Create a lab plan using a Bicep file or ARM template

In this article, you learn how to create a lab plan using a Bicep file or Azure Resource Manager (ARM) template. For a detailed overview of Azure Lab Services, see An introduction to Azure Lab Services.

Bicep is a domain-specific language (DSL) that uses declarative syntax to deploy Azure resources. It provides concise syntax, reliable type safety, and support for code reuse. Bicep offers the best authoring experience for your infrastructure-as-code solutions in Azure.

An Azure Resource Manager template is a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) file that defines the infrastructure and configuration for your project. The template uses declarative syntax. You describe your intended deployment without writing the sequence of programming commands to create the deployment.

Prerequisites

• An Azure account with an active subscription. If you don't have an Azure subscription, create a free account before you begin.

• An Azure account with permission to manage a lab, such as the Lab Creator, Owner, Contributor, or Lab Services Contributor Azure RBAC role. Learn more about the Azure Lab Services built-in roles and assignment scopes.

Review the Bicep file

Bicep

The Bicep file used in this article is from Azure Quickstart Templates.

@description('The location in which the lab plan resource should be deployed.')
param location string = resourceGroup().location

@description('The name of the lab plan.  Lab plan must be unique within the resource group.')
param labPlanName string = 'lp-${uniqueString(resourceGroup().id)}'

@description('Regions labs that use this lab plan may be created in.  At least one region must be specified.')
@minLength(1)
param labCreationAllowedRegions array = [
  resourceGroup().location
]

resource labPlanResource 'Microsoft.LabServices/labPlans@2021-11-15-preview' = {
  name: labPlanName
  location: location
  tags: {}
  properties: {
    allowedRegions: labCreationAllowedRegions
    defaultAutoShutdownProfile: {
      shutdownOnIdle: 'LowUsage'
      idleDelay: 'PT15M'
      shutdownOnDisconnect: 'Enabled'
      disconnectDelay: 'PT0S'
      shutdownWhenNotConnected: 'Enabled'
      noConnectDelay: 'PT15M'
    }
  }
}

ARM

The template used in this article is from Azure Quickstart Templates.

{
    "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
    "parameters": {
        "location": {
            "type": "string",
            "defaultValue": "[resourceGroup().location]",
            "metadata": {
                "description": "The location in which the lab plan resource should be deployed."
            }
        },
        "labPlanName": {
            "type": "string",
            "defaultValue": "[concat('lp-', uniqueString(resourceGroup().id))]",
            "metadata": {
                "description": "The name of the lab plan.  Lab plan must be unique within the resource group."
            }
        },
        "labCreationAllowedRegions": {
            "type": "array",
            "minLength": 1,
            "defaultValue": [
                "[resourceGroup().location]"
            ],
            "metadata": {
                "description": "Regions labs that use this lab plan may be created in.  At least one region must be specified."
            }
        }
    },
    "resources": [
        {
            "type": "Microsoft.LabServices/labPlans",
            "apiVersion": "2021-11-15-preview",
            "name": "[parameters('labPlanName')]",
            "location": "[parameters('location')]",
            "tags": {},
            "properties": {
                "allowedRegions": "[parameters('labCreationAllowedRegions')]",
                "defaultAutoShutdownProfile": {
                    "shutdownOnIdle": "LowUsage",
                    "idleDelay": "PT15M",
                    "shutdownOnDisconnect": "Enabled",
                    "disconnectDelay": "PT0S",
                    "shutdownWhenNotConnected": "Enabled",
                    "noConnectDelay": "PT15M"
                }
            }
        }
    ]
}

One Azure resource is defined in the template:

• Microsoft.LabServices/labplans: The lab plan serves as a collection of configurations and settings that apply to the labs created from it.

More Azure Lab Services template samples can be found in Azure Quickstart Templates.

Deploy the resources

Bicep

1. Save the Bicep file as main.bicep to your local computer.

2. Deploy the Bicep file using either Azure CLI or Azure PowerShell.

   CLI

   az group create --name exampleRG --location eastus
   az deployment group create --resource-group exampleRG --template-file main.bicep --parameters adminUsername=<admin-username>
   

   PowerShell

   New-AzResourceGroup -Name exampleRG -Location eastus
   New-AzResourceGroupDeployment -ResourceGroupName exampleRG -TemplateFile ./main.bicep -adminUsername "<admin-username>"
   

Note

Replace <admin-username> with a unique username. You'll also be prompted to enter adminPassword. The minimum password length is 12 characters.

When the deployment finishes, you should see a messaged indicating the deployment succeeded.

ARM

1. Select the following link to sign in to Azure and open a template. The template creates a lab plan.

   

2. Optionally, change the name of the lab plan.

3. Select the Resource group.

4. Select Review + create.

5. Select Create.

The Azure portal is used here to deploy the template. You can also use Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, or the REST API. To learn other deployment methods, see Deploy resources with ARM templates.

Review deployed resources

Use the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or Azure PowerShell to list the deployed resources in the resource group.

To use Azure PowerShell, first verify the Az.LabServices module is installed. Then use the Get-AzLabServicesLabPlan cmdlet.

CLI

az resource list --resource-group exampleRG

PowerShell

Get-AzResource -ResourceGroupName exampleRG

Clean up resources

When no longer needed, use the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or Azure PowerShell to delete the VM and all of the resources in the resource group.

CLI

az group delete --name exampleRG

PowerShell

Remove-AzResourceGroup -Name exampleRG

Next step

In this article, you deployed a simple virtual machine using a Bicep file or ARM template. To learn more about Azure virtual machines, continue to the tutorial for Linux VMs.

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