Alert Plus – Customer Hosted Azure Installation Guide

Overview

This guide walks you through deploying Alert Plus into your Azure environment using the provided automation scripts. 
 
Alert Plus is deployed as a set of Azure resources including: 
- Azure Function Apps (API, Manager, Workers) 
- Azure Storage (Queues and Tables) 
- Azure Key Vault (for secure configuration) 
- Optional: Azure API Management 
 
The deployment is fully automated using PowerShell and Azure CLI. 

Prerequisites

Before beginning the installation, the required tools and permissions must be available in the environment. 
 
PowerShell 7, SQL Powershell Module, Bicep PowerShell Module and Azure CLI are required to execute the deployment scripts. In addition, appropriate access to an Azure subscription (Contributor + User Access Administrator or Owner role) is necessary to create and configure resources. 

Required Tools: 
- PowerShell 7 (pwsh)  
- Azure CLI 
- SQL Powershell module 
- Bicep Powershell module 
 
Required Access: 
- Azure subscription with Contributor + User Access Administrator or Owner role

Ensuring these prerequisites are met helps avoid common deployment failures related to missing dependencies or insufficient permissions.

Sign in to Azure

Authentication to Azure is required before running the deployment scripts. The active subscription should be verified to ensure that resources are created in the intended environment.

Clearing any existing session helps prevent conflicts with cached credentials. After signing in, the correct subscription should be selected. The steps to sign into azure are given below

Step 1: Clear any existing session 

az logout 
az account clear 

Ensures no stale credentials interfere with deployment. 

Step 2: Sign in 

az login 

Opens a browser window for authentication. 

Step 3: Select the subscription 

az account set --subscription "<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>" 

Ensures resources are deployed to the correct subscription. 

Optional: Use helper script 

pwsh .\01-login-and-set-context.ps1 ` 
  -SubscriptionId "<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>" 

Logs in and sets the active subscription automatically. 

Deploy Alert Plus

The deployment script provisions all required Azure resources and applies the necessary configuration.

This process includes creating infrastructure resources, configuring application settings, and establishing secure access to Key Vault and Storage. Running the deployment through the script ensures consistency and reduces the likelihood of configuration errors.

pwsh .\00-deploy-and-configure-alertplus.ps1 `
  -Action Install `
  -ResourceGroupName "<RESOURCE_GROUP>" `
  -Location "eastus" `
  -ParamsFilePath ".\infra\params\prod.parameters.json" `
  -ConfigPath ".\release\config\appsettings.customer.json" `
  -TemporarilyEnablePublicAccess `
  -TemporarilyAllowCurrentIp

Parameters

The deployment script accepts parameters that control how resources are created and configured. These parameters define the target resource group and region, infrastructure configuration, application behavior, and temporary access settings required during deployment.

Parameter	Description
- Action Install	Deploys resources
- Action Uninstall	Removes all the installed resources
- ResourceGroupName	Target resource group
- Location	Azure region
- ParamsFilePath	Infrastructure configuration
- ConfigPath	Application configuration
- TemporarilyEnablePublicAccess	Enables Key Vault access during deployment
- TemporarilyAllowCurrentIp	Allows your IP to access Key Vault

Providing correct values ensures that resources are deployed in the intended configuration and environment.

Deployment Options

Optional parameters can be used to adjust the deployment based on performance and cost requirements. Different hosting plans and SKU selections affect scaling behavior, throughput, and pricing. These options allow the deployment to be aligned with the needs of development, testing, or production environments.

Use Premium Plan (recommended):

-PlanSkuName "P1v3”

Use smaller Premium plan: 

-PlanSkuName "P0v3" 

Use Dedicated plan: 

-HostingPlanType "Dedicated" 

Use Key Vault for storage: 

-UseKeyVaultReferenceForStorage 
-StorageSecretName "AlertPlus-StorageConnectionString" 

Post-Deployment Validation

After deployment, the provisioned resources should be verified to ensure that the system is operating as expected. This includes confirming that Function Apps are running, Storage resources are accessible, Key Vault secrets are configured, and logs are being generated in Application Insights.

Validating the environment helps identify any configuration issues early.

Configuration Reference: Infrastructure Parameters (prod.parameters.json) 

Parameter	Example Value	Description
namePrefix	ap-script	Prefix used for all Azure resources (naming convention).
location	eastus	Azure region where all resources are deployed.
planName	ap-script-asp	Name of the App Service Plan hosting the Function Apps.
hostingPlanType	Dedicated	Defines hosting model (Dedicated or Premium).
planSkuName	P1v3	Defines compute size and performance tier.
planSkuTier	PremiumV3	Specifies pricing tier for the App Service Plan.
workerShardCount	2	Number of worker instances for parallel processing.
storageAccountName	apscriptstg01	Storage account for queues, tables, and artifacts.
keyVaultName	apscript-kv01	Key Vault used to store secrets securely.
appInsightsName	ap-script-appi	Application Insights instance for logging and monitoring.
functionsWorkerRuntime	dotnet-isolated	Runtime model used by Azure Functions.
enablePrivateNetworking	true	Enables private endpoints and VNET integration.
vnetName	ap-script-vnet	Virtual Network used for integration and private access.

Configuration Reference: Application Settings (appsettings.customer.json) 

Setting	Example Value	Description
ALERTS_TABLE_NAME	Alerts	Table storing alert definitions.
CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS	*	Defines allowed origins for API access.
SENDGRID_KEY	SendGridApiKey	Key Vault reference for default SendGrid API key.
SENDGRID_FROM	[e-mail]	Default sender email address.
LOGS_TABLE_NAME	logs	Table used for logging API and worker operations.
SHAREPOINT_TENANTS_TABLE_NAME	tenants	Stores tenant configuration data.
ASAP_INTERVAL_CRON_EXPRESSION	0 */2 * * * *	Cron expression for frequent processing jobs.
DAILY_INTERVAL_CRON_EXPRESSION	0 1 * * * *	Cron expression for daily jobs.
BATCH_SIZE	2	Custom batch size for processing alerts.
AzureFunctionsJobHost__extensions__queues__batchSize	1	Processes one queue message at a time.
AzureFunctionsJobHost__extensions__queues__newBatchThreshold	0	Fetches new messages immediately.
CLIENT_ID		Client ID for authentication (e.g., Graph API).
CLIENT_SECRET		Client secret for authentication.