Where is that documentation? A tale on setting up diagnostic settings...

I’m a big fan of Azure and building infrastructure on it using IaC (Infrastructure as Code) and deploy it through pipelines (Azure DevOps) or workflows (Github). The last two years, I primarily used Bicep to build the infrastructure. This is often a very satisfying experience but in some cases it can be quite frustrating. Frustrating because I can’t find the information that I need in the MS Learn documentation at the location where I would expect it to be. Continue reading

A nightmare on FrontDoor in Bicep...

For some reason I seem to attract the most exotic scenarios when it comes to building Infrastructure as Code (IaC). This time it was no different. For a client I’m working on building an environment in which disaster recovery is a top priority. Besides being zone redundant, the client requires region redundancy as well, in case a complete Azure region gets wiped out by a disaster or a combination of disasters… My imagination gets triggered and I envision all kinds of apocalyptic movie scenarios. Continue reading

Note to self: fix invalid GitHub credentials in VSCode

From time to time I start working on projects for new customers. As soon as I start I receive an invitation from Github to join the customer’s Github organization. Most of the organization have a SAML based single sign on (SSO). After joining the organization using my personal Github account, I’m able to work on the repositories on which I have access. So far so good… Then the moment comes that I need to clone the repository, which can be a hassle from time-to-time. Continue reading

GHAS - How to use CodeQL custom queries?

Over the last two years, I have seen a growing awareness when it comes to zero trust computing. When organizations look at zero trust computing, the first thing that comes into mind is getting the infrastructure secure. Assuming breach, ensuring that there are multiple layers of security applied. As an engineer I love seeing this growing awareness. What a lot of organizations seem to forget is that perhaps the most important part of securing its data starts with analyzing the source code of its proprietary software. Continue reading

How to prepare for the Azure Cybersecurity Architect SC-100 exam

Frustration! If one word should describe the learning experience using Microsoft Learn (other words could have been: indigestable, wut?!, uncohesive etcetera). I have never encountered a Microsoft Learning path that was so hard to digest. Then you could ask yourself: “Is the subject that hard?”. It is not the subject, it is the way the self-study was written. In this blog post, I will share the way I prepared for this exam. Continue reading

Project Volterra - Windows Dev Kit 2023 - take 1

At Xpirit we have an Innovation Day multiple times per year. The idea of an Innovation Day is to work on technologies or topics that spark your interest. Anything is allowed, as long as it has nothing to do with any customer assignments. Learning and knowledge sharing is the goal of such a day. At our last Innovation Day in november, I picked up the idea to get some hands on experience with the Windows Dev Kit 2023 also known as Project Volterra. Continue reading

Minikube, a lightweight Kubernetes-to-go!

From time-to-time I find myself tinkering with Kubernetes. I love the idea that I can create any type of workload (e.g. a simple webapp or a backend service), pick it up and put it somewhere else to run. Not having to care if it is in the cloud or on an on-premise cluster. However developing your application, testing its core in a local docker container and then deploying it to kubernetes can sometimes be cumberstone. Continue reading