How to Upload Images to Azute Stack by Downloading

What is Azure Stack IaaS?

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a mutual definition for running virtual machines in Azure or other public deject services.

As you can see in the second colonnade of the movie above, IaaS means that you start from the guest operating organization level and above. And then, you are non responsible for managing the underlying hypervisor technology every bit this is the responsibility of the cloud provider.

In general, moving from on-prem to the deject might exist a huge project for a company, but looking at an easy and quick solution for this, the "lift and shift" scenario is quite easy. This means "just" moving the virtual machines from A to Z (on-prem to the cloud). The about of import key values in such a projection are:

• Connectivity
• (Right-) Sizing
• Migrating to a new Hyper-V based virtual machine environment (e.g. using Azure Site Recovery), if y'all're using something else
• Agreement the new authoritative Model

When we're talking about IaaS for Azure Stack specifically, the connectivity and new administrative model are pushed – more or less – to the end of the list. Azure Stack is being run in your datacenter, y'all've made sure all the needed components are present, and you are responsible to run it.

Connectivity aside (it'south self-explanatory), looking at the two other points, the technical migration (maybe) to Hyper-5 based technology (eastward.g. if you are on VMware) and the right-sizing of the machines are to be solved during the migration. Azure Stack itself is running on Window Server applied science, and with that in heed, it supports the post-obit VM Types:

• A Serial
• Av2 Series
• D Series
• DS Series
• DSv2 Serial
• F Series
• Fs Series

• Fsv2 Serial

This means, there are two options when it comes to conforming to these sizes during a migration:

1. Kickoff from scratch
2. Squeeze the VM to the "nearest fitting" size

All-time-practice would exist to deploy from scratch and migrate the data if possible, merely that'south not always feasible. A lift and shift may inadvertently have bug at a later on engagement due to not having run on Azure Stack infrastructure for its life span. This isn't to say a full migration doesn't work, just keep in heed the pros and cons of each scenario when making your decision.

ARM Templates in Azure Stack

Each Azure applied science-based VM is based on the json file declarative approach using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) definition files. The following moving picture describes this a little be more in depth:

At this point, the question often becomes: "where the hell practice I get these magic templates from?" With Azure Stack, the reply is quite piece of cake, as there are three ways of doing that:

1. Create the template in a DevOps Tool
2. Upload an existing VM epitome
3. Download an existing image from Azure to Azure Stack

Equally the easiest style is to download an already existing image from Azure and deploy it to Azure Stack, nosotros will take a look at that option first. If you accept deployed Azure Stack ASDK as described in this serial of articles, the configuration script from Matt McSpirit has already accomplished this for yous. If you are on a multi-node environment, it is office of the deployment process of the hardware OEM. So, it is almost there.

Every bit the steps are somewhat unlike regarding the second scenario, we volition have to wait into this in 2 parts.

Azure Stack IaaS in Continued Scenarios

In a connected scenario, there is a way directly from the Azure Stack Admin Portal to add images from your linked Azure subscription and download them to Azure Stack.

After clicking on "Add from Azure", you will exist directed to the Azure Market and will meet a list of marketplace items that are tagged to exist supported on Azure Stack.

After having chosen your advisable new detail, the download will start direct.

If an image already exists, yous will be able to remove or update it to a more recent version. For example, you lot have Windows Server already available on the Azure Stack Marketplace, but you want to provide a release with the most contempo updates, information technology volition be available here.

Depending on your internet connectedness speed, it may take some time to have the download finished. Once finished, you will notice that the new image is already bachelor in the market for all your Azure Stack customers. As of today, in that location is no mode to customize the market per user account.

As yous may see likewise, other compute solutions similar containers or service material are available via the marketplace syndication, too.

This means, that if you would like to deploy these solutions to your Azure Stack environs, the technical basics are similar to virtual machines

Azure Stack IaaS in Disconnected Scenarios

When Azure Stack is deployed in disconnect style (Without Net connectivity) yous cannot use the congenital-in portal feature to syndicate Azure Market place place items and brand them bachelor to your users.

Powershell commands are your friend to download Azure Marketplace Items with a auto that has internet connectivity and load them. The downloaded items demand to exist transferred to a auto with has connectivity to the Azure Stack deployment earlier importing them.

The tool will permit you to download an Azure Marketplace detail(s) along with its dependencies.

Import the module and start the export process for an Azure Market place particular

Import-Module .AzureStack.MarketplaceSyndication.psm1  Consign-AzSOfflineMarketplaceItem -destination "[Destination path]" -azCopyDownloadThreads "[AzCopy threads number]"

You lot volition be prompted to select an Azure Marketplace detail to download locally.

Now let the states validate the download before uploading them to Azure Stack:

Test-AzSOfflineMarketplaceItem -Destination "[content folder]"

The downloaded items folder should look similar to this on consummate:

Now permit us upload the prototype to Azure Stack:

Import-Module .AzureStack.MarketplaceSyndication.psm1  $credential = Get-Credential -Message "Enter the azure stack operator credential"  Import-AzSOfflineMarketplaceItem -origin "[market folder]" -AzsCredential $credential

After having this washed properly, you volition be able to meet the new images in your Azure Stack Market.

Custom IaaS Images

If you do non want to outset using fresh deployments and demand to create customized images, then the following tasks need to be completed.

1. Brand sure that the image is VHD format and NOT VHDX
2. Upload the paradigm to a Blob storage that has the following format: <storageAccount>/<blobContainer>/<targetVHDName>.vhd
3. To make the hulk anonymously accessible, get to the storage business relationship blob container where the VM image VHD was uploaded. Select Hulk, and then select Access policy. Optionally, you can generate a shared access signature for the container and include it as part of the blob URI. This step makes sure the blob is available to be used for adding this every bit an epitome. If the hulk is non anonymously attainable, the VM paradigm volition be created to in a failed state.

1. Add the new VM to Azure Stack as described in the section above using PowerShell
2. Create a new Gallery item equally described here
3. If there are VM extensions that need to be added, this PowerShell wizardry will help

At present, the new VM is bachelor in the Azure Stack Marketplace with your custom paradigm, icon and optionally the VM extension.

Summary

As you lot accept seen in this commodity, adding virtual machines to Azure Stack as templates are relatively straightforward using a footstep by step approach. This is i of the most of import projection steps later on having deployed Azure Stack in your environment every bit this setup provides your customers the power to deploy virtual machines in an IaaS scenario using your surround. It even provides the technical ground to provide some college level deject solutions eventually as well, similar Platform as a Service (PaaS) every bit they all ultimately rely on virtual machines. The merely goal of PaaS is that you do not have to manage the PaaS solution, yous just could swallow it. Only nevertheless, it is a set of virtual machines when used on Azure Stack. We'll be getting more than into PaaS in a future segment.

Again, if you simply want to migrate virtual machines from your on-premises surround to Azure Stack, there are unlike options available:

1. Using the downtime approach and uploading the VHD to Azure Stack (Like shown above), re-configuring the VM and powering information technology on
2. Using Azure Site Recovery to migrate the VM to Azure uniform format and then upload and reconfigure it. – Tin can exist time-consuming
3. Using 3^rd party software solutions to synchronize them to Azure Stack

By the end, nevertheless, which technology y'all commencement with for your Azure Stack migration process, it will all upshot in the "lift and shift" scenario and volition move your VMs to Azure Stack. In one case consummate your old production environment can be demoted, and y'all're now officially a tenant of Azure Stack.

Thanks for reading! Do allow us know if you have questions in the comments section beneath!

More Great Content on Azure Stack For Y'all

An Introduction to the Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Concept and Azure Stack

How to Install the Azure Stack Development Toolkit (ASDK)

The Ultimate Azure Stack Post-Installation Checklist

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Source: https://www.altaro.com/hyper-v/iaas-images-azure-stack/

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