ARM Template DSC: configuration does not 'see' protectedSettings.configurationArguments - json

Question

I need to protect a DSC configuration parameter ([pscredential]RegistrationKey), so I have put it under "settings.protectedSettings.configurationData" thus:
"protectedSettings": {
"configurationArguments": {
"RegistrationKey": {
"UserName": "PLACEHOLDER_DONOTUSE",
"Password": "[parameters('dscAutomationRegistrationKey')]"
}
},
"configurationUrlSasToken": "[parameters('artifactsLocationSasToken')]"
}
I get the error:
"VM has reported a failure when processing extension 'Microsoft.Powershell.DSC'. Error message: \"The DSC Extension failed to execute: Mandatory
parameter RegistrationKey is missing.
If I move RegistrationKey out of "settings.protectedSettings.configurationArguments", into "settings.configurationArguments", it works, therefore, I assume there is nothing wrong with the syntax, so I believe it is to do with PsDscAllowPlainTextPassword = $true that wasn't included in the DSC configuration.
(I tried to include the configuration block in the PS1 file, but this threw an error, suggesting this can't be done)
I have now written a configurationdata .psd1 file, containing the following:
$ConfigData = #{
AllNodes = #(
#{
NodeName = "*"
PsDscAllowPlainTextPassword = $true
}
)
}
and referenced it in settings.configurationdata.url.
This now results in the same error as before: VM has reported a failure...
The ARM template is called from PowerShell:
$oAutomationAccount = Get-AzureRmAutomationAccount -ResourceGroupName $AAresourceGroupName -Name $AutomationAccountName
$RegistrationInfo = $oAutomationAccount | Get-AzureRmAutomationRegistrationInfo
$DscRegKeyString = $RegistrationInfo.PrimaryKey
$ssDscAutomationRegistrationKey = (ConvertTo-SecureString -string $DscRegKeyString -AsPlainText -Force)
#Automation Account EndPoint Uri
$DscRegistrationUrl = $RegistrationInfo.Endpoint
$params = #{
artifactsLocationSasToken = $TemplateSas
vmName = "XYZ"
dscAutomationRegistrationKey = $ssDscAutomationRegistrationKey
dscAutomationRegistrationUrl = $DscRegistrationUrl
dscNodeConfigurationName = "CreateAFolder.localhost"
dscTimeStamp = (Get-Date -f "MM/dd/yyyy H:mm:ss tt") #"MM/dd/yyyy H:mm:ss tt"
dscResourceUrl = $DscResourceUrl
dscConfigurationUrl = $DscConfigurationUrl
dscResourceScript = $DscResourceScriptName
dscResourceFunction = "ConfigureLCMforAAPull"
#sequenceId = $sequenceId
}
New-AzureRmResourceGroupDeployment #params `
-Name "$TemplateInstance-$branch" `
-ResourceGroupName $DeploymentResourceGroup.ResourceGroupName `
-Mode Incremental `
-DeploymentDebugLogLevel All `
-TemplateUri $TemplateUri `
-Verbose
Where I believe the parameters are being passed as the correct types.
What am I doing wrong?
Reference template: https://github.com/Azure/azure-quickstart-templates/blob/master/dsc-extension-azure-automation-pullserver/azuredeploy.json
Updated to use a newer DSC schema:https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/powershell/2016/02/26/arm-dsc-extension-settings/

Answer 1

this is the template I've been using for node onboarding:
{
"name": "xxx",
"type": "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/extensions",
"location": "[parameters('location')]",
"apiVersion": "2015-06-15",
"dependsOn": [
"xxx"
],
"properties": {
"publisher": "Microsoft.Powershell",
"type": "DSC",
"typeHandlerVersion": "2.22",
"autoUpgradeMinorVersion": false,
"protectedSettings": {
"Items": {
"registrationKeyPrivate": "[parameters('registrationData')]"
}
},
"settings": {
"ModulesUrl": "https://github.com/Azure/azure-quickstart-templates/raw/master/dsc-extension-azure-automation-pullserver/UpdateLCMforAAPull.zip",
"SasToken": "",
"ConfigurationFunction": "UpdateLCMforAAPull.ps1\\ConfigureLCMforAAPull",
"Properties": [
{
"Name": "RegistrationKey",
"Value": {
"UserName": "PLACEHOLDER_DONOTUSE",
"Password": "PrivateSettingsRef:registrationKeyPrivate"
},
"TypeName": "System.Management.Automation.PSCredential"
},
{
"Name": "RegistrationUrl",
"Value": "xxx",
"TypeName": "System.String"
},
{
"Name": "NodeConfigurationName",
"Value": "xxx",
"TypeName": "System.String"
},
{
"Name": "ConfigurationMode",
"Value": "ApplyAndMonitor",
"TypeName": "System.String"
},
{
"Name": "ConfigurationModeFrequencyMins",
"Value": 15,
"TypeName": "System.Int32"
},
{
"Name": "RefreshFrequencyMins",
"Value": 30,
"TypeName": "System.Int32"
},
{
"Name": "RebootNodeIfNeeded",
"Value": true,
"TypeName": "System.Boolean"
},
{
"Name": "ActionAfterReboot",
"Value": "ContinueConfiguration",
"TypeName": "System.String"
},
{
"Name": "AllowModuleOverwrite",
"Value": true,
"TypeName": "System.Boolean"
},
{
"Name": "Timestamp",
"Value": "MM/dd/yyyy H:mm:ss tt",
"TypeName": "System.String"
}
]
}
}
}
I know its using an old format, but that works so, meh.