How to Import an Azure Redis Linked Server into Terraform

Import Azure Redis Linked Server with Terraback (recommended)

Terraback reverse-engineers your live infrastructure: it reads the Azure Cache for Redis resource with read-only credentials, generates the HCL, and produces the exact import block. Two commands take you from a live Azure Redis Linked Server to managed Terraform.

terraback scan all azure --subscription-id YOUR_ID

terraback azure import --method bulk

The Terraform import block

Terraback emits a Terraform 1.5+ import block like the one below. Because the block lives in your configuration, the import is reviewable in a pull request and repeatable across environments.

import {
  to = azurerm_redis_linked_server.main
  id = "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/prod-rg/providers/Microsoft.Cache/Redis/prod-redis-primary/linkedServers/prod-redis-secondary"
}

Example azurerm_redis_linked_server configuration

Here is a realistic Azure Redis Linked Server block. Terraback generates a fuller version from your actual resource attributes; this is a minimal, valid starting point.

resource "azurerm_redis_linked_server" "main" {
  target_redis_cache_name     = "prod-redis-primary"
  resource_group_name         = "prod-rg"
  linked_redis_cache_id       = azurerm_redis_cache.secondary.id
  linked_redis_cache_location = "westus"
  server_role                 = "Secondary"
}

Gotchas when importing a Azure Redis Linked Server

• The linked server is a child of the primary cache: the ARM ID nests under Microsoft.Cache/Redis/<primary-cache>/linkedServers/<name>, where <name> is the linked (secondary) cache's name.
• Geo-replication requires the Premium tier on both caches; target_redis_cache_name is the primary and linked_redis_cache_id is the secondary.
• server_role is 'Secondary' on the link resource; the secondary cache becomes read-only while linked.
• You must remove the link before the secondary cache can be deleted or have its replication reconfigured.

Doing it manually with terraform import

The native approach is to write the azurerm_redis_linked_server block by hand, then run terraform import azurerm_redis_linked_server.example <import-id> for every resource, one at a time. That works for a handful of resources, but it does not scale: you author all the HCL yourself and repeat the command for each item. Terraback generates the HCL and the import blocks for your whole account in one pass.

Import other Azure resources