DEV Community: Phillip Ajifowobaje

HOW TO CREATE A VIRTUAL NETWORK WITH FOUR SUBNETS

Phillip Ajifowobaje — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 17:38:51 +0000

We will be creating four Azure virtual network subnet using the IP address: 192.148.30.0/26.

Below are the steps:

Click on virtual Network navigation tool, click on CREATE as indicated in the below diagram:

From the BASIC tab select the resource group name and give the virtual machine a name, you will also need to select the region for your VM. in this case we are using East US. Click on next to take you to the IP Address tab. See below diagram:

The next step is to configure the IP address for the virtual machine. Delete the default IP address before you begin to create four subnet IP addresses: proceed to input IPV4 address 192.148.30.0/26 space for your virtual network.

The above diagram shows we can have 64 addresses within this virtual network.

Add the Subnets for the Virtual Network(Click on Add Subnet). The range for the subnets are from(192.148.30.0 to 192.148.30.63). As shown in the below diagram subnet1, subnet2, subnet3 and subnet4 where each subnet is within the /26 address range.

The next step will be to Review and Create when the subnets have been configured. Click on CREATE:

6 Virtual Network Deployment, the VM id delpoyed as shown below:

Finally you click on Go to Resources to see your VM and Subnet in the overview tab to see the subnets of the virtual Network. see below:

You have created the virtaul network with four subnets.

HOW TO CREATE AN AZURE VITUAL MACHINE SCALE SET.

Phillip Ajifowobaje — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 14:52:40 +0000

In this blog we will be exploring how to create a virtual machine scales set VMSS on Azure. The steps are highlighted below:

Step 1. Log into the Azure Portal

From the Azure portal you search for virtual machine scale set and create VMSS

Step 2 Fill out all the BASIC parameters in the basic tab such as Resource Group name, virtual machine scale set name, Region, orchestration, scaling.

Step 3 As shown in the diagram above, you configure the scaling of the virtual machine, this action will enable you to be able to add various scaling conditions, condition name, scale mode, instance limit,(min-max),select the CPU threshold by scaling out or scaling in, query duration, Time zones with start and end dates.
You save as indicated in the below diagram:

Complete the remaining Basic parameters indicating instance details and administrator account after the scaling conditions have been applied and click on next.
Step 4 Spot is for specified discount. Skip spot and disc steps.

See below:

Step 5 Networking tab is where you are going to pick all the networking parameters for your virtual machine scale set create a load balancer and give it a name, pick out the type and create as shown in the diagram below:

Our VMSS post deployment, here you can see the entire configuration vi the overview tab. Note that you can also make changes from this point to your VMSS based on your needs and requirement.

We have two instances running on this machine because we had picked two in the initial instance count. this is shown from the Azure load balancing tab

The final step is to copy the IP Address and connect the virtual machines.

How to create and connect to a Linux VM on Azure using a Public Key.

Phillip Ajifowobaje — Sat, 22 Jun 2024 00:22:48 +0000

Table of content.

Introduction
Log In
Step 1: Create VM
Step 2: Add all Basic Parameters
Step 3: Review + Create VM
Step 4: Machine Validation Passed
Step 5: Create for VM deployment
Step 6: Connect Linux VM Via SSH

INTRODUCTION: Linux Virtual machines is a type of machine that is powered by the Linux operating system. They vary in different types ranging from Ubuntu, Redhat, Oracle Linux and a host of others. For the purpose of this write up we will be working on the Ubuntu Linux virtual machine connecting via SSH using a public Key.

The process is initiated by logging into the Azure Portal to commence creation of your Ubuntu Linux Virtual Machine.

STEP 1: CREATE VM

click on create Virtual machine upon accessing the Azure portal as shown in below diagram.

STEP 2: BASIC PARAMETERS
Next step will be to add all the BASIC parameters to your virtual machine. See steps below:
a. create a resource group name (RGLinux) see
highlighted in the diagram below.
b. Give the virtual machine a name*(LinuxVM)*
c. Pick your region*(US West US2)*
d. Select your availability option*( No Infrastructure redundancy required)*
e. Select security type(Standard for this machine)
f. From the image tab you will select your linux server type*(Ubuntu server)*
The drop down arrow indicates all dialog boxes you can open to show various options in the instance detail area.

g. Select the size tab to pick the memory size for the Linux virtual machine. there is a dropdown to pick as required for the VM. This comes with monthly billing based on the selected size.

h. Authentication Type is to select the preferred authentication protocol. This can either be SSH Public key as highlighted below or password. In the case of this Ubuntu Linux machine we are using a SSH public key. Note: A public key will be generated which will be used to gain connect to the virtual machine in the chosen terminal. select HTTP to give web access when connecting to your linux virtual machine.

i. In the username tab, a username needs to be created or you use the default azureuser as highlighted in the below image.

j. You can click on next Disk to proceed to the Disk tab and make the required selection for your Linux virtual machine. This option can also be done when your machine has been deployed and validated.

STEP 3: REVIEW AND CREATE

Finally in the Basic tab you will click on. review and create to validate your linux VM. after this command your virtual machine will go through a validation process.

STEP 4. MACHINE VALIDATION

After the review and create, if your virtual machine has no error, you will see the validation passed indicated as shown in the diagram below.
Note: your machine will show you your hourly subscription credit once the validation has been passed.

STEP 5. CREATE FOR VM DEPLOYMENT

The create button will be clicked for final deployment of your ubuntu linux virtual machine. Here you will find details of your Linux virtual machine before you connect your machine via your preferred terminal.

STEP 6. CONNECT VIRTUAL MACHINE

The virtual machine can be connected via SSH using the SSH public key generated during the creation of the virtual machine. A public IP address which was generated while creating the linux virtual machine is also required to be able to connect the VM machine through your preferred terminal. See below diagram:

STEP BY STEP ON HOW TO DEPLOY AND CONNECT A VIRTUAL MACHINE ON AZURE CLOUD.

Phillip Ajifowobaje — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 13:32:26 +0000

TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction
Logging In
Step 1 Configure Basic Settings
Step 2 Configure Disk and Storage
Step 3 Networking
Step 4 Management
Step 5 Monitoring
Step 6 Review + Create

INTRODUCTION

There are various steps associated with the deployment and connection of a virtual machine in Azure cloud. We will be listing the various steps to deploy a virtual machines with images detailing those processes. With Azure Virtual Machine, you get the flexibility of accessing a virtual platform without buying and maintaining the physical hardware that can run the operation. But you will also need a proper maintenance plan for your Azure Virtual Machine while performing tasks like configuring, patching, parsing, and installing the softwares to run on the virtual machines.

Below are guidelines on how to configure your Virtual machine:

Logging into Azure Portal, if you do not have an azure account, you will need to sign up for one.
Open your web browser and navigate to https://portal.azure.com.
Sign in using your Azure account credentials.

Select a Resource via the create a resource tab.

Showing the project details, this is a guide to build the various components of the virtual machine from various tabs as highlighted in the above diagram.

STEP 1. CONFIGURE BASIC SETTINGS

This tab enables you to do the following:

a. Select subscription and create a Resource Group

b. Identify the Virtual Machine instance details:
(Virtual Machine name, pick the region you want your Virtual Machine to be provisioned, select your preferred availability zone or availability options. You can pick more than one availability zone.

c. Images: Enables you to choose an operating system for your virtual machine and there are several ones you can choose from. See below diagram.

For this Virtual machine we have using the linux 8.8.

d. Size: This enables you to choose your Virtual Machine configuration. Under “Size,” select the appropriate configuration for your VM based on CPU, memory, and storage requirements.
Carefully review the available sizes and consider your workload needs. See below:

e. Administrator Account: An admin account needs to the created for the virtual machine for easy access to log in when required. This can be deployed in two ways Authenticator types.

SSH KEY
PASSWORD

A username and Password is also required to gain access:

f. Inbound Port Rules: Enables you to select ports. The inbound port rules can be changed on the networking tab in the virtual machine.

STEP 2. CONFIGURING DISK AND STORAGE

Under “Disks,” choose the OS disk type (Standard HDD, Standard SSD, Premium SSD).
Adjust the OS disk size according to your needs.
Note: Choose Standard SSD for practice purposes

STEP 3. NETWORKING:

This tab enables you to do the following:
a. Choose an existing virtual network and subnet or create new ones.
b. Assign a public IP address if needed.
c. Configure network security groups to control traffic.
Here you can control ports, inbound and outbound connectivity with security rules or place behind an existing load balancing solution.

STEP 4. MANAGEMENT:

The management tab is where you create management groups in Azure inform of Hierarchy.You organize subscriptions into containers called management groups and apply governance conditions to the management groups. All subscriptions within a management group automatically inherit the conditions applied to the management group, the same way that resource groups inherit settings from subscriptions and resources from resource groups. Management groups give you enterprise-grade management at a large scale, no matter what type of subscriptions you might have. Management groups can be nested.

HIERARCHY: This hierarchies are done to show the structures of the management layers in Azure for easy management of resources and also to ensure billing are also properly allocated and managed with the Azure resource. Find below some of the hierarchies:

ROOT MANAGEMENT GROUP(PARENT): This is at the top of the management layer, it can be classifies as the base or foundation of the management group.You can build a flexible structure of management groups and subscriptions to organize your resources into a hierarchy for unified policy and access management.
CHILD MANAGEMENT GROUP: These are subset of the root management groups. 10,000 child management groups can be supported in a single directory.
A management group tree can support up to six levels of depth. This limit doesn’t include the root level or the subscription level.
Each management group and subscription can support only one parent.
SUBSCRIPTION: Resource groups are arranged into subscriptions for each management and billing purposes as well. It is a logical container used in managing resources in Azure. It holds details of the resources in Azure like VM, Databases, Networks, storage accounts etc.
RESOURCE GROUPS: A resource group is a container that holds related resources for an Azure solution. Resource groups can be used to coordinate changes to related resources, such as deploying updates or deleting resources. For example, if a user deploys an update to a resource group, they can be confident that all the resources in the group will be updated in a coordinated way. When a user is finished with a solution, they can delete the resource group and know that all the resources will also be deleted.
RESOURCES: Resources are instances of services that you build, such as virtual machines, storage, and SQL databases.

Below are graphical illustrations to show the management groups as discussed above.

STEP 5. MONITORING:

In this unit, you explore Azure monitoring capabilities for VMs, and the types of monitoring data you can collect and analyze with Azure Monitor. Azure Monitor is a comprehensive monitoring solution for collecting, analyzing, and responding to monitoring data from Azure and non-Azure resources, including VMs. Azure Monitor has two main monitoring features: Azure Monitor Metrics and Azure Monitor Logs.

A shown in the above diagram, you can set up your alert rules for your virtual machine.

STEP 6. CREATE & REVIEW:

This tab is for the final setting up of your Virtual Machine

Your Virtual machine is created once validation is passed then you proceed to create VM.
See Below:

To connect your Virtual Machine, you go to the resource tab and click on connect resource, click on connect and your virtual machine will be connected, see diagram below:

CORE AZURE ARCHITECTURE COMPONENTS.

Phillip Ajifowobaje — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 20:52:16 +0000

Below are the core Azure Architecture components for Azure cloud Computing.Basically Azure architecture focus on the physical infrastructure, how resources are managed, and have a chance to create an Azure resource.

Azure's architecture ensures high availability, scalability, and efficient resource management
Core Azure architectural components include Azure regions, Azure Availability Zones, resource groups, and the Azure Resource Manager.
A deeper dive into Azure Resource Manager, Availability Zones, regions, resource groups, and other Azure architectural components.

A. AZURE REGION:

An Azure region is a set of datacenters that are geographically spread in different parts of the globe. Currently there are 42 regions scattered around the world with plans to grow into other parts of the world. These datacenters are deployed within a defined latency-defined perimeters.An Azure region refers to an area within a geography that contains one or more Azure data centers.

B.AZURE AVAILABILITY ZONES:

Azure availability zones are those datacenters within an Azure region for failover and back up. There are multiple availability zones in a given Azure region. Each Availability Zone is a unique physical location within an Azure region, and each zone is supported by one or more data centers, equipped with their own independent power, cooling, and networking infrastructure. Applications and data are protected in each availability zone because they are physically separated from one another and secured, this helps to achieve data resiliency.

C. RESOURCE GROUPS IN AZURE:

These are logical container that hold azure resources that are part of a larger Azure solution. These resource groups can host all resources that comprise an overall Azure solution, or they can also host just the resources that need to be managed as part of a group. The administrator gets to decide, based on needs, how to allocate resources in resource groups within Azure.

It is important to note that since all resources within a single resource group usually share a similar lifecycle, it’s important to determine the lifecycle of the resources you plan to place in a single resource group. However, if the database server hosts databases for other applications, its lifecycle is likely different from the web app. That said, the database server might belong in a different resource group with resources that share its lifecycle. Resources can be moved from a resource group if necessary from different regions. Resource groups are often used to manage access controls to resources and better manage billing and resource management.

D. AZURE RESOURCE MANAGER:

Azure Resource Manager is the deployment and management service for Azure. It provides a management layer that enables you to create, update, and delete resources in your Azure account. You use management features, locks, and tag resources, to secure and organize and effectively bill your resources after deployment. You can also use Resource Manager to apply access controls to resources within a resource group because Role-Based Access Control (or RBAC) is natively integrated into the Azure platform.

SUMMARY:

Core Azure architectural components such as regions, resource groups, and Availability Zones serve as the underlying building blocks for any Azure solution that gets deployed.

Azure Resource Manager is used to manage these building blocks and the solutions that are built upon them.
While Azure regions dictate where Azure resources are deployed, Availability Zones are used to provide redundancy for those resources that are deployed. Resource groups are used to group and manage related Azure resources that have been deployed to support an overall solution.