Provision an Azure SQL Managed Instance at the Command Line

A common way of deploying and managing Azure SQL Managed Instance is through command line tools, such as Azure CLI and PowerShell.

The benefit of using command line tools is that it gives a maintainable way of handling automation and CI/CD deployments.

To run the scripts for these command line tools, you first need to install Azure CLI or PowerShell.

In this lab, you will write the scripts to deploy Azure SQL Managed Instance using two methods:

1. Azure CLI
2. PowerShell

info> Note: This environment does not have internet access so you don't need to run these installations. This lab will help you practice writing command line scripts.


If you get stuck on a task, you can check the solutions folder.

To deploy resources to Azure and make sure they are grouped together for better tracking and maintenance, you need to create them under a resource group. There are specific network resources that should be created first before deploying an Azure SQL Managed Instance successfully.

Network Resources

The network resources include:

• Virtual network
• Network security group
• Route table
• Subnet with delegations configured for managed instances service

Now that the network requirements are ready, you can add the deployment script for Azure SQL Managed Instance.

You need to make sure that you link the Azure SQL Managed Instance with the virtual network and subnet.

You can apply the same steps to deploy the Azure SQL Managed Instance using PowerShell scripts. PowerShell is mostly powerful for Windows platforms, but it also supports cross platform.

When using PowerShell, you can either install it locally or use Azure's cloud shell to be able to run a PowerShell script.

Extending the deployment with advanced configurations, such as securing access with private endpoints, configuring automated backups and policies, and organizing resources with tags for cost management, enhances the security and maintainability of your managed instance.

The command line tools also offer commands to be able to validate your resources and list the diagnostics for resource analysis. These are very important to log especially during automation like in CI/CD pipelines. ### Putting It All Together

Through this lab, you’ve successfully deployed an Azure SQL Managed Instance while incorporating advanced configurations to enhance security, reliability, and management. You’ve set up a Virtual Network with NSGs and Route Tables, created a dedicated subnet for a private endpoint securely linked to the Managed Instance, configured automated backups, and added resource tags for effective organization and cost management. By leveraging both Azure CLI and PowerShell, you’ve gained the flexibility to automate and replicate these deployments, ensuring scalability and adherence to best practices in real-world scenarios.