Azure

Recently I was facing an issue where a reference in a nested Azure Resource Manager template was still being executed, despite the condition being false. I have created an ARM template that first sets a dynamic IP address on the Network Interface and later on converts it to a static IP address. It uses the initially assigned IP address and converts it to static. The issue with a reference in a nested template with a condition In the example below, you see a nested template that converts the dynamic IP address to a static IP address. If the runTheNestedTemplate variable is set to true, everything will work fine as the condition is met. If the runTheNestedTemplate condition is set to false, it should work too, but unfortunately Azure will still try to validate the reference mentioned in the privateIPAddress property, resulting in a failing ARM template deployment if NIC01 does not exists. ...

**The OpenVPN Access Server appliance in Azure allows you to quickly setup an Azure Virtual Machine that you can use for VPN purposes. I’ve been using an OpenVPN Access Server myself for a couple of months now and I’m happy with the performance and features. Even on a very small VM size like the Standard B1ms with 1 vCPUs and 2 GiB of memory. At the time of writing this blog post, the documentation of OpenVPN is a bit vague about updating your Azure OpenVPN Access Server, so I wanted to share with you what is needed to keep your OpenVPN Access Server up-to-date.** ...

**This week Microsoft quietly released some information about a new Azure solution called Azure Bastion. Azure Bastion acts as a gateway between a Virtual Machine in Azure and your session in the Azure Portal. This means that without assigning a Public IP address, you are able to connect to your Azure Virtual Machine through the Azure Portal. No Remote Desktop environment or jumpbox needed. Azure Bastion is currently in Private Preview.** Microsoft quietly released two YouTube video’s. ...

**Microsoft recently announced the Public Preview of the ability to run PowerShell code in an Azure Function. This means that the PowerShell code will run in a Platform-as-a-Service solution, completely serverless! You pay only for the time that you use the solution and you don’t have to manage the underlying infrastructure! In this blog post, I will show a practical example of how to use an Azure Function in combination with an Azure Logic App.** After publishing a blog post, I always want to share the post as quickly as possible on Twitter & LinkedIn. ...

**People who follow me on Twitter might have noticed that I’m working more and more with Microsoft Flow. Microsoft Flow allows me to create simple automations (like IFTTT) and to create a bridge between services like Office 365 and my home automation with Home Assistant. Recent changes to the pricing model made me decide to move away from Microsoft Flow, back to Azure Logic Apps. In this blog post, I’ll explain how easy it is to move your flows to Azure Logic Apps.** In my flows I’ve been a heavy user of the HTTP Trigger and HTTP Request actions, because I’m relying mostly on REST API calls to perform the automation tasks. ...

In this blog post, I will show you how to create an RSS Feed/WordPress Post Reminder with Azure Logic Apps, which you can use to post to various Social Media platforms like Twitter or Facebook. If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’ve probable seen a post like this with a reminder to check out my yesterday’s blog post: https://twitter.com/DevSecNinja/status/1084815812232388613?s=20 This is all works automatically by using Azure and Azure Logic Apps. ...

This year already started great for me by passing the AZ-102: Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification Transition exam! This transition exam is based on content from the AZ-100 and AZ-101 exams. In this blog post, I will share some tips that really helped me passing the exam. https://twitter.com/DevSecNinja/status/1080433831667265541?s=20 As I’m working with Azure a lot during my work as an Azure Architect/Engineer, the platform is just too big to be able to master everything. ...

Because of the recent domain change of my blog, I decided to completely start over again with my lab in Azure. I’ve been working with Desired State Configuration Configs in Azure for quite a few years, but never used them for my own lab environment. It felt a bit overkill to do that, but now I wanted to start over and do everything right. This step-by-step installation guide explains how to create a DSC Configuration in Azure Automation and how to apply this on your domain controller in Azure. ...

**With the Windows 10 Creators Update, Microsoft introduced Windows AutoPilot. Windows AutoPilot is a service which allows users to enroll their device with the Intune/Azure AD tenant of the organization during the Out-of-the-Box (OOBE) experience of Windows 10. By using Windows AutoPilot, organizations can dramatically decrease the time needed to configure a new device. During Microsoft Tech Summit 2018 in Amsterdam, Michael Niehaus announced some exciting new features which I will discuss in this blog post too.** ...

**This article describes the licensing options you have when you want to deploy Windows Server Virtual Machines in Azure. It’s getting complicated when you start using the Hybrid Use Benefit solution, so always contact Microsoft or your licensing supplier. **Please note that I will not answer any licensing questions. Built-in Licensing for Windows Server This type of licensing is by-far the most easy to use but it can be an expensive solution. You deploy an Azure Virtual Machine from the Portal or PowerShell and the licensing costs are automatically included with the Virtual Machine costs. But what if you want to use your existing KMS licenses which you’ve bought with your Enterprise Agreement? Or you want to use Windows Server Standard licenses instead of Datacenter licenses? ...