Microsoft Azure connector

The Microsoft Azure connector is used for connecting BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog with the Microsoft Azure third-party system, and for performing some actions in Microsoft Azure, such as creating a storage account or creating a virtual machine.

This topic discusses the capabilities of the Microsoft Azure connector, describes how to configure this connector, and provides a reference for how to use the Microsoft Azure workflow actions.

External account requirements

Before you start building workflows that use Azure actions, perform the following tasks:

Register an account in Microsoft Azure. Go to Create Microsoft 365 account.
In the Microsoft Azure portal, create and configure an Active Directory application by performing the following steps:

Configuration parameters for the Microsoft Azure connector

Before you can use the Microsoft Azure connector to import the catalog (for resource mapping or in workflows), you must configure a connection, as described in Configuring-service-connectors. The following table describes the parameters required to configure a connection:

Parameter	Examples	Description
Subscription ID	b8ab0d50-d6ff-4669-babd-a5a789182fab	The ID obtained during creation of the Azure account.
Tenant ID	46a3634f-f1e5-408a-9593-705909012ecb	Corresponds to the value of the Directory ID tied to Active Directory in Azure.
Client ID	a078123f-d025-467d-936b-fa3c3ec9d932	Corresponds to a value of the Application ID obtained upon creation of an application in Azure Active Directory.
Client Key	Hq8Fn1w7gtju+hzzw7flzpimpogdrgTZ5nGNq0ULsyk=	Corresponds to a value of the password specified upon creation of the Active Directory account.
Region	The value must be one of the following options: eastus eastus2 westus centralus northcentralus southcentralus northeurope westeurope eastasia southeastasia japaneast japanwest australiaeast australiasoutheast brazilsouth southindia centralindia westindia canadacentral canadaeast westus2 westcentralus uksouth ukwest	The name of one of the available Microsoft Azure regions.

Catalog import capabilities

With the Microsoft Azure connector, you can import services from Microsoft Azure as services in BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog. For details about how to import the catalog, see Importing-service-catalog-items-from-external-systems.

You must import Azure services to be able to attach a workflow that includes the Create VM activity.

Resource mapping capabilities

You can map data sets to populate a list of answers in the service questionnaire with a data set. For more information, see Creating-selection-menus-for-question-responses.

You can map data from the following data sets:

Azure Resource Groups
Azure VM Sizes
Azure Storage Keys

Workflow actions available through the Azure connector

The following table provides an overview of all Azure connector actions:

Action category	Action	Description	Input parameters	Possible output
Actions with storage accounts	Create Storage Account Service	Creates a storage in Microsoft Azure	Create Storage Account Service input parameters	Storage Key output parameters
	Refresh Storage Key	Refreshes the storage keys	Refresh Storage Key input parameters
	Regenerate Storage Key	Creates new the storage keys for an Azure account	Regenerate Storage Key input parameters
Actions with virtual machines	Create VM	Creates a virtual machine in the Azure portal	Create VM input parameters	VM actions output paramaters
Actions with virtual machines	Status VM	Checks the status of a virtual machine	Status VM input paramaters	VM actions output paramaters

Default service actions

The Microsoft Azure connector provides the following Day 2 predefined service actions:

Mapped to the Create VM action:
- Start
- Shut Down
- Restart VM
- Deallocate
- Delete VM
Mapped to the Create Storage Account Service action:
- Delete Storage Account

These actions are available for end users who requested creation of a storage account, or a virtual machine in Microsoft Azure. For more details about Day 2 service actions, see Setting-up-the-My-Stuff-page.

Example: Workflow for a service that creates a virtual machine

The following workflow can be mapped to a service that creates a virtual machine in Microsoft Azure:

This workflow uses the Send Virtual Machine Creation Email activity, which can be used in a process only if Microsoft Office 365 is configured. This activity sends output from the Create VM activity to a specified email.

Input and output parameters for actions

Create Storage Account Service input parameters

Validation	Parameter name	Data type	Example	Description
Required	Connection Id	String	Connection > Azure	Default connection ID of this connector.
Required	Storage Account Name	String	Process input > Text variable	Name of a storage account that you create. The value must meet the following requirements: The length of the value must be 3 to 24 characters. The value must contain only numeric characters and lowercase letters. The value must be unique within Azure portal.
Required	User_BY	String	Process context variable > Requested by User > Login Name	Login name of the user who requested the service.
Required	Is Existing Group	String	Process input > Text variable	Value specifies whether a virtual machine belongs to an existing Resource Group. Create a radio button selection question with the following values: True—To create a virtual machine in an existing storage group False—To create a new storage for a virtual machine
Optional	Resource Group	String	Process input > Text variable	The process input that you create can be mapped to the Azure Resource Groups data set in the questionnaire.

Regenerate Storage Key input parameters

Validation	Parameter name	Data type	Example	Description
Required	Connection Id	String	Connection > Azure	Default connection ID of this connector.
Required	Resource Group	String	Process input > Text variable	The process input that you create can be mapped to the Azure Resource Groups data set in the questionnaire.
Required	Storage Account Name	String	Process input > Text variable	Value must meet the following requirements: The length of the value must be 3 to 24 characters. The value must contain only numeric characters and lowercase letters. The value must be unique within Azure portal.
Required	Storage Account Key	String	Process input > Text variable	Key of a storage account. You must enter the value of key1 or key2. The process input that you create can be mapped to the Azure Storage Key data set in a questionnaire.

Refresh Storage Key input parameters

Validation	Parameter name	Data type	Example	Description
Required	Connection Id	String	Connection > Azure	Default connection ID of this connector.
Required	Resource Group	String	Process input > Text variable	Name of a resource group to which the virtual machine belongs. The process input that you create can be mapped to the Azure Resource Groups data set in a questionnaire.
Required	Storage Account Name	String	Process input > Text variable	The value must meet the following requirements: The length of the value must be 3 to 24 characters. The value must contain only numeric characters and lowercase letters. The value must be unique within Azure portal.

Important

Regenerating Storage Key refreshes only one key you select. Refreshing Storage Key refreshes both.

Storage Account actions output parameters

The Create Storage Account Service, Refresh Storage Key, and Regenerate Storage Key actions all return the same output parameters described in the following table:

Parameter name	Data type	Example	Description
Account Name	String	itsupport03	Name of a storage account.
Key 1	String	Not applicable	Key 1 of the storage account.
Key 2	String	Not applicable	Key 2 of the storage account.

Create VM input parameters