The developer conference "Microsoft Build 2022" has brought some news, also in the area of the Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) in combination with Azure Arc. I would like to discuss some of these innovations, the ArcBox tool and corresponding documentation on Microsoft Docs in this article.
You'll find brief, general information and links to the Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) and Azure Arc in the introduction, followed by the ArcBox and CAF news from Microsoft Build 2022. If you're already familiar with the CAF and Arc, you can skip these two parts.
Cloud Adoption Framework
The Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) was created by Microsoft, is constantly being developed further and has been available to all for a few years.
"The Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure is a full lifecycle framework that enables cloud architects, IT professionals, and business decision makers to achieve their cloud adoption goals. It provides best practices, documentation, and tools that help you create and implement business and technology strategies for the cloud."
https://docs.microsoft.com/de-ch/azure/cloud-adoption-framework/overview?WT.mc_id=AZ-MVP-5004129
To learn more about CAF, also check out my post "Get Familiar with the Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure".
Azure Arc
Azure Arc is a service from Microsoft that serves as a bridge between the Microsoft Azure platform and on-premises (or other cloud providers). With Azure Arc, you can integrate and manage your infrastructure in the Azure portal and combine it with Azure services. For example, you can apply Azure policies and control and automate patching directly from the Azure portal. Azure Arc supports virtual as well as physical servers (Linux & Windows), but also databases and Kubernetes clusters.
An overview and more on Azure Arc can be found at the following links.
Azure Arc overview
Network topology and connectivity for Azure Arc-enabled servers
ArcBox as part of the Cloud Adoption Framework
Now that the basic understanding of the Cloud Adoption Framework and Azure Arc is given, I come to the actual news. Azure Arc has once again made its way into CAF in the form of the "Azure Arc landing zone sandbox". The Azure Arc landing zone sandbox is based on the fully automated and publicly available "Jumpstart ArcBox" solution. This is a solution to easily implement a sandbox for Azure Arc directly on Azure. Any resources are created in a single resource group and therefore on a single subscription. So you get six Azure Arc enabled servers, each with a different operating system. One of these servers is an SQL server.
Among other things, the CAF supports Microsoft customers in planning and building a "landing zone". The Azure Arc landing zone sandbox adds sandbox resources to the CAF landscape. After implementation, this allows you to use and try out all the Azure Arc technologies you want. Whether it's for a demo, a PoC, or just for training and hands-on, ArcBox gives you just that. I feel this is an excellent way to get involved and get to know Azure Arc at the latest. If you want to learn more about this, Microsoft keeps a record of how ArcBox integrates with CAF under the article below.
Sources:
https://docs.microsoft.com/de-ch/azure/cloud-adoption-framework/overview?WT.mc_id=AZ-MVP-5004129
https://www.graber.cloud/cloud-adoption-framework-for-azure-get-used/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/overview?WT.mc_id=AZ-MVP-5004129
https://azurearcjumpstart.io/azure_jumpstart_arcbox/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-adoption-framework/manage/hybrid/server/best-practices/arc-update-management?WT.mc_id=AZ-MVP-5004129https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automation/update-management/overview?WT.mc_id=AZ-MVP-5004129
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