Desired State Configuration, a PowerShell configuration-management approach for VMs; it configures existing machines and cannot provision new ones.
Also called Desired State Configuration.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
AZ-305AZ-104SC-500AZ-400AZ-802
Each book explains DSC in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Virtual machines
Infrastructure-as-a-service compute giving complete control of the operating system, making it a fit for lift-and-shift moves and for software relying on OS-level pieces like COM.
Related terms
- Azure Automation State Configuration
DSC service within Azure Automation, due to retire on 30 September 2027. It compiles configurations, assigns them to onboarded machines that are running, and reports back on compliance.
- Desired State Configuration VM extension
An extension for Azure virtual machines that pushes PowerShell DSC configurations to them. It is due to be retired on 31 March 2028, with Azure Machine Configuration as its successor.
- extensionProfile
Part of a scale set model that lists VM extensions, such as DSC or Custom Script, so each instance receives them when provisioned.
- Local Configuration Manager
The DSC engine running on every managed machine. It applies configurations, chooses between push and pull refresh, and its ConfigurationMode setting (ApplyOnly, ApplyAndMonitor or ApplyAndAutoCorrect) controls what happens when settings drift.
- Publish-AzVMDscConfiguration
Cmdlet in Az.Compute that bundles a DSC script and puts it into Blob storage, ready for
Set-AzVMDscExtension. It does not itself configure any VM. - Pull server
The source a DSC node fetches configurations from when its LCM is set to pull. Azure Automation State Configuration provides one that also reports compliance; that service retires on 30 September 2027, to be replaced by Azure Machine Configuration.