deployment-stacks-2025

What this skill does

# Azure Deployment Stacks - 2025 GA Features

Complete knowledge base for Azure Deployment Stacks, the successor to Azure Blueprints (GA 2024, best practices 2025).

## Overview

Azure Deployment Stacks is a resource type for managing a collection of Azure resources as a single, atomic unit. It provides unified lifecycle management, resource protection, and automatic cleanup capabilities.

## Key Features

### 1. Unified Resource Management
- Manage multiple resources as a single entity
- Update, export, and delete operations on the entire stack
- Track all managed resources in one place
- Consistent deployment across environments

### 2. Deny Settings (Resource Protection)
Prevent unauthorized modifications to managed resources:
- **None**: No restrictions (default)
- **DenyDelete**: Prevent resource deletion
- **DenyWriteAndDelete**: Prevent updates and deletions

### 3. ActionOnUnmanage (Cleanup Policies)
Control what happens to resources no longer in template:
- **detachAll**: Remove from stack management, keep resources
- **deleteAll**: Delete resources not in template
- **deleteResources**: Delete unmanaged resources, keep resource groups

### 4. Scope Flexibility
Deploy stacks at:
- Resource group scope
- Subscription scope
- Management group scope

### 5. Replaces Azure Blueprints
Azure Blueprints will be deprecated in **July 2026**. Deployment Stacks is the recommended replacement.

## Prerequisites

### Azure CLI Version
```bash
# Requires Azure CLI 2.61.0 or later
az version

# Upgrade if needed
az upgrade
```

### Azure PowerShell Version
```bash
# Requires Azure PowerShell 12.0.0 or later
Get-InstalledModule -Name Az
Update-Module -Name Az
```

## Creating Deployment Stacks

### Subscription Scope Stack

```bash
# Create deployment stack at subscription level
az stack sub create \
  --name MyProductionStack \
  --location eastus \
  --template-file main.bicep \
  --parameters @parameters.json \
  --deny-settings-mode DenyWriteAndDelete \
  --deny-settings-excluded-principals <devops-service-principal-id> <admin-group-id> \
  --action-on-unmanage deleteAll \
  --description "Production infrastructure managed by deployment stack" \
  --tags Environment=Production ManagedBy=DeploymentStack CostCenter=Engineering

# What-if analysis before deployment
az stack sub what-if \
  --name MyProductionStack \
  --location eastus \
  --template-file main.bicep \
  --parameters @parameters.json

# Create with confirmation prompt disabled
az stack sub create \
  --name MyDevStack \
  --location eastus \
  --template-file main.bicep \
  --deny-settings-mode None \
  --action-on-unmanage detachAll \
  --yes
```

### Resource Group Scope Stack

```bash
# Create resource group
az group create \
  --name MyRG \
  --location eastus \
  --tags Environment=Production

# Create deployment stack
az stack group create \
  --name MyAppStack \
  --resource-group MyRG \
  --template-file main.bicep \
  --parameters environment=production \
  --deny-settings-mode DenyDelete \
  --action-on-unmanage deleteAll \
  --description "Application infrastructure stack"
```

### Management Group Scope Stack

```bash
# Create stack at management group level
az stack mg create \
  --name MyEnterpriseStack \
  --management-group-id MyMgmtGroup \
  --location eastus \
  --template-file main.bicep \
  --deny-settings-mode DenyWriteAndDelete \
  --action-on-unmanage detachAll
```

## Bicep Template for Deployment Stack

### Production Stack Template

```bicep
// main.bicep
targetScope = 'subscription'

@description('Environment name')
@allowed([
  'dev'
  'staging'
  'production'
])
param environment string = 'production'

@description('Primary location')
param location string = 'eastus'

@description('Secondary location for geo-replication')
param secondaryLocation string = 'westus'

// Resource naming
var namingPrefix = 'myapp-${environment}'

// Resource Group for core infrastructure
resource coreRG 'Microsoft.Resources/resourceGroups@2024-03-01' = {
  name: '${namingPrefix}-core-rg'
  location: location
  tags: {
    Environment: environment
    ManagedBy: 'DeploymentStack'
    Purpose: 'Core Infrastructure'
  }
}

// Resource Group for data services
resource dataRG 'Microsoft.Resources/resourceGroups@2024-03-01' = {
  name: '${namingPrefix}-data-rg'
  location: location
  tags: {
    Environment: environment
    ManagedBy: 'DeploymentStack'
    Purpose: 'Data Services'
  }
}

// Log Analytics Workspace
module logAnalytics 'modules/log-analytics.bicep' = {
  name: 'logAnalyticsDeploy'
  scope: coreRG
  params: {
    name: '${namingPrefix}-logs'
    location: location
    retentionInDays: environment == 'production' ? 90 : 30
  }
}

// AKS Automatic Cluster
module aksCluster 'modules/aks-automatic.bicep' = {
  name: 'aksClusterDeploy'
  scope: coreRG
  params: {
    name: '${namingPrefix}-aks'
    location: location
    kubernetesVersion: '1.34'
    workspaceId: logAnalytics.outputs.workspaceId
    enableZoneRedundancy: environment == 'production'
  }
}

// Container Apps Environment
module containerEnv 'modules/container-env.bicep' = {
  name: 'containerEnvDeploy'
  scope: coreRG
  params: {
    name: '${namingPrefix}-containerenv'
    location: location
    workspaceId: logAnalytics.outputs.workspaceId
    zoneRedundant: environment == 'production'
  }
}

// Azure OpenAI
module openAI 'modules/openai.bicep' = {
  name: 'openAIDeploy'
  scope: dataRG
  params: {
    name: '${namingPrefix}-openai'
    location: location
    deployGPT5: environment == 'production'
  }
}

// Cosmos DB with geo-replication
module cosmosDB 'modules/cosmos-db.bicep' = {
  name: 'cosmosDBDeploy'
  scope: dataRG
  params: {
    name: '${namingPrefix}-cosmos'
    primaryLocation: location
    secondaryLocation: secondaryLocation
    enableAutomaticFailover: environment == 'production'
  }
}

// Key Vault
module keyVault 'modules/key-vault.bicep' = {
  name: 'keyVaultDeploy'
  scope: coreRG
  params: {
    name: '${namingPrefix}-kv'
    location: location
    enablePurgeProtection: environment == 'production'
  }
}

// Outputs
output aksClusterName string = aksCluster.outputs.clusterName
output containerEnvId string = containerEnv.outputs.environmentId
output openAIEndpoint string = openAI.outputs.endpoint
output cosmosDBEndpoint string = cosmosDB.outputs.endpoint
output keyVaultUri string = keyVault.outputs.vaultUri
```

### AKS Automatic Module

```bicep
// modules/aks-automatic.bicep
@description('Cluster name')
param name string

@description('Location')
param location string

@description('Kubernetes version')
param kubernetesVersion string = '1.34'

@description('Log Analytics workspace ID')
param workspaceId string

@description('Enable zone redundancy')
param enableZoneRedundancy bool = true

resource aksCluster 'Microsoft.ContainerService/managedClusters@2025-01-01' = {
  name: name
  location: location
  sku: {
    name: 'Automatic'
    tier: 'Standard'
  }
  identity: {
    type: 'SystemAssigned'
  }
  properties: {
    kubernetesVersion: kubernetesVersion
    dnsPrefix: '${name}-dns'
    enableRBAC: true
    aadProfile: {
      managed: true
      enableAzureRBAC: true
    }
    networkProfile: {
      networkPlugin: 'azure'
      networkPluginMode: 'overlay'
      networkDataplane: 'cilium'
      serviceCidr: '10.0.0.0/16'
      dnsServiceIP: '10.0.0.10'
    }
    autoScalerProfile: {
      'balance-similar-node-groups': 'true'
      expander: 'least-waste'
    }
    autoUpgradeProfile: {
      upgradeChannel: 'stable'
      nodeOSUpgradeChannel: 'NodeImage'
    }
    securityProfile: {
      defender: {
        securityMonitoring: {
          enabled: true
        }
      }
      workloadIdentity: {
        enabled: true
      }
    }
    oidcIssuerProfile: {
      enabled: true
    }
    addonProfiles: {
      omsagent: {
        enabled: true
        config: {
          logAnalyticsWorkspaceResourceID: workspaceId
        }
      }
      azurePolicy: {
        enabled: true
      }