Azure Blueprints
What it is
Azure Blueprints (retired/being retired) is a governance service that packages artifact definitions — role assignments, policy assignments, resource groups, ARM templates, parameters — into a versioned blueprint you can assign to new subscriptions to provision a compliant landing zone template. (Enterprise-scale advisory/Microsoft guidance commonly replaces it; the term often appears in AZ-104 as the curated landing-zone pattern.)
Why it exists
Instead of manually wiring up policy, RBAC, roles, and foundational templates for every new subscription, a blueprint applies a repeatable, versioned, audited baseline — enabling consistent, compliant environments.
Key ideas
- Artifacts — policy assignments, RBAC assignments, resource groups, ARM templates, nested parameter files.
- Versioning & locking — versions of a blueprint; optional assignment locking prevents direct modification of governed resources.
- Where — blueprints are saved to a management group or subscription and assigned to subscriptions.
How it fits (diagram)
Exam notes
- It’s a one-shot / definition-reuse tool rather than a continuously-running policy engine.
- Differentiate: Blueprints provision consistency; Azure Policy continuously enforces; RBAC grants access.
- Microsoft now steers toward Microsoft Entra governance / enterprise-scale (Azure landing zones) — mention both accurately.
Related
management-groups · azure-policy · arm-template · resource-group
📘 Source: Microsoft Learn — Azure Blueprints