DEV Community: UMEOHIA NNAMDI

How to create a virtual machine scale set in Azure.

UMEOHIA NNAMDI — Sun, 24 Aug 2025 17:57:04 +0000

A Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS) is a service in Microsoft Azure that lets you create and manage many virtual machines that are all the same. It helps your application handle more users by automatically adding or removing virtual machines based on how much work there is.
This guide will show you how to create a virtual machine using windows 10 as the operating system, Create an Azure Compute Gallery independently to store and manage shared virtual machine images, publish the image to Azure Compute Gallery, and deploy it in a scalable virtual machine scale set to handle increased user demand.

Creating a virtual machine using windows 10 as an operating system. Steps:

1.Login to your Azure portal. https://portal.azure.com/

2.In the search bar, type Virtual Machine and select the option that appears grayed out.

3.Select + Create.

4.Select virtual machine.

5.On the Basic tab, under Project details, select your Subscription and select an existing Resource group or create a new one.

6.Still on the Basics tab, under Instance details, enter your Virtual Machine name, select the Region, Availability options, Zone options, Availability zone, Security type, Image, VM Architecture, decide if you want to use the Azure Spot discount, and choose the VM size.

7.On the Basics, under Administrator account, create an** Admin username** and password.

8.Choose and select the Inbound port rules. check the licensing box.

9.Select Review + Create.

10.Wait for validation pass, select Create.

11.Wait for the deployment to complete and Go to resource.

To manage your resources on the go, you can add them to your mobile device by scanning the QR code in the Azure portal.

1.On the resources, select open in mobile.

2.Scan the QR code or use the link on your mobile device.

3.After scanning the QR code on your phone, tap the link it will open the Google Play Store for Android or the Apple App Store for iPhone.

4.Select download and install in Google play store/Apple store.

5.After installation, select Open.

6.The link will open the Azure app you downloaded, click sign in.

7.Fill in your Login details, click next to sign in.

We need to capture an image of the virtual machine before creating a Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS). This image includes the operating system and settings of the virtual machine we want to scale. Since virtual machine scale set creates multiple copies of a virtual machine, we use this image to make sure each copy is exactly the same. We save the image in the Azure Compute Gallery, which acts as a central place to store and manage images. You can also create the Compute Gallery while capturing the image or do it separately. In this guide, we will create the Compute Gallery first before capturing the image.

Creating a compute gallery. Steps:

1.In the search bar, type Azure compute galleries and select the option that appears grayed out.

2.Select + Create.

3.On the basics, under project details, choose your subscription and resource group.

4.On the Basics, under Instance details. Choose the name and the region.

5.Select Review + Create.

6.Select Create when the validation is passed.

7.Wait for the complete deployment.

Now that we have created the Compute Gallery to store our image, we can go ahead and capture the image from the virtual machine and save it in the gallery.

Capturing Image.

1.Go to the virtual machine, on the overview page. Click on capture, and select image.

2.On the basics, under the project details, take the default subscription and choose your resource group.

3.Under the instance details, the region is selected by default already.

4.Under Gallery details, select the Compute Gallery we already created. You will see two options for the operating system state: Generalized and Specialized. For this guide, we will choose Specialized. Also choose your target VM image definition or create a new one.

Generalized: When you create a virtual machine from this image, you will need to set up things like the computer name, admin username, and password the first time it starts.
Specialized: virtual machines created from this image are already fully set up, so you do not need to enter a name, username, or password, they are ready to use right away.

This is how you create a Target VM image definition.

5.Under Version details, choose your version number, end life of date.

6.Under Replication, choose your default storage sku, and default replica count.

7.You can add more regions to make your image available in different locations. This improves availability, but it also increases the cost.

8.Select Review + create.

9.select Create when it passed its validation.

10.Wait for deployment to complete. N/B before the deployment of the image, the virtual machine will be deallocated first. And the deployment takes couple of minutes.

It is important to know that an image is used to create both virtual machines and virtual machine scale sets.

An image is what you use to create both single virtual machines and groups of virtual machines in a scale set.

Creating a Virtual machine scale set (VMSS).

1.In the Azure portal, open the image you created. On the overview page, click + Create VMSS to start making a Virtual Machine Scale Set.

2.On the Basics, under the Project details, choose your subscription and resource group.

3.Under scale set details, choose the virtual machine scale set name and your region.

4.Under Orchestration, pick the orchestration mode. There are two options: Flexible and Uniform. For this guide, we will choose Flexible.

Flexible is best when you need high availability for lots of virtual machines.

Uniform is good for simple, stateless systems where all virtual machines are the same.

5.Under Scaling, you can choose Manual or Autoscaling. Autoscaling lets the system add more virtual machines when CPU usage is high (like during heavy traffic) and remove virtual machines when it's low. But for this guide, we will use Manual scaling. We will set the Instance count to 1 for now and increase it manually later if needed.

6.Under the Instance details, choose the Image (the one we created initially) and size.

Under Administrator account, you will see that the username and password fields are grayed out. That it because we chose the Specialized operating system, which already has this information set up.

7.Select Review + Create.

8.When the validation is passed, Select Create.

9.Wait for the deployment to complete and select Go to resource

10.In the left hand menu under Resources, type Scaling in the search bar. Then under Availability + Scale, click on Scaling to manage how your virtual machine scale set scales.

11.To manually scale up the instance count, select manual scale, increase to 2 and save.

12.Go to your virtual machine and confirm it creating other 2 virtual machines.

How to create a window 10 virtual machine and attach a data disk to it.

UMEOHIA NNAMDI — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 02:45:53 +0000

A virtual machine is a type of software that copies how a real computer works. A virtual machine runs an operating system and applications like a real computer. However, it is stored on a physical computer called the host. It is controlled by a program called a hypervisor, which creates and runs virtual machines.
A disk is a type of storage used mainly with Virtual Machines (VMs). It works like a hard drive in a real computer, but it is in the cloud. Azure disks store the operating system, apps, and other files.

How to create a window 10 virtual machine.

1.Login to Azure portal https://portal.azure.com.

2.In Azure portal, search for and select virtual machine.

3.Click + Create.

4.Select Virtual machine.

5.On the Basics tab, Select the subscription and the resource group or create new one (give it a name and click OK).

6.On the Basics tab, under Instance details; give your virtual machine a name, select region, select availability option, select availability zone, select security type, select the Image (which is the operating system), and then check on the Run with Azure spot discount.

7.Under Administrator account, choose a Username and create a password.

8.Under Inbound port rules, select your inbound ports as HTTP 80 and RDP 3389. Check the licensing box.

9.On the Monitoring tab, under diagnostics, disable your boot diagnostics to protect your Privacy. This stops Microsoft from tracking some details of your Virtual Machine.

10.On the Tags tab, create a name and value to help categorize resources for easy identification and trackings.

11.Select Review + create.

12.When validation is passed, select Create.

13.Wait for the deployment to complete and go the resource.

14.On the resource, select the public IP address.

15.Increase the idle time out and save.

How to add data disk to the virtual machine.

1.On the overview of the virtual machine, under settings section, select Disks.

2.Under data disks, select create and attach new disk. Choose the LUN(logical unit number), disk name, storage type, size, encryption and host caching. And apply.

Connect to your Remote desktop and format the data disk to be healthy or usable.

1.On the virtual machine overview, click on connect dropdown and select connect to connect to your remote desktop.

2.Click on Select and for validation and configuration.

3.Select download RDP file to download the file.

4.Go to your download to open the file. Remote desktop connection security warning will prompt up, select connect.

5.Enter your Admin password for authorization.

6.Remote desktop connection certification warning will prompt up, select yes.

**7.Remote desktop is deployed and connected.

To format the data disk and make it usable/Healthy.

1.On your Remote Desktop, go to the search bar at the bottom of the screen. Type Disk Management, then click on Create and format hard disk partitions.

2.Select ok to initialize a disk before logical disk manager can access it.

3.Scroll down, On the disk you created (Disk 2),right click and select New simple volume.

4.Select Next to start the New simple volume wizard.

5.Select Next to specify volume size.

6.Assign drive letter or path and select Next.

7.choose the volume label and select Next.

8.Select Finish to complete the New simple volume wizard.

9.After completing our new simple volume wizard, then our disk is healthy/usable or allocated.

How to manage tags and locks in Azure.

UMEOHIA NNAMDI — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 15:57:06 +0000

As more companies use Microsoft Azure for their cloud needs, it's important to manage resources in a way that keeps things secure, cost-effective, and easy to run. Two helpful tools for this are tags and locks.
Tags help you label and group resources so they’re easier to track, organize, and manage.
Locks protect important resources from being accidentally changed or deleted.
Knowing how to use tags and locks the right way can make a big difference in how you manage your Azure environment.
In this article, we’ll look at simple and effective ways to use these tools to keep your Azure resources safe and well-organized.

Manage tags and locks on Virtual Machine

Adding tags to resources is a quick way to be able to group and organize resources. Tags can be added at different levels, giving you the ability to organize and group resources at a level that makes sense for you.

Add tags to a virtual machine
You’ll start by adding a pair of tags to the virtual machine. One tag will be to identify the purpose of the virtual machine and the other will be to indicate the department the machine supports.

1.Login to Microsoft Azure at https://portal.azure.com

2.In the Azure portal, search and select virtual machines.

3.Select the guided-project-vm virtual machine.

4.From the menu, select Tags. On one line for Name enter Department and for Value enter Customer Service. On the next line, for Name enter Purpose and for Value enter FTP Server. Select Apply.

While you’re working on the virtual machine, it’s a great time to add a resource lock.

Add a resource lock to a Virtual Machine

1.Expand the Settings submenu. Select** Locks**.

2.Select + Add.

3.For the name, enter VM-delete-lock. For the Lock type, select Delete. You may enter a note to help remind you why you created the lock.

4.Select OK.

That’s it. Now the VM is protected from deletion and has tags assigned to help track use.

Add tags to network resources

1.In the Azure portal, search and select virtual networks.

2.Select the guided-project-vnet network.

3.From the menu, select Tags.

4.For the Name select Department. For the Value enter IT. Select Apply.

Now both the Virtual Network and Virtual Machine are organized.

How to control storage access in Azure.

UMEOHIA NNAMDI — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 00:14:21 +0000

In today’s digital world, it's important to control who can access storage systems to keep data safe, meet regulations, and run operations smoothly. In cloud storage, setting clear rules on who can see, change, or delete files helps protect information and prevent misuse. With the right access controls, businesses can reduce risks, work more efficiently, and follow security guidelines.
This article looks at simple ways to manage storage access.

Here are the steps to follow:

Create a storage container. Steps:

1.Login to Microsoft Azure at https://portal.azure.com

2.In the Azure portal, search and select storage accounts.

3.Select the storage account you created in the Prepare exercise (guidedprojectprep01sa). Note: it should be associated with the resource group guided-project-rg.

4.On the Data storage account menu, select Containers. Select + Add container.

5.Give the container a name storage-container. Select Create.

Uploading a file to the storage container:

6.Select the storage container you just created.

7.Select Upload and upload a file to it. Once the file is ready for upload, select Upload.

Changing the access tier:

8.Select the file you just uploaded.

9.Select Change tier.

10.Select Cold. Select** Save**.

Create a file share. steps:

1.In the Azure portal, search and select storage accounts.

2.Select the storage account you created in the Prepare exercise (guidedprojectprep01sa). Note: it should be associated with the resource group guided-project-rg.

3.On the storage account, under the Data storage section, select File shares. Select + File share.

4.On the Basics tab, in the name field enter file-share.

5.On the Backup tab, uncheck Enable backup. Select Review + create.

6.Select Create.

7.Select Upload and upload a file to it. Once the file is ready for upload, select Upload.

Create a shared access signature token. Steps:

1.In the Azure portal, search and select storage accounts.

2.Select the storage account you created in the Prepare exercise (guidedprojectprep01sa).

3.On the storage account, select Storage browser. Expand Blob containers. Select the storage container you created earlier, storage-container.

4.Select the ellipses (three dots) on the end of the line for the image you uploaded. Select Generate SAS.

5.Set Signing method to Account key. Set Signing key to Key 1. Set Stored access policy to None. Set Permissions to Read. Enter a custom start and expiry time or leave the defaults.

6.Set Allowed protocols to HTTPS only. Select Generate SAS token and URI. Copy the Blob SAS URL and paste it in another window or tab of your browser.

7.It should display the image you uploaded.

Rotate access keys. Steps:

1.In the Azure portal, search and select storage accounts.

2.Select the storage account you created in the Prepare exercise (guidedprojectprep01sa).

3.On the storage account, under the security + networking section, select Access keys. For Key 1, select Rotate key.

4.Read and then acknowledge the warning about regenerating the access key by selecting Yes.

5.Once you see the success message for rotating the access key, go back to the window or tab you used to check the SAS token and refresh the page. You should receive an authentication failed error.

How to manage virtual machines in Azure.

UMEOHIA NNAMDI — Sun, 27 Jul 2025 13:07:02 +0000

Virtual machines (VMs) have become a key part of modern IT systems. Whether you're working on a small project or running a large company’s data center, Virtual machines (VMs) help by making systems more flexible, scalable, and cost-effective. But to get the most out of them, they need to be managed well. This includes setting them up, keeping them running smoothly, watching their performance, and making sure they're secure.
In this article, we’ll cover the basic steps, tools, and best practices for managing virtual machines effectively in today’s fast changing tech world.

Here are steps to follow:

Move the virtual machine network to the new subnet. Steps:

1.Login to Microsoft Azure at https://portal.azure.com

2.In the Azure portal, search and select virtual machines.

3.Select virtual machines under services. Select the guided-project-vm virtual machine.

4.If the virtual machine is running, select Stop.

5.Wait for the Status field to update and show Stopped (deallocated).

6.Under the Networking section of the menu, select Network settings. Select the Network interface / IP configuration hyperlink for the Virtual machine.

7.On the IP Configurations page, update the Subnet to ftpSubnet. Select Apply.

Resizing the Virtual machine. Steps:

1.In the Azure portal, search and select virtual machines.

2.Select virtual machines under services. Select the guided-project-vm virtual machine.

3.Under the Availability + scale of the menu, select Size. Select a new Virtual Machine size D2s_v5 for example. (Note: If you don’t see the same size as shown in this exercise, select something similar.) Select Resize.

Attach data disks to a virtual machine. Steps:

1.In the Azure portal, search and select virtual machines.

2.Select virtual machines under services. Select the guided-project-vm virtual machine.

3.Under the settings section, select Disks. Select Create and attach a new disk.

4.Leave LUN as default. Enter ftp-data-disk for the Disk name. Leave the Storage type as default. Enter 20 for the Size. Select Apply.

Configure automatic shutdown on a virtual machine. Steps:

1.In the Azure portal, search and select virtual machines.

2.Select virtual machines under services. Select the guided-project-vm virtual machine.

3.Under the operations section, Select Auto-shutdown. Select ON (on Enabled section). In order to let late uploads finish, set the Scheduled shutdown to 7:15:00 PM. Select Save.

How to update an Azure virtual network.

UMEOHIA NNAMDI — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 23:17:58 +0000

Azure Virtual Network (VNet) is a fundamental element of Azure’s cloud infrastructure, offering a secure, isolated, and flexible networking environment for your cloud resources. As your infrastructure needs change, you may need to modify your VNet by adding subnets, creating and associating new network security groups.

This article walks you through the steps to update an Azure virtual network using the Azure portal.

Create a new subnet on an existing virtual network (vNet). Steps:

1.Login to Microsoft Azure at https://portal.azure.com.

2.In the Azure portal, search for and select virtual networks.

3.Select the guided-project-vnet virtual network.

4.In the guided-project-vnet, under settings, select Subnets.

5.Select +subnet.

6.For Subnet purpose leave it as Default. Give subnet a name: ftpSubnet. Leave the rest as default and select ADD.

Create a network security group. Steps:

1.In the Azure portal, search for and select virtual networks.

2.Select Network security groups. Select + Create.

3.Verify the subscription is correct. Select the guided-project-rg as resource group. Enter ftpNSG for the network security group name. Select Review + create.

4.Select create.

5.Wait for deployment to be completed. Select Go to resource.

Create an inbound security rule. Steps:

1.On your virtual networks section, select Network security groups blade, select your network security group.

2.Under the settings section, select Inbound security rules blade. Select +Add.

3.Change the Destination port ranges from 8080 to 22. Select TCP for the protocol. Set the name to ftpInbound. Select Add.

Associate a network security group to a subnet.

1.In the Azure portal, search for and select virtual networks.

2.On the virtual network section, select virtual networks, Select the guided-project-vnet virtual network.

3.Under settings section, select Subnets blade. Select the ftpSubnet you created.

4.On the Edit subnet page, under the Security section heading, update the Network security group field to ftpNSG. Select Save.

How to create a virtual machine in Azure.

UMEOHIA NNAMDI — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 18:15:26 +0000

What is a Virtual Machine?

A virtual machine (VM) is a software-created version of a physical computer. It operates its own operating system (OS) and runs applications just like a physical machine, but within an isolated environment managed by a software layer called a hypervisor. This enables one physical computer to host several virtual machines at once.

Each VM is equipped with its own virtual CPU, memory, storage, and network interface, allowing it to function as an independent computer system.

Creating a virtual machine (VM) is a great way to run multiple operating systems on a single computer, test software safely, or set up a secure development environment. Whether you’re a student, developer, or IT professional, learning how to set up a virtual machine is a useful skill. In this article, we’ll walk you through the basic steps to create a virtual machine.

Here are the steps to follow:

1.Log in to the Azure portal.

2.In the Azure portal, search for and select Virtual machines.

3.Click +create, select the first one on the list of dropdown.

4.On the basics tab, create a resource group, give it a name, and click OK.

5.Give virtual machine a name. Select a region.

6.Select Availability zone.

7.Go to image, in the dropdown select the operating system of choice. Notice the size is available and supported in the selected zone.

8.In the administrator account section, add a username and a password.

9.In the public inbound ports, select allow selected ports. Go to select inbound ports and select HTTP(80). Confirm the licensing by checking the box.

10.Go to monitoring tab, on the boot diagnostics, select disable.

11.Give your virtual machine a tag.

12.Review + create.

13.Wait till validated, and then CREATE.

14.Go to resource.

15.Go to the public IP address, click on it, drag the slider out to increase the timeout from 4 minutes to 30 minutes, click on SAVE.

16.Connect to the virtual machine. Click on CONNECT.

17.Click on download RDP file.

18.Go to your downloads and open the file. Click connect.

19.Input username and password used while creating the virtual machine and click OK.

20.Wait till it opens. On the choose privacy settings for your device popup message, click accept.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our virtual machine.

Provide storage for a new company app.

UMEOHIA NNAMDI — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 11:37:49 +0000

As companies go digital, creating a new app is often a big step toward working faster, reaching more customers, or automating tasks. But for any app to work well, one of the most important things to get right is where and how the app’s data is stored. This includes things like user details, uploaded files, transactions, and media. A good storage system should be safe, easy to grow, and dependable.

Picking the right storage isn’t just a tech choice, it affects how well the app runs, how safe the data is, and how easy it is to manage over time. Whether your app is for staff use or customers around the world, you need a plan that can grow with your data, deliver quick access, and keep sensitive info protected.

Architecture Diagram

In this article, we’ll look at how to set up strong storage for a new app.
These are the steps to follow:

Create the storage account and managed identity.

1.Provide a storage account for the web app. Steps:

A. Log in to the Azure portal.

B. In the portal, search for and select Storage accounts.

C. Select + Create.

D. For Resource group select Create new. Give your resource group a name. Provide a Storage account name.

E. Move to the Encryption tab. Check the box for Enable infrastructure encryption.

F. Select Review + Create. And then create.

G. Wait for the storage account to deploy, and then select Go to resource.

2.Provide a managed identity for the web app to use. Steps:

A. In the Azure portal, search for and select Managed identities.

B. Select Create.

C. Select your resource group. Give your managed identity a name. Select Review and create.

D. Select create.

3.Assign the correct permissions to the managed identity. The identity only needs to read and list containers and blobs. Steps:

A. Go to your storage account. Select the Access Control (IAM) blade. Select Add role assignment.

B. On the Job functions roles page, search for and select the Storage Blob Data Reader role. Click on it, and select Next.

C. On the Members page, select Managed identity. Select + select members, in the Managed identity drop-down select User-assigned managed identity. Select the managed identity you created in the previous step. Click Select.

D. Select Review + assign. Select Review + assign a second time to add the role assignment.

Secure access to the storage account with a key vault and key.

1.To create the key vault and key needed for this part of the lab, your user account must have Key Vault Administrator permissions. Steps:

A. In the portal, search for and select Resource groups.

B. Select your resource group.

C. In the resource group, search for and select Access Control (IAM) blade. Select Add role assignment (this will show when you click the +Add).

D. On the Job functions roles page, search for and select the Key Vault Administrator role. Select Next.

E. On the Members page, select User, group, or service principal. Select +Select members. Search for and select your user account. Click Select.

F. Select review + assign. Select Review + assign a second time to add the role assignment.

2.Create a key vault to store the access keys. Steps:

A. In the portal, search for and select Key vaults.

B. Select Create.

C. Select your resource group. Provide the name for the key vault.

D. Ensure on the Access configuration tab that Azure role-based access control (recommended) is selected. Select Review + create.

E. Wait for the validation checks to complete and then select Create.

F. select Go to resource.

G. On the Overview blade ensure both Soft-delete and Purge protection are enabled.

3.Create a customer-managed key in the key vault. Steps:

A. In your key vault, in the Objects section, select the Keys blade. Select Generate/Import and Name the key. Select create to Create the key.

B. Notice key is successfully created.

Configure the storage account to use the customer managed key in the key vault.

1.Before you can complete the next steps, you must assign the Key Vault Crypto Service Encryption User role to the managed identity. Steps:

A. In the portal, search for and select Resource groups.

B. Select your resource group.

C. In your resource group search and select the Access Control (IAM) blade. Select Add role assignment.

D. On the Job functions roles page, search for and select the Key Vault Crypto Service Encryption User role. Click on it and select Next.

E. On the Members page, select Managed identity. Select Select members, in the Managed identity drop-down select User-assigned managed identity. Select your managed identity. Click Select.

F. Select Review + assign. Select Review + assign a second time to add the role assignment.

2.Configure the storage account to use the customer managed key in your key vault. Steps:

A. Go to your the storage account. In the Security + networking section, select the Encryption blade. Select Customer-managed keys.

B. Select a key vault and key. Select your key vault and key. Select to confirm your choices. Ensure the Identity type is User-assigned. Select an identity. Select your managed identity then select Add. Select Save.

Configure an time-based retention policy and an encryption scope.

1.The developers require a storage container where files can’t be modified, even by the administrator. Steps:

A. Go to your storage account. In the Data storage section, select the Containers blade. Select +Add container.

B. Create a container called hold. Take the defaults. Click create.

C. Upload a file to the container.

D. In the Settings section, select the Access policy blade. In the Immutable blob storage section, select + Add policy.

E. For the Policy type, select time-based retention. Set the Retention period to 5 days. Click Save.
Be sure to Save your changes.

F. Try to delete the file in the container. Verify you are notified failed to delete blobs due to policy.

2.The developers require an encryption scope that enables infrastructure encryption. Steps:

A. Go to your storage account. In the Security + networking blade, select Encryption.

B. In the Encryption scopes tab, select Add.

C. Give your encryption scope a name. The Encryption type is Microsoft-managed key. Set Infrastructure encryption to Enable. Select Create.

D. Return to your storage account and create a new container.

E. Notice on the New container page, there is the Name and Public access level. Notice in the Advanced section you can select the Encryption scope you created and apply it to all blobs in the container, and then Create.

How to provide shared file storage for the company offices.

UMEOHIA NNAMDI — Sun, 13 Jul 2025 11:48:57 +0000

In today’s digital workplace, smooth collaboration between company offices is essential. Whether your teams are in different cities or countries, they need fast, secure, and reliable access to shared files to stay productive and aligned. Traditional file storage methods often struggle in this environment, leading to delays, version issues, and security concerns.

This article outlines the main steps for setting up shared file storage across offices.

Architecture diagram

Create and configure a storage account for Azure Files.

Steps
Create a storage account for the finance department’s shared files. Steps:

A. Log in to the Azure portal.

B. In the portal, search for and select Storage accounts.

C. Select + Create.

D. For Resource group select Create new. Give your resource group a name and select OK to save your changes.

E. Provide a Storage account name.

F. Set the Performance to Premium. Set the Premium account type to File shares. Set the Redundancy to Zone-redundant storage.

G. Select Review and then Create the storage account.

H. Wait for the resource to deploy. Select Go to resource.

Create and configure a file share with directory.

1.Create a file share for the corporate office. Steps:

A. In the storage account, in the Data storage section, select the File shares blade.

B. Select + File share and provide a Name. Go to Review + create.

C. Select create.

2.Add a directory to the file share for the finance department. Steps:

A. Select your file share and select + Add directory.

B. Name the new directory finance. Select OK.

C. Select Browse and then select the finance directory.

D. Notice you can Add directory to further organize your file share.

E. Upload a file of your choosing.

Configure and test snapshots.

1.To protect against accidental deletion of files. You decide to use snapshots. Steps:

A. Select your file share. In the Operations section, select the Snapshots blade.

B. Select + Add snapshot. The comment is optional. Select OK.

2.Practice using snapshots to restore a file. Steps:

A. Return to your file share. Browse to your file directory.

B. Locate your uploaded file and in the Properties pane select Delete. Select Yes to confirm the deletion.

C. Select the Snapshots blade and then select your snapshot.

D. Navigate to the file you want to restore. Select the file and the select Restore.

Configure restricting storage access to selected virtual networks.

1.This tasks in this section require a virtual network with subnet.

A. Search for and select Virtual networks.

B. Select Create.

C. Select your resource group. Give the virtual network a name.

D. Select Review + create, and then Create.

E. Wait for the resource to deploy. Select Go to resource.

F. In the Settings section, select the Subnets blade.

G. Select the default subnet.

H. In the Service endpoints section choose Microsoft.Storage in the Services drop-down. And make sure you save your changes.

2.The storage account should only be accessed from the virtual network you just created.
A. Return to your files storage account. In the Security + networking section, select the Networking blade.

B. Change the Public network access to Enabled from selected virtual networks and IP addresses. In the Virtual networks section, select Add existing virtual network. Select your virtual network and subnet, select Add.

C. Be sure to Save your changes.

D. Select the Storage browser and navigate to your file share.

E. Verify the message not authorized to perform this operation. You are not connecting from the virtual network.

How to provide private storage for internal company documents

UMEOHIA NNAMDI — Sat, 12 Jul 2025 08:52:19 +0000

In today’s digital landscape, protecting internal company documents is not just advisable, it’s essential. These documents frequently contain sensitive information such as financial data, strategic plans, employee records, and legal contracts. If compromised, whether through accidental exposure or inadequate infrastructure, the consequences can include data breaches, regulatory fines, and a loss of stakeholder trust.

A private storage account in Microsoft Azure is a type of storage account that blocks all public access, making sure only authorized users or applications within your network can access the data.

This article explains how companies can safely store their internal documents using modern cloud or in-office storage solutions.

Architecture diagram

Here are the steps to follow:

Create a storage account and configure high availability.

Create a storage account for the internal private company documents. Steps:

A. Log into the Azure portal.

B. In the portal, search for and select Storage accounts.

C. Select + Create.

D. Select a Resource.

E. Set the Storage account name to private.

F. Select review and then create.

G. Wait for the storage account to deploy.

Configure high availability. Steps:

A. Go to resource.

B. In the storage account, in the Data management section, select the Redundancy blade.

C. Ensure Geo-redundant storage (GRS) is selected.

D. Review the primary and secondary location information.

E. Save your changes.

Create a storage container, upload a file, and restrict access to the file. Steps:

1.Create a private storage container for the corporate data.

A. In the storage account, in the Data storage section, select the Containers blade.

B. Select + add Container.

C. Ensure the Name of the container is private.

D. Ensure the Public access level is Private (no anonymous access).

E. Select create.

For testing, upload a file to the private container, test to ensure the file isn’t publicly accessible. Steps:

A. Select the container.

B. Select Upload.

C. Browse to files and select a file.

D. Upload the file.

E. Select the uploaded file.

F. On the Overview tab, copy the URL.

G. Paste the URL into a new browser tab.

H. Verify the file doesn’t display and you receive an error.

Configure and test a shared access signature (SAS) for an external partner who requires read and write access to the file for at least the next 24 hours. Steps:

A. Select your uploaded blob file and move to the Generate SAS tab.

B. In the Permissions drop-down, ensure the partner has only Read permissions.

C. Verify the Start and expiry date/time is for the next 24 hours.

D. Select Generate SAS token and URL.

E. Copy the Blob SAS URL to a new browser tab.

F. Verify you can access the file. If you have uploaded an image file it will display in the browser.

Configure storage access tiers and content replication.

To save on costs, after 30 days, move blobs from the hot tier to the cool tier. Steps: Steps: A. Return to the storage account. In the Overview section, notice the Default access tier is set to Hot.

B. In the Data management section, select the Lifecycle management blade.

C. Select Add rule.

D. Set the Rule name to movetocool. Set the Rule scope to Apply rule to all blobs in the storage account. Select Next.

E. Ensure Last modified is selected. Set More than (days ago) to 30. In the Then drop-down select Move to cool storage. Add the rule.

2.The public website files need to be backed up to another storage account.Steps :

A. In your storage account, create a new container called backup. Use the default values.

B. Navigate to your publicwebsite storage account. In the Data management section, select the Object replication blade. Select Create replication rules.

C. Set the Destination storage account to the private storage account.

D. Set the Source container to public and the Destination container to backup. Create the replication rule.

How to provide a storage for the public website

UMEOHIA NNAMDI — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 20:31:08 +0000

Hosting a static website on Azure Blob Storage offers a scalable and budget-friendly solution. Enabling public access, soft delete, and blob versioning ensures your site is accessible to users, protected against accidental deletions, and maintains a history of file changes.

Storage account in Microsoft Azure is a secure, scalable cloud service used to store and access a wide variety of data objects. It acts like a container that holds different types of data services including : blob storage, file storage, table storage, queue storage and disk storage.

            Architecture diagram

This guide will help you:

-Create an Azure Blob Storage account with high availability that will continue to work and keep data accessible, even if some hardware or entire regions fail.

-Allow anonymous public access so that anyone can view your files without needing to log in.

-Create a blob storage container to store your website files and make them available online.

-Enable soft delete, which lets you recover files if they are accidentally deleted.

-Enable blob versioning, so you can go back to earlier versions of a file if needed.

These are the steps to follow:

Create a storage account with high availability.
Step 1. Log in to the Azure Portal.

Step 2. In the portal, search for and select Storage accounts.

Step 3. Select + Create.

Step 4. For resource group select new. Give your resource group a name and select OK

Step 5. Set the Storage account name to publicwebsite.

Step 6. Select Review and then Create.

Step 7. Create and Wait for the storage account to deploy.

Step 8. Go to storage account, in the Data management section, select the Redundancy blade.

Step 9. Ensure Read-access Geo-redundant storage is selected.

Step 10. Review the primary and secondary location information.

Step 11. Go to storage account, in the Settings section, select the Configuration blade.

Step 12. Ensure the Allow blob anonymous access setting is Enabled and make sure to save the changes.

Create a blob storage container with anonymous read access

Step 1. Go to storage account, in the Data storage section, select the Containers blade.

Step 2. Select + add Container.

Step 3. Ensure the Name of the container is public and select create.

Step 4. Select your public container.

Step 5. On the Overview blade, select Change access level.

Step 6. Ensure the Public access level is Blob (anonymous read access for blobs only).

Step 7. Select OK.

Practice uploading files and testing access.

Step 1. For testing, upload a file to the public container.
A. Ensure you are viewing your container.

B. Select Upload.

C. Browse to files.

D. Select file and upload.

E. Close the upload window, Refresh the page and ensure your file was uploaded.

Step 2. Determine the URL for your uploaded file. Open a browser and test the URL.
A. Select your uploaded file.

B. On the Overview tab, copy the URL.

C. Paste the URL into a new browser tab.

D. If you have uploaded an image file it will display in the browser.

Enabling a blob soft delete with a 21-day retention to allow file recovery.

Step 1. Go to the Overview blade of the storage account.

Step 2. On the Properties page, locate the Blob service section.

Step 3. Select the Blob soft delete setting.

Step 4. Ensure the Enable soft delete for blobs is checked.

Step 5. Change the Keep deleted blobs for (in days setting is 21).

Step 6. Notice you can also Enable soft delete for containers.

Step 7. Select save.

Practice using soft delete to restore deleted files.

How to delete file from the container.
Step 1. Navigate to your container where you uploaded a file.

Step 2. Select the file you uploaded and then select Delete.

Step 3. Select delete to confirm deleting the file.

You can see the file is deleted.

How to restore deleted files.
Step 1. On the container Overview page, go to Show only active blobs on the right side of your screen, click the drop down button and the select show active and deleted blobs.

Step 2. Select your deleted file.

Step 3. Use the ellipses on the far right of the selected deleted file, click Undelete to delete the file.

Step 4. Refresh the container and confirm the file has been restored.

Enable blob versioning.

Step 1. Go to the Overview blade of the storage account.

Step 2. In the Properties section, locate the Blob service section.

Step 3. Select the Versioning setting.

Step 4. Ensure the Enable versioning for blobs checkbox is checked.

Step 5. Notice your options to keep all versions or delete versions after, and save.

Lets try restoring Previous Versions of Blobs in Azure Storage.

Step 1. Upload another version of your container file with the same name but different content.

Step 2. Notice that your newly uploaded file overwrites your already existing file.

Conclusion.
Configuring a highly available Azure Storage account with public access, soft delete, and blob versioning creates a secure and dependable platform for hosting static websites. Public access makes your content easily accessible to users, while soft delete and versioning protect against unintended changes or deletions. By implementing these features, you ensure fast, global content delivery and robust data protection, keeping your website consistently available, resilient, and easily recoverable.

How to provide storage for the IT department testing and training.

UMEOHIA NNAMDI — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 04:19:11 +0000

What is a storage account in cloud computing?

A storage account in cloud computing is a container that holds all your storage resources in a cloud environment. It contains different types of storage services like blobs for unstructured data, files for shared access, queues for messaging, and tables for structured data. It provides a centralized, internet-accessible space to store, manage, and protect your data accessible anytime, from anywhere, with built-in security, reliability, and scalability.

Steps on how to create a storage account and Configure basic settings for security and networking.

Step 1: Log in to the Azure portal

Step 2: Create and deploy a resource group to hold all your project resources.

-In the Azure portal, search for and select Resource groups.

-Select + Create.

-Give your resource group a name.

-Select a region.

-Select Review and create to validate the resource group.

-Select Create to deploy the resource group.

Step 3: Create and deploy a storage account to support testing and training.

-In the Azure portal, search for and select Storage accounts.

-Select + Create.

-On the Basics tab, select your Resource group.

-Provide a Storage account name.

-Set the Performance to Standard.

-Select Review and Create.

-Create and wait for the storage to deploy

Step 4: Configure simple settings in the storage account.

-In your storage account, in the Data management section, select the Redundancy blade.

-Select Locally-redundant storage (LRS) in the Redundancy drop-down.

-Be sure to Save your changes.

-Refresh the page and notice the content only exists in the primary location.

-In the Settings section, select the Configuration blade.

-Ensure Secure transfer required is Enabled.

-Ensure the Minimal TLS version is set to Version 1.2.

-Ensure Allow storage account key access is Disabled.

-Be sure to Save your changes.

-In the Security + networking section, select the Networking blade.

-Ensure Public network access is set to Enabled from all networks.

-Be sure to Save your changes.