Azure

Building a simple backup solution for Hyper-V-based virtual machines using OneDrive for Business and PowerShell

October 14, 2019October 14, 2019
Azure, OneDrive for Business, PowerShell, Synology

At home, I run several PCs – a few laptops, and one workstation which is a bit more performant, so that I can run Hyper-V and virtual machines on it. It’s also my server for Plex, the amazing multimedia system that effectively allows me to have my own private Netflix wherever I go. At the moment, my server runs on Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, which is the special edition for high-performance PCs. Among others,… Read More »

Building a secure remote access solution using Azure Bastion Host

September 26, 2019September 26, 2019
Azure, Security

I wrote about my experiences and challenges when building a secure remote access solution for Azure-based virtual machines back in February 2019. It’s one of my more popular posts in this blog, and I guess it’s helpful for many because it travels through the options and provides justification for the choices. As that’s often one of the challenges when working with Azure and architectures – there is plenty of choices, and it might be burdensome… Read More »

Understanding and getting started with Azure Sentinel

September 24, 2019September 25, 2019
Azure, Security

Today, Microsoft announced that Azure Sentinel is now Generally Available (GA). What this means, is that Azure Sentinel can be used in production, the pricing has been revealed and it’s stable for enterprise-grade usage. In this post, I’ll have a look at what Azure Sentinel is, how to get started and what to keep an eye for in the future. What is Azure Sentinel? Azure Sentinel is Microsoft’s vision of a cloud-based SIEM – which… Read More »

Building a custom Twitter Analytics tool using .NET Core, Azure Storage, and Power BI

August 23, 2019August 23, 2019
.NET Core, Azure, Power BI

This week has been very productive for me. I’ve been running and thinking, and in the mornings I’ve written about my thoughts. Today is no different! I’ve been a Twitter user for 10 years now – I joined in May 2009. At first, I was a passive user, but in recent years I’ve given it more effort and I’ve found Twitter quite useful and valuable for myself. One thing that’s kept me awake all these… Read More »

A look at Azure costs based on a real solution

August 20, 2019August 20, 2019
Azure, Finance

I’ve used and worked with Microsoft Azure for a decade now. Often I’m working in customer subscriptions, and don’t have to worry about the cost that much. Obviously many times customers are querying about long-term cost, and what operating expenses they should plan and budget for. My own Azure subscriptions are financed by myself, and I get some credits through the Microsoft MVP program also. I try to minimize services that cost more, and often… Read More »

Getting started with Windows Terminal

August 13, 2019August 13, 2019
Azure, Build 2019, PowerShell, Productivity

About three months ago, Microsoft announced a new command-line interface for Windows called Windows Terminal. Occasionally I am seeing it being called Microsoft Terminal also. The announcement was done during Microsoft Build 2019 in May, and you can view that introductory session here: There is also an amazing video, which I think is called a sizzle video, here: The idea with Windows Terminal is to go beyond the traditional Command Prompt, that has been around… Read More »

Thoughts from Microsoft Inspire 2019 announcements

July 24, 2019July 24, 2019
Azure, Inspire, Microsoft Partner, Migration, News

Microsoft Inspire (formerly Worldwide Partner Conference, or WPC) was held in Las Vegas in mid-July. I didn’t attend, as the event overlaps heavily with the Finnish summer holiday season, where Finland practically shuts down between midsummer’s eve (late June) to early August. Thankfully Microsoft is doing a tremendous job in sharing the news and announcements that were made during Inspire. It’s also the start of Microsoft’s new fiscal year; thus, it’s an optimal time for… Read More »

Becoming passwordless in Microsoft 365 using Surface Go and a FIDO2 key

July 16, 2019July 16, 2019
Azure, Microsoft 365, Windows 10, Windows Hello

I purchased a Surface Go device in the summer of 2018 while I was visiting New York City. It was also the same weekend when Surface Go was made available, so I opted for the 8 GB/128 GB model, without LTE. I figured I would use the device on the road, and when writing in coffee shops. Almost a year later, I find I haven’t had too much use for the device. In my daily… Read More »

Azure Lighthouse – managing customer Azure tenants as a Service Provider

July 12, 2019July 13, 2019
Azure, Security

Yesterday, Microsoft announced Azure Lighthouse. This post will walk you through what the service is, what benefits it brings, and why you should start using it. What is Azure Lighthouse? Azure Lighthouse is a new service from Microsoft, released on July 11th, 2019. It brings better management capabilities and flexibility for managing multiple Azure tenants through delegated access. It’s intended primarily for Managed Service Partners (MSPs), or companies that provide support, service desk and similar… Read More »

Building a Raspberry Pi 4-based weather monitoring solution using Ruuvitag sensors, Azure IoT Hub and Azure Functions

July 9, 2019July 10, 2019
Azure, IoT, Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi organization announced Raspberry Pi 4 just a few weeks ago. I had to get one, and after placing an order, I received my RPi4 in only a few days. It’s a powerful little computer, with 4 GB of RAM and dual-HDMI outputs. It powers through USB-C, which is an excellent addition. I installed Raspbian on it and connected it to one of the 4K displays I use at my home office. I… Read More »