Removing ADE v1.1

Azure Disk Encryption leverages BitLocker to provide full disk encryption on Azure virtual machines running Windows. This solution is integrated with Azure Key Vault to manage disk encryption keys and secrets in your key vault subscription. There are two versions of extension schema for Azure Disk Encryption (ADE): v2.2 - A newer recommended schema that does not use Azure Active Directory (AAD) properties. v1.1 - An older schema that requires Azure Active Directory (AAD) properties. Continue reading

Configuring a Routable Domain

Clients wishing to migrate to Office365 will usually utilise Azure Active Directory Connect to form part of the migration, this will synchronise Active Directory to Azure to be used throughout the Office365 suite. Previously it was best practise to append domain names with .local or similar as routable domains were not previously required. Synchronising users with non-routable suffix’s will fail generating alerts and the users will not be synchronised. Prior to migration its possible to highlight the risk using Microsoft’s IDFix tool found here. Continue reading

Rename Azure VM with Powershell

Changes happen and sometimes there is a requirement to change the name of a virtual machine, be it from an error or a change of naming convention internally. Natively within Azure there is currently no way to rename a virtual machine, its virtual network or the disks attached too it, forcing users to either give up on name changes or build out new virtual machines and migrate disks. Whilst there are some scripts available already that run through the process these did not meet my specific needs, primarily of retaining the internal private IP address. Continue reading

If you know me, you’ll know I’m always searching for ways to cut effort and make our Terraform modules genuinely reusable. The whole point of Infrastructure as Code is to keep things simple and let teams deliver fast without friction. The right patterns make the difference. Here’s exactly how I use cidrsubnet, cidrsubnets and cidrhost together with actual Azure resources—real world, no spreadsheets. 1. Use cidrsubnet for VNet Allocation from a Regional Range If you’re working within a big enterprise, chances are you’ll be handed a broad regional range by the network lead. Continue reading