Azure Container Registry (ACR) - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Azure Container Registry (ACR) Setup and Configuration

📖 Scenario: You are working as a cloud engineer for a small company that wants to store and manage Docker container images securely in Azure. Your task is to create an Azure Container Registry (ACR) to hold these images and configure it for basic usage.

🎯 Goal: Build a simple Azure Container Registry (ACR) resource with a specified name and resource group, configure its SKU tier, and enable the admin user for easy access.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create an Azure Container Registry resource with the exact name myContainerRegistry in the resource group myResourceGroup.

Set the SKU tier of the registry to Basic.

Enable the admin user account for the registry.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Companies use Azure Container Registry to store and manage Docker container images securely in the cloud, enabling easy deployment to Azure Kubernetes Service or other container platforms.

💼 Career

Cloud engineers and DevOps professionals often create and configure container registries to support containerized application deployments and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines.

1

Create the Azure Container Registry resource

Write an Azure Resource Manager (ARM) template snippet to create an Azure Container Registry resource named myContainerRegistry in the resource group myResourceGroup. Use the resource type Microsoft.ContainerRegistry/registries and API version 2019-05-01. Set the location to eastus.

Azure

{
  "type": "Microsoft.ContainerRegistry/registries",
  "apiVersion": "2019-05-01",
  "name": "myContainerRegistry",
  "location": "eastus",
  "properties": {
    
  }
}
# Your code here

Hint

Use the resource type Microsoft.ContainerRegistry/registries and set the name and location exactly as specified.

2

Set the SKU tier to Basic

Add a sku property to the Azure Container Registry resource with the name set to Basic.

Azure

{
  "type": "Microsoft.ContainerRegistry/registries",
  "apiVersion": "2019-05-01",
  "name": "myContainerRegistry",
  "location": "eastus",
  "sku": {
    
  },
  "properties": {}
}
# Your code here

Hint

The sku property is an object with a name field. Set it to Basic.

3

Enable the admin user account

Inside the properties object, add the property adminUserEnabled and set it to true to enable the admin user account.

Azure

{
  "type": "Microsoft.ContainerRegistry/registries",
  "apiVersion": "2019-05-01",
  "name": "myContainerRegistry",
  "location": "eastus",
  "sku": {
    "name": "Basic"
  },
  "properties": {
    
  }
}
# Your code here

Hint

Set adminUserEnabled to true inside the properties object.

4

Complete the ARM template with resource group and full structure

Wrap the Azure Container Registry resource inside a full ARM template JSON structure. Include the resources array with the registry resource, and set the resourceGroup parameter to myResourceGroup in the deployment context.

Azure

{
  "resources": [
    
  ]
}
# Your code here

Hint

Wrap the registry resource inside the resources array of a full ARM template JSON structure.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of Azure Container Registry (ACR)?

easy

A. To securely store and manage container images in Azure

B. To create virtual machines in Azure

C. To monitor network traffic in Azure

D. To manage Azure user permissions

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand what ACR is designed for

   Azure Container Registry is a service to store container images securely in Azure.

2. Step 2: Compare options with ACR's purpose

   Only To securely store and manage container images in Azure describes storing and managing container images, which matches ACR's main use.

3. Final Answer:

   To securely store and manage container images in Azure -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   ACR purpose = store container images [OK]

Hint: ACR is for container images, not VMs or users [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing ACR with Azure VM services
• Thinking ACR manages user permissions
• Assuming ACR monitors network traffic

2. Which of the following is the correct Azure CLI command to create an Azure Container Registry named myRegistry in resource group myGroup with the Basic SKU?

easy

A. az acr new --group myGroup --registry myRegistry --tier Basic

B. az acr create --resource-group myGroup --registry-name myRegistry --sku Basic

C. az container registry create --group myGroup --name myRegistry --sku Basic

D. az acr create --resource-group myGroup --name myRegistry --sku Basic

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall the correct Azure CLI syntax for ACR creation

   The correct command uses az acr create with parameters --resource-group, --name, and --sku.

2. Step 2: Match options to correct syntax

   az acr create --resource-group myGroup --name myRegistry --sku Basic matches the exact syntax. Options A, C, and D use incorrect commands or parameter names.

3. Final Answer:

   az acr create --resource-group myGroup --name myRegistry --sku Basic -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Correct CLI syntax = az acr create --resource-group myGroup --name myRegistry --sku Basic [OK]

Hint: Use 'az acr create' with --resource-group and --name [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using wrong command like 'az acr new'
• Incorrect parameter names like --registry-name
• Confusing 'az container registry' with 'az acr'

3. Given this Azure CLI command sequence, what will be the output of the last command?

az acr create --resource-group myGroup --name myRegistry --sku Standard
az acr login --name myRegistry
az acr repository list --name myRegistry --output json

medium

A. A JSON list of repositories stored in myRegistry, initially empty

B. An error saying the registry does not exist

C. A list of running containers in myRegistry

D. A JSON list of all Azure resource groups

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the commands run

   The first command creates the registry. The second logs into it. The third lists repositories in JSON format.

2. Step 2: Predict output of repository list on new registry

   Since the registry is new, it has no repositories yet, so the output is an empty JSON list.

3. Final Answer:

   A JSON list of repositories stored in myRegistry, initially empty -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   New registry repo list = empty JSON list [OK]

Hint: New ACR has empty repo list JSON output [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting error when registry exists
• Confusing repositories with running containers
• Thinking it lists resource groups

4. You run this command but get an error:

az acr create --resource-group myGroup --name myRegistry --sku Basic --location eastus

What is the most likely cause of the error?

medium

A. The command syntax is incorrect

B. The SKU Basic is not supported in eastus

C. The resource group myGroup does not exist

D. The registry name myRegistry is already in use globally

Solution

1. Step 1: Check command syntax and parameters

   The syntax is correct and Basic SKU is supported in eastus.

2. Step 2: Identify common causes of creation errors

   If the resource group does not exist, creation fails with an error.

3. Final Answer:

   The resource group myGroup does not exist -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Missing resource group causes create error [OK]

Hint: Ensure resource group exists before creating ACR [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming SKU is unsupported without checking
• Ignoring resource group existence
• Thinking registry name conflict causes this error

5. You want to speed up your app deployment by sharing container images across multiple Azure regions. Which ACR feature should you enable to replicate your registry automatically to other regions?

hard

A. Configure Azure Traffic Manager for your registry

B. Enable geo-replication on your Azure Container Registry

C. Use Azure Blob Storage replication instead

D. Create multiple separate registries manually in each region

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the need for multi-region image availability

   To share images across regions and speed deployment, the registry must replicate images automatically.

2. Step 2: Identify ACR feature for automatic replication

   Geo-replication is the ACR feature that replicates container images across regions automatically.

3. Step 3: Evaluate other options

   Creating registries manually is manual and error-prone. Blob Storage replication is unrelated to container images. Traffic Manager manages traffic, not image replication.

4. Final Answer:

   Enable geo-replication on your Azure Container Registry -> Option B

5. Quick Check:

   Multi-region image sharing = geo-replication [OK]

Hint: Use geo-replication to sync images across regions [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Manually creating registries instead of replicating
• Confusing storage replication with ACR replication
• Using Traffic Manager for image replication