Top 50 Azure Resource Manager Interview Question and Answers

01 Dec 2024 - Shyam Mohan

Azure Resource Manager (ARM) is a key feature in Microsoft Azure, empowering users to manage resources efficiently through declarative templates, policies, and role-based access control. If you’re preparing for an interview involving Azure or its Resource Manager, this blog is your ultimate guide. Here are the top 50 questions and answers to help you ace your interview.

1. What is Azure Resource Manager (ARM)?
Answer:
Azure Resource Manager (ARM) is a management framework in Azure that allows you to deploy, manage, and organize resources through a unified API and tools.

2. What are ARM templates?
Answer:
ARM templates are JSON files that define the infrastructure and configuration of Azure resources in a declarative manner.

3. What are the benefits of using ARM?
Answer:

• Consistent resource management.
• Dependency management for resources.
• Unified access control through RBAC.
• Simplified deployment through templates.

4. How does Azure Resource Manager manage resource dependencies?
Answer:
ARM resolves dependencies by using the dependsOn property in ARM templates to ensure the correct deployment order of resources.

5. What is a resource group in Azure?
Answer:
A resource group is a container that holds related resources for an Azure solution, allowing unified management.

6. What is the difference between declarative and imperative approaches in resource management?
Answer:

• Declarative: Defines what the final state of resources should be (e.g., ARM templates).
• Imperative: Specifies the steps to achieve the desired state.

7. How do you define a virtual network using an ARM template?
Answer:
You define a virtual network in the resources section of the ARM template with required properties such as addressSpace and subnets.

8. Can ARM templates be parameterized?
Answer:
Yes, ARM templates support parameters to enable dynamic and reusable deployments.

9. What is the purpose of outputs in ARM templates?
Answer:
The outputs section in ARM templates provides deployment results, such as resource IDs or connection strings.

10. What are Azure policies, and how do they relate to ARM?
Answer:
Azure policies are rules enforced by ARM to ensure compliance and governance of resources, like allowed VM sizes or locations.

Advanced ARM Questions

11. Explain role-based access control (RBAC) in ARM.
Answer:
RBAC is a mechanism for assigning permissions to users, groups, or applications at various scopes (subscriptions, resource groups, or resources) in Azure.

12. How do you handle conditional deployment in ARM templates?
Answer:
Conditional deployments are managed using the condition property in ARM templates to deploy resources based on specific criteria.

13. What are linked templates, and when would you use them?
Answer:
Linked templates allow splitting complex ARM templates into modular parts for better organization and reusability.

14. How do you secure sensitive information in ARM templates?
Answer:
Sensitive information can be stored in Azure Key Vault and referenced securely in ARM templates using reference functions.

15. What is the purpose of a deployment mode in ARM templates?
Answer:
Deployment modes (Incremental or Complete) determine whether resources are added to or replaced in the resource group.

16. How do you troubleshoot ARM template deployment errors?
Answer:

• Use the Azure Portal to check deployment logs.
• Use az deployment CLI commands for detailed error messages.
• Validate the template before deployment.

17. Can ARM templates deploy to multiple resource groups or subscriptions?
Answer:
Yes, using the scope property or deployment scripts, ARM templates can target multiple resource groups or subscriptions.

18. How do you automate ARM template deployments in a CI/CD pipeline?
Answer:

• Use Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions.
• Integrate az deployment CLI commands in the pipeline.
• Store templates in version-controlled repositories.

19. How does Azure Resource Manager handle resource tagging?
Answer:
ARM allows tags to be added to resources or resource groups to organize and track costs.

20. Explain the concept of resource locks in ARM.
Answer:
Resource locks (ReadOnly or CanNotDelete) prevent accidental modification or deletion of resources.

21. How do you validate an ARM template?
Answer:
Use az deployment group validate (CLI) or the ARM template deployment option in the Azure Portal.

22. What is the purpose of the dependsOn property in ARM templates?
Answer:
It ensures that resources are deployed in the correct order based on dependencies.

23. How do you define a storage account in an ARM template?
Answer:
You specify the Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts resource type with properties like sku, kind, and location.

24. How can you reuse code in ARM templates?
Answer:
Through nested templates or modules, reusing code is simplified by parameterization and modular design.

25. What are the common errors in ARM template deployments?
Answer:

• Syntax errors in JSON.
• Dependency mismatches.
• Missing parameters or incorrect resource types.

26. How do you create custom roles in Azure for specific resource permissions?
Answer:
Custom roles can be created using Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, or the Azure Portal. You define a JSON file specifying allowed actions, data actions, and scopes, then use the az role definition create command to create the role.

27. What are the limitations of ARM templates compared to Bicep?
Answer:

• Complexity: ARM templates use JSON, which can become verbose and hard to manage.
• Reusability: Bicep supports modules for better code reuse.
• Readability: Bicep is simpler and closer to human-readable syntax compared to ARM templates.

28. How do Azure Resource Manager and Terraform differ in resource management?
Answer:

• ARM is Azure-specific, while Terraform is multi-cloud.
• ARM templates are declarative; Terraform is both declarative and procedural.
• Terraform uses state files to manage resources, whereas ARM does not rely on state management.

29. How can you enforce compliance using ARM templates?
Answer:
By combining ARM templates with Azure Policies, you can ensure resources adhere to organizational standards (e.g., tagging, location, VM size restrictions).

30. What are management groups in Azure, and how do they work with ARM?
Answer:
Management groups are containers for managing access, policy, and compliance across multiple Azure subscriptions. ARM integrates with management groups to ensure governance consistency.

31. What is the purpose of resource providers in Azure?
Answer:
Resource providers are services in Azure that supply resources (e.g., Microsoft.Compute for VMs, Microsoft.Storage for storage accounts).

32. How do you manage costs in Azure using ARM features?
Answer:

• Use tags to categorize resources by cost center or environment.
• Set budgets and cost alerts at the subscription or resource group level.
• Analyze usage through Azure Cost Management.

33. What is the significance of the mode property in ARM template deployments?
Answer:

• Incremental mode: Adds or updates resources without affecting existing resources.
• Complete mode: Deletes resources not defined in the template.

34. What are Azure Blueprints, and how do they relate to ARM?
Answer:
Azure Blueprints extend ARM by providing templates for compliance and governance at scale. Blueprints include policies, roles, and ARM templates for repeatable deployments.

35. How do you migrate resources between subscriptions using ARM?
Answer:
Use the Azure Portal or PowerShell to move resources. ARM ensures dependencies and configurations are retained during the migration.

36. What are the differences between linked and nested templates?
Answer:

• Linked templates: Referenced templates hosted externally (e.g., GitHub, Azure Storage).
• Nested templates: Defined inline within the parent ARM template for modularity.

37. How do you secure resources deployed with ARM templates?
Answer:

• Use RBAC to restrict access.
• Leverage Azure Key Vault for secrets and keys.
• Apply NSGs (Network Security Groups) for network restrictions.

38. How does Azure Policy remediation work with ARM?
Answer:
Azure Policy identifies non-compliant resources and, if configured, deploys ARM templates to bring resources into compliance automatically.

39. How do you create a policy that enforces resource tagging using ARM?
Answer:
Define a policy rule in JSON with conditions for required tags and their values, then assign it at the desired scope (e.g., subscription, resource group).

40. What is the lifecycle of an ARM template deployment?
Answer:

• Validate the template.
• Start the deployment (Incremental/Complete mode).
• Monitor deployment progress.
• Resolve deployment issues (if any).

41. Can you deploy ARM templates using the Azure CLI?
Answer:
Yes, use the az deployment group create command for resource group deployments or az deployment sub create for subscription-level deployments.

42. How do you handle multiple environments (Dev, Test, Prod) with ARM templates?
Answer:

• Parameterize environment-specific configurations.
• Use separate parameter files for each environment.
• Leverage deployment scripts for environment-specific setups.

43. What is an Azure Resource Manager lock?
Answer:
A lock prevents users from accidentally modifying or deleting a resource. Types of locks:

• ReadOnly: Prevents any changes to the resource.
• CanNotDelete: Allows modifications but prevents deletion.

44. How do you configure monitoring for resources deployed with ARM?
Answer:

• Use Azure Monitor for metrics and logs.
• Deploy Log Analytics workspaces using ARM templates.
• Define alerts and action groups in the template.

45. What are deployment scopes in ARM templates?
Answer:
ARM templates support deployment at various scopes:

• Resource group.
• Subscription.
• Management group.

46. How do you test ARM templates before deployment?
Answer:
Use az deployment validate or deploy the template in a sandbox environment.

47. What are the advantages of using deployment scripts in ARM templates?
Answer:
Deployment scripts allow executing custom logic (e.g., configuring external systems) during the deployment process.

48. What are the limitations of Azure Resource Manager?
Answer:

• ARM templates can become complex for large deployments.
• Lack of native support for multi-cloud environments.
• Dependency resolution requires manual configuration.

49. How do you rollback a failed ARM template deployment?
Answer:
ARM does not natively support rollback. However, you can redeploy a known-good template or delete partially created resources manually.

50. What’s the difference between ARM templates and Azure DevOps Pipelines?
Answer:

• ARM templates define resources, while Azure DevOps Pipelines orchestrate deployments.
• Azure Pipelines can integrate ARM templates for IaC (Infrastructure as Code) in a CI/CD workflow.