breaking changes that are part of the redesign of the Az module.

Cmdlet noun prefix changes

In the AzureRM module, cmdlets used either AzureRM or Azure as a noun prefix. Az simplifies and normalizes cmdlet names, so that all cmdlets use 'Az' as their cmdlet noun prefix. For example:

Get-AzureRMVM
Get-AzureKeyVaultSecret

Has changed to:

Get-AzVM
Get-AzKeyVaultSecret

To make the transition to these new cmdlet names simpler, Az introduces two new cmdlets, Enable-AzureRmAlias and Disable-AzureRmAlias. Enable-AzureRmAlias creates aliases for the older cmdlet names in AzureRM that map to the newer Az cmdlet names. Using the -Scope argument with Enable-AzureRmAlias allows you to choose where aliases are enabled.

For example, the following script in AzureRM:

#Requires -Modules AzureRM.Storage
Get-AzureRmStorageAccount | Get-AzureStorageContainer | Get-AzureStorageBlob

Can be run with minimal changes using Enable-AzureRmAlias:

#Requires -Modules Az.Storage
Enable-AzureRmAlias -Scope Process
Get-AzureRmStorageAccount | Get-AzureStorageContainer | Get-AzureStorageBlob

Running Enable-AzureRmAlias -Scope CurrentUser will enable the aliases for all PowerShell sessions you open, so that after executing this cmdlet, a script like this would not need to be changed at all:

Get-AzureRmStorageAccount | Get-AzureStorageContainer | Get-AzureStorageBlob

For complete details on the usage of the alias cmdlets, see the Enable-AzureRmAlias reference.

When you're ready to disable aliases, Disable-AzureRmAlias removes the created aliases. For complete details, see the Disable-AzureRmAlias reference.

Important

When disabling aliases, make sure that they are disabled for all scopes which had aliases enabled.

Module name changes

The module names have changed from AzureRM.* to Az.*, except for the following modules:

AzureRM module Az module
Azure.Storage Az.Storage
Azure.AnalysisServices Az.AnalysisServices
AzureRM.Profile Az.Accounts
AzureRM.Insights Az.Monitor
AzureRM.RecoveryServices.Backup Az.RecoveryServices
AzureRM.RecoveryServices.SiteRecovery Az.RecoveryServices
AzureRM.Tags Az.Resources
AzureRM.MachineLearningCompute Az.MachineLearning
AzureRM.UsageAggregates Az.Billing
AzureRM.Consumption Az.Billing

The changes in module names mean that any script that uses #Requires or Import-Module to load specific modules will need to be changed to use the new module instead. For modules where the cmdlet suffix has not changed, this means that although the module name has changed, the suffix indicating the operation space has not.

Migrating requires and import module statements

Scripts that use #Requires or Import-Module to declare a dependency on AzureRM modules must be updated to use the new module names. For example:

#Requires -Module AzureRM.Compute

Should be changed to:

#Requires -Module Az.Compute

For Import-Module:

Import-Module -Name AzureRM.Compute

Should be changed to:

Import-Module -Name Az.Compute

Migrating fully qualified cmdlet invocations

Scripts that use module-qualified cmdlet invocations, such as:

AzureRM.Compute\Get-AzureRmVM

Must be changed to use the new module and cmdlet names:

Az.Compute\Get-AzVM

Migrating module manifest dependencies

Modules that express dependencies on AzureRM modules through a module manifest (.psd1) file will need to updated the module names in their RequiredModules section:

RequiredModules = @(@{ModuleName="AzureRM.Profile"; ModuleVersion="5.8.2"})

Must be changed to:

RequiredModules = @(@{ModuleName="Az.Accounts"; ModuleVersion="1.0.0"})

Removed modules

The following modules have been removed:

  • AzureRM.Backup
  • AzureRM.Compute.ManagedService
  • AzureRM.Scheduler

The tools for these services are no longer actively supported. Customers are encouraged to move to alternative services as soon as it is convenient.

Windows PowerShell 5.1 and .NET 4.7.2

Using Az with PowerShell 5.1 for Windows requires the installation of .NET Framework 4.7.2. Using PowerShell Core 6.x or later does not require .NET Framework.

Temporary removal of user login using PSCredential

Due to changes in the authentication flow for .NET Standard, we are temporarily removing user login via PSCredential. This capability will be re-introduced in the 1/15/2019 release for PowerShell 5.1 for Windows. This is discussed in detail in this GitHub issue.

Default device code login instead of web browser prompt

Due to changes in the authentication flow for .NET Standard, we are using device login as the default login flow during interactive login. Web browser based login will be re-introduced for PowerShell 5.1 for Windows as the default in the 1/15/2019 release. At that time, users will be able to choose device login using a Switch parameter.

Module breaking changes

This section details specific breaking changes for individual modules and cmdlets.

Az.ApiManagement (previously AzureRM.ApiManagement)

  • Removed the following cmdlets:
    • New-AzureRmApiManagementHostnameConfiguration
    • Set-AzureRmApiManagementHostnames
    • Update-AzureRmApiManagementDeployment
    • Import-AzureRmApiManagementHostnameCertificate
    • Use Set-AzApiManagement cmdlet to set these properties instead
  • Removed the following properties:
    • Removed property PortalHostnameConfiguration, ProxyHostnameConfiguration, ManagementHostnameConfiguration and ScmHostnameConfiguration of type PsApiManagementHostnameConfiguration from PsApiManagementContext. Instead use PortalCustomHostnameConfiguration, ProxyCustomHostnameConfiguration, ManagementCustomHostnameConfiguration and ScmCustomHostnameConfiguration of type PsApiManagementCustomHostNameConfiguration.
    • Removed property StaticIPs from PsApiManagementContext. The property has been split into PublicIPAddresses and PrivateIPAddresses.
    • Removed required property Location from New-AzureApiManagementVirtualNetwork cmdlet.

Az.Billing (previously AzureRM.Billing, AzureRM.Consumption, and AzureRM.UsageAggregates)

  • The InvoiceName parameter was removed from the Get-AzConsumptionUsageDetail cmdlet. Scripts will need to use other identity parameters for the invoice.

Az.Compute (previously AzureRM.Compute)

  • IdentityIds are removed from Identity property in PSVirtualMachine and PSVirtualMachineScaleSet objects Scripts should no longer use the value of this field to make processing decisions.
  • The type of InstanceView property of PSVirtualMachineScaleSetVM object is changed from VirtualMachineInstanceView to VirtualMachineScaleSetVMInstanceView
  • AutoOSUpgradePolicy and AutomaticOSUpgrade properties are removed from UpgradePolicy property
  • The type of Sku property in PSSnapshotUpdate object is changed from DiskSku to SnapshotSku
  • VmScaleSetVMParameterSet is removed from Add-AzVMDataDisk cmdlet, you can no longer add a data disk individually to a ScaleSet VM.

Az.KeyVault (previously AzureRM.KeyVault)

  • The PurgeDisabled property was removed from the PSKeyVaultKeyAttributes, PSKeyVaultKeyIdentityItem, and PSKeyVaultSecretAttributes objects Scripts should no longer reference the PurgeDisabled property to make processing decisions.

Az.Monitor (previously AzureRM.Insights)

  • Removed plural names Categories and Timegrains parameter in favor of singular parameter names from Set-AzDiagnosticSetting cmdlet Scripts using

    Set-AzureRmDiagnosticSetting -Timegrains PT1M -Categories Category1, Category2

    Should be changed to

    Set-AzDiagnosticSetting -Timegrain PT1M -Category Category1, Category2

Az.Network (previously AzureRM.Network)

  • Removed deprecated ResourceId parameter from Get-AzServiceEndpointPolicyDefinition cmdlet
  • Removed deprecated EnableVmProtection property from PSVirtualNetwork object
  • Removed deprecated Set-AzVirtualNetworkGatewayVpnClientConfig cmdlet

Scripts should no longer make processing decisions based on the values fo these fields.

Az.Resources (previously AzureRM.Resources)

  • Removed Sku parameter from New/Set-AzPolicyAssignment cmdlet

  • Removed Password parameter from New-AzADServicePrincipal and New-AzADSpCredential cmdlet Passwords are automatically generated, scripts that provided the password:

    New-AzAdSpCredential -ObjectId aaaaaaaa-0000-1111-2222-bbbbbbbbbbbb -Password $secPassword

    Should be changed to retrieve the password from the output:

    $credential = New-AzAdSpCredential -ObjectId aaaaaaaa-0000-1111-2222-bbbbbbbbbbbb
$secPassword = $credential.Secret

Az.Storage (previously Azure.Storage and AzureRM.Storage)

  • To support creating an Oauth storage context with only the storage account name, the default parameter set has been changed to OAuthParameterSet
    • Example: $ctx = New-AzureStorageContext -StorageAccountName $accountName
  • The Location parameter has become mandatory in the Get-AzStorageUsage cmdlet
  • The Storage API methods now use the Task-based Asynchronous Pattern (TAP), instead of synchronous API calls. The following examples demonstrate the new asynchronous commands:

Blob snapshot

AzureRM:

$b = Get-AzureStorageBlob -Container $containerName -Blob $blobName -Context $ctx
$b.ICloudBlob.Snapshot()

Az:

$b = Get-AzStorageBlob -Container $containerName -Blob $blobName -Context $ctx
$task = $b.ICloudBlob.SnapshotAsync()
$task.Wait()
$snapshot = $task.Result

Share snapshot

AzureRM:

$Share = Get-AzureStorageShare -Name $containerName -Context $ctx
$snapshot = $Share.Snapshot()

Az:

$Share = Get-AzStorageShare -Name $containerName -Context $ctx
$task = $Share.SnapshotAsync()
$task.Wait()
$snapshot = $task.Result

Undelete soft-deleted blob

AzureRM:

$b = Get-AzureStorageBlob -Container $containerName -Blob $blobName -IncludeDeleted -Context $ctx
$b.ICloudBlob.Undelete()

Az:

$b = Get-AzStorageBlob -Container $containerName -Blob $blobName -IncludeDeleted -Context $ctx
$task = $b.ICloudBlob.UndeleteAsync()
$task.Wait()

Set blob tier

AzureRM:

$blockBlob = Get-AzureStorageBlob -Container $containerName -Blob $blockBlobName -Context $ctx
$blockBlob.ICloudBlob.SetStandardBlobTier("hot")

$pageBlob = Get-AzureStorageBlob -Container $containerName -Blob $pageBlobName -Context $ctx
$pageBlob.ICloudBlob.SetPremiumBlobTier("P4")

Az:

$blockBlob = Get-AzStorageBlob -Container $containerName -Blob $blockBlobName -Context $ctx
$task = $blockBlob.ICloudBlob.SetStandardBlobTierAsync("hot")
$task.Wait()

$pageBlob = Get-AzStorageBlob -Container $containerName -Blob $pageBlobName -Context $ctx
$task = $pageBlob.ICloudBlob.SetPremiumBlobTierAsync("P4")
$task.Wait()

Az.Websites (previously AzureRM.Websites)

  • Removed deprecated properties from the PSAppServicePlan, PSCertificate, PSCloningInfo, and PSSite objects

Next steps