Esri supports several automation options for ArcGIS Enterprise on Microsoft Azure for efficiency and repeatability. Once you run ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure, you can automate repeated deployments using a generated template in popular deployment tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio and command line interfaces with shell programs (Windows PowerShell and Bash). ArcGIS Enterprise on Microsoft Azure can also be integrated with continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) tools such as Jenkins, Octopus Deploy, and Travis CI.
Advanced users can modify and extend templates to suit their needs and specifications. The resources required to perform automated deployments differ depending on your choice of automation platform.
Generate automation artifacts from Cloud Builder
For each of these automation tools, you must first create a deployment using ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure, and save a file containing the automation artifacts from the builder. On the summary step of the completed deployment, click the Save Automation Artifacts button. In the dialog box, browse to your desired storage location. Provide a name for the .zip file to be generated, select the automation option targets you desire, and click generate.
Once ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure has finished generating the artifacts, you can browse to the storage location and extract the .zip file. You can use the artifact files in subsequent automation operations.
The exact automation artifact files generated in the .zip file will depend on the target options you select in the dialog box. The following six files will always be generated regardless of which targets you select:
| Artifact file path | Artifact description |
|---|---|
azuredeploy.json | An Azure Resource Manager (ARM) template that models the entire deployment as run by the Cloud Builder. |
azuredeploy.parameters.json | An ARM template parameters file populated with the values you specified in the Cloud Builder wizard. |
DSC.zip | Automation artifacts used to configure ArcGIS components on the virtual machine. |
<licenses>.prvc | License files for your ArcGIS Server and (optionally) Portal for ArcGIS specified during the Cloud Builder setup. |
<sslCertificate>.pfx | The SSL certificate (CA-signed or self-signed) specified during the Cloud Builder setup. If using a self-signed certificate, a wildcard certificate is generated with the name wildcard_<region>_cloudapp_azure_com.pfx for use in any deployment within the specified Azure region. |
Deploy-AzureResourceGroup.ps1 | An entry point script for automation used by Visual Studio and PowerShell. |
Two additional artifacts are generated when the Visual Studio option is selected:
| Artifact file path | Artifact description |
|---|---|
DeployArcGIS.sln | A Visual Studio solution file. |
DeployArcGIS.deployproj | A Visual Studio deployment project file. |
One additional artifact is generated when the PowerShell option is selected:
| Artifact file path | Artifact description |
|---|---|
Deploy-ArcGISSite.ps1 | A PowerShell script for automation. |
One additional artifact is generated when the CLI option is selected:
| Artifact file path | Artifact description |
|---|---|
deployArcGISSite.sh | A Bash script for automation. |
Deploy using Microsoft Visual Studio
Before you begin, ensure you have the following:
- Visual Studio 2015 or later
- Azure Resource Manager Tools for Visual Studio
- Azure PowerShell for Windows
- Open the Visual Studio Solution file by clicking the DeployArcGIS.sln file from your generated automation artifacts. The Visual Studio Deployment Project (.deployproj) opens if you have the required Azure Resource Manager Tools for Visual Studio installed.
- Right-click the project in the Solution Explorer window of Visual Studio and click Deploy > New.
The Deploy to Resource Group dialog box appears.
- For Resource group, choose and existing resource group or create a new one for your deployment.
The Deployment template and Template parameters file boxes will be prepopulated.
- Change any of the parameters of the deployment by clicking Edit Parameters. If you change any parameters, click Save to close the dialog box.
- When you are ready, click Deploy.
This opens a PowerShell console; enter your administrator password in the console when prompted.
The deployed resources will be available in the resource group you specified once the deployment is complete.
Deploy using Azure PowerShell for Windows
If you have not already done so, install Azure PowerShell for Windows from the Microsoft website.
- Open a PowerShell console and browse to your extracted automation artifacts folder.
- Run the Deploy-ArcGISSite.ps1 script.
- If prompted, log in to Microsoft Azure. Once authenticated, the deployment uses the parameters you previously provided in ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure to create an identical deployment.
Deploy using the Azure CLI on Bash
You can use the Azure CLI to launch deployments of ArcGIS Enterprise on Microsoft Azure from machines running Windows, Linux, or macOS. Install Azure CLI 2.0 from the Microsoft website if you haven't done so already. If the original automation artifacts folder was generated on a Windows machine and you want to run the CLI on a macOS or Linux machine, copy the folder to your desired client computer before beginning.
- Open a Bash shell and browse to the extracted automation artifacts folder.
- If you need to change any parameters in the deployment, use a text editing program to edit the azuredeploy.parameters.json file. Save your changes.
- Run the deployArcGISSite.sh script.
- If prompted, log in to Microsoft Azure. Once authenticated, the deployment uses the parameters you previously provided in ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure.
See Automation solutions for your portal to learn more about automation with ArcGIS Enterprise.