Azure Automation delivers cloud-based automation, operating system updates, and configuration service that supports consistent management across your Azure and non-Azure environments. It includes process automation, configuration management, update management, shared capabilities, and heterogeneous features.

1. Azure Automation and Update
Management
Udaiappa Ramachandran ( Udai )
https://udai.io

2. About me
• Udaiappa Ramachandran ( Udai )
• CTO-Akumina, Inc.
• Cloud Expert
• Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google
• New Hampshire Cloud User Group (http://www.meetup.com/nashuaug )
• https://udai.io

3. Agenda
• Automation
• Authentication
• Certificate Creation
• PowerShell Workflow
• PowerShell DSC
• Update Management
• Source control integration
• Windows Admin Center
• Demo…Demo…Demo…

4. Introduction
• What is Azure Automation?
• Automation Features
• Process automation
• Configuration management
• Change Tracking and Inventory
• Azure Automation State Configuration
• Update management
• Shared capabilities
• Shared resources
• Role-based access control
• Source control integration
• Heterogeneous features.
• Windows and Linux
• Azure and Non-Azure

5. Common Scenarios
• Schedule tasks
• Write runbooks
• Build and deploy resources
• Configure VMs
• Share knowledge
• Retrieve inventory
• Find changes
• Periodic maintenance
• Respond to alerts
• Hybrid automation
• Azure resource lifecycle management
• Dev/test automation scenarios
• Governance related automation
• Azure Site Recovery
• Windows Virtual Desktop

6. Authentication
• Run As account
• Classic Run As account
• Service principal for Run As account
• System assigned managed identity
• User assigned managed identity

7. PowerShell - Self-Signed Certs
cd $PSScriptRoot
$subject= read-host "Please enter the certificate subject"
$pwd= read-host "Please enter the password"
$todaydt = Get-Date
$enddt = $todaydt.AddYears(10)
$cert=New-SelfSignedCertificate -Subject $subject -KeyAlgorithm RSA -KeyLength
2048 -CertStoreLocation "Cert:CurrentUserMy" -notafter $enddt
$certPassword = ConvertTo-SecureString -String $pwd -Force -AsPlainText
$pfxFilePath="akumina_v5.pfx"
$certFilePath="akumina_v5.cer"
Export-PfxCertificate -Cert $cert -FilePath $pfxFilePath -Password $certPassword
Export-Certificate -Cert $cert -FilePath $certFilePath

8. OpenSSL - Self-Signed Certs
#Set the OPENSSL_CONF file
set OPENSSL_CONF=C:Program FilesGitusrsslopenssl.cnf
#Create RSA Key Pair
openssl genrsa -out rsakeypair.pem 2048
#Create CSR
openssl req -new -sha256 -key rsakeypair.pem -out yourapp.csr
#Create CRT
openssl x509 -req -sha256 -days 365 -in yourapp.csr -signkey rsakeypair.pem -out yourapp.crt
#Create pfx file for IIS import of certificate
openssl pkcs12 -export -out yourapp.pfx -inkey rsakeypair.pem -in yourapp.crt

9. Desired State Configuration
• Configuration Management service
• Create and manage PowerShell scripts for state configuration
• Allows configuration management of workloads in Azure or Non-Azure
• Management of DSC Artifacts
• PowerShell DSC pull/reporting service hosted in the cloud
• PowerShell DSC is declarative and not imperative
• Authoring PowerShell DSC
• Create DSC File
• Compile the DSC file into Microsoft Object Format (MOF) file
• Stage the DSC file for the target nodes
• WMI providers implement the desired configuration as per DSC

10. UpdateManagement
• Updates received thru Log Analytics workspace
• Schedule updates for Windows/Linux VMs

11. Windows Admin Center
• Manage Virtual machines from Azure Portal

12. Source control integration
• Single direction synchronization from your repository to cloud
• Easy to promote development environment to production automation account
• Integration enabled through Managed Identity (System or User) and RunAs account
• User Managed Identity using Automation Variable
(AUTOMATION_SC_USER_ASSIGNED_IDENTITY_ID =<CLIENTID>)
• RunAs Account using Automation variable (AUTOMATION_SC_USE_RUNAS =true)
• Enable Source control integration using Azure Portal or PowerShell

13. Demo…
• Azure Automation Creation and Overview
• Authentication Types
• Running Runbooks
• Scheduling
• Running PowerShell DSC
• Inventory and Change Tracking
• Update Management
• Version Control

14. Reference
• Azure Automation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automation/
• Azure Update Management: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-
us/azure/automation/update-management/overview
• WSUS: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/example-
scenario/wsus/
• WSUS Package Publisher:
https://github.com/DCourtel/Wsus_Package_Publisher
• Preview: Patch Management: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-
machines/automatic-vm-guest-patching