Azure

Co-hosting 2 sessions in the Azure Hybrid Cloud Study Hall Series

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I am very excited to be a part of a new Microsoft Azure Hybrid Cloud Study Hall series. This is a free fourteen-part weekly series that starts in April running through June.

In this study hall, you will learn how you can manage your on-premises, edge, and multi-cloud resources, and how you can deploy Azure services anywhere with Azure Arc and Azure Stack.

In this series, each session covers working with hybrid cloud resources using Azure services and hybrid cloud technologies. In these sessions we will:

  • Answer your questions live
  • Walk-through how to configure hybrid cloud resources
  • Walk-through how to deploy hybrid cloud resources
  • Walk-through how to manage hybrid cloud resources

In these sessions, together with you, we will work through Microsoft Learn modules focused on Azure Arc and Azure Stack HCI.

We have a solid lineup of speakers from Microsoft and the community! And I will be co-delivering two sessions myself.

Some of the speakers and moderators

Check out this video Microsoft marketing made where I talk about the sessions:

My sessions are:

Introduction to Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes

on May 5, 2022 10:00AM – 11:30AM (Pacific) co-hosting with Pierre Roman. 

Add to Calendar:
https://aka.ms/learnlive-azure-hybrid-cloud-study-hall-Ep7

The Learn Module:
https://aka.ms/learnlive-20220505A

Implement Azure App Service on Kubernetes with Arc

on June 9, 2022 10:00AM – 11:30AM (Pacific) co-hosting with Lior Kamrat.

Add to Calendar:
https://aka.ms/learnlive-azure-hybrid-cloud-study-hall-Ep11

The Learn Module:
https://aka.ms/learnlive-20220609A

Check out all of the Learn Live – Azure Hybrid Cloud Study Hall sessions here:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/events/learntv/learnlive-azure-hybrid-cloud-study-hall

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Speaking at MMS 2022 in Person!

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MMSMOA is back in person for 2022. I am excited to be heading back to present a session and be on some panels!

Here is the MMS website: https://mmsmoa.com

My session will be with my friend and co-author of my latest book John Joyner.

Here are the session details:

Azure Arc: Extending Hyperscale Cloud Management to Your Datacenter

Description:

Learn about Microsoft’s Azure Arc service, a new multi-cloud management platform that belongs in every cloud or DevOps estate. The premise of Azure Arc is compelling: why not extend familiar management tools proven in Azure to on-premise and other cloud networks? A practical scenario-based tour will get you up to speed quickly, with instruction and demos that are heavy with hands-on experience. If your organization has resources across the hybrid cloud, multi-cloud, and edge environments, then this session is for you. You will learn how to configure and use Azure Arc to uniformly manage workloads across all of these environments.

What you will learn:

  • Introduces the basics of hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge computing and how Azure Arc fits into that IT strategy
  • Insights into Azure native management tooling for managing on-premises servers and extending to other clouds
  • Detail an end-to-end hybrid server monitoring scenario leveraging Azure Monitor and/or Microsoft Sentinel that is seamlessly delivered by Azure Arc
  • Define a blueprint to achieve regulatory compliance with industry standards using Azure Arc, delivering Azure Policy from Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Session link to register here: mms2022atmoa.sched.com/event/yDOu/azure-arc-extending-hyperscale-cloud-management-to-your-datacenter

I will also be a part of these panels:

Cloud Adoption Roundtable

Are you thinking about starting the cloud journey, or are you an experienced cloud engineer already?  Come join this interactive session where we will talk all things cloud!  We will have a round-table discussion about what resources are available, where to find them, and which ones are better than others.  Talk with experienced cloud architects about the mistakes they’ve seen and how to avoid them.  Come listen to stories, enjoy a few drinks, and have a great time talking about the cloud movement.

What you will learn:

  • How to begin your cloud adoption journey
  • What resources are available to start your migration process, and how to find them
  • Common mistakes/pitfalls
  • Q&A with cloud adoption survivors

https://mms2022atmoa.sched.com/event/102rB/cloud-adoption-roundtable

Cloud AMA – Come ask the Cloud MVPs Anything

This session will be an open format Q&A. Come ask your burning questions in front of a live audience and get real-time feedback from cloud MVP’s and SME’s. No question too hard, no topic off-limits. Wanted to know why something was built the way it was? Want to know how to accomplish something you’ve been working on for months? Have a general question about Azure in general? Come, listen, ask.

https://mms2022atmoa.sched.com/event/zp1h/cloud-ama-come-ask-the-cloud-mvps-anything

Hope to see you at MMS 2022!

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Tech Talk with Kazeem – Azure Arc Enabled Kubernetes for Beginners

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I was a guest on Tech Talk with Kazeem again! The topic of discussion was Azure Arc Enabled Kubernetes for Beginners.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is TechTalk-w-Kazeem-2022-ArcK8s-2.pngThis image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is TechTalk-w-Kazeem-2022-ArcK8s-1.png
@KazeemCanTeach & @buchatech@buchatech Azure Arc K8s book with O’Reilly

In the discussion with me and Microsoft MVP Kazeem Adegboyega, we talked about Azure Stack, AKS, Azure Arc: K8s, and GitOps! We talked about each technology and when to use them for what purpose and more.

You can check it out here:

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Dok Talks #121 – Running Stateful Apps in Kubernetes Made Simple

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I am giving a talk for the Data on Kubernetes Community (DoKC) Community next week. They are a user group like community that focuses on how to build and operate data-centric applications on Kubernetes. Be sure to check them out! The DoK website is: https://dok.community.

My talk is titled: “Running Stateful Apps in Kubernetes Made Simple“

ABSTRACT OF THE TALK

Eventually, the time will come to run a stateful app in Kubernetes. This can be a scary thing adding more moving parts to a Kubernetes cluster and deploying as well as managing your app on Kubernetes when it requires state.

In this talk, Steve Buchanan will take you through a journey of understanding how storage works in Kubernetes, how to Persistent state with pods, what storage options are available with Azure Kubernetes Service, best practices, and a demo of deploying a stateful app to AKS.

In the demo, I will show how to deploy stateful Worpress & Jenkins workloads on Azure Kubernetes Service using the GitOps model with Argo CD.

KEY TAKE-AWAYS FROM THE TALK

Overview of Storage in Kubernetes covering Storage Classes, Persistent Volumes, & Persistent Volume Claims. Overview of Azure Storage, Best Practices to running stateful apps in Kubernetes.

Register here:

https://www.meetup.com/Data-on-Kubernetes-community/events/284283907/

——-Update——-

If you missed the session you can stream it here:

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Cloudbusting Podcast Guest EP130 – Diving into Jucy Lucy, & Root Canal’s with a little Kubernetes, Azure Arc, & GitOps on the side

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This was a fun podcast with Jez Ward, and Dave Chapman of Cloudreach. They run a podcast called Cloudbusting. On the podcast they focus on transformation, leadership, ways of working and emerging technology they explore the significant impact that cloud is having on people and businesses.

On this podcast episode, we set out to answer very important questions such as what are Jucy Lucy’s?, what are root Canals like today? oh, and yeah we also spend some time talking about what Containers, Kubernetes, & GitOps are and how they fit in the cloud.

Check out the podcast episode here:

https://www.cloudreach.com/en/podcasts/diving-into-kubernetes-azure-arc-gitops-episode-130

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Guest on the Disrupting the Cloud Podcast

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Recently I was a guest on the Disrupting the Cloud Podcast. This podcast is hosted by some of my fellow Microsoft colleagues LaBrina Loving and Brandon Martinez!

On the podcast episode, we discussed a number of topics starting with transitioning from working with hardware and software in the field to consulting, GitOps and its role in the DevOps ecosystem, authoring books/Pluralsight courses, SharePoint, System Center, Azure Arc, Kubernetes, and more!

More info about the podcast is here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/disruptthecloud
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/disruptingthecloud

The hosts Twitter accounts:

LaBrina on Twitter: https://twitter.com/chixcancode
Brandon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brandonmartinez

You can listen to the podcast episode here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1216931/9991415

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Next Chapter – Joining Microsoft

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I am excited to announce the next chapter in my career. It has been a long time coming, I am joining Microsoft (going to the mothership). I will be joining an elite team focused on Azure product improvement in one of the engineering orgs as a Principal Program Manager. I will be focused on improving Azure’s end-to-end open-source & Kubernetes experiences as well as working with multiple clouds. Several things excite me about this role such as; the talented folks on the team, being a part of improving the Azure, continuing to expand my open-source skills, continuing to expand my multi-cloud skills, and working with various product groups as well as leadership.

I am really looking forward to this change in my career as I will be moving from the consulting discipline to the product/cloud provider discipline. I view this as a soft reboot to my career, the next chapter in my book, and the 3rd lap in the race of my career. The possibilities where this will lead are endless and will open many new doors.

With this move, I will no longer be a Microsoft MVP. Microsoft employees cannot be Microsoft MVPs. After 10 years as a Microsoft MVP, I will surely miss being a part of the MVP family. However, I will continue to contribute to the technical community through blogging, speaking at conferences, user groups, creating content such as e-books, sharing my insights on podcasts, and creating more Pluralsight courses! Sharing my knowledge is a part of who I am. Buchatech will live on! I look forward to working with folks from the other side of the table and continuing to interact/collaborate with folks in the community!

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Azure Arc Book Published

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I am excited to kick off the new year announcing that my 8th book has been published! This book is “Azure Arc-Enabled Kubernetes and Servers“.

I had the honor to co-author this book with a long-time friend and fellow Microsoft MVP John Joyner. This is John’s latest book since his last 8 years ago!

The forward was written by Thomas Maurer a former MVP and now Microsoft Azure Evangelist. This book was reviewed by fellow Microsoft MVP Adnan Hendricks and a chapter contributed by a buddy of mine Fred Limmer.

This book covers an exciting technology from Microsoft exploring Azure Arc-Enabled Kubernetes and Servers. This book is for DevOps professionals, system administrators, security professionals, cloud admins, and IT professionals that are responsible for servers or Kubernetes clusters both on-premises and in the cloud.

Author copies!

This book covers:

  • Introduces the basics of hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge computing and how Azure Arc fits into that IT strategy
  • Teaches the fundamentals of Azure Resource Manager, setting the reader up with the knowledge needed on the technology that underpins Azure Arc
  • Offers insights into Azure native management tooling for managing on-premises servers and extending to other clouds
  • Details an end-to-end hybrid server monitoring scenario leveraging Azure Monitor and/or Azure Sentinel that is seamlessly delivered by Azure Arc
  • Defines a blueprint to achieve regulatory compliance with industry standards using Azure Arc, delivering Azure Policy from Azure Defender for Servers
  • Explores how Git and GitHub integrate with Azure Arc; delves into how GitOps is used with Azure Arc
  • Empowers your DevOps teams to perform tasks that typically fall under IT operations
  • Dives into how to best use Azure CLI with Azure Arc

You can order the book and watch for its official release here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1484277678

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End of Year (2021) Review

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This year was another abnormal year with ups and downs for many. Salute to everyone that kept pushing through any and all hardships you experienced. For me, my focus continued to be family and seizing all presented opportunities while blocking out as much unnecessary noise as possible.

Highlights:

I consider 2021 a spectacular year with several milestones and firsts for me. This year kicked off with me being featured in the Star Tribune (the 5th largest newspaper in the United States) in Superbowl Sunday’s paper! Other major highlights included being renewed as a Microsoft MVP for the 10th year, being promoted to an Azure Platform Offering Lead at work, developing 6 new courses for Pluralsight, publishing my 7th and 8th book one of them being my 1st book with O’Reilly, appearing on 5 podcasts/webinars, & speaking at 7 conferences/user groups of them being DevOpsDays MPLS! I also continued my virtual world tour speaking at events in Africa and even Jamaica!

Here is the full list of activities from 2021:

–February 2021: Featured as a technology leader in Minnesota’s largest newspaper Star Tribune. Was a full page story. Bonus this was the super bowl Sunday newspaper.  https://m.startribune.com/twin-cities-technologist-steve-buchanan-sees-a-more-inclusive-expanding-future-for-young-minorities/600019839

Article on Star Tribune

–February 2021: Published GitOps course on Pluralsight showcasing knowledge in AKS, Azure Arc, Kubernetes and GitOps.

GitOps: The Big Picture

–February 2021: Presented at Omaha Azure User group on Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes & GitOps. 

Speaking at Omaha Azure User Group

–February 2021: Presented on Containers in Azure for Lago’s (Nigeria) LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY (LASU) TECHX CONFERENCE. 

Speaking on “Containers in Azure” at Lagos State University (LASU) TechX conference

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