Tag: Management

Sep032020September 3, 2020September 3, 20200Commentby Thomas Maurer
Learn about Windows Server Hybrid and Azure IaaS VMs

Learn Windows Server Hybrid and Azure IaaS VMs

Posted in Azure Arc, Certification, Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Windows Admin Center, Windows Server

A couple of weeks back I promoted a post about how you can learn about Windows Server on Azure and a post on ITOpsTalk for New Microsoft Learn Modules for Azure and Windows Server IT Pros. This week I got another message by colleague Orin Thomas (Cloud Advocate and Author of the Windows Server 2019 Book), that a lot more Microsoft Learn modules have been published, covering Windows Server Hybrid and Windows Server on Azure IaaS VMs (Infrastructure-as-a-Service).

Learn about Windows Server Hybrid and Windows Server Azure IaaS VMs 🎓

Here is a full list of Microsoft Learn modules to learn about Windows Server Hybrid and Windows Server Azure IaaS VMs (virtual machines). This includes many of the Azure Hybrid Cloud services you can use together with Azure, like Azure Arc, Azure File Sync, Azure Site Recovery, and many more. These Microsoft Learn modules also cover a lot of the Azure Management services to manage your Windows Server virtual machines running on Azure, like Azure Monitor, Azure Update Management, networking, and much more.

I hope you enjoy the new Microsoft Learn modules for Windows Server Hybrid and Windows Server on Azure IaaS. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below. If you are looking forward to take some exams, also check out my Microsoft exam study guides, for example for:

Happy Learning!


Aug252020August 25, 2020August 25, 20201Commentby Thomas Maurer
Filter for Azure VMs and Azure Arc Machines

Inventory for Azure Arc enabled Servers

Posted in Azure Arc, Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Windows Server

Azure Arc for Servers allows you to manage servers running in your on-premises location, at the edge, or in a multi-cloud environment directly from the Azure portal. There are many features available to manage these hybrid Azure Arc enabled servers, like Log Analytics or Azure Arc Machine extensions. However, one of the basic features of Azure Arc enabled Servers, is that you can now get an inventory and overview of all your servers. This allows you to see and manage your Azure Arc enabled servers next to your Azure resources.

Inventory for Azure Arc enabled Servers and Azure VMs

Inventory for Azure Arc enabled Servers and Azure VMs.

You can see that your Azure Arc enabled servers show up as Azure resources. You can use the filter to limit the view to only Azure virtual machines (VMs), and Azure Arc enabled servers.

Read More

Jul162020July 16, 2020July 16, 20200Commentby Thomas Maurer
Create Custom Script Extension for Windows - Azure Arc

How to Run Custom Scripts on Azure Arc Enabled Servers

Posted in Azure Arc, Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, PowerShell, Windows Server

With the latest update for Azure Arc for Servers, you are now able to deploy and use extensions with your Azure Arc enabled servers. With the Custom Script extension, you can run scripts on Azure Arc enabled servers and works similar to the custom script extension for Azure virtual machines (VMs). There is an extension for Windows and Linux servers, which is a tool that can be used to launch and execute machine customization tasks post configuration automatically.

When this Extension is added to an Azure Arc machine, it can download PowerShell and shell scripts and files from Azure storage and launch a script on the machine, which in turn can download additional software components. Custom Script Extension for Linux and Windows – Azure Arc tasks can also be automated using the Azure PowerShell cmdlets and Azure Cross-Platform Command-Line Interface (Azure CLI).

Introducing Azure Arc
For customers who want to simplify complex and distributed environments across on-premises, edge and multicloud, Azure Arc enables deployment of Azure services anywhere and extends Azure management to any infrastructure.
Learn more about Azure Arc here.

How to run Custom Scripts on Azure Arc enabled servers

To run a custom script on an Azure Arc enabled server, you can simply deploy the Custom Script Extension. You open the server you want to run the custom script in the Azure Arc server overview. Navigate to Extensions and click on Add, and select the Custom Script Extension for Windows – Azure Arc or on Linux the Custom Script Extension for Linux – Azure Arc.

Add Custom Script Extension

Add Custom Script Extension

Now you can select the PowerShell or shell script you want to run on that machine, as well as adding some optional arguments for that script.

Create Custom Script Extension for Windows - Azure Arc

Create Custom Script Extension for Windows – Azure Arc

After that, it will take a couple of minutes to run the script on the machine.

Conclusion

The Custom Script Extensions for Linux and Windows can be used to launch and execute machine customization tasks post configuration automatically.

You can learn more about how Azure Arc provides you with cloud-native management technologies for your hybrid cloud environment here, and you can find the documentation for Azure Arc enabled servers on Microsoft Docs.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave a comment below.


Jul142020July 14, 2020July 13, 20200Commentby Thomas Maurer
Azure Arc Servers Log Analytics

Azure Log Analytics for Azure Arc Enabled Servers

Posted in Azure Arc, Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Windows Server, Windows Server 2019, Work

In this blog post, we are going to have a quick look at how you can access Azure Log Analytics data using Azure Arc for Servers. The Azure Log Analytics agent was developed for management across virtual machines in any cloud, on-premises machines, and those monitored by System Center Operations Manager. The Windows and Linux agents send collected data from different sources to your Log Analytics workspace in Azure Monitor, as well as any unique logs or metrics as defined in a monitoring solution. When you want to access these logs and run queries against these logs, you will need to have access to the Azure Log Analytics workspace. However, in many cases, you don’t want everyone having access to the full workspace. Azure Arc for Servers provides RBAC access to log data collected by the Log Analytics agent, stored in the Log Analytics workspace the machine is registered.

Introducing Azure Arc
For customers who want to simplify complex and distributed environments across on-premises, edge and multicloud, Azure Arc enables deployment of Azure services anywhere and extends Azure management to any infrastructure.
Learn more about Azure Arc here.

How to enable Log Analytics for Azure Arc Enabled Servers

To enable log collection, you will need to install the Microsoft Monitoring Agent (MMA) on your Azure Arc enabled server. You can do this manually for Windows and Linux machines, or you can use the new extension for Azure Arc enabled servers. If you already have the MMA agent installed, you can start using logs in Azure Arc immediately.

Create Microsoft Monitoring Agent - Azure Arc

Create Microsoft Monitoring Agent – Azure Arc

After you have installed the agent, it can take a couple of minutes until the log data shows up in the Azure Log Analytics workspace. After the logs are collected in the workspace, you can access them with Azure Arc.

Azure Arc Servers Log Analytics

Azure Arc Servers Log Analytics

Now you can run queries using the Keyword Query Language (KQL) as you would in the Azure Log Analytics workspace, but limited to the logs for that specific server.

Conclusion

With Azure Arc for Servers, we can use role-based access controls to logs from a specific server running on-prem or at another cloud provider, without having access to all the logs in the log analytics workspace.

You can learn more about how Azure Arc provides you with cloud-native management technologies for your hybrid cloud environment here, and you can find the documentation for Azure Arc enabled servers on Microsoft Docs.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave a comment below.


Jul102020July 10, 2020July 10, 20200Commentby Thomas Maurer
Azure Arc enabled SQL Server

Azure Arc enabled SQL Server Preview is now available

Posted in Azure Arc, Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, SQL Server, Windows Server

As you know, I do a lot of work on Hybrid Cloud topics like Azure Arc, which allows you to extend Azure management and Azure services to any infrastructure. I talk a lot about how you can use Microsoft Azure to manage your servers running on-premises or at other cloud providers, or how you can connect and manage Kubernetes clusters. The Azure Data services team at Microsoft Ignite 2019 also announced the private preview of Azure Arc Data services, which allow you to deploy services like Azure SQL on any infrastructure. This week they had another news to share, and it is the private preview of Azure Arc enabled SQL Server. With Azure Arc enabled SQL Server, you can use the Azure Portal to register and track the inventory of your SQL Server instances across on-premises, edge sites, and multi-cloud in a single view. You can also take advantage of Azure security services, such as Azure Security Center and Azure Sentinel.

Onboarding SQL Server to Azure Arc

Onboarding SQL Server to Azure Arc

The preview of Azure Arc enabled SQL Server Preview includes the following features:

  • Use the Azure Portal to register and track the inventory of your SQL Server instances across on-premises, edge sites, and multi-cloud in a single view.
  • Use Azure Security Center to produce a comprehensive report of vulnerabilities in SQL Servers and get advanced, real-time security alerts for threats to SQL Servers and the OS.
  • Investigate threats in SQL Servers using Azure Sentinel.
Azure Security Center assessment of on-premises SQL Server

Azure Security Center assessment of on-premises SQL Server

You can register any Windows or Linux based SQL Server to track your inventory. Azure Security Center’s advanced data security works on Windows-based SQL Server version 2012 or higher, running on physical or virtual machines and hosted on any infrastructure outside of Azure.

If you are interested in participating in this preview, check out the official blog post. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.


Jul092020July 9, 2020July 9, 20201Commentby Thomas Maurer
Add Microsoft Monitoring Agent Extension

How to Add the Microsoft Monitoring Agent to Azure Arc Servers

Posted in Azure Arc, Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Windows Server

To use some of the functionality with Azure Arc enabled servers, like Azure Update Management, Inventory, Change Tracking, Logs, and more, you will need to install the Microsoft Monitoring Agent (MMA). In this blog post, we are going to have a look at how you can install the Microsoft Monitoring Agent (MMA) on an Azure Arc enabled server using extensions.

Introducing Azure Arc
For customers who want to simplify complex and distributed environments across on-premises, edge and multicloud, Azure Arc enables deployment of Azure services anywhere and extends Azure management to any infrastructure.
Learn more about Azure Arc here.

You can learn more about the manual MMA setup on Microsoft Docs.

How to install the Microsoft Monitoring Agent on Azure Arc enabled servers

To install the Microsoft Monitoring Agent (MMA) you can use the new extension in Azure Arc. You open the server you want to install the MMA agent in the Azure Arc server overview. Navigate to Extensions and click on Add, and select the Microsoft Monitoring Agent – Azure Arc. This works for Windows and Linux servers.

Add Microsoft Monitoring Agent Extension

Add Microsoft Monitoring Agent Extension

Now you can enter the Azure Log Analytics workspace ID and the key. This will create a job and install the Microsoft Monitoring Agent on the server.

Create Microsoft Monitoring Agent - Azure Arc

Workspace ID and Key

After that, you can start using features like Azure Log Analytics, Inventory, Change Tracking, Update Management, and more. You can also do this manually for Windows and Linux machines.

Conclusion

Azure Arc for servers makes it super simple to deploy the Microsoft Monitoring Agent to servers running on-premises or at other cloud providers.

You can learn more about how Azure Arc provides you with cloud-native management technologies for your hybrid cloud environment here, and you can find the documentation for Azure Arc enabled servers on Microsoft Docs.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave a comment below.


Jun232020June 23, 2020June 23, 20200Commentby Thomas Maurer
Add Custom Script Extension Azure Arc Server

Extensions for Azure Arc enabled Servers

Posted in Azure Arc, Hybrid Cloud, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Windows Server, Windows Server 2019

With the latest update for Azure Arc for Servers, you are now able to deploy and use extensions with your Azure Arc enabled servers. Currently, you have six different Azure Arc extensions you can deploy to your servers.

  • Custom Script Extension for Linux – Azure Arc
  • DSCForLinux extension on a Ubuntu
  • OMS Agent for Linux – Azure Arc
  • Custom Script Extension for Windows – Azure Arc
  • PowerShell Desired State Configuration – Azure Arc
  • Microsoft Monitoring Agent – Azure Arc

These extensions are similar and consistent with the virtual machine extensions for Azure VMs. These are small applications that provide post-deployment configuration and automation tasks on Azure Arc enabled servers. For example, if a server requires software installation, anti-virus protection, or to run a script inside of it, an Azure Arc extension can be used. Extensions can be run with the Azure CLI, PowerShell, and the Azure portal.

Introducing Azure Arc
For customers who want to simplify complex and distributed environments across on-premises, edge and multicloud, Azure Arc enables deployment of Azure services anywhere and extends Azure management to any infrastructure.
Learn more about Azure Arc here.

You can find more information about Virtual machine extension management with Azure Arc for servers on Microsoft Docs.

Read More


  • Follow Me

  • About

    Thomas Maurer

    My name is Thomas Maurer. I am a Senior Cloud Advocate at Microsoft. I am part of the Azure engineering team (Cloud + AI) and engage with the community and customers around the world. I am located in Switzerland. I am focusing on Microsoft technologies, especially cloud and datacenter solutions based on Microsoft Azure, Azure Stack and Windows Server. Opinions are my own.

  • Get Updates

  • Sponsor

  • Sponsor

    Starwind

  • Sponsor

    SquaredUp Ad

  • Sponsor

    Altaro Ad