DEV Community: Oladosu Ibrahim

Building a Resilient Public Website with Azure Storage: High Availability, Soft Delete, and Blob Versioning in Action

Oladosu Ibrahim — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 11:53:46 +0000

Introduction

The success of any website especially a public-facing one depends on how reliably it delivers content to visitors. Imagine running an e-commerce storefront, a documentation portal, or even a simple company website: if the files go down, or if critical documents are accidentally deleted, your visitors lose trust in your brand. That’s where cloud storage comes in.

Azure Storage is a core building block for hosting static content like images, HTML files, PDFs, or any document that should be accessible online. It’s affordable, flexible, and scales globally. But the real power comes when you combine it with high availability, soft delete, and versioning. These features ensure your files are protected against accidental deletion, version conflicts, or even a whole regional outage.

This blog will show you step by step on how to use Azure Blob Storage to build a simple public website that anyone can access without authentication. You’ll see how to make your data resilient, how to recover lost files, and how to keep track of multiple versions of the same file. By the end, you’ll understand how enterprise-grade storage resilience can be achieved with just a few clicks in the Azure portal.

Architecture Diagram

At its simplest, our architecture consists of:

One Azure Storage Account to hold the website data.
One Blob Container within the storage account to organize and store website documents, images, or static files.

This setup can serve web content directly to users anywhere in the world, backed by Azure’s global infrastructure.

Skilling Tasks Overview

Before we get practical, here’s what you’ll accomplish:

Create a highly available storage account with redundancy for regional failures.
Allow anonymous public access so customers don’t need to log in to view website content.
Set up a blob container to hold your website’s files.
Turn on soft delete to recover deleted files within a set period.
Enable blob versioning to manage changes and restore previous versions when needed.

Step 1: Create a Storage Account with High Availability

To start, you’ll need a storage account to store your website’s files:

In the Azure portal, search for Storage accounts and select + Create.
For Resource group, create a new one and give it a clear name (for example, Ibrahim).
Give your storage account a unique name, such as publicwebsite123.
Leave the default settings and click Review > Create.
After deployment, click Go to resource.

To ensure your storage account remains available during a regional outage, configure geo-redundant storage:

In your storage account, open Data management and select Redundancy.
Choose Read-access Geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS). This replicates your data across regions and allows read access from the secondary location if the primary becomes unavailable.

Step 2: Enable Anonymous Public Access

For a public website, your visitors shouldn’t have to sign in to view files:

In the storage account’s Settings, go to Configuration.
Make sure Allow blob anonymous access is Enabled.
Click Save.

This ensures website files like images or PDFs are accessible to everyone.

Step 3: Create a Blob Container for Website Content

A blob container organizes your website’s files:

In your storage account, under Data storage, select Containers.
Click + Container, name it damilola, and create it.
Open your damilola container, click Change access level, and set it to Blob (anonymous read access for blobs only).
Click OK.

This means the files inside the container can be read publicly, but users can’t browse the full container list.

Step 4: Upload and Test Access

Now, upload a test file:

Inside the damilola container, select Upload, browse your device, choose a file (an image or document), and upload it.
After uploading, click the file and copy its URL from the Overview tab.
Paste the URL in a new browser tab. If it’s an image, it should display directly; other file types may download.

Step 5: Enable Soft Delete

What is Soft Delete?

Soft delete in Azure Blob Storage acts like a recycle bin for your cloud files. When you delete a blob, it’s not immediately lost forever. Instead, it goes into a soft delete state for a defined retention period (like 7, 14, or 21 days). During this window, you or any authorized admin can easily undelete the blob and restore it to its original state.

This is critical for accidental deletions. Developers, admins, or automation scripts sometimes delete the wrong file. Without soft delete, recovery means restoring from an offline backup (if you have one). With soft delete, recovery takes seconds no extra tools needed.

Accidentally deleting website files shouldn’t be the end of the world. Blob soft delete allows you to restore deleted files easily:

In your storage account’s Overview, find Blob service and open Soft delete.
Enable Soft delete for blobs, and set the retention period to 21 days.
Save your settings.

To practice:

Delete your test file from the container.
In the container’s Overview, toggle Show deleted blobs.
Find your deleted file, click the ellipses (...) next to it, and choose Undelete.
Refresh the container then your file should be back!

Step 6: Configure Blob Versioning

What is Blob Versioning?

Blob versioning is an automatic way to keep track of every change made to your blobs. Whenever you overwrite an existing blob with a new version (for example, updating a PDF or replacing an image), Azure keeps the old version.

This means:

You never lose the original content.
You can roll back to an earlier version if needed.
Every version has a unique ID and timestamp.

Unlike soft delete, which protects only against deletions, versioning protects against unwanted changes. Accidentally replaced the wrong file? Roll back to the earlier version in a few clicks.

Blob versioning lets you track and restore previous versions of your files — useful for managing website content updates:

In the storage account’s Overview, under Blob service, select Versioning.
Enable Versioning for blobs and save.

To test versioning:

Upload an updated version of your test file (using the same file name).
This overwrites the file but keeps the older version.
You can view and restore old versions in the Show deleted blobs area or through version history.

Conclusion

With these steps, you now have a resilient Azure Storage setup for a simple public website: highly available, securely accessible by the public, and protected against accidental deletions or unwanted overwrites.

By combining high availability, anonymous access, soft delete, and blob versioning, you gain both control and peace of mind ensuring your website content stays online and recoverable at all times.

Power BI Data Connectivity: Connecting, Importing, and Integrating Data from Multiple Sources

Oladosu Ibrahim — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 08:45:50 +0000

Introduction

Successful Power BI reporting starts with reliable, well-prepared data. Regardless of how attractive a report looks, inaccurate, incomplete, or inconsistent data can lead to misleading insights and poor decisions.

In real-world projects, data often comes from different sources, including:

Excel files
CSV files
SQL Server databases
JSON files and APIs
PDF documents
SharePoint folders

Power BI makes it possible to connect to these sources and prepare their data using Get Data and Power Query.

In this guide, you will learn how to connect Power BI to different data sources, preview the available data, assess its quality, and prepare it for analysis and modeling.

High-Level Overview of Power BI Data Architecture

Power BI acts as a central environment for bringing data from different sources together and preparing it for analysis.

The main components include:

Power BI Desktop → Used for data preparation, modeling, and report development.
Data Sources → Excel, CSV, SQL Server, JSON, PDF, SharePoint, and other supported sources.
Power Query Editor → Used to connect, inspect, clean, transform, and profile data.
Data Model → Stores the prepared data for analysis, calculations, and visualizations.

The general flow is:

Data Sources → Power Query → Data Model → Reports & Visualizations

What You’ll Accomplish in This Guide

By completing this guide, you will learn how to:

Open and configure Power BI Desktop.
Connect to Excel, CSV, SQL Server, JSON, PDF, and SharePoint data.
Preview and examine source data using Power Query.
Use Column Quality, Column Distribution, and Column Profile.
Identify common data quality issues.
Prepare data for modeling and reporting.

Getting Started with Power BI Desktop

To follow the practical exercises, download the practice files using the link below:

🔗 https://github.com/MicrosoftLearning/PL-300-Microsoft-Power-BI-Data-Analyst/raw/Main/Allfiles/Labs/01-get-data-in-power-bi/01-get-data.zip

After downloading:

Extract the ZIP file.
Locate the extracted files.
Open 01-Starter-Sales Analysis.pbix in Power BI Desktop.

The starter file has automatic relationship detection disabled, allowing you to focus on data connection, ingestion, and profiling before moving into data modeling.

Connecting Power BI to SQL Server

SQL Server is widely used by organizations to store and manage structured business data. Power BI provides a direct connection to SQL Server, making it possible to retrieve data for analysis, transformation, and reporting.

Steps to Connect

In Power BI Desktop, go to Home → Get Data → SQL Server.

In the SQL Server database connection window, enter:
- Server: localhost
- Database: Leave this field blank.

Select Windows Authentication.
Choose Use my current credentials under the Windows authentication option.
Select Connect.

If Power BI displays a warning indicating that an encrypted connection cannot be established, select OK to continue.

In the Navigator pane, expand the AdventureWorksDW2020 database.

Select the following tables:
- DimEmployee
- DimEmployeeSalesTerritory
- DimProduct
- DimReseller
- DimSalesTerritory
- FactResellerSales

Select Transform Data to open the Power Query Editor.

The Power Query Editor will open with the six selected queries available for further inspection, profiling, and transformation. At this stage, the data has been connected to Power BI, but you can review and prepare it before loading it into the data model.

Previewing and Examining Data in Power Query Editor

Power Query provides a practical environment for inspecting and understanding data before it is loaded into the Power BI data model. Reviewing the data at this stage helps you identify its structure, quality, and potential issues early.

Queries Pane

Each imported table is displayed as a separate query in the Queries pane on the left side of Power Query Editor. Selecting a query displays a preview of its columns and records.

Dimension Tables

Dimension tables generally contain descriptive information used to categorize and analyze business data. In this example:

DimEmployee → Contains employee information, typically with one row representing each employee.

DimProduct → Contains information about individual products.

DimReseller → Contains information about resellers and their businesses.

DimSalesTerritory → Provides geographical information, including regions, countries, and territory groups.

Fact Tables

Fact tables contain transactional or measurable business data. In this example:

FactResellerSales → Contains sales transaction records, with each row representing a sales order line.

Understanding how fact and dimension tables differ is fundamental to designing effective star-schema models in Power BI.

Assessing Data Quality with Power Query

Power Query includes built-in profiling features that help you evaluate the quality and structure of your data before using it for analysis.

Column Quality

To display column quality information:

View → Column Quality

This feature provides an overview of:

Valid values
Empty or null values
Errors

For example, the Position column in DimEmployee contains a significant proportion of empty values. This may indicate a data-quality issue that should be investigated before the data is used for reporting.

Column Distribution

To examine the distribution of values:

View → Column Distribution

This feature helps you identify:

The number of distinct values
The number of unique values

For example, if EmployeeKey has the same number of distinct and unique values, it indicates that each value appears only once. This can be useful when evaluating potential key columns.

Column Profile

To examine detailed information about a specific column:

View → Column Profile

Select a column, such as BusinessType in DimReseller, to inspect its values and distribution.

For example, you may identify inconsistent entries such as:

Warehouse
Ware House

Such inconsistencies can cause the same business category to appear as separate groups during analysis. They should therefore be reviewed and standardized during the data transformation process.

Importing Data from Text and CSV Files

Text and CSV files are common sources of business data, particularly when information is exchanged between systems or maintained in simple tabular formats.

Importing a CSV File

Step 1: In Power BI Desktop, select:

Home → Get Data → Text/CSV

Step 2: Browse to and select ResellerSalesTargets.csv.

The file contains:

One record for each salesperson and year
Monthly sales target information
Hyphens used in place of null values

Repeat the same process to import ColorFormats.csv, which contains values used for color formatting.

After importing the files, review their contents in Power Query to confirm that the columns, values, and data types are appropriate before proceeding with further transformations or modeling.

Importing Data from Excel Files

Excel remains one of the most commonly used tools for storing and managing business data.

Importing an Excel Workbook

Step 1: Go to Home → Get Data → Excel.

Step 2: Browse to and select the required Excel workbook.

Step 3: Select Transform Data to open the dataset in Power Query for further preparation.

Excel is particularly useful for:

Budget and financial worksheets
Manually maintained business records
Operational trackers and activity logs

Importing Data from JSON Files

JSON is a common data format used by APIs, web applications, and modern software systems.

Importing a JSON File

Step 1: Go to Home → Get Data → JSON.

Step 2: Select the JSON file or exported API response.

Step 3: Allow Power Query to interpret and expand nested data structures.

Step 4: Flatten and transform the fields according to your reporting requirements.

Because JSON can contain nested objects and arrays, additional transformation is often required before the data can be modeled effectively.

Importing Data from PDF Files

Power BI can identify and extract tabular data from supported PDF documents.

Importing a PDF

Step 1: Go to Home → Get Data → PDF.

Step 2: Select the required PDF document.

Step 3: Review the tables identified by Power BI.

Step 4: Select the required tables and choose Transform Data to continue working in Power Query.

PDF extraction can be useful when working with:

Financial statements
Bank and transaction reports
Compliance and regulatory documentation

Importing Data from SharePoint Folders

SharePoint provides organizations with a centralized environment for storing and collaborating on files.

Connecting to a SharePoint Folder

Step 1: Go to Home → Get Data → SharePoint Folder.

Step 2: Enter the SharePoint site URL and complete the required authentication.

Step 3: Filter the available files and combine the required datasets.

This method is especially useful when reports depend on multiple files stored in a shared SharePoint location.

Why Data Profiling Is Important

Data profiling should be performed before creating relationships, measures, and dashboards. It helps you:

Identify missing or incomplete values
Detect inconsistent categories and labels
Validate columns used for relationships
Examine value distributions and patterns

Ignoring these checks can result in:

Incorrect or broken relationships
Inaccurate KPIs
Misleading analytical results

Power Query provides an effective environment for validating and preparing data so that it is accurate, consistent, reliable, and ready for analysis.

Conclusion

Connecting to multiple data sources is a fundamental skill for Power BI data analysts. Power BI simplifies this process through its broad range of connectors and Power Query capabilities for inspecting, transforming, and preparing data before it enters the model.

By combining information from sources such as SQL Server, Excel, CSV, JSON, PDF, and SharePoint, you can develop comprehensive and scalable reports that support reliable business analysis.

Mastering data connectivity and preparation provides a strong foundation for building Power BI solutions that are not only visually effective but also accurate, trustworthy, and valuable for decision-making.

Building Blocks of the Cloud: How to Create and Secure an Azure Storage Account

Oladosu Ibrahim — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:27:14 +0000

Introduction

Cloud storage is the backbone of modern applications whether you’re hosting a website, backing up files, processing big data, or building scalable solutions for millions of users. Microsoft Azure provides a powerful Storage service that can handle all these needs while ensuring security, durability, and high availability.

Azure Storage is designed to support different types of data: unstructured files (blobs), managed file shares, queues for messaging, and NoSQL tables for structured data. As a beginner, understanding how to create and manage storage resources is an important step in becoming comfortable with the Azure ecosystem.

Before you can upload files or build applications that store and retrieve data, you must first organize your cloud environment properly. This means creating a Resource Group i.e. a logical container for managing your resources and then setting up a Storage Account, which serves as the entry point for storing and accessing your data.

In this step-by-step guide, I’ll show you how to:

Create and deploy a resource group
Set up a new storage account
Configure essential settings for security and cost efficiency
Understand why each step matters for real-world cloud projects

This foundational knowledge prepares you for more advanced tasks, like uploading blobs, setting access policies, or automating data lifecycle rules in the future.

Step 1: Create a Resource Group

A Resource Group helps you manage related resources as a single unit. For example, you might place your storage account, virtual machines, and databases in the same resource group so you can monitor, update, or delete them together.

How to create it:

Sign in to the Azure portal.
In the top search bar, type “Resource groups” and click it.
Click + Create.
Fill in the Resource Group Name (e.g., Ibrahim).
Choose a Region, always select a location close to your users or project location to reduce latency and comply with data residency requirements.
Click Review + create to check your details.
Click Create to deploy the resource group.

Your resource group is now ready to organize any related resources you create next.

Step 2: Create a Storage Account

A Storage Account in Azure acts like a container for all your storage services like blobs, file shares, queues, and tables under a unique namespace that’s globally accessible via HTTP/HTTPS.

Steps to create it:

From the Azure portal, search for “Storage accounts” and click on it.
Click + Create.
On the Basics tab, Select the Resource Group you just created.
Enter a unique Storage Account Name (lowercase letters and numbers only).
For Region, select the same region as your resource group.
Set Performance to Standard (best for general workloads).
Leave Replication as Locally-redundant storage (LRS) for now, this option keeps your data safe in a single data center at the lowest cost.
Click Review + create to validate your configuration.
Click Create to deploy your storage account.
Once deployment is done, click Go to resource to access it.

Step 3: Configure Storage Account Settings

Before you start storing files or data, it’s good to adjust settings to align with your project needs — balancing security, cost, and access control.

A. Set Redundancy

By default, your data is stored with the selected redundancy level. For training or non-critical data, Locally-redundant storage (LRS) is the cheapest. It keeps multiple copies within a single region.

In your storage account, go to the Data management section.
Click the Redundancy blade.
Confirm or switch to Locally-redundant storage (LRS).
Click Save.

B. Enforce Secure Transfers

Always ensure data travels securely over HTTPS to protect it from interception.

In the Settings section, click Configuration.
Make sure Secure transfer required is set to Enabled.
Click Save.

C. Set Minimum TLS Version

Transport Layer Security (TLS) encrypts your data during transfer. Requiring at least TLS 1.2 ensures stronger security.

Still in the Configuration blade, check that Minimum TLS version is 1.2.
Click Save.

D. Control Key Access

For better security, you can disable key-based authentication to prevent access using storage account keys, which are powerful credentials.

In the Configuration blade, set Allow storage account key access to Disabled if you want to enforce role-based access control instead.
Click Save.

E. Manage Public Access

By default, your storage account may accept requests from any public network. If you’re just experimenting, this is fine — but for production, you’d restrict this to specific virtual networks or IP ranges.

Go to Security + networking > Networking.
Ensure Public network access is set to Enabled from all networks.
Click Save.

Conclusion

Setting up your first Azure Storage Account is more than just a technical exercise, it’s an important foundation for understanding how cloud resources are organized, secured, and optimized for cost and performance.

In this guide, you learned how to create a resource group, deploy a storage account, and configure essential settings that help protect your data and control how it’s accessed. With these skills, you’re now better prepared to tackle more advanced scenarios like managing Blob containers, automating data backups, or integrating your storage with other Azure services.

As you continue learning, remember: cloud storage is a powerful tool when you understand how to use it wisely. Keep exploring, experiment safely, and build on what you’ve learned here, one step at a time.

Thank you for reading, I hope this guide helps you get hands-on and grow your confidence with Azure Storage. If you found it helpful, feel free to share it with others who are starting their own cloud journey!

Foundations in the Cloud: Navigating Azure Storage Accounts

Oladosu Ibrahim — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:12:01 +0000

Introduction
In today's data-driven world, storage isn’t just about saving files—it’s about secure access, global availability, performance, and scalability. As businesses evolve into cloud-first operations, the role of robust cloud storage becomes central to ensuring reliability and growth. Microsoft Azure offers one of the most powerful storage infrastructures available: the Azure Storage Account. This blog walks through what it is, how it works, the types available, and how you can choose the right tools to get started.

What Is a Storage Account in Azure?
A Storage Account in Azure is like your personalized digital vault in the cloud. It provides a centralized space where your data lives, whether that’s documents, media files, virtual hard disks, backups, or structured datasets. Beyond just storing data, Azure storage accounts are designed to deliver high availability, strong security, and seamless integration with Azure services.

Think of it as a gateway—by creating a storage account, you’re enabling access to Azure's powerful data storage services like Blob Storage, Queue Storage, Table Storage, File Shares, and Disk Storage. Each storage account comes with its unique namespace and access keys, allowing you to manage data access securely and flexibly.

Why Azure Storage Matters
Azure Storage isn’t merely a hard drive in the cloud. It’s a distributed, scalable system with redundancy built into its DNA. Whether you’re handling petabytes of media content or just backing up a few gigabytes of documents, Azure ensures your data is replicated across regions (if needed), encrypted, and accessible through REST APIs or SDKs in virtually any programming language.
In addition, the pricing is usage-based, meaning you only pay for what you use—making it cost-effective whether you’re a startup or a Fortune 500 company.

Understanding the Core Storage Services
Each Azure Storage Account unlocks access to different services, depending on your needs:
• Blob Storage: Ideal for unstructured data such as images, videos, and backups.
• File Shares: Cloud-based SMB shares, perfect for lift-and-shift migrations.
• Queues: For reliable messaging between application components.
• Tables: NoSQL key-value storage for rapid access and flexible schema.
• Disks: High-performance disk storage for Azure Virtual Machines.

These services form the backbone of diverse application scenarios, from hosting static websites to processing big data.

Choosing a Tool to Create a Storage Account
Azure empowers you with flexibility in how you create and manage your storage accounts. Depending on your workflow, you can use:
• Azure Portal: The most user-friendly, web-based interface. Perfect for beginners or small deployments.
• Azure CLI: Command-line enthusiasts and DevOps engineers often prefer this for its scriptable and repeatable deployments.
• Azure PowerShell: Ideal for Windows users who are already comfortable with PowerShell.
• ARM Templates / Bicep: Infrastructure-as-Code lovers use these to automate and version infrastructure deployment.
• Terraform: For those looking to manage infrastructure at scale across clouds, Terraform provides a robust, provider-agnostic option.
Choosing the right tool depends on your comfort level, automation needs, and deployment environment.

Types of Azure Storage Accounts
Azure offers several types of storage accounts, each designed for different scenarios:

General-purpose v2 (GPv2) The most recommended and modern type. It supports all storage services (Blob, File, Queue, Table, Disk) and features the latest performance and pricing models.
General-purpose v1 (GPv1) An older version, now rarely used. It supports the same services as GPv2 but lacks newer features and is less cost-efficient.
Blob Storage Account (Legacy) Dedicated to storing blobs only. Mostly replaced by GPv2.
BlockBlobStorage / Premium FileStorage These are performance-tiered accounts that use solid-state drives (SSDs) for low-latency, high-throughput storage—often used for mission-critical workloads or streaming. Understanding which type to use is critical. In most cases, GPv2 is the default recommendation due to its balance of features, flexibility, and pricing.

Performance and Access Tiers
Azure Storage also gives you the flexibility to choose performance tiers (Standard or Premium) and access tiers (Hot, Cool, Archive) to manage costs and speed:
• Hot: For frequently accessed data.
• Cool: For infrequently accessed data but still available immediately.
• Archive: For rarely accessed data with latency in retrieval but ultra-low cost.
These tiers allow organizations to optimize costs without compromising accessibility.

Redundancy Options for High Availability
Azure Storage ensures your data is always protected—even if hardware or regional failures occur. You can choose from multiple redundancy options:
• Locally Redundant Storage (LRS): Data is replicated within a single datacenter.
• Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS): Replicates across availability zones in a region.
• Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS): Data is replicated across regions for disaster recovery.
• Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage (RA-GRS): Adds read access to the secondary region.

Choosing the right redundancy model depends on how critical your data is and how tolerant you are to data loss or downtime.
Securing and Monitoring Your Storage

Azure includes robust security features like:
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
• Shared Access Signatures (SAS)
• Private Endpoints
• Azure Defender for Storage
You can also enable diagnostic logging and integrate with services like Azure Monitor and Log Analytics to get full visibility into your storage activity.

Final Thoughts
Azure Storage Accounts are more than just a place to put data—they are a dynamic foundation for cloud-based applications, systems integration, and data resilience. Whether you’re an enterprise managing terabytes of sensitive records or a developer deploying web apps, Azure Storage scales with your ambition.
With powerful tooling, flexible pricing, and enterprise-grade durability, your journey to cloud storage excellence starts with creating a well-architected Azure Storage Account.

Power BI Data Preparation and Transformation with Power Query

Oladosu Ibrahim — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:01:40 +0000

Introduction

Power Query is a powerful data connectivity and preparation technology integrated into Microsoft products such as *Power BI, Excel, Analysis Services, and other Microsoft data solutions. It provides a consistent environment for connecting to different data sources, inspecting datasets, and transforming raw information into a structured format suitable for analysis.

The Power Query Editor is the primary workspace for preparing data. It provides a wide range of transformation capabilities that allow you to clean, reshape, combine, and validate data through an intuitive user interface.

One of the key advantages of Power Query is that its transformation techniques can be applied across different types of data sources. Whether your data comes from a database, spreadsheet, text file, web service, or cloud platform, Power Query provides tools for preparing that information before it is loaded into the Power BI data model.

Uses of Power Query

Power Query can be used to perform a wide variety of data preparation tasks, including:

Connecting to multiple data sources such as databases, files, websites, APIs, and cloud storage
Extracting and combining information from different sources
Merging and appending datasets
Adding, removing, and reorganizing columns
Filtering, removing, and modifying rows
Changing data types and correcting data formats
Splitting and combining columns
Pivoting and unpivoting data
Transposing tables
Creating custom columns and transformation logic
Replacing errors, null values, and inconsistent entries
Applying formulas using the Power Query M language
Refreshing and publishing transformed datasets

These capabilities make Power Query an important component of the Power BI data preparation process.

Opening Power Query Editor in Power BI

Power Query is integrated directly into Power BI Desktop. You can access the Power Query Editor by selecting Transform Data from the Home tab.

Selecting Transform Data opens the Power Query Editor, where you can inspect and prepare your data before loading it into the Power BI model.

You can also connect to additional data sources directly from the Power Query Editor by selecting New Source and choosing the required connector, such as Text/CSV.

Power Query Editor Interface

The Power Query Editor provides a dedicated workspace for managing queries and performing data transformations. Its ribbon contains several tabs that organize the available commands and transformation features.

The commonly used tabs include:

Home – Data source connections, query management, combining data, and loading options
Transform – Data type changes, formatting, filtering, and other transformation operations
Add Column – Creating custom, conditional, index, and other calculated columns
View – Options for displaying formulas, layouts, and data profiling tools
Tools – Additional query and development-related functionality
Help – Documentation and assistance for Power Query features

Home

Transform

Add Column

View

Tools

Help

Opening Power Query During Data Import

Power Query can also be accessed while connecting to a new data source.

For example, when importing a CSV file into Power BI, you may be presented with options to either Load the data immediately or Transform Data before loading it.

Selecting Transform Data opens the Power Query Editor, where you can prepare the dataset by:

Removing unnecessary columns
Filtering unwanted records
Changing data types
Creating calculated or custom columns
Replacing incorrect values
Restructuring the dataset

Similarly, Power Query can be used to prepare data from Excel workbooks, SQL Server databases, JSON files, PDFs, SharePoint folders, and many other supported sources.

Performing Data Transformations

Power Query supports both basic and advanced data transformation operations. These transformations are applied as individual steps, allowing you to review, modify, and reorder the preparation process when necessary.

Common transformations include changing data types, removing or renaming columns, filtering rows, splitting fields, creating custom columns, and reshaping tables.

These capabilities allow raw data to be converted into a clean, structured, consistent, and analysis-ready dataset before it is loaded into the Power BI data model.

Creating Duplicate Queries in Power Query Editor

Power Query allows you to create a copy of an existing query without reconnecting to the original data source. This is useful when you want to apply different transformations to the same dataset while keeping the original query unchanged.

For this example, we will use a CSV file as the data source.

After selecting the file, choose Open to continue with the import process. Instead of loading the data immediately, select Transform Data.

Power Query Editor will open, displaying the imported dataset and providing access to the available transformation tools.

Creating a Duplicate Query

In the Queries pane, select the query you want to copy.

Then:

Go to the Home tab.
Select the Manage drop-down menu.
You will find options such as Delete, Duplicate, and Reference.
Select Duplicate.

Power Query creates a new query based on the selected query. The duplicate appears in the Queries pane and can be transformed independently.

A duplicate query is useful when you need to create multiple versions of the same dataset for different transformation or reporting requirements.

To remove the duplicate, select the query and use Home → Manage → Delete, or right-click the query and select Delete.

Sorting Data in Power Query

Power Query also allows you to arrange records based on the values in a selected column.

To sort a column:

Select the column you want to use for sorting.
Go to the Home tab.
Select Sort.
Choose either Ascending or Descending.

For example, the BusinessEntityID column can be sorted in ascending order to arrange the records from the smallest value to the largest.

Applying Your Changes

After completing the required transformations, select File → Close & Apply to save the changes and return to Power BI Desktop.

Power BI will apply the transformation steps and load the prepared data into the model.

Summary

Power Query provides practical tools for creating and managing queries, preparing datasets, and organizing records. Creating duplicate queries is particularly useful when the same source data needs to be transformed in different ways, while sorting helps organize records for easier inspection and analysis.

Building and Updating Docker Containers: A Practical Hands-On Guide for Beginners

Oladosu Ibrahim — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 18:56:09 +0000

Introduction

In today’s fast-paced development environment, consistency and portability are critical. Applications must run reliably across different machines, environments, or even in the cloud. Docker provides a solution by packaging your application along with its dependencies into a container, ensuring it behaves the same everywhere.

In this hands-on guide, you’ll learn how to containerize a simple Node.js “Todo List” application. You don’t need prior experience with Node.js — the focus is on understanding how Docker builds, packages, and runs applications.

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll be able to:

Build a Docker image using a Dockerfile
Run your application inside a container
Expose your app to your local host
Understand how images, containers, and layers interact

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following tools installed:

Docker Desktop (latest version)
Git (for cloning the sample app)
VS Code or another code editor

These tools allow you to build and run containers smoothly.

Step 1: Prepare the Application

Open a new folder in VS Code and name it container.
Open a terminal in that folder.
Clone the sample Node.js application:

git clone https://github.com/docker/getting-started-app.git

You’ll see the following folder structure:

getting-started-app/
│── .dockerignore
│── package.json
│── README.md
│── spec/
│── src/
└── yarn.lock

This is the source code you will containerize.

Step 2: Create the Dockerfile

In the getting-started-app folder, create a file named Dockerfile and add:

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1

FROM node:lts-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY . .
RUN yarn install --production
CMD ["node", "src/index.js"]
EXPOSE 3000

Explanation:

FROM selects a lightweight Node.js image
WORKDIR sets the working directory inside the container
COPY transfers your source code into the container
RUN installs your dependencies
CMD defines the command to start the app
EXPOSE documents the port your app listens on

This file tells Docker how to build your image.

Step 3: Build the Docker Image

Navigate to your project folder by doing ls and cd into the folder/directory:

cd /path/to/getting-started-app

Build the image:

docker build -t getting-started .

What happens here:

Docker downloads the Node.js base image (if not already on your machine)
Copies your app files
Installs dependencies
Packages everything into a Docker image named getting-started

Step 4: Run Your Container

Start the container:

docker run -d -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 getting-started

Flags explained:

-d: runs the container in the background
-p HOST:CONTAINER: maps container port 3000 to your local port 3000

Visit http://localhost:3000 in your browser. Your Todo List app should be running. Add tasks, mark them complete, and see how everything works inside the container.

Step 5: Verify Running Containers

To check which containers are running:

docker ps

You’ll see the container ID, image name, port mappings, and status — confirming that your app is active.

Step 6: Update the Application

Suppose you want to change the “empty text” message to:

You have no todo items yet! Add one above!

Edit src/static/js/app.js and update line 56:

- <p className="text-center">No items yet! Add one above!</p>
+ <p className="text-center">You have no todo items yet! Add one above!</p>

Rebuild the Docker image:

docker build -t getting-started .

Start a new container using the updated code, You probably saw an error.

docker run -d -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 getting-started

Stop the old container:

docker ps
docker stop <container-id> 
docker rm <container-id>

docker ps: To get the ID of the container, then insert the Container ID into the docker stop and docker rm to update

Start the updated container:

docker run -dp 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 getting-started

Refresh http://localhost:3000 to see your updated text.

Implementing Intersite Connectivity in Azure: Seamless Communication Across Virtual Networks

Oladosu Ibrahim — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 11:04:32 +0000

Introduction

In cloud environments, organizations often segment their IT infrastructure into multiple virtual networks (VNets) for better security, performance, and management. For instance, a company may separate core IT services such as DNS and security from departmental workloads like manufacturing or R&D.

However, in many cases, applications and services across these networks still need to communicate securely for example, when a manufacturing app needs to access a shared DNS or authentication service hosted in the core network.

This is where Azure Intersite Connectivity comes in. By implementing Virtual Network Peering, you can connect multiple VNets in Azure, allowing traffic to flow privately through Microsoft’s backbone network without requiring VPNs or gateways.

In this hands-on lab, you’ll explore how to establish communication between two Azure virtual networks and verify connectivity using Network Watcher and PowerShell. You’ll also create a custom route to control traffic flow for specific subnets.

By the end, you’ll understand how to interconnect Azure VNets to build secure, scalable multi-tier cloud architectures.

Skilling Objectives

You will learn how to:

Create and configure multiple virtual networks and virtual machines.
Use Network Watcher to troubleshoot connections between VNets.
Configure VNet peering to enable secure communication.
Create a custom route to manage and control traffic between subnets.

Lab Scenario

Your organization operates separate virtual networks for core IT services and manufacturing systems. For security reasons, these environments are isolated — but certain business processes require secure communication between them.

In this exercise, you’ll configure peering between these VNets, allowing both areas to communicate over Azure’s backbone while maintaining network segmentation.

Task 1: Create a Core Services Virtual Machine and Virtual Network

Begin by deploying your first virtual machine and network.

Sign in to the Azure portal.
Search for Virtual Machines and select Create → Virtual machine.
On the Basics tab, provide the following:
- Resource group: az104-rg5 (create one if needed)
- Virtual machine name: CoreServicesVM
- Region: East US
- Image: Windows Server 2019 Datacenter – x64 Gen2
- Size: Standard_D2s_v3
- Username: localadmin
- Password: create a complex one
- Public inbound ports: None
On the Networking tab, choose Create new for Virtual Network and set:
- Name: CoreServicesVnet
- Address range: 10.0.0.0/16
- Subnet name: Core
- Subnet range: 10.0.0.0/24
Disable boot diagnostics under the Monitoring tab.
Review and create the VM.

This creates both the virtual network and the VM that will represent your core services environment.

Task 2: Create a Manufacturing Virtual Machine and Virtual Network

Next, create another virtual machine in a separate virtual network.

From the Virtual Machines page, select Create → Virtual machine again.
Provide the following configuration:
- Resource group: az104-rg5
- Virtual machine name: ManufacturingVM
- Region: East US
- Image: Windows Server 2019 Datacenter – x64 Gen2
- Size: Standard_D2s_v3
- Username: localadmin
- Password: same secure password
- Public inbound ports: None
Under Networking, create a new virtual network:
- Name: ManufacturingVnet
- Address range: 172.16.0.0/16
- Subnet name: Manufacturing
- Subnet range: 172.16.0.0/24
Disable boot diagnostics and create the VM.

You now have two isolated environments — Core Services and Manufacturing — ready for intersite connectivity.

Task 3: Test the Connection Between Virtual Machines Using Network Watcher

Before establishing peering, let’s verify that the VMs cannot currently communicate.

In the portal, search for Network Watcher.
Under Network diagnostic tools, select Connection troubleshoot.
Set the following parameters:
- Source type: Virtual machine
- Source VM: CoreServicesVM
- Destination type: Virtual machine
- Destination VM: ManufacturingVM
- Protocol: TCP
- Destination port: 3389
Run the diagnostic test.

The result will show Unreachable, confirming that traffic cannot flow between VNets without peering.

Task 4: Configure Virtual Network Peering Between VNets

Now, enable connectivity by creating a peering relationship.

Navigate to the CoreServicesVnet resource.
Under Settings, select Peerings and choose + Add.
Configure as follows:
- Peering link name: CoreServicesVnet-to-ManufacturingVnet
- Virtual network: ManufacturingVnet
- Allow access both ways (check both boxes for access and forwarded traffic).
Click Add to save the configuration.

Your VNets are now linked via Azure’s private backbone — enabling secure intersite communication.

Task 5: Create a Custom Route

To control traffic flow between subnets, you’ll create a user-defined route (UDR).

Open the CoreServicesVnet resource.
Under Subnets, select + Subnet and create a new one named perimeter with address range 10.0.1.0/24.
In the portal, search for Route tables and create a new route table named rt-CoreServices.
Once created, open the route table and add a new route:
- Route name: PerimetertoCore
- Destination type: IP Addresses
- Destination: 10.0.0.0/16
- Next hop type: Virtual appliance
- Next hop address: 10.0.1.7 (representing a future Network Virtual Appliance)
Associate this route table with the Core subnet of your CoreServicesVnet.

With this, traffic from the perimeter subnet will be routed through the NVA before reaching internal services — providing an additional layer of control and security.

Cleanup

To avoid unnecessary costs, delete the resources after completing the lab:

Delete the resource group az104-rg5 from the Azure portal.

Conclusion

You’ve successfully implemented intersite connectivity between two virtual networks in Azure. This setup is foundational for enterprise-grade architectures — enabling cross-department communication, hybrid setups, and multi-region workloads.

In the next lab, you’ll build upon this by exploring more advanced traffic control mechanisms and network security configurations to further strengthen your Azure infrastructure.

Implementing Azure Web Apps: From Setup to Scaling Your Cloud Applications

Oladosu Ibrahim — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 16:45:30 +0000

Introduction

As businesses modernize their IT infrastructure, hosting web applications in the cloud has become a key strategy for improving scalability, reliability, and cost efficiency. Many organizations still rely on on-premises servers to host their company websites, but these setups often come with high maintenance costs, limited scalability, and hardware refresh challenges.

To eliminate the burden of physical infrastructure, companies are increasingly adopting Azure App Service a fully managed Platform as a Service (PaaS) solution for hosting web applications built on popular runtime stacks like .NET, Java, Python, Node.js, and PHP.

In this hands-on lab, you’ll learn how to:

Create and configure an Azure Web App.
Set up a deployment slot for staging and production environments.
Configure continuous deployment using GitHub.
Swap deployment slots for seamless updates.
Implement autoscaling to ensure performance under variable loads.

By the end of this guide, you’ll understand how Azure Web Apps help teams deploy faster, scale smarter, and maintain high availability all without managing servers.

Skilling Objectives

You will learn how to:

Deploy a PHP-based Azure Web App using App Service.
Configure staging and production deployment slots for testing and release management.
Automate deployments using a GitHub repository.
Perform slot swaps to promote tested code into production.
Configure autoscaling to automatically adjust resources based on demand.

Task 1: Create and Configure an Azure Web App

Why start here?

The Azure Web App is the foundational component of Azure App Service. It provides a managed environment to host your website code, manage scaling, and integrate DevOps pipelines — all without provisioning virtual machines.

Steps

Sign in to the Azure portal.
Search for App Services and select + Create → Web App.
On the Basics tab, provide:
- Subscription: Your Azure subscription
- Resource group: Create or select an existing group
- Web app name: A unique name (e.g., WebAppDemo123)
- Publish: Code
- Runtime stack: PHP 8.2
- Operating system: Linux
- Region: East US
- Pricing plan: Premium V3 (P1V3)
Select Review + Create → Create.
Once deployment completes, click Go to Resource to view your newly created Web App.

You now have a fully managed Azure Web App running PHP on Linux ready for configuration and deployment.

Task 2: Create and Configure a Deployment Slot

Why it matters

Deployment slots allow you to host multiple versions of your app within the same App Service plan. They are invaluable for staging, testing, and blue-green deployments without downtime.

Steps

From your Web App’s blade, open the Default domain link to confirm the app is running.
Return to the portal and navigate to Deployment slots under your Web App.
Click + Add Slot, name it staging, and choose Do not clone settings.
Select Add. Once created, you’ll see both Production and Staging slots listed.
Open the staging slot to view its unique URL.

You now have a staging environment to test your app safely before releasing it to production.

Task 3: Configure Web App Deployment Settings

Why it matters

Continuous deployment ensures that your app service always reflects the latest tested code. By connecting your Web App to a GitHub repository, updates can be deployed automatically to your staging environment.

Steps

In the staging slot, select Deployment Center → Settings.
For Source, select External Git.
You notice an Error SCM basic authentication is disabled, click Enabled it.
Check the box for SCM basic Auth Publishing Credentials to enable
In the repository field, enter:

   https://github.com/Azure-Samples/php-docs-hello-world

Set the Branch to master and click Save.
Go to Overview and open the Default domain link.
Verify the deployed app displays “Hello World!” confirming that deployment succeeded.

This setup enables automated updates from your GitHub repository to your staging environment.

Task 4: Swap Deployment Slots

Why it matters

Swapping deployment slots allows you to promote code that has been tested in staging directly into production with minimal risk and zero downtime. It’s an essential practice in modern DevOps workflows.

Steps

Navigate back to Deployment slots in your Web App.
Click Swap, review settings, and then select Start Swap.
Once the swap completes, go back to your Web App Overview and open the production domain.
Verify that the production app now displays the “Hello World!” page.

Your previously tested staging code is now live in production — ensuring safe and seamless deployment.

Task 5: Configure and Test Autoscaling

Why it matters

Autoscaling ensures that your web app performs optimally under fluctuating traffic. Azure automatically adjusts the number of running instances based on real-time metrics like CPU usage or response time.

Steps

In your App Service plan, go to Scale out (App Service plan).
Select Automatic scaling mode.
In the Maximum burst field, set 2 and click Save.
Notice an Error occurred after Scaling out
To simulate load, navigate to Diagnose and solve problems → Load Test your App.
Create a new load test, assign a Unique name for the test (webtest), Review and Create.
From the Overview | Create by adding HTTP requests, select Create.
On the Test plan tab, click Add request. In the URL field, paste in your Default domain URL. Ensure this is properly formatted and begins with https://. Select Add to save your changes.
Select Review + create and Create.
Observe live metrics such as Virtual users, Response time, and Requests per second.
Stop the test once you verify that scaling is working correctly.

Autoscaling dynamically adjusts resources to maintain performance while optimizing cost — a key feature for production workloads.

Cleanup Your Resources

To avoid unnecessary costs, delete your lab resources after completion.

In the Azure portal:

Go to your resource group.
Select Delete resource group, enter the name, and confirm.

Conclusion

By completing this hands-on guide, you’ve implemented a full lifecycle workflow for deploying and managing web apps in Azure — from setup and deployment to autoscaling and cleanup.

Azure Web Apps simplifies application hosting by eliminating the need for physical infrastructure, offering built-in deployment pipelines, and supporting high availability and scalability out of the box.

Whether you’re migrating from on-premises servers or building new cloud-native applications, Azure App Service empowers your organization to innovate faster while keeping operations secure, scalable, and cost-effective.

Strengthening Identity Security: Performing Basic Multifactor Authentication (MFA) Tasks

Oladosu Ibrahim — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 14:15:10 +0000

Introduction

Passwords alone are no longer enough to keep accounts secure. Cyber threats continue to grow, and attackers often try to steal or guess credentials to gain unauthorized access. This is where Multifactor Authentication (MFA) becomes essential. MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to verify their identity with a second factor—like a phone notification, code, or trusted device—before granting access.

In this walkthrough, you’ll learn how to set up and configure basic MFA tasks in Microsoft Entra ID. The exercise includes enabling per-user MFA, reviewing service settings, and configuring account lockout policies to protect against suspicious activities.

Skilling Objectives

By completing this lab, you will learn how to:

Enable and manage per-user MFA.
Configure MFA service settings to suit your organization’s needs.
Set account lockout rules to protect against repeated unauthorized attempts.

Step 1: Enable / Disable Per-user MFA Settings

Open the Microsoft Entra admin center at https://entra.microsoft.com.
Log in using your tenant credentials.
From the menu on the left, open the Identity submenu.
Select Users, then All users.
At the top of the page, select Per-user MFA.
Place a checkmark next to Bhogeswar Kalita.
Select Enable MFA from the list.
A message box will appear with an optional setup URL you can share with the user.
Click Enable.
After a few seconds, notice that Enforced now appears next to Bhogeswar’s name.

Step 2: Review the Service Settings for MFA

In the Entra admin center, go to the Identity submenu again.
Select Users, then All users.
Open the Per-user MFA option.
Select Service settings.
Review the following configurable options:

App passwords: Allow legacy apps to work with MFA.
Trusted IPs: Define safe IP ranges where MFA can be bypassed.
Verification options: Choose which second-factor methods users can use (phone call, mobile app, etc.).
Remember MFA on trusted device: Allow users on trusted devices to skip re-authentication for a set number of days.
1. If no changes are required, select Discard to exit.

Step 3: Configure MFA Account Lockout Settings

In the Entra admin center, open the Protection submenu.
Scroll down and select Show more.
Choose Multifactor authentication, then select Account lockout.
Set the following values:

Number of MFA denials to trigger account lockout: 3
Minutes until account lockout counter is reset: 180
Minutes until account is automatically unblocked: 15
1. Select Save to apply the settings.
2. Review additional MFA options such as Fraud alert, Block/unblock users, and Notifications for stronger security management.

Why Are We Performing MFA Tasks?

Performing MFA tasks is essential because it ensures that even if a password is stolen or guessed, attackers cannot gain access without the second factor of authentication. It provides stronger identity protection, reduces the risk of unauthorized access, and helps organizations maintain compliance with security best practices. MFA is one of the most effective ways to defend against phishing, password theft, and unauthorized logins.

Conclusion

In this exercise, you enabled per-user MFA, reviewed MFA service settings, and configured account lockout policies. By adding MFA to your organization’s identity management strategy, you provide users with stronger protection while keeping attackers at bay. This simple yet powerful layer of security greatly improves the overall resilience of your Microsoft Entra environment.

Enhancing Account Security in Microsoft Entra ID: Password Protection and Self-Service Reset

Oladosu Ibrahim — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 13:24:30 +0000

Introduction

Passwords remain a cornerstone of digital security, but weak or reused passwords are a common vulnerability. Microsoft Entra ID provides robust tools to enforce strong password policies, protect accounts from brute-force attacks, and empower users to reset their passwords securely without relying on IT support.

In this guide, you will learn how to configure password protection settings and explore the self-service password reset (SSPR) feature, helping your organization enhance security and streamline user management.

Skilling Objectives

By completing this walkthrough, you will learn how to:

Configure lockout policies and custom banned password lists.
Enforce strong password rules and smart lockout.
Enable and configure self-service password reset for specific user groups.
Define authentication methods and registration policies for SSPR.
Configure notifications for password reset events.

Step 1: Configure Password Protection

Open Microsoft Entra admin center and log in with your tenant credentials.
From the left menu, navigate to Protection → Authentication methods → Password protection.
Set Smart Lockout Policies:

Lockout threshold: 5 (Number of failed login attempts before account locks)
Lockout duration: 30 seconds (Time the account remains locked)

Configure Custom Banned Passwords:

Enable Enforce custom list.
Enter: Contoso, London, Widget

Enable Enforcement Mode:

Set Mode to Enforced.
Click Save.

💡 Why we configure password protection:
Setting lockout policies and banned password lists prevents brute-force attacks and ensures users create strong, secure passwords.

Step 2: Configure Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR)

In the Entra admin center, go to Protection → Password reset.

2A Enable SSPR for a Specific Group

Find Self-service password enabled and set the value to Selected.
Click No groups selected, then choose the Project23 group.
Click Select → Save.

💡 Why we enable SSPR:
Self-service password reset empowers users to securely reset their own passwords, reducing IT support tickets and improving productivity.

2B Configure Authentication Methods

Navigate to Authentication methods in the Password reset menu.
Set Number of methods required to reset to 1.
Enable the following methods for users:

Email
Mobile phone
Mobile app code
1. Click Save.

💡 Why authentication methods matter:
Users must verify their identity using trusted methods before resetting passwords, ensuring that only authorized individuals can perform a reset.

2C Configure Registration Requirements

Go to Registration → Require users to register when signing in? and set it to Yes.
Set Number of days before users are asked to re-confirm to 90.
Click Save.

💡 Purpose of registration:
Ensures users provide up-to-date authentication information, which strengthens security and guarantees that SSPR functions correctly when needed.

2D Configure Notifications

Navigate to Notifications within Password reset.
Leave Notify users on password reset? at Yes.
Change Notify all admins when other admins reset their password? to Yes.
Click Save.

💡 Why notifications are important:
Notifications keep users and administrators informed of password changes, helping detect unauthorized resets and improving accountability.

Conclusion

In this walkthrough, you configured password protection policies to enforce strong passwords and prevent account attacks. You also enabled and customized self-service password reset, defining authentication methods, registration policies, and notifications.

By applying these features in Microsoft Entra ID, you reduce the risk of compromised accounts, empower users to manage their credentials securely, and streamline IT operations—all while maintaining strong organizational security.

Mastering Identity Management in Microsoft Entra ID: From Users to Roles

Oladosu Ibrahim — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:42:01 +0000

Introduction

Groups in Microsoft Entra ID simplify how access is managed across applications, licenses, and resources. Instead of assigning permissions to individual users one by one, administrators can create groups, add users as members, and assign policies or licenses to the group. This makes administration more efficient, consistent, and scalable.

In this walkthrough, you will explore beginner-level group management tasks such as creating groups, assigning members, configuring dynamic membership, and applying licenses. These are essential skills for managing identity and access at scale.

This exercise should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Skilling Objectives

By completing this exercise, you will learn how to:

Create a Microsoft 365 group for collaboration.
Create a Security group with dynamic membership.
Add users to groups using different methods.
Assign licenses and ownership at the group level.

Step 1: Create a Microsoft 365 Group

Open Microsoft Entra admin center.
Log in with your tenant administrator credentials.
From the left menu, select Groups → All groups → + New group.
Enter the following details:

Group type: Microsoft 365
Group name: Project23
Group description: This group consists of members of the new AI Simulation software with codename Project23
Membership type: Assigned

Under Members, select + Add members → Bhogeswar Kalita → Select.
Click Create.

💡 Why we create Microsoft 365 groups: They provide a shared workspace for collaboration in Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint, making it easier for project members to communicate and share resources.

Step 2: Create a Security Group with Dynamic Membership

In Microsoft Entra admin center, go to Groups → All groups → + New group.
Enter the following details:

Group type: Security
Group name: Guest Users
Group description: This group has all the Guest users currently in the tenant.
Membership type: Dynamic User
1. Under Dynamic user members, select Add dynamic query.
2. Configure the query:
Property: userType
Operator: Equals
Value: Guest
1. Click Save → Create.
2. Wait about 2 minutes for the group to populate, then select Refresh.

💡 Why we create Security groups: They are used to manage access to resources or apply security policies. With dynamic membership, users are automatically added or removed based on rules, reducing manual administration.

Step 3: Add an Existing User to a Group

Go to Groups → All groups → Project23.
Select Members → + Add members.
Mark the box next to External User and click Select.

💡 Why we add users to groups: Group membership ensures users inherit access and licenses automatically, reducing errors and improving consistency compared to managing each account individually.

Step 4: Add Licenses and Owners to a Group

Assign Group Owners

Go to Groups → All groups → Project23.
Select Owners → + Add owners.
Mark the box next to Bhogeswar Kalita and click Select.

👉 By default, the tenant administrator is the owner if no one is specified.

Assign Group Licenses

Open Microsoft 365 admin center.
Go to Billing → Licenses.
Select Microsoft Power Automate Free.
Open the Groups tab → + Assign licenses.
Select the Project23 group from the dropdown.
Click Assign and refresh to confirm.

💡 Why we assign licenses to groups: Group-based licensing streamlines administration—when new members are added to the group, they automatically inherit the required licenses without manual intervention.

Conclusion

In this exercise, you learned how to create Microsoft 365 and Security groups, add users, configure dynamic membership, assign licenses, and define group ownership in Microsoft Entra ID.

Groups are a cornerstone of modern identity management, helping administrators manage collaboration, enforce security, and scale license assignments efficiently. By mastering these basics, you can streamline user access and reduce administrative overhead across your organization.

Performing Basic User Management Tasks in Microsoft Entra ID: A Step-by-Step Guide

Oladosu Ibrahim — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 11:49:19 +0000

Introduction

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is one of the most critical responsibilities for IT administrators. Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) provides the foundation for securely managing users, roles, and access to resources in the cloud.

In this guide, you’ll perform basic user management tasks in Entra ID—from creating a new user to assigning licenses, roles, and even importing users in bulk. These are the essential skills every Identity and Access Administrator needs to master.

This exercise should take about 10 minutes to complete and covers five common user management tasks.

Skilling Objectives

By following this walkthrough, you will learn how to:

Create a new user and confirm login.
Assign Microsoft 365 licenses.
Invite an external guest user.
Assign administrative roles.
Bulk import multiple users from a CSV file.

Architecture Overview

The setup involves using:

Microsoft Entra admin center – for creating and managing users.
Microsoft 365 admin center – for assigning licenses.
CSV templates – for bulk user import.

These tools together provide a complete foundation for identity lifecycle management in the cloud.

Step 1: Create a New User

Open Microsoft Entra admin center.
Log in with your tenant administrator credentials.
Navigate to Users → All users → + New user → Create new user.
Fill in the details:
- User principal name: BhogeswarK
- Display name: Bhogeswar Kalita
- First name: Bhogeswar
- Last name: Kalita
- Usage location: United States (or your region)
Copy and save the auto-generated password.
Select Review + Create → Create.

✅ Subtask: Confirm Login

Open an InPrivate browsing window.
Go to Entra admin center.
Sign in with:
- Username: BhogeswarK@yourtenantname.onmicrosoft.com
- Password: saved password
Complete MFA setup if prompted.

Step 2: Assign a License to the User

Open Microsoft 365 admin center.
Go to Billing → Licenses.
Select Microsoft Power Automate Free.
Click + Assign licenses, choose Bhogeswar Kalita, then Assign.
A confirmation message will appear.

Step 3: Invite an External User

In Entra admin center, go to Users → All users → + New user.
Select Invite external user.
Enter details:
- Email: ExtUser@testemail.com
- Display name: External User
- Message: “Thank you for joining the company for this short work project.”
Click Review + Invite→ Invite.

Step 4: Assign a Role to a User

Method 1: Assign Role via User Settings

Go to Users → All users → Bhogeswar Kalita.
Select Assigned roles → + Add assignment.
From the dropdown, choose Attribute Definition Reader.
Select Eligible → Add.

Step 5: Bulk Import Users

In Entra admin center, go to Users → All users → Bulk operations → Bulk create.
Download the CSV template.
Edit the file with your users’ details:
- Required fields: Username, Display name, Initial password.
- Optional: Department, Usage location, etc.
Save the file (e.g., APL0501-BulkUser.csv).
Upload the file back into the Bulk create wizard.
Click Submit and wait for the success notification.

Conclusion

In this walkthrough, you performed the five core user management tasks in Microsoft Entra ID: creating users, assigning licenses, inviting guests, assigning roles, and importing users in bulk.

Mastering these basics ensures that you can effectively manage user identities, streamline onboarding, and secure access across your organization.

With these skills, you’re well-prepared to take on more advanced Identity and Access Administration tasks such as conditional access policies, identity governance, and lifecycle automation.