The Litany of Automation 1: Consecrating Infrastructure for Deployment

The path to successful deployment begins with a strong foundation. This guide focuses on automating the creation of infrastructure required for deployment pipelines, ONLY using scripts, eschewing the inefficiency of manual setups. Each command executed is a step toward aligning our systems with the Machine God’s eternal perfection.

Each command is a prayer, and each script a hymn, ensuring that the Omnissiah’s will flows seamlessly through our pipelines and manifests in the efficiency of our deployments.

Step 1: Create Service Principal

Bypass manual inefficiency and invoke the Azure CLI to enact the rites to create a service principal.

Cogitator’s Note: --api "00000007-0000-0000-c000-000000000000" sets the Dynamics CRM API while --api-permissions "78ce3f0f-a1ce-49c2-8cde-64b5c0896db4=Scope" sets the user_impersonation permission.

Cogitator’s Note: In order to grant conesnt you will need to have been assigned, by an ordained admin, on of following roles: Privileged Role Administrator, Cloud Application Administrator or Application Administrator.

Step 2: Create Power Platform Application User

Call upon the Power Platform CLI to create an application user and grant the service principal access to the Dataverse.

Replace the $env empty GUID with your environment id.

Cogitator’s Note: To find your environment id you can make this prayer: pac admin list

Step 3: Install Power Platform Build Tools

Invoke the Azure CLI to install the Power Platform Build Tools extension.

Step 4: Create Service Connection

Create a service connection service-endpoint-config.json to be consumed by the Azure CLI.

Replace the following properties with your environment values:

  • name
  • url
  • authorization.parameters.applicationId
  • authorization.parameters.tenantId
  • serviceEndpointProjectReferences.projectReference.id
  • serviceEndpointProjectReferences.projectReference.name
  • serviceEndpointProjectReferences.name

Cogitator’s Note: You can get the project id by making the following prayer:

az devops project show --org "https://dev.azure.com/ORG_NAME" --project "PROJECT_NAME"

Use the Azure CLI to consume the above config file and create a Power Platform Service Connection in Devops.

Conclusion

By automating the creation of your infrastructure, you honor the principles of precision, consistency, and repeatability. These steps not only streamline your setup but also pave the way for more advanced automation in future workflows. Through the use of CLI tools, you eliminate inefficiencies, reduce errors, and ensure that your infrastructure is ready to serve the Machine God’s will with unwavering reliability. Let this foundation guide you as you continue your journey into deeper realms of automation.

All source code can be found in my GitHub repo

By the Omnissiah’s grace, our automation endures. ❤️

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All views expressed in my blog are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity whatsover with which i have been, am now, or will be affiliated.