Azure Kubernetes Service

1st Course Published on O’Reilly: AKS Essentials

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I am very excited to announce my 1st ever course with O’Reilly has been published. This course is titled: “Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Essentials: Cloud Kubernetes for Developers and IT Professionals“.

It consists of: 9 modules of 4 hours of content, many demos, 7 practice quizes, and 1 final quiz.

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Essentials is a comprehensive video course designed to take IT professionals and developers from beginner level to proficiency in utilizing Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). 

Here are the: Module Learning Objectives:

  • Module 1: Understand the core concepts and benefits of Azure Kubernetes Service.
  • Module 2: Learn how to set up and configure Azure AKS.
  • Module 3: Gain proficiency in deploying containerized applications on Azure AKS using popular tools such as Docker, Kubernetes manifests, and kubectl.
  • Module 4: Explore monitoring and logging capabilities on Azure AKS, leveraging Azure Monitor, Container Insights, and Log Analytics for efficient application management.
  • Module 5: Understand and be able to configure networking components and manage network policies, as well as implement load balancing, Ingress Controllers, and service mesh for microservice architectures on Azure AKS.
  • Module 6: Implement robust security measures, including Azure AD integration, RBAC, network security groups, and secrets management, to protect applications and data within AKS.
  • Module 7: Learn to automate application deployment and updates through continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) pipelines using GitHub Actions and GitOps.
  • Module 8: Discover high availability and disaster recovery strategies for AKS, including multi-region deployments, backups, and restoration techniques.
  • Module 9: Explore best practices and advanced topics, such as autoscaling, cluster management, and service mesh integration with AKS.

This AKS course is for you if:

  • You’re an IT professional who wants to learn how to effectively deploy and manage containerized applications using AKS.
  • You’re a Cloud Architect who designs and implements cloud-based solutions and are interested in incorporating AKS as part of your application deployment strategies.
  • You’re a Kubernetes enthusiast with a basic understanding who wants to explore AKS specifically and deepen your knowledge of managing containerized applications in the Azure ecosystem.
  • You’re a DevOps Engineer who wants to enhance your skills in managing containerized workloads using AKS and integrating CI/CD pipelines for seamless application deployment.
  • You’re a Software Developer or Engineer who is responsible for building and deploying applications and you want to harness the power of AKS for container orchestration, scalability, and automation.

Check out the course here:

https://learning.oreilly.com/course/azure-kubernetes-service/0636920982777

Here is the link to my O’Reilly profile to stay up to date on future courses, books, and more:

https://www.oreilly.com/pub/au/8326

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Presenting at Experts Live Europe 2024 (SaaS and AKS)

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I’m thrilled to be returning to Experts Live Europe this year! 🎉 In September 2024, I’ll be back presenting once again—this time with even more to share around Azure and AKS. I’ll be co-leading one of the pre-conference sessions with Jonah Andersson, and I’m also excited to deliver a session during the main conference schedule. 🌍🎤”

You can check out the conference website here: https://www.expertslive.eu

I will be presenting a pre-con session on building a SaaS solution on Azure 🚀 and a session on how to use Chaos Studio with AKS to boost the resiliency of your AKS clusters 🔧. I hope you can make it to the conference 🙌! Here is more info about my sessions:

PRE-CON MICROSOFT AZURE: Laying the Foundation: Building Your SaaS on Azure

Join Steve and Jonah for this pre-conference session where they unravel the mysteries of building a SaaS on Azure. They will start with the basics of running a SaaS in the cloud through the foundations of SaaS, then dive deep into the nitty-gritty of tech side of SaaS on Azure through tech foundations of SaaS. In this session we will take a journey together exploring best practices, patterns, and anti-patterns, along with strategies for managing multi-tenancy, tenant isolation, data isolation, identity in multi-tenancy, and more. Plus, we’ll show you how to turbocharge your SaaS architecture and build with the Azure SaaS Development Kit. Don’t miss out!

Ask The Experts: Data & AI | Business Applications

Join us at the Speakers Booth in the Expo Hall to find your favorite speakers hanging out here during conference breaks and ask your questions. Take this opportunity to get the answers you are looking for!

Azure Kubernetes Resiliency: Safeguarding Your Deployments

Dive into the world of Azure Kubernetes Resiliency in this comprehensive session that delves into crucial aspects of safeguarding your deployments. From robust backup strategies to effective disaster recovery plans and the strategic chaos engineering approach, this session has it all. Join us for a deep exploration of the tools and techniques that ensure your Kubernetes environment remains resilient in the face of challenges. Walk away empowered with the knowledge to fortify your applications and infrastructure against unforeseen circumstances.

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Azure Friday: Safeguard your containerized workloads using AKS backupAzure Friday:

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I am happy to share a new episode of Azure Friday. It was an honor to appear along side Senior Product Manager Rajat Shrivastava in this episode to talk about AKS Backup. I this episode we joined Scott Hanselman to explore the functionality of AKS backup in safeguarding containerized apps and their data on AKS.

Backup is frequently overlooked, only gaining significance when a failure necessitates recovery. In the realm of Containers and Kubernetes, it is often perceived as unnecessary. However, the reality is that backups are essential even for containerized environments. Microsoft has introduced a backup solution for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and its workloads, leveraging Azure Backup.

In this episode we dove into the importance of backing up containers, even when they are predominantly stateless. The episode sheds light on why safeguarding containers is crucial and provides insights into the workings of AKS backup in ensuring the protection of workloads running on AKS.

In the episode we also explore questions you may have about backing up K8s and we dive into demos showing how to protect AKS with AKS backup and how to do a restore. We even took time to answer this common question “Do I really need to backup my K8s cluster if I am running stateless apps & have everything in code i.e. IaC, CI/CD, or GitOps?”. The answer is yes. In fact one should think of it this way: “GitOps & K8s Backup are like Seatbelts & Airbags”. Here is a graphic to break this down further:

You can check out the episode here:

Addtional resources on AKS and AKS Backup:
■ Backup for AKS: Cloud native, Enterprise ready, Kubernetes aware backup – https://aka.ms/azfr/766/01
■ What is Azure Kubernetes Service backup? – https://aka.ms/azfr/766/02
■ Cluster extensions – https://aka.ms/azfr/766/03
■ Prerequisites for Azure Kubernetes Service backup using Azure Backup – https://aka.ms/azfr/766/04
■ Create a Pay-as-You-Go account (Azure) – https://aka.ms/azfr/766/payg
■ Create a free account (Azure) – https://aka.ms/azfr/766/free

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From SysAdmin to Platform Engineer with Steve Buchanan on RunAsRadio

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I was recently a guest on the RunAsRadio podcast. This was the second time being on the show. The last time was 4 years ago. You can catch the old episode here: Terraform vs Bicep/ARM with Steve Buchanan.

This new episode is #924 and is titled: “From SysAdmin to Platform Engineer with Steve Buchanan“. On this new episode we talked about Platform Engineering and a bunch of other stuff.

Here is the description from the episode:

“Aren’t we all platform engineers? Steve Buchanan says yes!

But there’s more to it. Steve talks about the mindset of looking beyond individual products that we might have skills with and owning the entire problem of providing platforms for your organization to get work done.

The conversation dives into the many products that can help our applications function better and the challenge of making them secure and fast. Are containers the solution? Possibly!

It’s your platform; focus on the fundamentals and go further!“

I had a great time chatting with Richard and we didn’t even mention AI until 40 minutes in. haha

You can check out the episode here:

https://runasradio.com/Shows/Show/924

or here:

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Learn Live: Taking Your Intelligent App Global with AKS with the Steves

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I will be co-presenting an AKS Learn Live this month with Microsoft Principal Cloud Advocate Steven Murawski on “Taking Your Intelligent App Global with AKS”!. It will be moderating by Principal Product Manager Brian Redmond!


We will touch on using Azure Front Door and Fleet Manager. Description of the session:

“Once we have our intelligent application running, it’s time to make it scale. Using globally-scalable services like Azure CosmosDB and Azure Front Door, along with AKS Fleet Manager, we can take bring our intelligent apps closer to their consumers, while providing a consistent operating experience for the developers and operations personnel responsible for the service.”

You don’t want to miss this one!

Register here:

https://lnkd.in/gbJXzWSJ

__Update__

If you missed the session, no worries. You can access the lab here:

https://moaw.dev/workshop/?src=gh:smurawski/moaw/learn_live_spring_2024/workshops/aks_global_scale/

You can watch the recording of it here:

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Speaking for the Azure Kenya User Group on AKS

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🌟I am excited to announce I will be speaking at an Exciting Event this week! 🌟I will be Speaking for the Azure Kenya User Group on AKS.

I will be covering “Chaos Studio with Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)”. Here is the info for this user group meeting:


🗣️ Speaker: Steve Buchanan
🕒 Date & Time: February 22, 2024, at 8:15 PM EAT
📍 Register: https://www.meetup.com/azure-kenya-user-group/events/299210961


What to Expect:
A comprehensive exploration of Kubernetes, including architecture, best practices, practical demonstrations of AKS deployment and management, insights into optimizing containerized applications, and valuable networking opportunities with industry professionals.

Who should attend:
Whether you’re a developer, IT professional, Azure enthusiast, student, or learner, this event is designed for you.

Mark your calendars and RSVP now! See you there! 🚀

https://www.meetup.com/azure-kenya-user-group/events/299210961

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Twitter space – Navigating Platform Engineering Emerging Practices

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To kick off the new year I am trying something new. For the 1st time I will be speaking on a Twitter space. This Twitter space is about Platform Engineering. It was hosted by cloud native and open source champion SAIM SAFDAR (@cloudnativeboy).

On this twitter space we talked about how to prepare your journey of learning and navigating the Platform Engineering (PE) landscape, my latest PE course, the PE guide from Microsoft and emerging best practices, and taking question’s from folks on the space.

We even had special guest Kubernetes and Platform Engineering expert Michael Levan (@TheNJDevOpsGuy) show up on the space! He shared some great insight on PE as well.

If you missed the space you can watch a recording of the space here:

https://twitter.com/cloudnativeboy/status/1742960501490081846

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Platform Engineering at Microsoft

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For a while, I have been hearing chatter around “What is Microsoft doing in the Platform Engineering space?” and “What is Microsoft’s stance on Platform Engineering?”. Well, today is the first day of Microsoft Ignite 2024 and I am happy to say Microsoft has officially released a Platform engineering guide. It can be found here: https://aka.ms/plat-eng-learn

It is broken down into the following sections: Overview, Concept, How-To Guide, and Architecture!

Working through this guide will help you discover how platform engineering teams can leverage technologies from Microsoft and other vendors/providers to craft highly personalized, optimized, and secure developer experiences.

This guide essentially gives you the scoop on Microsoft’s perspective when it comes to Platform Engineering. It can be used to help you along your Platform Engineering journey!

Shout out to the core team that built this! DevDiv: Mark Weitzel, Chuck Lantz, Russell Conard and AKS Engineering: Daniel Sol.

I was honored and happy to be one of the reviewers of this guide! Also, it was a nice surprise to find a reference to one of my past Azure Architecture center articles “CI/CD for AKS apps with GitHub Actions and GitFlow (GitOps)” in the Platform Engineering guide here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/platform-engineering/engineering-systems#enable-automatic-application-infrastructure-provisioning-during-continuous-delivery.

Released today also is a blog post from Amanda Silver Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Developer Division on Building Paved Paths in Platform Engineering. In this blog post, she talks about the new PE guide, what PE is, Microsoft’s learnings in PE, developer happiness, and Microsoft’s overall perspective on Platform Engineering. Check it out here: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/engineering-at-microsoft/building-paved-paths-the-journey-to-platform-engineering/

Another nice surprise today upon checking out Amanda’s Twitter profile is I discovered she is following me!

In addition to this new guide, there are a number of sessions at Ignite around Platform Engineering.

I will list them here with their links so you can watch them:

-Keynote by Amanda Silver: Productive and secure end-to-end developer experiences powered by AI

-Session by Mark Weitzel Principal Architect, DevDiv, and Dan Sol AKS Program Manager Breakout: Master Platform Engineering: Architecting Scalable & Resilient Systems

–Discussion: Platform engineering Q&A with the Microsoft platform engineering team

Another cool thing launched today is Microsoft’s Platform Engineering Interest Group.

At Microsoft, we want to hear about your challenges with Platform Engineering and provide opportunities to connect with other teams, at Microsoft and at other companies, who are working together to build solutions in the Platform Engineering space. Joining this group will let you get exclusive early access to new tools and services from Microsoft. Sign up here:

https://aka.ms/plat-eng-signup

The last thing I want to mention in this post is a new open-source product from Microsoft named Radius. Radius is a single tool to describe, deploy, and manage your entire application. Radius is dedicated to addressing the platform engineering challenges associated with facilitating application deployments across on-premises infrastructure and major cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services.

Radius is not an IDP. It’s an optional part of an IDP focused on the applications that provides infrastructure Recipes, simplifying the platform configurations like permissions, connection strings, and more to manage the application and its resources.

Radius empowers developers to comprehend their applications, recognizing that an application extends beyond Kubernetes alone. Radius assists developers in visualizing all the components that form their application. More about Radius here: radapp.io

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Learn Live: Building Resilient Intelligent AI Apps On AKS

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This week I will be co-hosting another Microsoft Learn Live session. This one is “Learn Live: Building Resilient Intelligent Apps On AKS” in the Intelligent apps series. It is going to be action-packed full of several Microsoft technologies, AI, and AKS.

It is a part of Microsoft Reactor.

Microsoft Reactor provides events, training, and community resources to help startups, entrepreneurs, and developers. More on Reactor here: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/reactor.

In this Learn Live, I will be co-hosting as Cloud Native Developer Advocate Paul Yu will be leading us through a workshop.

The workshop is an interactive tutorial, showing you how to automate testing for cloud-native intelligent apps using the Microsoft sample app the AKS Store, creating performance tests using Azure Load Testing, UI tests with Playwright, resilience tests with Azure Chaos Studio, and getting them running with GitHub Actions. The workshop can be found here: Creating Resilience for Intelligent Apps on AKS.

This Learn Live will be live streamed on Reactor on 26 October, 2023 | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Central Time (US & Canada). Dont miss it!

Register here:

https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/reactor/events/20955/

—————–UPDATE————————

If you missed the session no worries. It was recorded. You can watch the recording of it here:

All of the recordings from this “Build Intelligent Apps on AKS” series can be found here:

https://azure.github.io/Cloud-Native/Build-IA/LearnLive/

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Learn How to Build a Web App with JavaScript

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This week my 21st course published. In this course I take you on a journey to build a web app in JavaScript. JavaScript is the top web programming language today with 12+ million active developers and 97% of all websites using it. It is a great language used to build dynamic and interactive web apps given its flexibility, frameworks, and modules.

The course is titled “Building a Web Application with JavaScript“. It is a part of the new “JavaScript 2022 Path” on Pluralsight. This is my 2nd course in this path. My 1st course was “Building a REST API in JavaScript with Express“. Be sure to check out my REST API course as well!

JavaScript is a must-have skill in your toolbelt when building web apps. In this course, Building a Web Application with JavaScript, you’ll learn to build a dynamic and interactive web app.

First, you’ll plan and set up your web app project. Next, you’ll discover how to build the layout, style, and CRUD for your app with HTML and CSS. Finally, you’ll learn how to code your app’s dynamic functionality in JavaScript and publish the app when done.

When you’re finished with this course, you’ll have the skills and knowledge for planning, building, styling, and publishing a web app in JavaScript needed to go from an idea to a fully functioning web app in JavaScript.

Check out the “Building a Web Application with JavaScript“ course here:

https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/javascript-building-web-application

I hope you find value in this new JavaScript course. Be sure to follow my profile on Pluralsight so you will be notified as I release new courses! 

Here is the link to my Pluralsight profile to follow me:

https://www.pluralsight.com/authors/steve-buchanan

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