Azure PowerShell ‘Az’ Module version 1.0

Microsoft released a new PowerShell module specifically for Azure late last year called “Az”. On the plus side Az ensures that Windows PowerShell and PowerShell Core users can get the latest Azure tooling from PowerShell on every platform be it Windows PowerShell or PowerShell Core for my preferred operating system macOs.

Microsoft state that the Az module will be updated on a two-week cadence and will always be up-to-date, so that’s nice.

I’ve resisted upgrading to the new Az module until the completion of a recent customer engagement so as to avoid any complexity that a switch in modules may introduce. Call me risk adverse I know. . .So now that the project is complete, I’m excited to make the switch.

Ok so how do I upgrade from AzureRM to Az?

If you’ve been using PowerShell for Azure, you undoubtedly already have the AzureRM module installed. So its out with the old and in with the new. . . To accomplish this task I made use of some simple PowerShell to find the modules installed with a name like AzureRM and then uninstall them. Here is the code I lazily leached from my colleague Arran Peterson after he successfully uninstalled the old modules.

Remove all the old AuzreRM modules first . . .

$azurerm = get-module -ListAvailable | ? {$_.Name -like “AzureRM*”}

ForEach ($module in $azurerm) {

$name = $module.Name

$version = $module.Version

Uninstall-Module -Name $Name -MaximumVersion $version -Force

}

At the time of writing this blog the latest version available from the PowerShell Gallery is 1.5.0 https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/Az/1.5.0

To install the module simply open PowerShell on your machine and enter:

Install-Module -Name Az

Boom its that easy. . .

Ok Great, but wont this break all my scripts?

So when I first heard of the new module and the change in cmdlet namespace, my first reaction was shock. .  I’ve produced loads of PowerShell for customers over the past couple of years that use the “azurerem” named cmdlets.

Microsoft state on their PowerShell Az blog that ‘Users are not required to migrate from AzureRM, as AzureRM will continue to be supported. However, it is important to note that all new Azure PowerShell features will appear only in ‘Az’.’  So my old stuff would continue to work, but they also state ‘Az and AzureRM cannot be executed in the same PowerShell session.’ So I’d need to make customers aware that they cannot mix AzureRm and Az cmdlets within a single session.

This all sounds like a bunch of annoying conversations and explanations I’d be faced with, I began to feel frustrated and was questioning why Microsoft saw the need to rename all of their cmdlets. I could feel a hate blog brewing. . .

However, as I read more I came across a diamond in the rough. . .AzureRM Aliases. Ah someone at Microsoft has considered my pain. . I could feel the catharsis as I read the official migration guide https://github.com/Azure/azure-powershell/blob/master/documentation/migration-guides/Az.1.0.0-migration-guide.md and came across the following statement. ‘To make the transition to these new cmdlet names simpler, Az introduces two new cmdlets, Enable-AzureRmAlias and Disable-AzureRmAlias. Enable-AzureRmAlias creates aliases from the older cmdlet names in AzureRM to the newer Az cmdlet names. The cmdlet allows creating aliases in the current session, or across all sessions by changing your user or machine profile.’

What Now?

Its time for a coffee then back to more PowerShell. . Happy Days. .