DEV Community: Adesola Kehinde

# 🧠💾 From Zero to Mounted: Attaching and Formatting a Data Disk on Azure (Like a Pro)

Adesola Kehinde — Fri, 30 May 2025 17:35:26 +0000

So, you've created an Azure Virtual Machine and it's running like a champ—but where do you put your extra files, logs, or cat memes? 🐱📁

Let me take you through a simple, foolproof (and actually kinda fun) process to create, attach, and format a data disk on your Azure VM.

No cloud wizardry required—just your fingers, some clicks, and maybe a cup of tea ☕.

🔧 Step-by-Step: How I Attached and Formatted a Data Disk on My Azure VM

🖥️ Step 1: Create a Virtual Machine

First things first—if you haven’t created a VM, go ahead and do that in the Azure portal.

Go to the Azure dashboard.
Click "Create a resource" → "Virtual Machine".
Choose your image (e.g. Windows Server), size, region, etc.
Deploy and wait for it to finish spinning up.

📍 Once your VM is ready, click “Go to resource.”

📀 Step 2: Add a New Disk

Now for the exciting part—let’s give your VM some extra storage space.

In your VM’s left-hand menu, scroll to “Settings” → “Disks.”
Click “+ Create and attach a new disk.”

Here’s how I filled in the fields:

Disk name: Data disk (keep it simple!)
Storage type: Premium SSD 💎 (because I like speed)
Size: 11 GB — not too much, not too little, just right.

💾 Hit Save and return to the VM overview page.

🔌 Step 3: Connect to Your VM

Let’s hop into the VM to bring the new disk to life.

Click "Connect" at the top.
Select "RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol)" → "Download RDP file."
Make sure you have the Windows Remote Desktop app installed.

Double-click the .rdp file to launch the connection. When prompted:

Enter your VM credentials (username + password).

Click Connect.

🔐 Boom—you’re inside your VM now.

🧱 Step 4: Initialize and Format the New Disk

Now we’re going to tame that unformatted space and turn it into a usable drive.

Hit the Start menu, type Disk Management, and open it.

You’ll see a pop-up asking to initialize a disk. Say yes!
Scroll down to find your unallocated disk (should be around 11GB).
Right-click on it and select “New Simple Volume.”
Stick with the default settings—they’re smart enough.
Format the volume:
- File system: NTFS 🧠 What’s NTFS? It stands for New Technology File System—the default file system for Windows. It’s like a smart librarian for your files: it knows who can read what, keeps things secure, supports big files, and ensures your data doesn’t go poof if your VM sneezes.
- Volume label: Data disk (you can get creative here) Click Finish.

🎉 Congratulations! Your data disk should now show a “Healthy” status and be fully available in File Explorer.

🤓 What I Learned

Azure makes disk attachment pretty seamless.
Initializing and formatting disks inside the VM is super important—don’t skip it or you'll be scratching your head wondering where your disk is.
Using Premium SSD gives you that "next-gen" performance feel. 😎

⚡ TL;DR

Add extra storage by going to your VM → Disks → Add new disk.
Connect via RDP to initialize and format it using Disk Management.
Give your disk a label and finish setup—it should now be healthy and visible!

🔚 Final Thoughts

Attaching a disk in Azure isn’t rocket science—but it is one of those core cloud tasks that every aspiring DevOps engineer should master.

So go ahead—try it out, name your disk something epic (e.g., Dragons_Lair 🐉), and feel the power of clean, scalable cloud infrastructure.

Want more hands-on guides like this? Drop a 🧠 in the comments or connect with me at @adesola_kehinde.

Until then: format safely, automate wisely, and hydrate constantly. 💧💻

# 🧙‍♂️ How I Secured My DevOps Pipeline with AWS CodeArtifact (and Beat a Pesky IAM Goblin)

Adesola Kehinde — Fri, 30 May 2025 17:08:23 +0000

🧭 Introduction

Let’s be real: managing software dependencies manually in a CI/CD pipeline is like trying to herd cats... during a thunderstorm... in traffic. That’s why AWS CodeArtifact exists.

In this blog, I’ll walk you through how I set up CodeArtifact as the artifact repository for my DevOps CI/CD pipeline. It’s part of a larger series I’m working on to automate builds, deployments, and all that good stuff—think of this as Level 3 of my DevOps questline.

If you're new to DevOps or AWS, don’t worry—I’m not here to confuse you with cloud jargon. Let’s decode this together, one secure token at a time.

🛠️ Tools and Services I Used

AWS EC2 – for compute power
AWS CodeArtifact – our main character: a managed artifact repo
IAM (Identity and Access Management) – for managing who gets to do what
Maven – for building and managing Java project dependencies

🧱 What Is CodeArtifact and Why Should You Care?

CodeArtifact is basically your project’s package pantry. Instead of hunting dependencies all over the internet every time you build your app, CodeArtifact lets you keep everything in a neat, secure, version-controlled repository.

Think of it like this:

Without CodeArtifact: Your builds go out like door-to-door salesmen asking for dependencies.

With CodeArtifact: Your builds walk into a well-stocked internal warehouse and grab what they need.

Cool, right?

🧩 Setting Up the Repository

🧭 Step 1: Create a Domain and Repository

In CodeArtifact, a domain is like a shared space for multiple repositories. I created one to keep all my DevOps artifacts organized.

Then, I set my repository to use Maven Central as its upstream source—this means if CodeArtifact doesn’t have a package locally, it fetches it from Maven Central automatically.

🔐 Step 2: Handle Security Like a Pro

You need a token to interact with CodeArtifact. But here’s the catch—my EC2 instance had zero permissions. Nada.

So I created an IAM policy that:

Allows fetching an auth token
Lets Maven read packages
Talks to AWS STS (Security Token Service)

I then:

Created a new IAM role with this policy
Assigned that role to my EC2 instance

Result? Instant access. 💥

Security tip: Always use IAM roles instead of hardcoded credentials. It’s safer, more scalable, and makes your future self thank you.

⚙️ Maven Setup – Enter `settings.xml`

I edited my Maven settings.xml to include:

The CodeArtifact repository URL
An auth token from the role on my EC2

Then I ran mvn compile and held my breath…

Boom. It worked.

Maven pulled down all dependencies from CodeArtifact (or upstream), stored them locally, and built my web app. No warnings, no errors. Just clean, smooth dependency flow.

🔍 Post-Build: The Magic Moment

After compiling, I checked the CodeArtifact repo—and there they were: all the dependencies cached and stored like treasures in a vault.

At that moment, I realized: my CI/CD workflow just got way smarter. My builds will now be faster, safer, and far less brittle.

💡 What I Learned

This project taught me:

How to properly set up AWS CodeArtifact with Maven
Why IAM roles > access keys (ALWAYS)
How to troubleshoot token errors like a DevOps detective

And most importantly: how a good artifact repository is the quiet MVP of every CI/CD pipeline.

🗺️ What’s Next?

This was Part 3 in my DevOps journey. Up next: automating build + deploy stages, integrating testing, and maybe even sprinkling some Lambda magic in there.

🧪 TL;DR

CodeArtifact = internal package repo = fewer build headaches
Use IAM roles for security—no hardcoded tokens
Maven + settings.xml = happy builds
Debugging permission issues is part of the journey

Stay curious. Automate responsibly. Deploy often. 🚀

Creating a Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS) from Your Captured Image

Adesola Kehinde — Thu, 22 May 2025 17:19:23 +0000

In the last blog, we captured a custom Windows VM image using Azure Compute Gallery. Now, we're going to use that image to create a Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS). This allows you to automatically scale up or down based on demand. Let's dive in.

🧭 Step 1: Go to Azure Compute Gallery

From the Azure Portal home, search for "Azure Compute Gallery".
Open the gallery you created earlier.

📸 Step 2: Select Your Image

Click on the image you previously captured.
It should have the type marked as Specialized (remember, we chose specialized because we didn't generalize our VM).

💡 Why specialized?

A specialized image retains all the settings and configurations exactly as they were on your VM. This is useful for cloned environments or when you're not using Sysprep.

🛠️ Step 3: Create a VMSS

In the image's overview page, click "Create VMSS".
Provide a Scale Set Name.
Choose your Region.
Under Orchestration Mode, select Flexible.

💡 Why Flexible Orchestration Mode?

Flexible mode gives you more control over scaling and VM instances. It's ideal for mixed workloads or when VM identity and persistence matter.

⚙️ Step 4: Configure Scaling Options

Under the Scaling tab, enable automatic scaling.
Add a new scaling condition:
- Condition Name: e.g., scale-on-demand
- Instance Count: e.g., 2
- Minimum: 1
- Maximum: 5
- Scale Out: Increase count by 1
- Scale In: Decrease count by 1
Click Save.

🔐 Step 5: Admin Credentials (Blurred Out?)

You may notice the admin username, password, and confirm password fields appear blurred or disabled.

🧠 Why is that?

Because you're using a specialized image — the credentials are already baked into the image. Azure doesn't require you to reset or re-enter them.

✅ Step 6: Review and Create

Review your configuration.
Make sure tags, VM size, network, and scaling settings are correct.
Click Create to deploy the VMSS.

⏳ After a few minutes, your scale set will be up and running!

🎯 Final Thoughts

You’ve now:

Reused a custom VM image
Created a scale set
Configured scaling policies
Understood why certain options (like specialized images and flexible orchestration) matter

From Scratch to Snapshot: Creating and Capturing Your First Windows VM on Azure"

Adesola Kehinde — Thu, 22 May 2025 17:10:17 +0000

Ever wanted to launch your own virtual machine (VM) in the cloud and save it as a reusable image? In this blog, I’ll walk you through the beginner-friendly steps I took to create a Windows VM on Azure and capture it into an image using Azure Compute Gallery.

You don’t need any coding. All you need is curiosity and a browser.

☁️ Step 1: Deploy a Simple Windows VM (Using a Quickstart Template)

Let’s kick things off the smart way — by using an Azure Quickstart Template to launch a Windows Virtual Machine in just a few clicks.

💡 Quickstart templates are like ready-made blueprints. You don’t have to write code or manually configure a dozen options — just fill in a few details and hit “Deploy.”

Here’s how I did it:

Head over to the Azure Quickstart Templates Gallery.
Search for "Simple Windows VM" and click the template.
Click the “Deploy to Azure” button — this sends you straight to the Azure Portal with the template pre-loaded.

Now the real magic happens! In the Azure Portal:

Resource Group: I created a new one with a memorable name to keep things tidy.
Virtual Machine Name: I went with MyWindowsVM.
Region: Chose the closest region to me for better latency.
Admin Username & Password: Pick something secure — you’ll need these to log in later.

🧠 Why start with a Windows VM? I’m comfortable with the Windows interface and wanted to explore GUI-based server setups before diving into Linux-based configurations.

✅ Pro Tip: Using the Quickstart template not only saved time, but also ensured I was deploying my VM using Microsoft’s best practices. It’s perfect for beginners and pros who don’t want to reinvent the wheel.

⚙️ Step 2: Review and Create

After configuring size, disk, and network settings (defaults are fine for now), hit Review + Create and then Create.

✅ You’ve now got a running Windows VM on Azure!

📸 Step 3: Capture the VM

Once the VM was running, I wanted to reuse its configuration later. So I captured an image of it. But there’s a catch:

❓ Generalized vs Specialized Image

Azure asked: “Do you want a generalized or specialized image?”

🧠 Why I chose Specialized: A specialized image includes everything — user settings, installed software, etc. Perfect for personal or test environments.

🧩 Steps to Capture:

Stop the VM (Azure won’t let you capture a running one).
Click on your VM → Capture
Choose:
- Image Name
- Create a new Compute Gallery
- Choose specialized
- Add version number
- (Optional) Add tags

Hit Review + Create, then Create ✅ Boom! You’ve now saved your VM as a reusable image in Azure Compute Gallery. ---

📁 Step 4: Validate and Organize

Azure will validate your capture and notify you once the image is available in your compute gallery. I recommend tagging your images to stay organized, especially if you plan to build scale sets later.

👀 Reflections

💡 This process was smoother than I expected. Choosing between generalized and specialized images is an important architectural decision depending on your use case. Since I didn’t need a clean template, specialized was just right.

🧠 What You Learned

How to deploy a Windows VM using Azure Portal
When to choose specialized vs generalized VM images
How to stop, capture, and store a VM image in Azure Compute Gallery

In the next post, I’ll show how I used this captured image to create a Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS) with autoscaling!

Stay tuned, and let me know in the comments if this helped or confused you — I’m learning too. 🤝

From EC2 to GitHub: Connecting Your Cloud Code Like a Pro

Adesola Kehinde — Tue, 20 May 2025 22:48:38 +0000

Hey DevOps explorer! 👋 Today we're diving into Project 2 of my 7-Day DevOps Challenge, where I connect my Java web app hosted on AWS EC2 to GitHub using Git. By the end of this post, you’ll understand how to:

✅ Install Git on your EC2 instance

✅ Set up a GitHub repo

✅ Track and commit code

✅ Push code from EC2 to GitHub using a personal access token

🛠 Why This Matters

Version control is a must-have skill for any developer. Whether you're flying solo or collaborating on a team, Git and GitHub help you keep your code safe, traceable, and easy to manage.

☁️ Step 1: Install Git on EC2

sudo dnf update -y
sudo dnf install git -y

Git is a version control tool that tracks your code changes. Installing it lets you start managing your code history on the server itself.

🔐 Step 2: Set Up GitHub & Create a Repo

Head to GitHub, create a free account (if you haven’t), and start a new repository — this is where your code will live in the cloud.

💡 A GitHub repository is like a magic folder that tracks every change in your project.

🌱 Step 3: Initialize Local Git Repo

git init

This sets up Git inside your project folder on EC2, creating a master branch.

✍️ Step 4: Track and Commit Code

git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

git add . stages your files, and git commit saves the snapshot. Think of it as telling Git, “Hey, these are the changes I care about.”

🔗 Step 5: Link to GitHub and Push

First, copy the HTTPS URL from your GitHub repo. Then:

git remote add origin https://github.com/your-username/your-repo-name.git
git branch -M master
git push -u origin master

Oops! Git might ask for your username and password, but GitHub no longer accepts passwords.

🔑 Step 6: Use a GitHub Token Instead

Go to GitHub → Settings → Developer Settings → Personal Access Tokens.

Generate a token with repo access and copy it. Use it when Git asks for a password.

🔐 A GitHub token is a secure key that acts like a password for Git operations.

💡 Bonus: Editing & Pushing Again

I updated index.jsp, then ran:

git add .
git commit -m "Updated homepage"
git push

And just like that—my changes appeared live in the GitHub repo. Magic!

🔁 What I Learned

Services used: EC2, Git, GitHub, VS Code

Concepts learned: version control, repo setup, staging/commits, GitHub tokens

⏱ Project Reflection

This project took me around 2 hours. The trickiest part? Setting up GitHub authentication.

The best part? Watching my code go live in my repo with one command.

This is just the beginning. Stay tuned for Project 3 tomorrow—CI/CD, here we come! 💥

From Zero to Cloud: Building Your First Java Web App on AWS with VS Code

Adesola Kehinde — Tue, 20 May 2025 04:07:52 +0000

This project is part one of a series of DevOps projects where I'm building a CI/CD pipeline! I'll be working on the next project in a few days to expand what I've learnt.

💡 Why I Did This Project

I wanted to learn how to set up the foundation of a CI/CD pipeline. This project walked me through the process of launching an EC2 instance and using it to build and edit a web app — completely in the cloud.

🟢 Step 1: Launch EC2 Instance

We started this project by launching an EC2 instance because EC2 instances are like virtual computers that live in the cloud. We want our web app to live entirely in the cloud, so we are launching an EC2 instance to even develop our web app's code.

🔑 Step 2: Key Pair

A key pair is a mechanism for us to access EC2 instances. I created a key pair that AWS stores the public part of, and I downloaded the private key. AWS will authenticate this private key when I connect later.

Once I set up my key pair, AWS automatically downloaded a .pem file to my computer.

🧠 Step 3: Understanding SSH

SSH is a secure way to remotely access another computer. I enabled SSH so that I could access my EC2 instance safely from my local computer.

🛠️ Step 4: Install VS Code

VS Code is a lightweight and powerful source code editor.

I installed VS Code to easily navigate and edit code inside my EC2 instance.

💻 Step 5: Terminal Setup + Key Permissions

I used the terminal to interact with my EC2 instance.

A terminal is a tool to run shell commands. The first command I ran for this project is cd ~/Desktop/Devops-keys.

I also updated my private key's permissions by running:

chmod 400 network-keypair.pem

🌐 Step 6: Connect to EC2

We're connecting to our EC2 instance so we can run code and install tools directly in the cloud.

To connect to my EC2 instance, I ran the command:

ssh -i "network-keypair.pem" ec2-user@<my-ec2-ipv4-dns>

A server's IPv4 DNS is the address I used to connect to the EC2 instance from my local machine.

🔧 Step 7: Install Java + Maven

We're installing tools to help us build and run Java-based web apps.

Apache Maven is a build automation tool used to manage Java projects. Maven is required in this project because it simplifies building and managing our Java web app.

Java is a programming language. Java is required in this project because our web app is written in Java.

🏗️ Step 8: Generate the App

In this step, I’m running a Maven command that generates the structure of a new Java web app — like creating the skeleton of the website.

I generated a Java web app using the command:

mvn archetype:generate ...

👁️ Step 9: View and Edit in VS Code

Even though I’m connected with SSH in the terminal, I want all of VS Code’s IDE features, so I installed Remote - SSH.

I installed Remote - SSH, which is a VS Code extension that lets me edit remote files. I installed it to open and manage my EC2 files like they’re local.

Configuration details required to set up a remote connection include the name of my EC2, its IP, and the private key path — so that VS Code can connect securely.

Using VS Code’s file explorer, I could see all the folders and files of the Java project.

Two of the project folders created by Maven are src and webapp, which contain the source code and web assets of the Java web app.

index.jsp is the home page of the web app. I edited index.jsp by adding my name to personalize the page.

✅ Final Thoughts

Services I used were EC2, SSH, VS Code, Maven, Java.

Key concepts I learnt include SSH, cloud-based development, Maven builds, and managing keys.

❗ One Thing I Didn’t Expect

I didn’t expect to learn so much about SSH and permissions! It was a fun challenge.

This project took me approximately 2 hours. The most challenging part was connecting and verifying the keys. It was most rewarding to see my web app running in the cloud!

🎯 Did It Meet My Goals?

Yes — I wanted to deploy code entirely from the cloud, and this project got me there.

Thanks for reading! 🚀 Stay tuned for the next DevOps adventure.

"How I Stopped Burning Money in the Cloud: A Dev’s Guide to FinOps (Without the Finance Headache)"

Adesola Kehinde — Mon, 19 May 2025 18:07:54 +0000

Cloud cost breakdowns don’t have to break you. Here’s a beginner-friendly dev's guide to FinOps—fun, practical, and a little too real.

Intro

You know that feeling when your cloud bill hits and you stare at it like it’s written in Elvish?

Yeah, me too.

I used to think cloud billing was just an annoying backend detail.

"It scales, right? That’s the dream!"

Until I realized we weren’t scaling—we were leaking money like a perforated S3 bucket.

That’s when I met FinOps.

Not a tool. Not a vendor. A mindset. A practice. A way to finally make sense of cloud costs without becoming a full-time accountant.

What Is FinOps?

Think DevOps, but for money.

FinOps (short for Cloud Financial Operations) is how teams—especially devs, finance, and product folks—collaborate to:

Understand where cloud money is going,
Optimize usage and rates,
And Operate in a way that makes cloud spending a strategic advantage, not just a painful invoice.

The Problems FinOps Solves (That You’ve Probably Felt)

Problem 1: Cloud Spend Is a Black Box

You deployed something two weeks ago. Now the cost has tripled.

Who did it? Why? No idea.

FinOps Fix:

FinOps brings visibility—with tagging, dashboards, and daily reporting so teams can trace spend back to services, teams, or even individual features.

Problem 2: Engineers Ship, Finance Panics

You push to prod, finance sees a spike, and now you’re on a Zoom call explaining Kubernetes to someone with a CPA.

(CPA = Certified Public Accountant. They audit money, not your YAML files.)

FinOps Fix:

It creates a shared language between teams.

You don’t need to become a financial analyst, but you'll understand cost implications of technical choices (and finance won’t file a ticket asking what "EBS" means).

(EBS = Elastic Block Store, a type of persistent storage volume in AWS. Translation: it costs money even when you’re not looking.)

Problem 3: Optimization Is Everyone’s Job (But No One Owns It)

No one gets rewarded for turning off idle instances. So no one does.

FinOps Fix:

With FinOps, optimization is incentivized. Engineers get visibility and ownership. Some orgs even gamify savings.

It’s like being paid in karma and cost savings.

Problem 4: Commitments Feel Like Handcuffs

Reserved Instances? Savings Plans?

What if we change our infra later?

FinOps Fix:

FinOps doesn’t jump into commitments blind—it uses data to forecast usage, then builds confidence in long-term discounts.

It’s about balance, not blind bets.

Why Should You Care (Even If You’re “Just a Developer”)?

Because cloud cost is a technical problem hiding in a financial wrapper. It affects:

Your architecture decisions,
Your team’s ability to ship fast,
Even product pricing.

FinOps gives you control without guilt.

You can ship fast and spend smart. No more guessing. No more end-of-month panic.

Final Thought

FinOps isn’t about becoming a spreadsheet wizard.

It’s about making cloud costs visible, actionable, and shared—so we can all stop burning money and start building smarter.

If You Liked This...

Follow me here on Dev.io for more honest, dev-first takes on:

FinOps
Cloud strategy
Cost-saving without compromising velocity

Got questions about implementing FinOps in your team? Drop a comment. Let’s talk shop.

A quick and beginner-friendly guide to deploying any HTML page to Azure App Service using only the CLI

Adesola Kehinde — Mon, 19 May 2025 04:04:04 +0000

The Complete Beginner's Guide to Kubernetes and Cloud Native Architecture

🚀 How I Deployed My First HTML File on Azure (in Minutes!)

Want to see your resume or project live on the internet? This tutorial is for you!

Let’s deploy an HTML file to Azure App Service — no prior cloud experience needed. It’s fun, fast, and free.

✅ Step 1: Prerequisites

Before we dive in, make sure you have the following:

✅ Azure CLI installed 👉 Install Azure CLI

✅ An active Azure Subscription 👉 Get free credits here

✅ Your HTML file (with any supporting assets)

🔐 Step 2: Login to Azure

Open your terminal (PowerShell, CMD, or Bash) and log in to Azure:

az login

If you have multiple subscriptions, set the one you want to use:

az account set --subscription "Your-Subscription-Name"

This helps avoid confusion if you’re managing more than one Azure account.

📌 Step 3: Create a Resource Group

A resource group helps organize your Azure resources like a folder.

az group create --name myResourceGroup --location southafricanorth

💡 You can change myResourceGroup to any name you prefer. For example, if you’re working on a portfolio site, something like portfolioResources works well.

💡 The location southafricanorth can be changed to any supported Azure region closer to your audience, like eastus or westeurope.

Use this command to list available regions:

az account list-locations -o table

🌐 Step 4: Create an App Service Plan

The App Service Plan defines what kind of infrastructure (CPU, memory, etc.) your app will run on. For this project, we’ll use the free tier:

az appservice plan create   --name myAppServicePlan   --resource-group myResourceGroup   --sku FREE

💡 You can name your App Service Plan whatever you want — for instance, htmlAppPlan.

💡 --sku FREE gives you enough compute power to host a basic HTML site — ideal for personal portfolios or testing.

🚀 Step 5: Create the Web App

Now, create the actual Web App that Azure will host:

az webapp create   --name kubernetesNotes   --resource-group myResourceGroup   --plan myAppServicePlan

📌 Your app name (kubernetesNotes) must be **globally unique* — Azure will use it to generate a public URL like:*

https://kubernetesNotes.azurewebsites.net

💡 If you get a naming error, try something more specific, such as myUniqueResumeApp2025.

You can replace kubernetesNotes with your own project name.

📂 Step 6: Upload and Host Your HTML File

Here’s how to replace the default hosting page with your own HTML:

✨ Option: Use Azure’s Advanced Tools (Kudu)

Go to the Azure Portal
Navigate to: App Services → your app name (e.g., kubernetesNotes)
In the left-hand menu, scroll to Advanced Tools and click "Go >"
This opens the Kudu console in a new tab
Click the top menu: Debug Console → CMD
In the file explorer, navigate to:
```
site > wwwroot
```
Edit the file hostingstart.html
Drag and drop your own HTML file (e.g., index.html) into the folder
Open a new browser tab and go to:

https://kubernetesNotes.azurewebsites.net

🎉 Your website is now LIVE!

🧠 Bonus: Want to Deploy via ZIP File Instead?

If you’re comfortable using the CLI, you can zip your HTML files and deploy them in one command:

zip -r resume.zip index.html assets/

az webapp deployment source config-zip   --resource-group myResourceGroup   --name kubernetesNotes   --src resume.zip

📦 This is useful when you’re deploying multiple files or updating them frequently.

Again, feel free to replace resume.zip and kubernetesNotes with your own zip file name and app name.

💬 Wrapping Up

You just:

✅ Logged into Azure
✅ Created a resource group and hosting plan
✅ Deployed a web app
✅ Uploaded your own HTML and went live on the internet!

All using just the CLI and Azure’s built-in tools — no servers, no frameworks, no stress. 👏

Now your resume, landing page, or mini project has a permanent home!

Secure and High-Availability Corporate Storage with Azure: Blobs, File Shares and Snapshots

Adesola Kehinde — Tue, 06 May 2025 02:33:21 +0000

There’s something comforting about knowing your company’s documents are safe, backed up, and only accessible to the right people. In this post, we’ll walk through setting up Azure storage for your internal files—complete with geo‑redundancy, private containers, easy partner sharing, automated cost‑savings, file shares with snapshots, and even locking it all down to your corporate network. Grab a coffee, fire up the Azure portal, and let’s make your files bulletproof!

1. Build Your Private Document Stronghold

What we’re doing: Creating a storage account that survives whole‑region outages by replicating data to another region.

In the Azure portal, click Storage accounts → + Create.
Select the resource group you used before.
Give your account a unique name like secureclient.
Under Redundancy, pick Geo‑redundant storage (GRS)—that’s your insurance policy.
Hit Review + create, then Create, and when it’s ready, click Go to resource.

2. Lock Down Your “Private” Container

Goal: Keep prying eyes out while you store sensitive documents.

Inside your new account, go to Containers → + Container.
Name it private, and choose Private (no anonymous access).
Click Create, then upload a small test file.
Copy its URL into a browser, if you see “Access denied,” you nailed it.

3. Give Partners Just‑Enough Access with SAS

Why SAS? You need to let an outside consultant view (or update) a single file for a day—without handing over your master keys.

Select your blob, click Generate SAS.
Grant only Read permission, set start to now and expiry to 24 hrs from now.
Click Generate, copy the SAS URL, and paste it in your browser. Voilà—secure, time‑limited access.

4. Automate Cost‑Saving with Lifecycle Rules

Think of it like your digital housecleaning: move files you haven’t touched in 30 days from Hot to Cool storage automatically.

Open Lifecycle management under Data management.
Click Add rule, name it MoveToCool.
Scope: All blobs; Condition: Last modified > 30 days; Action: Move to cool storage.
Save the rule and cross that off your to‑do list.

5. Mirror Public Assets into Your Private “Backup” Container

Double up the safety net by replicating your public website’s images and docs into a private backup.

In your private account, create a backup container.
Switch to your publicwebsite account and open Object replication → Create replication rule.
Source: public container. Destination: your private backup.
Click Create and watch the magic happen when you upload new files.

6. Share Files the Old‑School Way with Azure File Shares

Sometimes you need familiar drive‑letter file shares for finance, HR, or other teams.

In the private account, go to File shares → + File share. Name it corporatefiles.
Click into that share, + Add directory, call it finance, then upload a sample file there.

7. Protect & Recover with Snapshots

Snapshots are your undo button for accidental deletions.

Within your file share, select Snapshots → + Add snapshot.
Confirm your /finance folder and file appear.
Delete the file from /finance, then open Snapshots, find your snapshot, select the file, and click Restore—and just like that, it’s back.

8. Gate Access to Your Corporate Network Only

The last piece of the puzzle: lock the storage account so only your office network can reach it.

Under Virtual networks, click + Create and spin up a simple VNet with one subnet (defaults are fine).
In that subnet’s settings, add a Service endpoint for Microsoft.Storage → Save.
Back in your storage account’s Networking tab, set Public network access to Selected networks only, then add your VNet/subnet → Save.
Try browsing your file share from home—you’ll see “Not authorized,” because only your office network is allowed. t]*

Wrapping Up

And there you have it—a comprehensive, yet down‑to‑earth guide to building a secure, high‑availability storage solution in Azure. You’ve:

Created a geo‑redundant “private” account
Locked down your containers and granted temporary partner access
Automated cost‑saving lifecycle rules
Replicated public assets to private backup
Set up classic file shares with snapshots
Locked everything to your corporate network

How to create Azure Blob Storage Account: A beginner's step by step guide

Adesola Kehinde — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 00:03:04 +0000

Introduction
Azure Blob Storage is a highly scalable and cost-effective cloud storage solution for storing large amounts of unstructured data. Whether you’re storing text, images, or videos, Azure Blob Storage is designed to handle massive data sets with ease. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of creating an Azure Blob Storage account and configuring it for secure and efficient use.

Step-by-Step Process:
Step 1: Log in to the Azure Portal

Go to the Azure portal.
Log in with your Azure credentials.

Step 2: Search for Blob Storage

In the Azure portal, use the search bar at the top to search for Storage accounts.
Select Storage accounts from the results.

Step 3: Create a New Storage Account

Click on the + Create button to start the creation process.
Select the Subscription and Resource Group (you can use an existing one or create a new one).
Provide a unique name for your Storage account (it must be globally unique).
Select a Region where your storage account will reside.
Choose the Performance tier (Standard is usually sufficient for most cases).
Under the Redundancy tab, choose Locally-Redundant Storage (LRS) for cost-effective storage.
Review the configuration and click Create.

Step 4: Configure Storage Account Settings

Once the storage account is created, navigate to Data management and select Redundancy.
Choose Locally-redundant storage (LRS) in the Redundancy dropdown.
Click Save to apply your changes.

Step 5: Enabling Secure Transfer and TLS

In the Settings section, select the Configuration blade.
Ensure Secure transfer required is Enabled to ensure only secure connections.
Set the Minimal TLS version to 1.2 for stronger security.
Click Save to apply these settings.

Step 6: Disable Shared Key Access

Under Settings, go to the Configuration blade.
Disable Allow storage account key access to improve security.
Click Save.

Step 7: Allow Public Network Access

In the Security + Networking section, select the Networking blade.
Ensure Public network access is set to Enabled from all networks.
Click Save to finalize the settings.

Conclusion
By following these simple steps, you’ve successfully created an Azure Blob Storage account. This storage solution is ideal for handling large datasets and can be configured with secure access to ensure your data is protected.

Stay tuned for more in-depth coverage on Azure Blob Storage’s features, redundancy options, and best practices for managing your data.

Exploring Azure Blob Storage: Features, Redundancy, and Best Practices

Adesola Kehinde — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 22:58:39 +0000

Introduction

Ever wondered where all that "stuff" on the internet lives? A lot of it, especially things like documents, images, and videos, ends up in places like Azure Blob Storage. Think of it as a giant, super-organized digital warehouse in the cloud. Azure Blob Storage is Microsoft's service that lets you store tons of this unstructured data. It's designed to grow as much as you need, keep your data safe, and not cost you a fortune. In this blog post, we'll break down Azure Blob Storage, its features, how it keeps your data safe (redundancy), and how to use it like a pro.

What is Azure Blob Storage?

Imagine you have a massive amount of stuff to store—way more than your computer could handle. Azure Blob Storage is like a limitless storage space in Microsoft's cloud where you can keep all that data. It's really good at handling all sorts of data, from text and pictures to videos and audio files. It's built to handle huge amounts of data, so you don't have to worry about running out of space. Plus, it's designed to be super reliable and fast. You can get to your data from anywhere with an internet connection using standard web addresses (HTTP or HTTPS).

Types of Azure Blobs

Okay, so Azure Blob Storage is the big warehouse. Now, let's talk about how things are organized inside. There are three main ways to store your data, and they're called "blobs":

Block Blobs: These are your workhorse blobs. They're the best choice for storing most common file types, like documents, images, and videos. Think of them as being made up of smaller "blocks" that can be managed individually, which makes them really efficient for uploading and downloading large files. If you're streaming a video or backing up your data, you'll likely be using block blobs.

Append Blobs: Imagine you're adding entries to a log file. You just keep adding to the end, right? That's what append blobs are for. They're optimized for adding data to the end of a blob, which makes them perfect for things like logging data from applications.

Page Blobs: These are a bit more specialized. Think of them like the virtual hard drives for computers in the cloud. They're designed for storing files that need to be accessed randomly and frequently, and they can get pretty big (up to 8TB!). Azure Virtual Machines use page blobs to store their operating system disks.

Keeping Your Data Safe: Redundancy Options

Now, the really important stuff: how does Azure Blob Storage make sure your data doesn't disappear? That's where "redundancy" comes in. It's all about making extra copies of your data so that if something goes wrong, you don't lose anything. Azure gives you several ways to do this, and each one offers a different level of protection and cost:

Locally Redundant Storage (LRS): This is the simplest option. It makes three copies of your data, but all within the same building (data center). It's the cheapest way to go, but it only protects you from problems within that single data center (like a hard drive failing).

Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS): This is a step up in protection. It also makes three copies of your data, but it spreads those copies across three different buildings (availability zones) within the same geographic region. These buildings are independent, so if one loses power, your data is still safe.

Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS): Now we're talking serious protection. GRS copies your data to a data center hundreds of miles away in a completely different region. This protects you from major disasters like a hurricane or an earthquake that could take out an entire region.

Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage (RA-GRS): This is like GRS, but with a bonus. Not only does it copy your data to that far-away data center, but it also lets you read that data from the remote location, even if everything is working fine in your primary location. This can be useful for certain situations.

Geo-zone-redundant storage (GZRS): This option combines the best of both worlds. It spreads your data across multiple availability zones in the primary region and replicates it to a secondary region. This gives you excellent protection against both local and regional problems.

Read-access geo-zone-redundant storage (RA-GZRS): This is the ultimate in protection. It's like GZRS, but it also lets you read your data from the secondary region. It's the most resilient option Azure Blob Storage offers.

Using Azure Blob Storage Like a Pro: Best Practices

Okay, so you know what it is and how it keeps your data safe. Here's how to use it the right way:

Keep it Secure: Always use the most secure way to transfer your data (HTTPS), and make sure you're using the latest security standards (TLS 1.2 or later). Also, only give people the minimum access they need to your data. Don't give everyone the keys to the whole warehouse!

Clean Up Automatically: Azure has a cool feature called "lifecycle management." You can set up rules that automatically move your data to cheaper storage as it gets older (if you're not accessing it as often) or delete it altogether when you don't need it anymore. This can save you a lot of money!

Choose the Right Redundancy: Don't just pick the most expensive option by default. Think about how important your data is. If it's super critical (like customer data for a major application), use RA-GRS or RA-GZRS. If it's less important (like temporary files), LRS might be fine. For most applications, ZRS or GZRS are great choices.

Control Who Can Get In: Use Azure's built-in security tools (Azure Active Directory) to manage who can access your data. You can also use special "keys" (Shared Access Signatures, or SAS) to give someone limited access to specific data for a specific amount of time. It's like giving someone a temporary key to one specific room in the warehouse.

Use the Right Tools for the Job: If you're moving a lot of data, especially big files, use a tool called AzCopy. It's designed to be super-fast and efficient for transferring data to and from Azure Blob Storage.

Keep Things Organized: Just like you organize files into folders on your computer, organize your blobs into "containers" in Azure Blob Storage. This helps you keep things tidy and makes it easier to manage security settings.

Keep an Eye on Things: Azure gives you tools to monitor how much storage you're using and how well it's performing. Use these tools to make sure everything is running smoothly and to keep your costs under control.

Pick the Right Storage Tier: Azure Blob Storage has different "tiers" with different prices and performance. "Hot" is for data you access frequently (like active project files), "Cool" is for data you access less often (like backups), and "Archive" is for data you almost never access (like old records). Choosing the right tier can save you a lot of money.

Conclusion

Azure Blob Storage is a really powerful and flexible way to store all sorts of data in the cloud. Whether you're storing website content, backing up your data, or building a data-intensive application, Azure Blob Storage can handle it. By understanding how it works, how to keep your data safe, and how to use it efficiently, you can take full advantage of what it has to offer. It's like having a giant, secure, and well-organized warehouse for all your digital stuff!

"How to Create a Resource Group in Azure: A Step-by-Step Guide"

Adesola Kehinde — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 22:15:09 +0000

Introduction:

In this blog, we’ll walk you through the process of creating a Resource Group in Azure, an essential part of managing and organizing your resources in the cloud.

Step 1:

Step 2:

Searching for Resource Groups
Once logged in, use the search bar to find "Resource Groups".

Step 3:

Creating a New Resource Group
Click the “+ Create” button and enter your desired Resource Group name and region. After reviewing the settings, click “Create”.

Creating a Resource Group in Azure is the first step in effectively managing your cloud resources. It allows you to organize and control various Azure services, ensuring they are easily accessible and manageable as you scale your cloud infrastructure. By following the simple steps outlined in this guide, you’re now ready to start leveraging Azure’s powerful tools for your projects.

Whether you’re just starting with Azure or looking to refine your cloud management skills, the process of creating and managing resource groups is foundational to maintaining an efficient and cost-effective cloud environment.

Happy cloud computing!