For development

terraform apply -var-file="environments/dev.tfvars"

For production

terraform apply -var-file="environments/prod.tfvars"

Resource for backend

az group create --name tfstate-rg --location eastasia

Storage account for backend in tfstate-rg

az storage account create
--name tfstate12345abc123
--resource-group tfstate-rg
--location eastasia
--sku Standard_LRS

Storage container for backend tfstate

az storage container create
--name tfstate
--account-name tfstate12345abc123

• main.tf – Defines the VM, NIC, public IP, and NSG.
• variables.tf – Contains all variables for VM deployment.
• outputs.tf – Outputs like VM public IP.
• backend.tf – Terraform backend configuration.
• dev.tfvars – Environment-specific variable values.
• modules/nginx-app/ – Contains Dockerfile, Nginx config, and setup script.
• azure-pipeline.yml – Azure DevOps pipeline configuration.

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Project Setup Screenshot

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Deployment Steps

1. Terraform Setup

• Installed Terraform 1.8.0 via Azure DevOps TerraformInstaller task.
• Configured Azure service connection and added SPN credentials to the environment (addSpnToEnvironment: true).

2. Network Configuration

• Created Network Security Group (NSG) with rules:
  • SSH (port 22) – allows remote login
  • HTTP (port 80) – allows web access
• Created public IP and associated it with VM’s NIC.

3. VM Deployment

• Created Ubuntu 18.04 VM with:
  • Password-based SSH enabled.
  • Attached NIC, NSG, and public IP.
• Applied Terraform plan successfully and fetched the VM public IP.

4. Nginx Deployment

• Copied nginx-app module to VM using scp.
• Ran setup_nginx.sh to:
  • Install Docker
  • Build the Dockerized Nginx image
  • Run the container mapping ports 80 and 443

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Folder structure for terraform code

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Issues Encountered and Resolutions

1. Terraform authentication error Authenticating using the Azure CLI is only supported as a User (not a Service Principal)

Cause: CLI authentication used with a Service Principal incorrectly.
Fix: Added addSpnToEnvironment: true in AzureCLI@2 task to export SPN credentials.

2. SSH connection refused ssh: connect to host port 22: Connection refused

Cause: NSG rules or VM not fully ready.
Fix: Verified NSG allows inbound port 22 and added a retry loop in the pipeline to wait for SSH availability.

3. Incorrect VM username in variables

• Cause: SSH failed due to mismatched username.
• Fix: Updated vm_user variable to the correct VM admin username (azureuser).

4. Automated SSH in pipeline failing

• Cause: SSH attempted before VM was ready or incorrect variable usage in sshpass.
• Fix: Added a retry check in the pipeline:

  until sshpass -p $VM_PASS ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no $VM_USER@$VM_IP 'echo SSH ready'; do
    echo "Waiting for SSH..."
    sleep 10
  done

• Ensured setup_nginx.sh ran successfully once SSH was available.

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Final Outcome

• Terraform provisioned the VM, NSG, public IP, and NIC correctly.
• Dockerized Nginx container is running and accessible via HTTP on the public IP.
• Pipeline automates VM provisioning, file transfer, and Docker setup reliably.

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Notes

• Ensure NSG allows inbound ports 22 and 80.
• VM username and password must match pipeline variables.
• Pipeline waits for SSH to be ready before executing commands on the VM.

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Lessons Learned

• Terraform authentication differs for users vs service principals.
• Automating SSH connections in pipelines requires timing checks and correct credentials.
• Debugging Azure connectivity often involves checking NSG, VM status, and SSH service.

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SSL working :Accessible on domain

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Accessing the VM

ssh azureuser@<VM_PUBLIC_IP>

Once logged in, the Nginx app can be accessed via:
http://<VM_PUBLIC_IP>
Also accessible on my own domain: https://devopsenthusiasts.solutions

nginx-app

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Project Overview

This project contains a simple Nginx web server setup running inside a Docker container. It is designed to:

• Serve static web content.
• Automatically redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS.
• Use a self-signed SSL certificate for HTTPS.
• Be easily deployed on an Ubuntu VM with Docker installed.

The setup includes:

• Dockerfile — Builds the Nginx container with SSL configuration.
• nginx.conf — Custom Nginx configuration enabling HTTP → HTTPS redirection.
• setup_nginx.sh — Script to install Docker, build the container, and run it.

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Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 18.04 or higher
• Docker installed on the VM (can be installed via the setup_nginx.sh script)
• Access to the VM via SSH
• Public IP of the VM (used for deployment and accessing the site)

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Nginx Configuration

• HTTP (Port 80): Redirects all traffic to HTTPS.
• HTTPS (Port 443): Serves static content from /usr/share/nginx/html using a self-signed certificate.
• Certificate Directory: /etc/nginx/certs
• Self-Signed Certificate: Generated during Docker build, valid for 1 year.

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Deployment Instructions

Step 1: Copy files to the VM

scp -r nginx-app/* azureuser@<VM_PUBLIC_IP>:~/nginx-app/