Quickstart: Use Terraform to create an Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server

Article
03/14/2023

APPLIES TO: Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server

Article tested with the following Terraform and Terraform provider versions:

Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server is a managed service that you use to run, manage, and scale highly available MySQL databases in the cloud. You can use an Azure Resource Manager template (ARM template) to provision a flexible server to deploy multiple servers or multiple databases on a server.

This article shows how to use Terraform to deploy an Azure MySQL Flexible Server Database in a virtual network (VNet).

In this article, you learn how to:

Create an Azure resource group using azurerm_resource_group

Create an Azure VNet using azurerm_virtual_network

Create an Azure subnet using azurerm_subnet

Define a private DNS zone within an Azure DNS using azurerm_private_dns_zone

Define a private DNS zone VNet link using using azurerm_private_dns_zone_virtual_network_link

Deploy Flexible Server using azurerm_mysql_flexible_server

Deploy a database using azurerm_mysql_flexible_database

Note

The example code in this article is located in the Azure Terraform GitHub repo.

Prerequisites

If you don't have an Azure subscription, create an Azure free account before you begin. With an Azure free account, you can now try Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server for free for 12 months. For more information, see Try Flexible Server for free.
Install and configure Terraform

Implement the Terraform code

Create a directory in which to test the sample Terraform code and make it the current directory.

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 main.tf and insert the following code:

# Generate random resource group name
resource "random_pet" "rg_name" {
  prefix = var.resource_group_name_prefix
}

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "rg" {
  location = var.resource_group_location
  name     = random_pet.rg_name.id
}

# Generate random value for the name
resource "random_string" "name" {
  length  = 8
  lower   = true
  numeric = false
  special = false
  upper   = false
}

# Generate random value for the login password
resource "random_password" "password" {
  length           = 8
  lower            = true
  min_lower        = 1
  min_numeric      = 1
  min_special      = 1
  min_upper        = 1
  numeric          = true
  override_special = "_"
  special          = true
  upper            = true
}

# Manages the Virtual Network
resource "azurerm_virtual_network" "default" {
  address_space       = ["10.0.0.0/16"]
  location            = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location
  name                = "vnet-${random_string.name.result}"
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
}

# Manages the Subnet
resource "azurerm_subnet" "default" {
  address_prefixes     = ["10.0.2.0/24"]
  name                 = "subnet-${random_string.name.result}"
  resource_group_name  = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
  virtual_network_name = azurerm_virtual_network.default.name
  service_endpoints    = ["Microsoft.Storage"]

  delegation {
    name = "fs"

    service_delegation {
      name = "Microsoft.DBforMySQL/flexibleServers"
      actions = [
        "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets/join/action",
      ]
    }
  }
}

# Enables you to manage Private DNS zones within Azure DNS
resource "azurerm_private_dns_zone" "default" {
  name                = "${random_string.name.result}.mysql.database.azure.com"
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
}

# Enables you to manage Private DNS zone Virtual Network Links
resource "azurerm_private_dns_zone_virtual_network_link" "default" {
  name                  = "mysqlfsVnetZone${random_string.name.result}.com"
  private_dns_zone_name = azurerm_private_dns_zone.default.name
  resource_group_name   = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
  virtual_network_id    = azurerm_virtual_network.default.id

  depends_on = [azurerm_subnet.default]
}

# Manages the MySQL Flexible Server
resource "azurerm_mysql_flexible_server" "default" {
  location                     = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location
  name                         = "mysqlfs-${random_string.name.result}"
  resource_group_name          = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
  administrator_login          = random_string.name.result
  administrator_password       = random_password.password.result
  backup_retention_days        = 7
  delegated_subnet_id          = azurerm_subnet.default.id
  geo_redundant_backup_enabled = false
  private_dns_zone_id          = azurerm_private_dns_zone.default.id
  sku_name                     = "GP_Standard_D2ds_v4"
  version                      = "8.0.21"
  zone                         = "1"

  high_availability {
    mode                      = "ZoneRedundant"
    standby_availability_zone = "2"
  }
  maintenance_window {
    day_of_week  = 0
    start_hour   = 8
    start_minute = 0
  }
  storage {
    iops    = 360
    size_gb = 20
  }

  depends_on = [azurerm_private_dns_zone_virtual_network_link.default]
}

Create a file named mysql-fs-db.tf and insert the following code:

# Manages the MySQL Flexible Server Database
resource "azurerm_mysql_flexible_database" "main" {
  charset             = "utf8mb4"
  collation           = "utf8mb4_unicode_ci"
  name                = "mysqlfsdb_${random_string.name.result}"
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
  server_name         = azurerm_mysql_flexible_server.default.name
}

Create a file named variables.tf and insert the following code:

variable "resource_group_location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "eastus"
  description = "Location of the resource group."
}

variable "resource_group_name_prefix" {
  type        = string
  default     = "mysql-fs-db-rg"
  description = "Prefix of the resource group name that's combined with a random ID so name is unique in your Azure subscription."
}

Create a file named outputs.tf and insert the following code:

output "azurerm_mysql_flexible_server" {
  value = azurerm_mysql_flexible_server.default.name
}

output "admin_login" {
  value = azurerm_mysql_flexible_server.default.administrator_login
}

output "admin_password" {
  sensitive = true
  value     = azurerm_mysql_flexible_server.default.administrator_password
}

output "mysql_flexible_server_database_name" {
  value = azurerm_mysql_flexible_database.main.name
}

output "resource_group_name" {
  value = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name
}

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.

Create a Terraform execution plan

Run terraform plan to create an execution plan.

terraform plan -out main.tfplan

Key points:

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.
To read more about persisting execution plans and security, see the security warning section.

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.

Run az mysql flexible-server db show to display the Azure MySQL database.

az mysql flexible-server db show \
    --resource-group <resource_group_name> \
    --server-name <azurerm_mysql_flexible_server> \
    --database-name <mysql_flexible_server_database_name>

Key points:

The values for the <resource_group_name>, <azurerm_mysql_flexible_server>, and <mysql_flexible_server_database_name> are displayed in the terraform apply output. You can also run the terraform output command to view these output values.

Run Get-AzMySqlFlexibleServerDatabase to display the Azure MySQL database.

Get-AzMySqlFlexibleServerDatabase `
    -ResourceGroupName <resource_group_name> `
    -ServerName <azurerm_mysql_flexible_server> `
    -Name <mysql_flexible_server_database_name>

Key points:

The values for the <resource_group_name>, <azurerm_mysql_flexible_server>, and <mysql_flexible_server_database_name> are displayed in the terraform apply output. You can also run the terraform output command to view these output values.

Clean up resources

When you no longer need the resources created via Terraform, do the following steps:

Run terraform plan and specify the destroy flag.
```
terraform plan -destroy -out main.destroy.tfplan
```
Key points:
- 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.
- To read more about persisting execution plans and security, see the security warning section.
Run terraform apply to apply the execution plan.
```
terraform apply main.destroy.tfplan
```

Troubleshoot Terraform on Azure

Troubleshoot common problems when using Terraform on Azure

Next steps

Connect Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server with private access

Quickstart: Use Terraform to create an Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server

Prerequisites

Implement the Terraform code

Initialize Terraform

Create a Terraform execution plan

Apply a Terraform execution plan

Verify the results

Clean up resources

Troubleshoot Terraform on Azure

Next steps

Feedback

Additional resources

Additional resources