Using the Terraform Cloud with multiple Workspaces

Posted on 15/07/2020 by Marcel Zehner

In 2019, Hashicorp announced their very own Terraform Cloud. It allows you to manage state remotely, allows the remote execution of plan, apply and destroy tasks and supports integration with common version control systems to manage your code (and some more features). In this post I will demonstrate the basic setup of the Terraform Cloud for a flexible scenario with two workspaces that are totally managed remotely. Continue reading →

Posted in Azure, DevOps | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to release existing resources from Terraform management

Posted on 12/07/2020 by Marcel Zehner

Some days ago I wrote an article how one can bring existing resources under Terraform management. While this is a valid scenario, the opposite could also be needed. This blog post demonstrates several methods how one can release existing resources from Terraform management – maybe to bring them under control of some other tool.

Continue reading →

Posted in Azure | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How to bring existing Azure resources under Terraform management

Posted on 04/07/2020 by Marcel Zehner

In a perfect world, an application with all of its components is provisioned and managed as code from the very beginning. But unfortunately that is not always the reality. Some companies start to provision services manually before they find out this might not be a good thing for the long run. Others start with one tool, only to find out that they feel more comfortable with another tool – and want to change it. If you are using Hashicorp’s Terraform to manage your infrastructure, you can bring existing resources that have been provisioned outside of Terraform under its control. Read on to find out how.

Continue reading →

Posted in Azure, DevOps | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Microsoft MVP for another year!

Posted on 03/07/2020 by Marcel Zehner

July 1 is an important day for the worldwide Microsoft community. On that day, Microsoft awards new and renews existing Microsoft MVPs. I am more than happy to have been renewed for another year in the “Microsoft Azure” category.

Continue reading →

Posted in Exams/Awards | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’m a Microsoft Regional Director – again!

Posted on 21/06/2020 by Marcel Zehner

Two weeks ago I received a nice confirmation email from Microsoft and finally I am allowed to share the news: My nomination for becoming a Microsoft Regional Director for Switzerland has been approved! That said, I am again part of a privileged group of approx. 160 people from around the globe that closely works with Microsoft to drive business and community engagements.

Continue reading →

Posted in Exams/Awards, General | Leave a comment

Azure Security Center – Workflow Automation

Posted on 13/06/2020 by Marcel Zehner

Azure Security Center (ASC) is your main stop when you need a first broad overview of your environment’s security posture. If there is potential to improve your overall security, ASC will give you recommendations that explain how a specific resource can be better protected. In addition to that, you can use advanced security features that assist you to detect and protect against threats. Those features bring additional intelligence to the show (think of machine learning) and help you make easier decisions to drive security to the next level.

Continue reading →

Posted in Azure | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Just for fun: Using symbols in Azure

Posted on 29/05/2020 by Marcel Zehner

I was asked recently if it is possible to use symbols when assigning names to Azure objects. The short answer is ‘yes’, this is indeed possible, but definitely not something I would recommend in a business environment. However, it makes things look nice, shiny and less boring and might be of use to drive attention in workshops, demos etc.

Continue reading →

Posted in Azure | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Managing Azure Front Door with the Azure CLI

Posted on 19/04/2020 by Marcel Zehner

My last post about Azure Front Door went through the roof, so I though to deliver some more content about this topic. In this post I will focus on how Azure Front Doors can be deployed and managed using the Azure CLI. This will also unveil some new secrets about the service that are important to understand before you start managing it in a production environment.

Continue reading →

Posted in Azure | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Unleashing Azure Virtual WAN – Part 1

Posted on 15/04/2020 by Marcel Zehner

If you are working with Azure and especially IaaS, you might know that designing and building a virtual network can become a challenge. Lots of differents parts must work together to have a secure, fast and solid network and routing infrastructure for your services – in Azure and for hybrid connectivity. If you have multiple offices you want to connect, it gets even more complex. But thanks to Azure Virtual WAN, this might be easier than you think!

Continue reading →

Posted in Azure | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments