Microsoft Azure 70-553 - Part 1

Microsoft Azure 70-553 - Part 1

This post is just to help me start capturing some of those moments when I got something working in Azure as I studied the syllabus and went "cool"!!

So 15-20% of the score goes to Azure App Service apps, otherwise called WebApps. These are simple web services that you can play with while making up silly website names. One of the first things to play with is deployment slots. I wanted to hack the starting web page so I'd know which of the deployment slots was active as I swapped them in and out to simulate real developer actions as they makes changes / revert changes to a website.

I was having trouble getting WinSCP to FTP to my test WebApp so I dropped to DOS and got it connect there. Steps:

Deploy a WebApp:

Create a few Deployment Slots - I copied the existing WebApp config:

Reset the Deployment Credentials with something you can type in (I'd keep a long cryptic key for Production however):

Log in with the FTP client while in the C:\Temp folder on your local PC:

So I used waws-prod-sn1-013.ftp.azurewebsites.windows.net as the Hostname, alicemushroom\jsoap as the username and the password was one I made up that met the security requirements. Then I was able to navigate to site\wwwroot and download a copy of hostingstart.html.
cd site
cd wwwroot
get hostingstart.html
edit this file in notepad in C:\Temp and make the desired changes
put hostingstart.html

I edited this in Notepad near the bottom, changing the heading to:

Then I was able to use deployment slots to swap it out of Production and back in again. This edited the live Production WebApp. You can edit a Deployment slot directly by using the same URL but changing the username - my first deployment slot uses username: alicemushroom__beta1\jsoap

You need to update each deployment slots credentials but once done you can edit each HTML directly and then swap / revert the Deployment Slots to check each change using the Production URL. AutoSwap is also possible. So when you make a change and save it back to the Deployment FTP it then goes live with it automatically - handier for Developers if you have a BETA and STAGING Deployment Slot - they test in BETA and publish to STAGING to go live. 

I went back to WinSCP and got the same settings working allowing me to log in with a GUI interface and have a look around at the WebApp structure. 

Simple but fun!!!! 

Note: when using your FTP client remember to change the initial directory you are in to site\wwwroot or you will drop the updated html file to the wrong location and scratch your head about why the website isn't updating & AutoSwap isn't working!!! Also try a different browser to avoid cache traps!! 

PowerShell:

Where would we be without a few PowerShell cmdlets to keep us going?!! I've listed the ones below that mirror some of the objectives done with the Portal above. If you delete the WebApp portal created earlier and recreate it using the same names in PowerShell prepare for some wierd Portal issues. Either clear the cache or switch to a different browser or it will list the new WebApp or sub components thereof as Deleted!!

New-AzureRmResourceGroup -Name alicerg -Location "North Europe"
New-AzureRmAppServicePlan -Name aliceasp -Location "North Europe" -ResourceGroupName alicerg -Tier Standard
New-AzureRmWebApp -ResourceGroupName alicerg -Name alicemushroom -Location "North Europe" -AppServicePlan aliceasp
New-AzureRmWebAppSlot -ResourceGroupName alicerg -Name alicemushroom -Slot staging -AppServicePlan aliceasp
Switch-AzureRmWebAppSlot -ResourceGroupName alicerg -Name alicemushroom -SourceSlotName staging -DestinationSlotName production

Microsoft Azure - Basics

Microsoft Azure - Basics

This post is to help me when returning to use Microsoft Azure after a stint working on other Technologies. Sometimes it takes me a few minutes to figure out the URLs and PowerShell steps to get connected.

I'm currently studying for the Infrastructure Exam 70-553 after it was updated in November 2016. I'm not sure if the exam prep companies have caught up yet. None I've found are clear about when they update their exams so I've sent off an email to one to find out if they have updated their question base specifically since then.

That said there are lots of resources out there and rather than repeat posts others have done on this topic, I'll just list a few links and get on with my Azure Basics capture:

Azure Arm Portal (New one!)
https://portal.azure.com/

Azure Classic Portal:
https://manage.windowsazure.com/

Official Microsoft 70-553 exam page:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ie/learning/exam-70-533.aspx

Blog on new Exam:
https://buildazure.com/2016/11/06/azure-infrastructure-exam-70-533-gets-arm-refresh/

Did you know you can do the exam at home now? There is a proctoring option you can apply for, they look around your room with a webcam and then monitor you while you answer the questions. Much nicer than travelling to a sterile testing center and walking the walk of shame to collect your failure result afterwards!!!!

I'm using a work MSDN account which gives me free credits a month. I attended the 70-553 course before Xmas also so I'm just getting back to the exam topics and refreshing my knowledge before booking the exam.

The ARM Portal is your main tool. Double click the background to change the colour to a darker one which I prefer.

I got a one year subscription to Pluralsight and watched their Infrastructure Videos before attending the course which helped but being able to ask questions at particular points really aids understanding, so having an instructor is very handy. Having a good instructor is really important. Pluralsight continues to offer new Azure videos all the time so it's a really good resource but the blog link above has several other resources you can use for free so use what works and what you've access to!

The Powershell and CLI Tools are available here:
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/
Scroll down to "Command-line tools" and get the Windows install of PowerShell.

The Web Platform installer 5.0 runs when you launch the exe that is downloaded. This then installs / updates the PowerShell Azure cmdlets.

At this point you can use the same installer to add the CLI tools as shown above.

Note: You can also access & download the Microsoft Web Platform Installer 5.0 by googling "webpi" and browsing to the following URL:
https://www.microsoft.com/web/downloads/platform.aspx?lang=

Open PowerShell and confirm the modules are active with the following command:
Get-Module -ListAvailable Azure*
The following command will give you an error but points you to Login-AzureRMAccount:
Get-AzureRmResource

Now connect up to Azure:
Login-AzureRMAccount
You get a pop up prompting you for your Azure creds, after entering your username, click the password box and pause. This gives it a chance to ask if this is a work or personal email and then you can proceed and enter the password for the correct account.

 It reverts to PowerShell and shows you logged in.

Now you can run Get-AzureRmResource for a load of output!

That's all the interface options, now open the exam section headings and start practising and reading the documentation and off you go! Good luck with the exam and Happy Azuring!