Forem: Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel

Build and Manage Cloud Infrastructure with Terraform and AWS CLI

Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 17:14:15 +0000

Introduction
Prerequisites
Step 1: Configure the AWS CLI
Step 2: Create a Terraform Configuration File
Step 3: Initialize Terraform
Step 4: Plan, Format, and Validate Configuration
Step 5: Create the Infrastructure (EC2 instance)
Step 6: Inspect and Verify the EC2 Instance
Step 7: Delete the EC2 Instance (After Use)
Conclusion

Introduction

It is important to have efficient cloud infrastructure management because it enhances the scalability, reliability, and also reduces the cost. Terraform and AWS CLI are great tools that allow you to automate and simplify the cloud resource provisioning process.

In this guide, we will guide you on how to set up an Amazon EC2 instance using Terraform and AWS CLI, how to define, deploy, and manage infrastructure as code. When you go through this tutorial, you will be able to set up an EC2 instance that is fully functional and be able to scale and automate the deployment process for future projects.

Prerequisites

Before setting up an EC2 instance with Terraform and AWS CLI, ensure you have the following:

An AWS Account (sign-in or sign-up).
AWS CLI Installed (Official documentation). Confirm installation by running the command below in your terminal:

aws --version

Terraform Downloaded and Installed (Terraform’s official site). Confirm installation by running the command below in your terminal:

terraform --version

A Code Editor and Terminal (VS Code, Vim, or any code editor with a terminal). We would be using VS Code in this tutorial.

After setting all these up, we can start managing and automating your AWS EC2 instance or any other infrastructure! 🚀

Step 1: Configure the AWS CLI

In your AWS account, click your Username at the top-right.
Select Security Credencials.
Click the Create access key button.

Check the box and click the Create access key button, and then your keys will be created.

Open your VS code terminal and enter the command below:

aws configure

Now enter your access key ID and secret key.

Step 2: Create a Terraform Configuration File

Create a working directory with the command:

mkdir terraform-ec2

Change directory into it with the command:

cd terraform-ec2

Create a Terraform file to define the infrastructure (main.tf):

touch main.tf

Open main.tf and paste in the configuration below, and save the file.

terraform {
  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 4.16"
    }
  }

  required_version = ">= 1.2.0"
}

provider "aws" {
  region  = "us-west-2"
}

resource "aws_instance" "app_server" {
  ami           = "ami-830c94e3"
  instance_type = "t2.micro"

  tags = {
    Name = "ExampleAppServerInstance"
  }
}

Step 3: Initialize Terraform

After the configuration has been created run the command below to initialize the directory:

terraform init

This downloads and installs the AWS plugins in the configuration

Step 4: Plan, Format, and Validate Configuration

Preview the configuration plan with the command below:

terraform plan

Format to automatically update the configurations in the terraform-ec2 directory for readability and consistency with the command:

terraform fmt

Verify syntax and internal consistency of the configurations with the command:

terraform validate

Step 5: Create the Infrastructure (EC2 instance)

Apply the configuration to create the EC2 instance with the command:

terraform apply

Enter yes to confirm action.

Step 6: Inspect and Verify the EC2 Instance

Inspect the current state of the Instance using the command:

terraform show

To verify the instance navigate to the AWS Management Console in EC2 Dashboard. Make sure you're in the right region us-west-2.

Step 7: Delete the EC2 Instance (After Use)

For best practice, you can destroy the instance and resources with the command:

terraform destroy

Enter yes to confirm action.

Conclusion

After following all of these steps, you would have deployed an AWS EC2 instance with the use of Terraform and AWS CLI successfully.
NOTE: You can also SSH into the instance as long as you have a key pair associated with ssh -i my-key.pem ec2-user@<instance-public-ip>.

Thank you for reading my blog.😊😊

If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comment or hit me up on Twitter. You can also follow me on GitHub. My DM's are open and love discussions on cloud topics!😁

Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel Oluwaloseyi

Understanding and Installing Terraform: A Beginner's Guide

Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel — Sun, 16 Feb 2025 21:01:01 +0000

What is Terraform?
Features of Terraform
Step-by-Step Guide to Install Terraform on Windows
Verify the installation
Conclusion

What is Terraform?

Terraform by HashiCorp is an open-source infrastructure as code (IaC) tool that lets us define, manage, and automate cloud infrastructure using a declarative (human-readable) configuration language called HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) across multiple cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, Google Cloud, and even on-premises data centers.

Key Features of Terraform

1. Manage any infrastructure: Terraform can interact with cloud platforms and multiple providers such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, VMware, GitHub, and many more to manage resources.

2. Standardize your deployment workflow:

Write Configuration We Define infrastructure in .tf files.
Initialize Terraform Set up the working directory and download provider plugins by running terraform init.
Terraform plan Preview changes Terraform will make to match your configuration by running terraform plan. This stimulates better control over your environment.
Terraform apply Create or update infrastructure as defined. By simply running terraform apply, you will be able to make the planned changes.

3. Collaboration: With Terraforms remote state backends, you can securely share your state with your teammates and provide a stable environment for Terraform to run in.

4. Version Control: You can connect Terraform to version control systems (VCSs) like GitHub, GitLab, and others, allowing you to manage changes to your infrastructure through version control, as you would with application code.

Step-by-Step Guide to Install Terraform on Windows

Setting up Terraform is straightforward. Follow the steps below to install it on your operating system.

Open PowerShell on your windows PC.
Install the Chocolatey software on your system with the code below

Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force; [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072; iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))

Run the command below to install Terraform using Chocolatey.
Then allow Chocolatey to run the installation by answering 'y'.

choco install terraform

Verify the installation

After placing Terraform in the correct directory, verify the installation by running:

terraform -help

NOTE: If you use other Operating systems or need other way to install visit the HashiCorp Terraform Installation page

Conclusion

Understanding the fundamentals of Terraform and successfully installing it prepares you to begin managing infrastructure as code. Terraform's declarative approach, multi-cloud support, and automation capabilities make it an extremely useful tool for DevOps and cloud engineers. To fully realize Terraform's potential, experiment with writing configuration files and running deployments.

Thank you for reading my blog.😊😊

If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comment or hit me up on Twitter. You can also follow me on GitHub. My DM's are open and love discussions on cloud topics!😁

Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel Oluwaloseyi

Effortless File Management: Setting Up AWS S3 Buckets and Presigned URLs

Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 09:39:59 +0000

Introduction
Prerequisites
Step 1: Creating and Configuring S3 Bucket
Step 2: Creating Folders
Step 3: Uploading Files
Step 4: Creating Presigned URLs
Conclusion

Introduction

Simple Storage Service (S3) is a service on Amazon Web Services (AWS) that provides a robust solution for storing, organizing, and accessing files in the cloud. With S3, you can create scalable storage buckets, upload files, and manage access effortlessly. One of the standout features of AWS S3 is the ability to generate presigned URLs, which allow temporary and secure access to files without exposing your bucket or file permissions.

By the end of this guide, you’ll not only have a functional S3 bucket but also the knowledge to share files securely and optimize your storage management strategy. Let's dive in!

Prerequisites

Go to the AWS management console.
Sign up if you don't already have an account.
Sign in to your account with your credentials.

Step 1: Creating and Configuring S3 Bucket

After you're logged in, search S3 and select the highlighted option.
Click on the Create bucket button.
Give the bucket a globally unique name e.g., tourism-s3. (You should go over the bucket naming rules.)
You can change the region from the top right corner.
For security, we will block public access to our bucket. (Uncheck the box is creating a public bucket.)
Disable bucket versioning. It can be enabled if you need multiple copies of a file stored in the bucket for retrieval purposes.
Let's add a tag for cost management. (Here Name is the Key and tourism is the Value.)
For encryption and other settings we leave as default.
Click the Create bucket button.
We successfully created a bucket. Click on the bucket to open.

Step 2: Creating Folders

Click Create folder and let's create folders to store pictures, tables, & videos.
Give the folder a name tour-pictures and click Create folder to save.
Create a folder for tables and videos using the same steps.
We successfully created folders for different purposes.

Step 3: Uploading Files

Open the tour-pictures folder and click on Upload.
Click Add files and select an image.
At the bottom right of the page, click Upload.
Let's upload a table as well. Open the tour-tables folder and click Upload.
Click Add files and select a table file.
Click Upload and notice you now have the table in your tour-tables folder.

Step 4: Creating Presigned URLs

Open the image file Uploaded to tour-pictures.
Click Object actions at the top right.
In the drop down select Share with a presigned URL.
Set the Number of minutes or hours you want the presigned URL to last for. Setting ours to 30 minutes.
Click Create presigned URL.
Copy the presigned URL.
Paste the URL in a browser to test it works.
Now let's do the same for our table. Open the table file in tour-tables
Click Object actions at the top right.
In the drop down select Share with a presigned URL.
Just like the image, set the Number of minutes or hours you want the presigned URL to last for. Setting it to 30 minutes here as well.
Click Create presigned URL.
Copy the presigned URL.
Paste the URL in a browser to test it works (it should download the table file we uploaded).

Conclusion

In this article, we created an AWS S3 bucket, organized files with folders, uploaded files, and generated presigned URLs for secure sharing. These steps make managing and sharing files in the cloud simple and secure.

With these skills, you’re ready to use AWS S3 effectively and explore more advanced features for your cloud storage needs.

Note: We can delete the S3 bucket after Use for cost-saving purposes

Select the S3 bucket and click delete.

Thank you for reading my blog.😊😊

If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comment or hit me up on Twitter. You can also follow me on GitHub. My DM's are open and love discussions on cloud topics!😁

: Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel Oluwaloseyi

Creating a Windows EC2 Instance on AWS and Installing IIS Server on it

Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 17:06:54 +0000

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides one of the most robust and versatile cloud platforms, allowing organizations and individuals to deploy scalable and secure solutions. Of all the features AWS offers, Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) stands out as a powerful tool for launching and managing virtual servers. In this guide, I'll walk you through creating a Windows EC2 instance and setting it up as a web server using Internet Information Services (IIS). Whether you're a cloud computing beginner or looking to expand your AWS skills, this tutorial will provide you with a hands-on approach to building a web server on the AWS cloud.

Let's dive into the steps!

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating the Windows EC2 in AWS and installing the IIS server on it

1: Create an AWS Free-Tier Account

Click here to navigate AWS and sign up for a free-tier account today.

You can watch this Youtube video where the YouTuber demonstrates in details.

2: Login to AWS Account

3: Search and select EC2 Instance

After signing in successfully, search EC2 in the search bar and select the first option.
Click launch instance.

4: Configure the EC2 Instance

Give the EC2 instance a name.
We can also add additional tags like department, city, e.t.c. (optional).
Select Windows as the AMI (Amazon Machine Image).
Select t3.micro as the instance type.
Click Create a new key pair, give it a name and Create.
It gets downloaded automatically on the computer.
In the Network settings, select HTTP so the IP can be accessible on the web.
We can also change the storage assigned and the region from the top right corner.
Leave all other things as default and launch instance.

5: Connect to the EC2 Instance

Open the instance from the ID.
Select the instance created and click Connect. The instance state should indicate Running.
Select RDP client section and click Get password.
Upload the key pair downloaded earlier, then click Decrypt password.
Copy the password, then download the Remote desktop file.
Open the RDP file and connect
Enter the password copied from earlier.

6: Install Internet Information Services (IIS) server

Search Powershell in the EC2 instance and Run as administrator
Enter the command below in the Windows PowerShell to install the IIS server.

Install-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server -IncludeManagementTools

Wait for the server to install completely.
Copy the Public IP address and open in a browser, and we should see the Windows Server.
Note: If you are having trouble opening the IP in the bowser, go to settings in the instance and navigate Edit Inbound rules, and make sure the HTTP is associated with the IP.

Conclusion

By following the steps outlined in this article, you’ve successfully launched a Windows EC2 instance on AWS and installed the IIS web server on it. Our setup not only demonstrates the power and flexibility of AWS but also serves as a foundation for hosting web applications in the cloud. With your IIS server up and running, you’re ready to explore further configurations, deploy websites, or scale your instance to meet growing demands.

Thank you for reading my blog.😊😊

If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comment or hit me up on Twitter. You can also follow me on GitHub. My DM's are open and love discussions on cloud topics!😁

: Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel Oluwaloseyi

SQL: A Guide to Create a Relational Database with SQLite (and Export to Excel)

Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 10:14:25 +0000

SQL (Structured Query Language), which could also be pronounced as sequal, is a programming language used to manage and manipulate data stored in a relational database management system. SQL syntax is similar to the English language, which makes it relatively easy to write, read, and interpret. This guide will walk you through creating an SQL table using SQLite and exporting the table data to an Excel spreadsheet.

What is SQLite?

SQLite is a popular open-source SQL database. Unlike other database systems such as MySQL or PostgreSQL, SQLite can store an entire database in a single file. One of the most significant advantages it provides is that all of the data can be stored locally without having to connect your database to a server. SQLite is commonly used in mobile apps, desktop applications, and websites.

Setting Up SQLite

Before we dive into creating a table, you need to have SQLite installed on your system. Here’s how you can get started:

1. Install SQLite

Download the precompiled binaries of your operating system from the SQLite website: Download here
Unzip into a folder

2. Access SQLite

Open your terminal or command prompt.
To start the SQLite command-line interface, type sqlite3 followed by the name of your database file. If the file does not exist, SQLite will create it for you.

sqlite3 Database_file.db

This command opens the Database_file.db database (or creates it if it doesn't exist).
Enter .help to browse commands usage hints.

Step 1: Creating a Table in SQLite

Once you're inside SQLite, the first step is to create a table. A table is the structure that stores your data, consisting of rows (records) and columns (fields). We will be creating a table for tourist database records.

Here’s the basic SQL syntax to create a table:

CREATE TABLE table_name (
  column1 datatype,
  column2 datatype,
  ...
);

In SQLite, the most common datatypes are:

INTEGER for integer values
TEXT for text strings
REAL for floating-point values
DATE for date values in the format of (yyyy-MM-dd)

Let's create the table to store information about the tourists.

CREATE TABLE Tourists (
  ID INTEGER,
  Name TEXT,
  Age INTEGER,
  Destination TEXT,
  Departure DATE
);

Step 2: Inserting Data into the Table

Once the table is created, you can insert data into it. The SQL command to insert data into a table is as follows:

INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2, ...)
VALUES (value1, value2, ...);

Let’s insert a few records into our Tourists table:

INSERT INTO Tourists (ID, Name, Age, Destination, Departure)
VALUES (1, 'James Stone', 35, 'Califonia', '2024-12-15');
INSERT INTO Tourists (ID, Name, Age, Destination, Departure)
VALUES (2, 'Steve Jones', 29, 'Florida', '2024-12-20');

You can also insert multiple records in one go using multiple VALUES clauses:

INSERT INTO Tourists (ID, Name, Age, Destination, Departure)
VALUES (3, 'Jack Cage', 33, 'New York', '2024-12-20'),
(4, 'Mark Tyson', 56, 'New York', '2024-12-29'),
(5, 'John Dep', 50, 'Texas','2025-01-08'),
(6, 'James Brook', 45, 'Texas','2025-01-10');

Step 3: Viewing the Data

Once you've inserted data, you can retrieve it using a simple SELECT query:

SELECT * FROM Tourists;

This query retrieves all rows and columns from the Tourists table.

Step 4: Updating Data

To modify existing data, you can use the UPDATE statement:

UPDATE Tourists
SET Name = 'Johnny Dep'
WHERE ID = 5;

With this, we updated John Dep's name to 'Johnny Dep'.

Step 5: Deleting Data

To remove records, use the DELETE statement:

DELETE FROM Tourists
WHERE ID = 6;

This command deletes the tourist named James Brook from the Tourists table.

Step 6: Altering Data in the Table

To make changes to an existing table, we use the ALTER statement:

ALTER TABLE Tourists
ADD COLUMN Phone INTEGER;

This command adds a new column Phone to the table.

NULL is a special value in SQL that represents missing or unknown data. Here, the rows that existed before the column was added have NULL (∅) values for Phone.
Now let's update the Phone column created using the UPDATE statement.

UPDATE Tourists
SET Phone = 09011111111
WHERE ID = 1;
UPDATE Tourists
SET Phone = 08022222222
WHERE ID = 2;
UPDATE Tourists
SET Phone = 07033333333
WHERE ID = 3;
UPDATE Tourists
SET Phone = 08011111111
WHERE ID = 4;
UPDATE Tourists
SET Phone = 09022222222
WHERE ID = 5;

Step 7: Exporting the Table

SQLite allows this by exporting data to a CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file, which can be opened directly in Excel for further analysis or reporting.

Add the headers i.e. column names

.headers on

Set the Output Mode to CSV with the command:

.mode csv

Set the Output File you want to export.

.output Tourists.csv

Run a SELECT query to fetch the data you want to export.

SELECT * FROM Tourists;

Reset the output back to the terminal and quit SQLite:

.output stdout
.quit

Locate the Tourists.csv file and open it in Excel. Alternatively, open Excel, go to File > Open, and select the CSV file.

Conclusion

SQLite is an easy-to-use and lightweight database engine, perfect for applications where simplicity and portability are key. In this guide, we covered how to create a table, insert data, and export the table data to an Excel-compatible CSV file. This makes it easier to share and analyze data outside the SQLite environment.

Thank you for reading my blog.😊😊

If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comment or hit me up on Twitter. You can also follow me on GitHub. My DM's are open and love discussions on cloud topics!😁

: Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel Oluwaloseyi

How to Create and Configure Virtual Network in Azure

Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 04:27:03 +0000

What is a Virtual Network?

A Virtual Network (VNet) in Azure is a logically isolated network that provides secure communication between resources like virtual machines, databases, and other services in the cloud. It allows you to define IP address ranges, subnets, and network configurations, enabling private communication within the VNet or with on-premises networks through VPN or ExpressRoute. VNets are essential for organizing, securing, and connecting resources in Azure.

Azure Virtual Network Peering and subnets are essential for building secure, connected, and scalable cloud environments. Virtual Network Peering enables seamless communication between Azure virtual networks, while subnets allow you to segment and organize your network for better management and security.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to create and configure both, ensuring your Azure networking setup is optimized for your workloads.

Tasks

Create virtual networks.
Create subnets.
Configure virtual network peering.

Architecture diagram

Steps:

Create hub and spoke virtual networks and subnets

Sign in to the Azure portal.
Search for and select Virtual Networks.
Select + Create.
Assign to a Resource group RG11.
Set the name as app-vnet.
Region to East US.
The IPv4 address space is 10.1.0.0/16
This virtual network requires two subnets, frontend and backend.
Set the Subnet address range of the frontend subnet to 10.1.0.0/24.
Click Add to save.
Select Add a subnet for the backend subnet.
Set the Subnet address range to 10.1.1.0/24
Click Add to save.
Note:Leave all other settings as their defaults. When finished, select Review + create and then Create.

Create the Hub-vnet virtual network configuration. This virtual network has the firewall subnet.

Search for and select Virtual Networks again.
Select + Create.
Assign to the same Resource group as app-vnet RG11.
Set the Name as hub-vnet.
Region to East US as well.
Click Next to the IP addresses section.

The IPv4 address space is 10.0.0.0/16
Select Add a subnet.
Name the subnet AzureFirewallSubnet.
Set the Subnet address range to 10.0.0.0/26
Click Add to save.
Select Review + create and then Create.

Configure a peer relationship between the virtual networks

Search for and select the app-vnet virtual network.
In the Settings blade, select Peerings.
+ Add a peering between the two virtual networks.

Set the Remote peering link name to app-vnet-to-hub.
The Virtual network peered to hub-vnet.

Set the local virtual network peering link name to hub-to-app-vnet.
Leave all other settings as their defaults.
Select *Add to create the virtual network peering.

Once the deployment completes, verify the Peering status is Connected.

Conclusion

With this step-by-step guide, you have now successfully created virtual networks, subnets, and peer two virtual networks, which helps to manage the Vnet better and secure communication between networks and their resources.

Thank you for reading my blog.😊😊

If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comment or hit me up on Twitter. You can also follow me on GitHub. My DM's are open and love discussions on cloud topics!😁

: Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel Oluwaloseyi

Azure VM Scale Set #Part 3: How to Create a Virtual Machine scale set in Azure

Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 15:43:51 +0000

In the first two parts of this series, we connected to a Windows VM, added a data disk, and captured a reusable image with Azure Compute Gallery. Now, in Part 3, we’ll use that custom image to create a Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS), enabling scalable, load-balanced deployments to meet dynamic workload demands efficiently.

An important concept of VMSS is an Azure load balancer; it distributes incoming traffic to a pool of VMs or VM instances. It is always automatically configured in Azure VMSS.

Go over the other parts of the series before this.

Let's dive into the VMSS setup!

Part 3: How to Create a Virtual Machine scale set in Azure

In the VM image created, click the + Create VMSS button.
Give the VMSSS a Name
In orchestration mode, select Flexibile
Note: In flexibility mode, you manually create and add a VM of any configuration to the scale set. While in uniform mode, you define a VM model, and Azure will generate identical instances based on that model.
Leave everything else as default
Click on Review and create

Click Go to resource

Go to Availability + scale section
Select Scaling
Set the Instance count to the number of VMs you want to Create
Save the configuration
Confirm the VMs are running

Conclusion:

With this final step, you've successfully created a Virtual Machine Scale Set using a custom image from Azure Compute Gallery, building on the foundational tasks of connecting to a VM, adding a data disk, and capturing a reusable image. Your scalable, load-balanced infrastructure is now ready to handle dynamic workloads efficiently, completing the journey toward optimizing your Azure environment.

Thank you for reading my blog.😊😊

If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comment or hit me up on Twitter. You can also follow me on GitHub. My DM's are open and love discussions on cloud topics!😁

: Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel Oluwaloseyi

Azure VM Scale Set #Part 2: How to Capture the image of a VM with Azure Compute Gallery

Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 10:39:59 +0000

Capturing a virtual machine image is a crucial step in creating reusable, standardized deployments in Azure. In this second part of our Azure VM Scale Set series, we’ll walk you through the process of capturing a VM image using Azure Compute Gallery. This ensures consistency and efficiency when scaling your infrastructure or deploying identical VMs (VMSS) across your environment.

What is an Azure Compute Gallery?

Azure Compute Gallery (formerly known as Shared Image Gallery) is a service in Microsoft Azure that simplifies the management, storage, and sharing of custom virtual machine images. It allows you to create, manage, and distribute custom images efficiently across multiple Azure regions, enabling standardized deployments and scaling for large environments.

Note: this is a continuation from the article Azure VM Scale Set #Part 1: How to Connect and Add a Data Disk to a Windows VM Make sure to go over that before moving on.

Let us dive into the compute gallery setup!

Part 2: How to Capture the image of a Virtual Machine

Step 1: Create an Azure Compute Gallery

Search Compute gallery in the Azure portal and select the highlighted option
Click on Create
Select the same Resource group allocated to the VM
Give the compute gallery a Name
You can also add a Description (optional)
Take the rest of the settings as default
Click Review and create

Click Go to resource

Step 2: Capture the image of a VM and store in a Compute Gallery

Go back to the VM created
Click on the Capture button and select Image from the drop-down
Make sure the VM and the compute gallery are in the same resource group.
Select the Compute gallery created

In the Operating system state, select Specialized Note: If Generalized, the VMs created from the image would require admin user (user/password) and other VM setups, while Specialized is already configured.
In the Target VM image definition section, Create new
Give the VM image a Name
Select Ok
Give the VM image a Version number
Click on Review and create.

Wait till deployed and click Go to resource

CONTINUE TO THE NEXT PART
Azure VM Scale Set #Part 3: How to Create a Virtual Machine scale set in Azure

Thank you for reading my blog.😊😊

If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comment or hit me up on Twitter. You can also follow me on GitHub. My DM's are open and love discussions on cloud topics!😁

Azure VM Scale Set #Part 1: How to Connect and Add a Data Disk to a Windows VM

Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 15:25:46 +0000

Efficient storage management is a key aspect of optimizing virtual machines in Azure. In this first part of our Azure VM Scale Set series, we’ll guide you through connecting to a Windows VM and adding a data disk to expand its storage capacity. This straightforward process is essential for scaling workloads and ensuring your VMs are ready for growing data demands.

What is Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS)?

A Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS) is an Azure compute service designed to deploy and manage a group of identical, load-balanced (distributed traffic among) virtual machines (VMs). It enables you to build large-scale services for applications by automatically scaling the number of VMs up or down based on demand or predefined rules. This makes it ideal for workloads that need high availability, scalability, and flexibility.

Let’s get started and transform the way you manage and scale your virtual machines in Azure!

Part 1: How to Connect and Add a Data Disk to the Windows VM

Step 1: Create a windows Virtual Machine (VM)

Install a Webserver (select http while creating the VM so as to test the VM)
RDP into the VM.

Note: All the steps needed to do this have been covered in a previous article; make sure to go through that before moving on.

Creating a Windows VM on Azure and Installing Windows Server (IIS) on it

Step 2: Add a Data Disk

Go to the Disk section under the Settings menu of the VM
Select Create and attach a new disk
Give your disk a name in the Disk name section
Select the best option under Storage type
Give the disk a Size(GiB)
Select Apply to save

Step 3: Initialize the disk and make it usable

Connect to the Virtual Machine (VM)
Search and select Disk management in the VM
Click on Ok in the Initialize disk pop_up
Right-click the disk created and open the New simple volume wizard
Navigate to the Format patition section
Give the Volume label a name
Select Next
Notice the disk says Healthy now

CONTINUE TO THE NEXT PART
Azure VM Scale Set #Part 2: How to Capture the image of a VM with Azure Compute Gallery

Thank you for reading my blog.😊😊

If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comment or hit me up on Twitter. You can also follow me on GitHub. My DM's are open and love discussions on cloud topics!😁

Azure App Services: How to Create an App and Upload Content

Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 10:31:18 +0000

What is Azure App Service?

Azure App Service is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering in Microsoft Azure that allows developers to build, deploy, and scale web applications, mobile backends, RESTful APIs, and more. With App Service, you can run applications on a secure, scalable cloud platform without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. It supports multiple programming languages and frameworks, including .NET, Node.js, Java, Python, PHP, and Ruby.

Requirements to create an App Service Application in Azure

Azure CLI
An Azure account
A text-based user interface (Powershell or Terminal)
A resource group
An App Service plan (Where the computing resources are hosted)
The webapp itself

In this guide, we'll walk you through creating an App Service application and uploading your content step-by-step. By the end, you’ll have a fully deployed app, ready to serve your audience. Perfect for beginners and experienced developers alike, this tutorial will help you get your app live on Azure quickly and efficiently.

Let’s get started with creating and deploying your app on Azure App Service!

Step-by-Step Guide: Building and Uploading Content to an Azure App Service

Step 1: Download and install Azure CLI

Go to your browser and search Azure CLI.

Navigate to the install section and select your operating system.

Make sure to install it.

Step 2: Access you Azure account with PowerShell

Run your windows PowerShell as administrator

Use the command below to login to your Azure account.

az login

Use az login --tenant and parent management group under subscription to login as a tenant of the account.

Step 3: Create your Resource group

To create a resource group we use the code:

az group create --name NGtourRG --location eastus

Where NGtourRG is the Name of the resource group and eastus is the Region.

Step 4: Create an App Service Plan

To create an app service plan we use the code:

az appservice plan create --name NGtourPlan --resource-group NGtourRG

Where NGtourPlan is the App Service Plan

If there is a problem with the Region change using --location and the new location name.

Step 5: Create an empty Web App that will host our code

To create a web app we enter the code:

az webapp create --name NGtourWebApp --resource-group NGtourRG --plan NGtourPlan

Go to azure portal in the App Service section to ensure the web App was successfully created.

click on the webapp NGtourWebApp you created.
In the overview tab select Default domain.

Ensure the web App is running and waiting for content

Step 6: Deploy content(code) to the application

In the azure portal search Advanced Tools.
Select it and click Go.

Note: it opens up a browser(KuduPlus) this contains tools for uploading our code

In the browser click Debug console
Select CMD from the dropdown

Select the Site folder
Select the wwwroot folder
Click on the Pencile icon
Paste in your code and click Save
Reopen the Default domain and notice your content have been uploaded.

By following these steps, you've successfully created an Azure App Service application and uploaded your content(code), bringing your Web app live on a reliable, scalable cloud platform. With Azure App Service, managing and deploying web applications becomes easier and more efficient, giving you more time to focus on enhancing your app’s features and user experience. Now, you’re equipped to build, scale, and maintain applications in Azure with confidence.

Thank you for reading my blog.😊😊

If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comment or hit me up on Twitter. You can also follow me on GitHub. My DM's are open and love discussions on cloud topics!😁

Creating Custom Template and Managing IP Addresses in Microsoft Azure: Dissociation and Association Explained

Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 20:50:02 +0000

Microsoft Azure offers robust tools for customizing and managing cloud resources, making it a preferred platform for both companies and developers. Two crucial aspects of effective Azure resource management are creating reusable templates and managing IP addresses. Custom templates enable you to standardize deployments and streamline the configuration of multiple resources, while IP address management—particularly the ability to dissociate and associate IPs—ensures network flexibility and resource optimization.

In this guide, we’ll take a step-by-step approach to creating a Linux VM custom template in Azure and demonstrate how to dissociate and associate IP addresses across resources. Whether you’re aiming to simplify resource deployment or improve network configuration, this tutorial will give you practical insights into optimizing your Azure environment.

Let’s dive in and make the most of Azure’s customization and IP management capabilities!

Follow this Step-by-Step Guide to Create a Linux VM Custom Template and Managing IP Addresses in Microsoft Azure: Dissociation and Association

Step 1: Deploy a Linux VM Custom Template

Search and select the Deploy a Custom Template from the list of search results. The best option is usually highlighted.

Click the Create a Linux virtual machine option.

Create a Resource group.
Add an admin but setting a Username and Password.
Leave everything else as default.
Click Review + create.

If you run into an issue, try changing the regions.

After it is approved for deployment, click Review and Create.

Click Go to Recource

Select your VM simpleLinuxVM

After launching the VM click on the Public IP address and drag the idle timeout all the way

Step 2: Manage the IP addresses in the Linux VM: Dissociation and Association

Search for Public IP addresses and select from the list of search results. The best option is usually highlighted.

Dissociate

Select the IP address and click on Dissociate
Click Yes to confirm

Associate

Re-associate the IP address by clicking Associate.
For resource type, select Network interface.
Choose the appropriate account and resource group in the network interface section
Click OK

Note: You can also create a new Public IP address and associate it with the Linux VM

Step 1: Create a new Public IP address

Make sure to dissociate the existing IP address.
Open the Public IP address and click the + create.

Give the IP address a Name, OurnewIP.
click on Review and Create

Select Go to resource

Step 2: Associate the new Public IP address to the Linux VM

Click on Associate.
For resource type, select Network interface.
Choose the Linux VM account and resource group in the network interface section
Click OK

Conclusion

By mastering these tools, you can significantly improve the efficiency, consistency, and adaptability of your Azure environment. Custom templates save time and reduce errors across deployments, while effective IP management keeps your network secure and responsive to evolving needs. With these skills in hand, you're well-prepared to optimize Azure resources for any project.

Thank you for reading my blog.😊😊

If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comment or hit me up on Twitter. You can also follow me on GitHub. My DM's are open and love discussions on cloud topics!😁

Creating a Windows VM on Azure and Installing Windows Server (IIS) on it

Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 17:08:48 +0000

In the previous resource, we discussed how to create a Linux VM and install nginx on it; now let's consider a Windows VM. Setting up a Windows VM can help you meet these needs without the overhead of managing physical hardware. This guide will walk you through the process of creating a Windows VM on Azure and installing Windows Server on it. By the end, you’ll have a fully functional Windows Server environment, ready for any application or workload you want to deploy. Let’s dive into the setup!

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Windows VM on Azure and Installing Windows Server on it

Step 1: Create a New Virtual Machine (VM)

From the list of search results, click on the Virtual Machine option. The best option is usually highlighted.
Click the Create button to start the virtual machine creation process. Choose Create a virtual machine hosted by Azure.
Select the appropriate subscription and create a resource group by clicking the Create resource group button. Give both the Resource group and the VM a name.

Step 2: Configure the Virtual machine (VM)

Provide other information about your virtual machine, such as the operating system (Windows Server Datacenter -x64 G2), size, and other configuration settings. Leave other options as default.
Create an Administrator Account. Use Azureuser for the username and password123 for the password.
Select Inbound Port Rules. Select RDP for a Windows VM. This allows IP addresses to connect to the VM. Also select HTTP, which would help connect your virtual machine to the web.
Click Next until you reach the Boot Diagnostics in the Monitoring tab, then click on Disable.
Click Next to the tags tab and then give the VM a tag name, then click Review + Create.
Click on the Create button. If the validation passes, the deployment will proceed. If not, note any recommendations, fix them, and try again. Deployment might take 3-5 minutes.

Step 3: Access the Windows Virtual machine

Once the virtual machine is deployed, click on the Connect button in the Overview of the virtual machine blade in the Azure portal.
Click Native RDP, select, and wait for the configured sign to be displayed on the right-hand side. Download the RDP file.
Open the RDP file from your local computer and click on Connect. Enter the Admin Details created during the VM setup.
Follow the prompt and click Continue. Use the username and password created for the admin section.
Once the connection is successful, start using your virtual machine!

Step 4: Install Additional Windows Server Roles (IIS)

Click on the Start menu.
Type PowerShell and open Windows PowerShell as an administrator (right-click and select Run as administrator).
Run the following command to install the IIS role and management tools:

Install-WindowsFeature -name Web-Server -IncludeManagementTools

If you need specific role services, you can specify them using their feature names. For example:

Install-WindowsFeature -name Web-Server, Web-WebServer, Web-Common-Http, Web-Default-Doc, Web-Dir-Browsing, Web-Http-Errors, Web-Static-Content, Web-Health, Web-Http-Logging, Web-Request-Monitor, Web-Performance, Web-Stat-Compression, Web-Security, Web-Filtering, Web-Basic-Auth, Web-Windows-Auth, Web-App-Dev, Web-Net-Ext, Web-ASP, Web-CGI, Web-ISAPI-Ext, Web-ISAPI-Filter, Web-Mgmt-Tools, Web-Mgmt-Console, Web-Mgmt-Service -IncludeManagementTools

You can verify that IIS has been installed by opening a web browser and navigating to http://localhost. You should see the default IIS welcome page.
Or just paste the IP address of the VM in a browser and verify that you installed the webserver.

By following these steps, you’ve successfully created a Windows VM on Azure and installed Windows Server. This setup can now be customized based on your needs—whether it's hosting enterprise applications, setting up a database, or managing services. You now have a powerful Windows Server environment that can scale as your requirements grow.

Thank you for reading my blog.😊😊

If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comment or hit me up on Twitter. You can also follow me on GitHub. My DM's are open and love discussions on cloud topics!😁

Forem: Oluwaloseyi Oluwatofunmi Emmanuel

Build and Manage Cloud Infrastructure with Terraform and AWS CLI

Table of Contents

Introduction

Prerequisites

Step 1: Configure the AWS CLI

Step 2: Create a Terraform Configuration File

Step 3: Initialize Terraform

Step 4: Plan, Format, and Validate Configuration

Step 5: Create the Infrastructure (EC2 instance)

Step 6: Inspect and Verify the EC2 Instance

Step 7: Delete the EC2 Instance (After Use)

Conclusion

Understanding and Installing Terraform: A Beginner's Guide

Table of Contents

What is Terraform?

Key Features of Terraform

Step-by-Step Guide to Install Terraform on Windows

Verify the installation

Conclusion

Effortless File Management: Setting Up AWS S3 Buckets and Presigned URLs

Table of Contents

Introduction

Prerequisites

Step 1: Creating and Configuring S3 Bucket

Step 2: Creating Folders

Step 3: Uploading Files

Step 4: Creating Presigned URLs

Conclusion

Creating a Windows EC2 Instance on AWS and Installing IIS Server on it

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating the Windows EC2 in AWS and installing the IIS server on it

1: Create an AWS Free-Tier Account

2: Login to AWS Account

3: Search and select EC2 Instance

4: Configure the EC2 Instance

5: Connect to the EC2 Instance

6: Install Internet Information Services (IIS) server

Conclusion

SQL: A Guide to Create a Relational Database with SQLite (and Export to Excel)

What is SQLite?

Setting Up SQLite

1. Install SQLite

2. Access SQLite

Step 1: Creating a Table in SQLite

Step 2: Inserting Data into the Table

Step 3: Viewing the Data

Step 4: Updating Data

Step 5: Deleting Data

Step 6: Altering Data in the Table

Step 7: Exporting the Table

Conclusion

How to Create and Configure Virtual Network in Azure

What is a Virtual Network?

Tasks

Architecture diagram

Steps:

Create hub and spoke virtual networks and subnets

Create the Hub-vnet virtual network configuration. This virtual network has the firewall subnet.

Configure a peer relationship between the virtual networks

Conclusion

Azure VM Scale Set #Part 3: How to Create a Virtual Machine scale set in Azure

Part 3: How to Create a Virtual Machine scale set in Azure

Conclusion:

Azure VM Scale Set #Part 2: How to Capture the image of a VM with Azure Compute Gallery

What is an Azure Compute Gallery?

Part 2: How to Capture the image of a Virtual Machine

Step 1: Create an Azure Compute Gallery

Step 2: Capture the image of a VM and store in a Compute Gallery

Azure VM Scale Set #Part 1: How to Connect and Add a Data Disk to a Windows VM

What is Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS)?

Part 1: How to Connect and Add a Data Disk to the Windows VM

Step 1: Create a windows Virtual Machine (VM)

Step 2: Add a Data Disk

Step 3: Initialize the disk and make it usable

Azure App Services: How to Create an App and Upload Content

What is Azure App Service?

Requirements to create an App Service Application in Azure

Step-by-Step Guide: Building and Uploading Content to an Azure App Service

Step 1: Download and install Azure CLI

Step 2: Access you Azure account with PowerShell