Forem: etidoekom

PRACTICE WITH DOCKER

etidoekom — Sat, 12 Nov 2022 23:13:29 +0000

*Introduction*
This article will help you through docker configuration, downloading and building a container image.

*Prerequisites*

You must have installed the VM ware Work Station Pro
Downloaded and configured your Ubuntu Desktop.

*STEP ONE: Pasting URL*

Open your broswer and paste the URL:https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/ubuntu/
If copied correctly, you should be presented with the page as shown below.

*STEP TWO: Setting up Repository*

The next step is to set up the docker repository to enable you install and update docker from the repository.

Copy and paste the following command on your terminal:
*sudo su*
The above command will require the password used in setting up the Ubuntu desktop. Once inputted, copy and paste the following commands accordingly:

Your screen should appear like this
Next, copy and paste the paste the command to add Docker official GPG Key

Then, set up the repository with the code below

*STEP THREE:Install Docker Engine*

First you will have to update the apt package index with the command below

After sucessfully updating, we will go with installing the latest version of your docker engine.
Next step is to verify the successful installation of your emgine by running the command below:

*STEP FOUR: Download a Container Image*

Go to *https://hub.docker.com/*
Click on Explore and search for Nginx
On the left hand side of your screen, copy *docker pull nginx*
Paste the copied command in your terminal and hit enter to download the container image in your local environment.

*STEP FIVE: Start a Container Image*

On your terminal, run the command *docker run nginx --detach --publish-all nginx:latest*
Run *docker ps* to display the port number
Run *ip addr show* to get the ip address of your machine
Copy your IP address and port number.

Go to your browser and type: *ip address:port* You show see something like the picture below

*STEP SIX: Build a Container Image*

Follow the following steps to build the specified image.

Create a directory and change to the directory created by running the following command. In this tutorial, our directory will be named *cloud*
*mk dir cloud*
*cd cloud*
Create a linux text document called *Dockerfile* using the command *vim Dockerfile*
If done correctly, your screen should appear like the one below

Paste the following into the text editor. N/B You can only input anything into the text editor by pressing your "I" button
*FROM* ubuntu****
*MAINTAINER (your email address)*
*CMD ['echo', 'hello world']*
Press *esc, *shift + :, then type **wq**** to save your text
Exit the text editor by pressing enter
Build the container image using the following code
*docker build -t (name of your choice) .*

VIRTUAL MACHINE SCALE SETS (VMSS) AND AVAILABILITY SET

etidoekom — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 17:47:19 +0000

A VMSS is a service offered by Azure that aids in the creation and management of several identical virtual machines. According to usage or a predetermined schedule, the number of VM instances can automatically increase or decrease.

What are the Benefits of VMSS?

VMSS keeps your environment's configuration (VM size, disc configuration) uniform using the same basic OS image and parameters to produce all VM instances. This method frees you from additional configuration effort or network administration to manage hundreds of VMs.
It provides application resiliency and high availability. If ever one of the VM instances experiences an issue, Customers will still access your application through one of the other VM instances with little disruption.
VMSS gives your application the ability to scale automatically as resource demand varies. Judging from your application’s customer demands, VM Scale Sets automatically increases or decreases the number of VM instances to match customer demand.
Its auto scale ability to reduce the number of superfluous VM instances that run your application when demand is low enables cost-reduction while still giving customers performance satisfaction.

AVAILABILITY SETS

Availability set is a logical grouping of virtual machines (VMs) to help Azure comprehend how you created your application that is hosted on the virtual machines in order to provide redundancy and availability. In other words, it ensures that virtual machines are deployed across multiple isolated hardware nodes in a cluster to help manage maintenance updates and hardware problems so resources do not all go down at once.

How Does Availability Set Work?

Once two or more VMs are created within an availability set, each in your availability set is assigned an update domain and a fault domain by the underlying Azure platform.

The update domain is a collection of virtual computers that may be restarted or maintained simultaneously. System updates are ensured to be uninterrupted by the update domain. Each time an update domain is updated or restarted, it is given 30 minutes to recuperate before maintenance on another update domain is started.

Fault domains define the group of virtual machines that share a common power source and network switch. The virtual machines that are set up in your availability configuration by default are dispersed across up to three fault domains by Azure. This strategy lessens the effects of any hardware malfunctions, network attacks, or power outages.

Differences Between VMSS AND Availability Set

VMSS is used for unpredictable work load while Availability set works for predictable work loads.
With VMSS, one can increase or decrease VMs based on demand while with Availability set, VMs can only be added upon creation. No modification or transfer can be made in and out of the set.
VMSS consist of identical configured VMs created and spread across domains while Availability set can consist of distinct VMs with unique properties and identity spanned across domains

HOW TO CREATE A VIRTUAL MACHINE, CONNECT TO IT USING REMOTE DESKTOP AND INSTALL A WEB BROWSER- (MAC USERS)

etidoekom — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 02:00:57 +0000

One of the common ways to connect to an Azure VM is through the Remote Desktop Protocol. This article will take you through the steps in creating a remote desktop connection to your VM already created and running in Azure.

STEP ONE:
Open your web browser, navigate to portal.azure.com and sign in using your Azure credentials

STEP TWO:
Click on Virtual machines in the home page and then click create to see options for creating VMs in Azure. Click on the first option (Azure Virtual machine) and this will take you to create a virtual machine.

STEP THREE:
Under the Basics tab, fill in the appropriate information in your project details by first, selecting the correct subscription. For the resource group, you have the option of choosing existing resource groups earlier created using the drop-down option. If none, then click on the Create New option to create a new resource group. For this tutorial, we will use *psr_group. *

Set up the instance details with the following information:
• Virtual machine: windowsvm
• Region: From the drop-down icon, you have the option of selecting the region closest to you. This helps minimize network latency when connecting to your VM. For this tutorial, we will select (Europe) UK South.
• Image: Select Windows Server 2019 Datacenter- Gen 2
• Size: Standard_DS1_V2 -1 vcpus, 3.5 GiB Memory

Next, input a username and password of choice for the administrator account. This tutorial will use azureuser as username. For the inbound rules, select allow selected ports and from the drop-down menu in select inbound ports, click HTTP and RDP before proceeding to click on Review + create.

Upon selecting the Review +create button, it will run a final validation check for some minutes and if all details were inputted correctly, it will show a “validation passed” message on the top of the screen. When seen, click on create to finalize the creation and deployment of the VM. Once deployment is complete, you should see the VM page appear as the one below.

STEP FOUR:
Click on Go to resource and this will take you to the overview page of the VM created. The overview page gives you a breakdown of information about your VM such as the resource group, Public IP address, size, status of your VM etc. Note that even though you may have successfully deployed your VM and the status shows running, you cannot make use of it until you connect to it.

STEP FIVE:
While on the overview page, click on the connect option. It will give you a list of how you can connect to your VM. Select RDP and click on download RDP file.

STEP SIX:
Once the RDP file is downloaded, double-click on the file to initiate connection to your VM. A pop-up screen demanding for username and password will appear. Enter the username: azureuser and the password you created for your administrator account.

Next, click continue when this next pop-up window appears.

If successful, you will get to your VM’s desktop like the picture shown below. At this point, you can use the VM for any task just like your physical computer.

STEP SEVEN:
Once logged into your VM’s desktop, click on the search icon and type PowerShell.

Next, right-click on Windows PowerShell ISE and select the Run as administrator option from the menu presented.

STEP EIGHT:
The picture below should appear on your screen next.

Once seen, paste the following command in the box to install the webserver feature: *Install-WindowsFeature Web-Server *

STEP NINE:
Upon completion of the instalment, your screen will display the following information attached below.

Return to the overview page of your VM in your azure portal and copy your Public IP address. Run the copied address on a new browser page. If successful, your browser page should appear like the picture.

STEP TEN:
After successfully connecting to your VM and installing a web browser, it is always advisable to clean up your resources to avoid being charged. To clean up, you will need to delete the VM or the resource group that houses all the resources used. To initiate a clean-up, navigate to your virtual machine page, tick the box on the lefthand-side next to your VM, and click on the Delete icon (top-right corner) to initialise deleting your VM.

A box will pop up requiring you to confirm deleting your VM. Type yes in the Confirm Delete box and select Delete. This will finalize the deleting of your VM, and you will not be charged for the resource.

CONCLUSION
In this tutorial, you have learnt how to create a VM and connect to your VM using the Remote Desktop as well as installing a web browser via PowerShell.