DEV Community: Ebenezer Emelogu

🚀 How to Create a Learning Budget in Azure?

Ebenezer Emelogu — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:13:11 +0000

🔍 Introduction

Learning new skills can be incredibly beneficial for career advancement and professional growth. However, managing your expenses 💰 is essential to ensure that your learning experience remains affordable. This article will walk you through the step-by-step process of setting up a budget, allowing you to track your spending while ensuring you can afford to continue learning with Azure.

❓ Why a Learning Budget?

As cloud adoption ☁️ has rapidly increased in recent years, many learners have struggled to use Azure effectively due to subscription access limitations. The free $200 monthly credit 🏷️ is often insufficient for long-term learning, especially for users on the African continent 🌍. To make this easier, users can create a long-term budget for learning and practice.

🇳🇬 For Nigerian Users

If you're in Nigeria, Azure does not support NGN payment methods ❌ as they are not accepted as billing options. To bypass this issue, you can obtain a virtual dollar card 💳 and fund it using Naira, which can then be used to purchase USD equivalent. Platforms like GeegPay, Clever, and Chipper provide virtual cards for this purpose.

For those comfortable with cryptocurrency 💱, you can use ByBit virtual cards, Bitmama cards, or any other crypto-based payment platform of your choice. Keep in mind that these virtual cards may come with a creation fee.

Once your payment method is set up, you can proceed to create an Azure account and set up your budget.

📝 Step 1: Sign Up for Azure

Before setting up a budget, you need to have an Azure account. If you don’t have one, you can create a free account that includes $200 in credit for the first 30 days 🎉 and access to popular services for 12 months.

✅ Steps to Sign Up:

Visit the Azure website.
Click on “Start free” and follow the instructions to create your account.

💰 Step 2: Understand Azure Pricing

Azure follows a pay-as-you-go pricing model 💵, meaning you only pay for the services you use. Understanding the pricing of the services you plan to use is crucial for managing costs. The Azure Pricing Calculator can help you estimate expenses for different services.

💼 Step 3: Set Up Cost Management and Billing

Azure provides built-in tools ⚙️ for cost management and billing to help you track and control your spending.

1️⃣ Access Cost Management + Billing

Log into the Azure portal 🔐.
In the left-hand menu, select “Cost Management + Billing”.

2️⃣ Create a Budget

In the Cost Management + Billing section, select "Subscriptions" and “Budgets” 📊.

Click “Add” ➕ to create a new budget.

Enter details such as the budget name, scope, and spending limit 💵.

Set up alerts 🔔 to notify you when your spending reaches specific thresholds. (Optional)

📊 Step 4: Monitor Your Spending

Regularly tracking your expenses ensures you stay within your budget. Azure provides multiple tools 🛠️ to help monitor your spending.

🔍 Cost Analysis

In the Cost Management + Billing section, select “Cost Analysis” 📉.

Use filters to view spending by service, resource group, or time period.

🔔 Cost Alerts

Set up cost alerts to receive notifications 📩 when your spending exceeds a set limit.

In the Cost Management + Billing section, select “Alerts” 🚨.
Click “Add” ➕ to create a new alert.

💡 Step 5: Optimize Your Costs

To maximize your budget, consider using Azure’s cost-saving features 🏷️.

1️⃣ Azure Reservations

Purchase Azure Reservations to save up to 72% 🏆 compared to pay-as-you-go pricing.
In the Azure portal, go to “Reservations” and follow the steps to purchase a reservation 🛍️.

2️⃣ Azure Cost Management Recommendations

Use Azure’s cost management recommendations ✅ to identify opportunities for savings 💡.
In the Cost Management + Billing section, select “Recommendations” 📌.

🎯 Conclusion

Creating a budget for your Azure learning journey is essential to manage costs effectively. By following the steps in this article, you can establish a budget, track your spending, and optimize costs—allowing you to make the most of your Azure learning experience 🚀.

Setting Up NGINX on Ubuntu

Ebenezer Emelogu — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 10:45:28 +0000

Introduction

What is NGINX?

NGINX (pronounced "Engine-X") is a powerful tool that helps websites run fast and handle many visitors simultaneously. It works like a smart traffic manager, ensuring web pages load quickly and smoothly.

Originally built as a web server, NGINX is now used for many things, like speeding up websites, balancing traffic, and acting as a security guard for online services. That’s why it’s trusted by some of the biggest websites in the world.

In this blog, we’ll explore what makes NGINX so useful in a simple way and also share my experience setting up and configuring NGINX on a fresh Ubuntu server.

I used Visual Studio Code for everything, including the Remote SSH feature, to connect to the Linux machine to simplify things. You can use any SSH client you choose, as it does not matter.

Setting up NGINX on a Linux Server

Server Setup

I started by provisioning a fresh Ubuntu server on Azure. Using SSH, I connected to the server and prepared it for NGINX installation. You can use any cloud provider for this or a local Linux machine if needed. Create a Linux VM on Azure.

This is my Linux machine on the VS Code terminal.

NGINX Installation

First, we need to make sure to update our packages, as this is a fresh Linux server, and we are using the Ubuntu distribution.

# Update your system
sudo apt update

After updating packages, we need to install NGINX using the following commands:

# Install NGINX using CLI, press Y to allow it to install
sudo apt install nginx

Verify Installation of NGINX

To verify the installation, check the NGINX version:

# Check NGINX version
nginx -v
# If output is -> nginx version: nginx/1.xx.x (ubuntu)
# You have successfully installed it.

To see the status of NGINX:

sudo systemctl status nginx

As we can see, NGINX is up and running.

Custom HTML Page

To test our NGINX installation, I opened the default HTML file in the /var/www/html/ directory and replaced it with the text below. You can do this with any text editor of your choice, such as Nano or Vim.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>DevOps Stage 0</title>
</head>
<body>
    <table width="100%" height="100%" style="text-align: center; border-spacing: 0;">
        <tr>
            <td>
                <h1>Welcome to DevOps Stage 0 - Ebenezer Emelogu/Eben</h1>
            </td>
        </tr>
    </table>
</body>
</html>

First, change the file ownership on the index.nginx-debian.html file, as by default, the current user will not be able to make write changes to this file.

You can give read and write permission to the current user by using this command:

sudo chown 700 /var/www/html/index.nginx-debian.html

If you just want to make this a one-time change, you can use sudo instead:

sudo vi /var/www/html/index.nginx-debian.html

Proceed to edit it using a text editor. I am using the Vim text editor in this scenario:

vi /var/www/html/index.nginx-debian.html

Paste in the HTML text above and save.

Testing

We will use the public IP of the VM to test the web page and see if NGINX serves our HTML page on the browser.

We get the error that the page is not reachable. This is a network issue, as the port needs to be opened from the network security group on Azure and also set up the UFW on the Ubuntu machine.

Firewall Configuration

Checking the UFW status on Ubuntu:

sudo ufw status

This shows that the firewall is inactive.

We will enable it and then set it up for port 22 and port 80:

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp && sudo ufw allow 80/tcp

Enable UFW for network connections:

sudo ufw enable

Checking the status again:

sudo ufw status

We now have ports 80 and 22 opened for connections, and thus NGINX should be able to serve our HTML page now.

Final Test

Our webpage is now served.

Challenges Faced

Firewall Configuration: Initially, the NGINX page didn’t load because the firewall blocked HTTP traffic. I resolved this by allowing traffic on port 80 using ufw.
File Permissions: I encountered permission issues while editing the HTML file. Using sudo resolved this problem.

Learning and Growth

This task helped me:

Gain hands-on experience with NGINX and Ubuntu.
Understand basic web server configuration.
Develop problem-solving skills by troubleshooting firewall and permission issues.

This experience aligns with my goal of becoming a DevOps Engineer, as it introduced me to foundational tools and practices in the field.

References

🚀

Cloud Cryptography: A Beginner's Guide for Everyday Users

Ebenezer Emelogu — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 21:09:50 +0000

The globalization and technological evolution of the modern age have led humanity to discover cloud computing. However, such convenience brings an important question: How do we ensure that our sensitive data remains secure? The key to this issue can be found in cloud cryptography—an intriguing domain that employs Encryption to protect data when it queries the cloud.

Let's break this down in a simple way with a fun conversation between an IT expert and Osinachi, a curious 10-year-old who's just starting to explore the internet.

A Fun Chat About Cloud Security

Osinachi: Hey! Quick question. All this talk about "the cloud" — like Google, Apple, and Microsoft services — how safe is it? My data's not just floating around in the air.

IT Expert: (Laughs) It's not just floating above your head like a raincloud! Think of it as a super-secure vault… but online.

Osinachi: Hmm. But can someone hack into it? Like those cool spies in movies?

IT Expert: Only if they're a genius with a lot of time and resources. But that's why we use cryptography. Your data is scrambled into a secret code. So even if someone grabs it, they can't understand it.

Osinachi: Oh! So it's like sending my data in a locked box?

IT Expert: Exactly! And only you have the key. Unless, of course, you make your key something silly like "12345."

Osinachi: Ha! I feel called out.

IT Expert: (Smiles) We've all been there. I'm just kidding, but cloud providers do take security seriously. They protect your data with Encryption, multi-factor authentication, and secure connections.

Osinachi: So, are you telling me that Apple, Google, and the others are using James Bond-level tech to keep my files safe?

IT Expert: Pretty much! And they do it all in the background, so you don't notice. Think of it like having James Bond guarding your data… minus the tuxedo!

Osinachi: That's cool. But wait, isn't the cloud like a big public space? Isn't everyone using the same servers?

IT Expert: Good question! Think of it like an apartment building. You've got your own locked space, completely separate from everyone else's. Even if someone causes trouble in their apartment, your space stays secure.

Osinachi: Got it! So, are there no uninvited guests crashing my data party?

IT Expert: Exactly! Your data stays yours.

What is Cloud Cryptography?

Cloud cryptography uses Encryption to protect data stored or processed in cloud environments. Encryption turns your data into a scrambled code (ciphertext) that can only be read by someone with the correct key to decrypt it. This ensures that even if unauthorized parties intercept the data, they won't be able to make sense of it.

Standard Cryptographic Techniques Used in the Cloud

Here are four standard encryption techniques you'll find in cloud security:

1. Symmetric Encryption
It uses a single key to both encrypt and decrypt data.
It's fast and efficient but requires secure sharing of the key.
Examples: Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and Data Encryption Standard (DES).

2. Asymmetric Encryption
Involves a pair of keys: a public key and a private key.
The public key encrypts the data, but only the private key can decrypt it.
Examples: RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) and ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography).

3. Hashing
Converts data into a fixed-length value (a hash) that can't be reversed to its original form.
Hashing ensures data integrity by detecting any changes.
Commonly used in blockchain, digital signatures, and database indexing.

4. Hybrid Encryption
Two types of keys are used for hybrid encryption: asymmetric (public and private) and symmetric (a shared key). It secures online communication. For instance, when you access a secure website, a temporary key is generated through asymmetric encryption that will be used to encrypt your data with symmetric encryption at a higher speed.
Consider, for example, encrypted email. A shared key is used to encrypt the message by the sender, and the same key is then secured using the public key of the receiver. The recipient uses their private key to unlock the shared key, allowing them to decipher the message.

Benefits of Cloud Cryptography:

Let us list some of the important benefits of cloud data encryption using cryptography:
✅ Data Privacy: With Encryption, only authorized users can access sensitive data.
✅ Security-Optimized: Data is secured in its storage and transfer phases (in transit; at rest).
✅ Regulatory Compliance: Enables businesses to comply with data protection regulations by protecting sensitive data.

Challenges of Cloud Cryptography:

Here we go with the challenges we can face regarding cloud cryptography.
But although cloud cryptography is highly secure, it does present some challenges

🔐 Key Management: It is critical to ensure the correct creation, dissemination, and rotation of encryption keys that secure data at rest and in transit

⚙️ Performance Overhead: Encryption can degrade system performance as scrambling and unscrambling data takes time.

🧩 Complexity: These Solutions require experience to ensure they are secure and configured correctly.

Conclusion

With cloud computing becoming as pervasive as it is, securing data within these pseudo-environments is more critical than ever. Cloud cryptography protects sensitive information through Encryption and cryptographic techniques.

Whether you're a curious 10-year-old like Osinachi or an experienced IT professional, understanding cloud cryptography empowers you to stay secure in today's connected world.

By understanding best practices in cloud encryption, we can all enjoy the cloud's convenience without compromising the safety of our data.

Automating User On-Boarding With Bash Scripting.

Ebenezer Emelogu — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 21:32:29 +0000

Introduction

In Modern day IT administration, automation must become part of your day-to-day activity. This is because automation is crucial in maintaining uniformity, and security policies of the organization as well as avoiding time wastage in doing the same things over again.

One of those repetitive tasks automation takes care of is creating of user or simply a new user on-boarding in an organization.

This blog post briefly examines a simple way that the user onboarding process on Linux Operating Systems can be automated using bash scripting.

This article references HNG task 1 for the DevOps track.
HNG is a non-profit organization that provides internship and learning programs for individuals seeking to gain real-life experience in IT.
You can find out more about HNG using the links below.
HNG INTERNSHIP
HNG LEARN

Automating User On-Boarding Using Bash

The script we are going to use will enable us to achieve the following:

Create users
Generate random passwords for the users
Store the passwords in a secure file
Create groups for the users
Assign the users to their personal and additional groups.
Log all actions to a log file.

This script can be reused over and over again as it is not limited to just the one-time creation of users and also it can be modified to perform additional tasks or take out what is not needed.

Let's break down the provided script step by step to understand what it does piece by piece.

First off, we set the interpreter of the script which states what shell we will be using to run the script.
#!/bin/bash
Define log file and password file locations.

# Define the log file location for logging
LOG_FILE="/var/log/user_management.log"
# Define the location of the password file where the generated passwords for each user will be stored
PASSWORD_FILE="/var/secure/user_passwords.txt"

Define the location of the users_txt file where we have entered the names of the users with their respective groups.

# Define the location of the user file for the creation of users and groups
USER_FILE="users.txt"

Ensure the log and password files exist.

# Ensure log file and password file exist and set proper permissions
touch "$LOG_FILE" "$PASSWORD_FILE"
chmod 600 "$LOG_FILE" "$PASSWORD_FILE"

Create and Ensure the /var/secure directory exists with appropriate permissions.

# Create /var/secure directory if it doesn't exist
if [ ! -d "/var/secure" ]; then
    mkdir -p /var/secure
    chmod 700 /var/secure
    echo "$(date) - Created /var/secure directory." | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
fi

Generate Password Function for user password generation.

# Function to generate a random 12-character alphanumeric password
generate_password() {
    tr -dc A-Za-z0-9 </dev/urandom | head -c 12
}

Confirming that the users_txt file to be used for user creation exist # Ensure the users.txt file exists

if [ ! -f "$USER_FILE" ]; then
    log_message "User file $USER_FILE does not exist. Exiting."
    exit 1
fi

Creation of users, personal groups and password generation

Read users from the users.txt file.
Check if the user exists, if not, create the user and their personal group.
Generate and set a password for the user.
Save the password securely.

# Step 1: Create Users, groups and generate passwords for the users
log_message "Starting user creation process..."
while IFS=';' read -r username groups; do
    username=$(echo "$username" | xargs)
    groups=$(echo "$groups" | xargs)

    if [ -z "$username" ]; then
        log_message "Empty username found. Skipping."
        continue
    fi

    if id "$username" &>/dev/null; then
        log_message "User $username already exists."
        continue
    fi

    if groupadd "$username"; then
        if useradd -m -g "$username" "$username"; then
            log_message "User $username and group $username created."

            password=$(generate_password)
            if echo "$username:$password" | chpasswd; then
                log_message "Password set for user $username."
                echo "$username:$password" >> "$PASSWORD_FILE"
                log_message "Password for user $username saved to $PASSWORD_FILE."
            else
                log_message "Failed to set password for user $username."
            fi
        else
            log_message "Failed to create user $username."
        fi
    else
        log_message "Failed to create group $username."
    fi
done < "$USER_FILE"

Group Assignment Process

Read users and their groups from the users.txt file.
Check if the user exists, if not log a message and skip to the next user.
Add the user to specified groups, creating groups if they don't exist.

# Step 2: Add Users to Groups
log_message "Starting group assignment process..."
while IFS=';' read -r username groups; do
    username=$(echo "$username" | xargs)
    groups=$(echo "$groups" | xargs)

    if [ -z "$username" ]; then
        log_message "Empty username found. Skipping."
        continue
    fi

    if ! id "$username" &>/dev/null; then
        log_message "User $username does not exist. Skipping group assignment."
        continue
    fi

    IFS=',' read -ra GROUP_ARRAY <<< "$groups"
    for group in "${GROUP_ARRAY[@]}"; do
        group=$(echo "$group" | xargs)
        if [ -z "$group" ]; then
            log_message "Empty group name for user $username. Skipping."
            continue
        fi

        if ! getent group "$group" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
            if groupadd "$group"; then
                log_message "Group $group created."
            else
                log_message "Failed to create group $group."
                continue
            fi
        fi

        if usermod -aG "$group" "$username"; then
            log_message "User $username added to group $group."
        else
            log_message "Failed to add user $username to group $group."
        fi
    done
done < "$USER_FILE"

log_message "User and group creation process completed."

Verify the User accounts that have been created

You can verify if the account was created successfully by using the id user command to show the user and the groups


id user_name

You can also retrieve the secure passwords by viewing the contents of the password file

sudo cat /var/secure/user_passwords.csv

You can view the logs for the operation by using this command

sudo cat /var/log/user_management.log

Conclusion

Creating a bash script to manage user accounts can make adding new employees or users much easier. By following the steps in this guide, you can build a reliable script that:

Creates user accounts
Adds users to groups
Sets secure passwords
Logs actions for transparency and audits.

Link to the script

Thanks to HNG for making this possible. You can also join their premium channel to enjoy more benefits, learn and network in a great environment. by using this link to join HNG Premium