Azure – How to copy a custom package from Azure Storage to install on a machine with DSC

azuredsc

I'm currently using Azure Resource Manager to create virtual machines with DSC to configure basic state and install IIS. I already have a build environment that dumps websites as .zip files to Azure Storage. But, I can't figure out how to make DSC reach out to Azure Storage to download the .zip and place it in wwwroot.

Ultimately, I want to run AzureRM so that it creates a new VM, runs DSC so that when it's finished my app is on the machine and running.

Best Answer

How we do it is to use the xRemoteFile DSC resource, from the xPsDesiredState resource kit. This lets you specify a remote URL (such as Azure storage) and downloads the file for you. Works well.

                 xRemoteFile FileDownload
                    {
                        Uri = $packageUri
                        DestinationPath = $packageOutFile
                        MatchSource = $true
                        DependsOn=""
                    }

If your downloading sensitive data, your going to want to ensure you store that in a blob store with restricterd access, and then generate a SAS token to use in your URL here.

Related Solutions

Windows – PowerShell DSC copy from network share

The DSC Local Configuration Manager runs as the local SYSTEM account, not your user account. It therefore won't be able to access network resources unless it is given explicit permissions.

There are two possible situations. Either the share is on the same machine as the DSC configuration is being applied to (let's call this machine A) or the share is on a different machine (let's call this machine B).

If the share is on machine A, READ permissions need to be granted to the SYSTEM user. For example:

net share SomeShare=C:\SomeShare /GRANT:"NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM",READ

If the share is on machine B, READ permissions need to be granted to the computer account of machine A. For example:

net share SomeShare=C:\SomeShare /GRANT:DOMAIN\MachineA$,READ

Source: http://www.powershellmagazine.com/2013/09/02/copying-powershell-modules-and-custom-dsc-resources-using-dsc/

Azure – Trigger a re-run of DSC check on Azure Virtual Machine

DSC uses the DSC Local Configuration Manager to process you DSC configuration and to monitor it. the Local Configuration Manger has a setting called CONFIGURATION MODE, by default this is set to ApplyAndMonitor. This means that it will process and apply your DSC script but if there is a change (in you example deleting the file) it wont automatically re-apply the settings. what you need to do is set the CONFIGURATION MODE to ApplyAndAutocorrect. in this mode it will detect configuration drift and re-apply your DSC settings.

Check out this URL for more info on this setting:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/PowerShell/DSC/metaConfig

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Windows – PowerShell DSC copy from network share

Azure – Trigger a re-run of DSC check on Azure Virtual Machine

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