Tutorial / Cram Notes

Creating and managing plans is an essential aspect of administering services in a hybrid cloud environment using Microsoft Azure Stack Hub. A plan in Azure Stack Hub defines a group of services and resources that a user can subscribe to. Each plan contains one or more service offerings, such as compute, storage, and networking resources, and is a crucial component in delivering cloud services in a controlled and organized manner.

Understanding Plans in Azure Stack Hub

Plans are a way to aggregate services in Azure Stack Hub. They determine what services and resources are available to users or tenants within the Azure Stack Hub environment. When creating a plan, an administrator can include various services like Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Blob Storage, and Azure Virtual Networks.

Plans can be offered directly to users or can be included within offers. An offer is a collection of one or more plans and additional base services that can be made available to tenants. It’s important to note that users can’t subscribe to a plan directly; they must subscribe to an offer that includes the plan.

Creating a Plan

To create a plan, an administrator follows these general steps:

  1. Open the Azure Stack Hub administrator portal.
  2. Navigate to the “Plans” section under “Offers + Plans”.
  3. Click on “Add” to create a new plan.
  4. Provide a name and an optional display name and description for the plan.
  5. Select the services that you want to include in the plan. This could include compute, storage, network services, and custom services that have been defined.
  6. For each service, configure the quotas or limits on the resources. These quotas help control resource consumption and ensure that users don’t exceed the capacity of the underlying infrastructure.
  7. Review the services and quotas, and then create the plan.

Example of a Plan

Consider an example where an organization wants to offer two types of plans: a basic plan with limited resources for testing environments and a premium plan with more resources for production workloads.

Here’s an outline of what the two plans might look like:

Plan Type Compute (Cores) Storage (GB) Network (Public IPs)
Basic Plan 10 100 1
Premium Plan 50 1000 5

The Basic Plan is suitable for users who need a small environment for development or testing, while the Premium Plan is targeted at users requiring a more robust environment for production applications.

Managing Plans

After creating plans, administrators need to manage them to ensure they continue to meet the needs of the user base. Managing plans involves:

  • Monitoring the resource usage against the quotas set in each plan.
  • Adjusting quotas as necessary to accommodate changing demands or to optimize resource utilization.
  • Updating the services included in a plan if there are new service offerings or if certain services are being retired.
  • Deactivating or deleting plans that are no longer required or relevant.

Best Practices for Creating and Managing Plans

When working with plans, there are a few best practices that administrators should follow:

  • Align Plans with User Needs: Understand the requirements of different user groups and create plans that cater to their specific needs.
  • Start Small: Begin with conservative resource quotas and adjust them as you gain insight into actual usage patterns.
  • Use Descriptive Names: Give plans and services descriptive names and descriptions to help users select the appropriate offer.
  • Monitor and Review: Regularly monitor resource usage and review plan configurations to ensure they remain suitable for the purpose they are intended.

Conclusion

Plans are a foundational component in Azure Stack Hub for organizing and offering cloud services to users. They allow administrators to control and meter access to resources, ensuring that the hybrid cloud environment operates efficiently and effectively. By creating well-thought-out plans and managing them responsibly, organizations can offer targeted services that meet the evolving needs of their user base while maintaining governance and operational control.

Practice Test with Explanation

True or False: Azure Stack Hub supports both Windows and Linux-based workloads.

  • Answer: True

Azure Stack Hub is a hybrid cloud platform that enables you to run a wide range of applications, including both Windows and Linux-based workloads, in an on-premises environment with consistent Azure services.

In the Azure Stack Hub, which service is primarily used to create and manage plans?

  • A) Azure Resource Manager
  • B) Azure App Service
  • C) Plans and Offers
  • D) Azure Stack Hub Marketplace

Answer: C) Plans and Offers

Plans are part of the “Plans and Offers” service in Azure Stack Hub that enable service providers to create a group of services and resources to offer to their users.

True or False: Offers in Azure Stack Hub can contain multiple plans.

  • Answer: True

Offers in Azure Stack Hub can indeed contain multiple plans. Providers can bundle together various plans to create a comprehensive offer to target different user requirements.

Which of the following is a valid reason for creating a plan in Azure Stack Hub?

  • A) To generate a static list of virtual machine sizes
  • B) To define a set of services and resources for tenant subscriptions
  • C) To exclusively monitor the performance of resources
  • D) To automate the deployment of network infrastructure

Answer: B) To define a set of services and resources for tenant subscriptions

Creating a plan in Azure Stack Hub is intended to define a collection of services and resources that can be made available to tenant subscriptions.

True or False: You cannot update a base plan once it has been created in Azure Stack Hub.

  • Answer: False

Base plans can be updated even after they have been created. However, changes in the plan will affect new subscriptions but may not apply to existing subscriptions using the base plan.

Which RBAC role is necessary for managing plans and offers in Azure Stack Hub?

  • A) Contributor
  • B) Owner
  • C) User Access Administrator
  • D) Service Administrator

Answer: D) Service Administrator

The Service Administrator role has the necessary permissions to manage plans, offers, and services in Azure Stack Hub.

How can users gain access to services provided by Azure Stack Hub?

  • A) By directly accessing resources
  • B) By signing up for an offer
  • C) By deploying their own services
  • D) All of the above

Answer: B) By signing up for an offer

Users can gain access to the services provided in Azure Stack Hub by signing up for an offer that contains the plans which include the services they need.

True or False: Quotas are automatically assigned when creating new plans in Azure Stack Hub.

  • Answer: False

Quotas need to be defined and assigned to a plan or offer; they are not automatically assigned upon plan creation.

Multiple Select: Which of the following components can be included in a plan in Azure Stack Hub?

  • A) Virtual Networks
  • B) Storage Accounts
  • C) Microsoft SQL databases
  • D) Azure Functions

Answer: B) Storage Accounts, C) Microsoft SQL databases, D) Azure Functions

A plan in Azure Stack Hub can include various service components like storage accounts, Microsoft SQL databases, and Azure Functions. Virtual networks are typically a part of network services, not plans.

True or False: You must create at least one offer to publish a plan in Azure Stack Hub.

  • Answer: True

A plan must be included in an offer to be published. Users subscribe to offers, not individual plans.

Which command-line tool can be used to manage Azure Stack Hub resources, including the creation and management of plans?

  • A) PowerShell
  • B) Command Prompt
  • C) Bash
  • D) Azure CLI

Answer: A) PowerShell

PowerShell is the command-line tool that is commonly used to automate the deployment and management of Azure Stack Hub resources, including plans and offers.

True or False: Tenants can create and manage their own plans in Azure Stack Hub without involving the service administrator.

  • Answer: False

Only service administrators or users with the appropriate delegation can create and manage plans in Azure Stack Hub. Users with tenant roles cannot manage plans on their own.

Interview Questions

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Mélody Lecomte
1 year ago

Great blog post! This was very helpful for understanding Azure Stack Hub.

Dharmesh Bangera
1 year ago

Can someone explain the difference between Azure Stack Hub integrated systems and Azure Stack HCI?

Gökhan Balaban
9 months ago

Can we use Azure Resource Manager templates with Azure Stack Hub?

Lily Ennis
2 years ago

How is billing managed in Azure Stack Hub?

Silje Risdal
1 year ago

I am preparing for the AZ-600 exam. Any specific areas I should focus on?

Necati Tazegül
1 year ago

Awesome post! Exactly what I was looking for.

مهدیس زارعی

I’m finding it difficult to set up hybrid networking in Azure Stack Hub. Any pointers?

Milka Radosavljević

Do we need to configure Azure Active Directory from scratch for Azure Stack Hub?

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