Creating Accounts on Azure SQL Database through PowerShell Automation

12th of April, 2016 / / 6 Comments

In the previous post, Azure SQL Pro Tip – Creating Login Account and User, we have briefly walked through how to create login accounts on Azure SQL Database through SSMS. Using SSMS is of course the very convenient way. However, as a DevOps engineer, I want to automate this process through PowerShell. In this post, we’re going to walk through how to achieve this goal.

Step #1: Create Azure SQL Database

First of all, we need an Azure SQL Database.… [Keep reading] “Creating Accounts on Azure SQL Database through PowerShell Automation”

Azure Backup for Azure Resource Manager VMs

11th of April, 2016 / / 1 Comment

One of the really promising announcements to come from the recent Microsoft Build 2016 conference is the release of Azure Backups for Resource Manager Virtual Machines into Public Preview. This has been an area of concern for many when weighing up whether or not to deploy their Azure infrastructure into ARM or Classic. There haven’t been any announcements on the heavy hitters, like Azure Site Recovery for ARM, but it’s a great first step. In this blog I’m going to walk through how to set up a Recovery Services vault and then setup a backup job.… [Keep reading] “Azure Backup for Azure Resource Manager VMs”

Azure Classic vs Azure Resource Manager

5th of April, 2016 / / 2 Comments

On a recent customer engagement, one of the questions that came up was “Should we use Classic mode or should we use the new Resource Manager?”. The guidance from Microsoft is to deploy all new workloads into Azure ARM, however after scratching the surface, it’s not quite so cut and dry.

Some Background

Azure is a platform that is currently undergoing a significant transformation and as a result, confusingly, there are two deployment models supported by Azure public cloud: Classic and Azure Resource Manager (ARM).… [Keep reading] “Azure Classic vs Azure Resource Manager”

Azure AD Connect manual sync cycle with powershell, Start-ADSyncSyncCycle

8th of March, 2016 / / 4 Comments

This morning at Kloud NSW HQ (otherwise known as the Kloud office, or the office, or anything else that does not sound cool or interesting at all) James Lewis (@Jimmy_Lewis on Twitter) asked the question:

What is the powershell cmdlet to kick off a manual sync in AADConnect?

Back in the olden days, as they say, in DirSync there was a powershell cmdlet called:

Start-OnlineCoexistenceSync

As Microsoft do often times, this cmdlet has changed. However, the reason this has changed is because of the way the sync process is now handled in AADConnect. The AADConnect Sync Scheduler has come about to replace the pre-existing process of an external sync engine tied to a Windows service and Windows task scheduler.

The new scheduler is responsible to complete two key tasks: run and manage the synchronisation cycle where import, sync and export processes are looked after; and to complete regular maintenance tasks, like for example renew certificates and keys for password reset and device registration (DRS), to name a few.

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Automating the simultaneous deployment of AzureRM Virtual Machines for a development environment

22nd of February, 2016 / / 14 Comments

This post is details my method for automating the creation of AzureRM virtual machines for use in a development environment. I’m using this process to quickly standup an environment for testing configurations on.

In summary this process;

  • parallel creation of the AzureRM Virtual Machines
  • All machines have the same configuration
    • NIC, Disks etc
  • All machines are created in a new Resource Group, with associated Virtual Network

Simultaneous Creating the AzureRM Virtual Machines for MIM 2016

For my MIM 2016 Lab I’m going to create 5 Virtual Machines.… [Keep reading] “Automating the simultaneous deployment of AzureRM Virtual Machines for a development environment”

Using Active Directory Security Groups to Grant Permissions to Azure Resources

18th of February, 2016 / / 4 Comments

The introduction of the Azure Resource Manager platform in Azure continues to expose new possibilities for managing your deployed resources.

One scenario that you may not be aware of is the ability to use scoped RBAC role assignments to grant limited rights to Azure AD-based users and groups.

We know Azure provides us with many built-in RBAC roles, but it may not be immediately obvious that you can control their assignment scope.

What do I mean by this?… [Keep reading] “Using Active Directory Security Groups to Grant Permissions to Azure Resources”

Simultaneously Start|Stop all Azure Resource Manager Virtual Machines in a Resource Group

10th of February, 2016 / / 13 Comments

Problem

How many times have you wanted to Start or Stop all Virtual Machines in an Azure Resource Group ? For me it seems to be quite often, especially for development environment resource groups. It’s not that difficult though. You can just enumerate the VM’s then cycle through them and call ‘Start-AzureRMVM’ or ‘Start-AzureRMVM’. However, the more VM’s you have, that approach running serially as PowerShell does means it can take quite some time to complete.… [Keep reading] “Simultaneously Start|Stop all Azure Resource Manager Virtual Machines in a Resource Group”

Microsoft Azure Stack is the New Hybrid Cloud

4th of February, 2016 / / No Comments

Last week Microsoft released the public technical preview of new Azure Stack. Azure Stack, along with its predecessor Windows Azure Pack, gives anyone the ability to extend Azure management capabilities to their on-premises datacentre.

Firstly, a bit of background.

With Windows Server 2012 R2, Microsoft made available Windows Azure Pack. Azure Pack offered an on-premise integration point between Windows Server, System Centre, and SQL Server to offer a self-service portal and private cloud services including virtual machine provisioning and management (IaaS), database as a services (DBaaS), and scalable web application hosting (PaaS).… [Keep reading] “Microsoft Azure Stack is the New Hybrid Cloud”

Easy Debugging of PowerShell DSC for Azure Virtual Machines

11th of January, 2016 / / 6 Comments

Many of the Kloud team have recently been buried deep in the world of Azure Resource Manager (ARM) as it becomes the preferred way to create and manage Azure resources.

One extension point offered via ARM for Virtual Machine automation is the use of PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) to control the Windows OS (and now Linux too!) and application software setup on a VM post creation.

I hadn’t touched PowerShell DSC much prior to the last year and have found that it’s not that hard to pick up, especially if you come from a programming, scripting or Linux sysadmin background.… [Keep reading] “Easy Debugging of PowerShell DSC for Azure Virtual Machines”