Quickstart: Create an Azure API Management instance using Terraform
Article
APPLIES TO: Developer | Standard | Premium
This article shows how to use Terraform to create an API Management instance on Azure. You can also use Terraform for common management tasks such as importing APIs in your API Management instance.
Azure API Management helps organizations publish APIs to external, partner, and internal developers to unlock the potential of their data and services. API Management provides the core competencies to ensure a successful API program through developer engagement, business insights, analytics, security, and protection. With API Management, create and manage modern API gateways for existing backend services hosted anywhere.
Terraform enables the definition, preview, and deployment of cloud infrastructure. Using Terraform, you create configuration files using HCL syntax. The HCL syntax allows you to specify the cloud provider - such as Azure - and the elements that make up your cloud infrastructure. After you create your configuration files, you create an execution plan that allows you to preview your infrastructure changes before they're deployed. Once you verify the changes, you apply the execution plan to deploy the infrastructure.
In this article, you learn how to:
Create a random pet name for the Azure resource group name using random_pet
If you prefer to run CLI reference commands locally, install the Azure CLI. If you're running on Windows or macOS, consider running Azure CLI in a Docker container. For more information, see How to run the Azure CLI in a Docker container.
If you're using a local installation, sign in to the Azure CLI by using the az login command. To finish the authentication process, follow the steps displayed in your terminal. For other sign-in options, see Sign in with the Azure CLI.
When you're prompted, install the Azure CLI extension on first use. For more information about extensions, see Use extensions with the Azure CLI.
Run az version to find the version and dependent libraries that are installed. To upgrade to the latest version, run az upgrade.
Create a file named outputs.tf and insert the following code:
output "resource_group_name" {
value = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
}
output "api_management_service_name" {
value = azurerm_api_management.api.name
}
Create a file named providers.tf and insert the following code:
terraform {
required_version = ">=1.0"
required_providers {
azurerm = {
source = "hashicorp/azurerm"
version = "~>3.0"
}
random = {
source = "hashicorp/random"
version = "~>3.0"
}
}
}
provider "azurerm" {
features {}
}
Create a file named variables.tf and insert the following code:
variable "resource_group_location" {
type = string
default = "eastus"
description = "Location for all resources."
}
variable "resource_group_name_prefix" {
type = string
default = "rg"
description = "Prefix of the resource group name that's combined with a random ID so name is unique in your Azure subscription."
}
variable "publisher_email" {
default = "test@contoso.com"
description = "The email address of the owner of the service"
type = string
validation {
condition = length(var.publisher_email) > 0
error_message = "The publisher_email must contain at least one character."
}
}
variable "publisher_name" {
default = "publisher"
description = "The name of the owner of the service"
type = string
validation {
condition = length(var.publisher_name) > 0
error_message = "The publisher_name must contain at least one character."
}
}
variable "sku" {
description = "The pricing tier of this API Management service"
default = "Developer"
type = string
validation {
condition = contains(["Developer", "Standard", "Premium"], var.sku)
error_message = "The sku must be one of the following: Developer, Standard, Premium."
}
}
variable "sku_count" {
description = "The instance size of this API Management service."
default = 1
type = number
validation {
condition = contains([1, 2], var.sku_count)
error_message = "The sku_count must be one of the following: 1, 2."
}
}
Initialize Terraform
Run terraform init to initialize the Terraform deployment. This command downloads the Azure provider required to manage your Azure resources.
terraform init -upgrade
Key points:
The -upgrade parameter upgrades the necessary provider plugins to the newest version that complies with the configuration's version constraints.
The terraform plan command creates an execution plan, but doesn't execute it. Instead, it determines what actions are necessary to create the configuration specified in your configuration files. This pattern allows you to verify whether the execution plan matches your expectations before making any changes to actual resources.
The optional -out parameter allows you to specify an output file for the plan. Using the -out parameter ensures that the plan you reviewed is exactly what is applied.
Apply a Terraform execution plan
Run terraform apply to apply the execution plan to your cloud infrastructure.
terraform apply main.tfplan
Key points:
The example terraform apply command assumes you previously ran terraform plan -out main.tfplan.
If you specified a different filename for the -out parameter, use that same filename in the call to terraform apply.
If you didn't use the -out parameter, call terraform apply without any parameters.
Note
It can take 30 to 40 minutes to create and activate an API Management service.
The terraform plan command creates an execution plan, but doesn't execute it. Instead, it determines what actions are necessary to create the configuration specified in your configuration files. This pattern allows you to verify whether the execution plan matches your expectations before making any changes to actual resources.
The optional -out parameter allows you to specify an output file for the plan. Using the -out parameter ensures that the plan you reviewed is exactly what is applied.