Add Kubernetes Cluster to Microsoft Azure Arc #Containers #AzureHybrid

Microsoft Azure Arc Services for Adaptive Cloud

Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes allows you to attach Kubernetes clusters running anywhere so that you can manage and configure them in Azure. By managing all of your Kubernetes resources in a single control plane, you can enable a more consistent development and operation experience to run cloud-native apps anywhere and on any Kubernetes platform.
Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes works with any Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) certified Kubernetes clusters. This includes clusters running on other public cloud providers (such as GCP or AWS) and clusters running on your on-premises data center (such as VMware vSphere or Azure Stack HCI).

In the following step-by step installation, we are going to connect a Kubernetes Cluster with Azure Arc services.

Add Kubernetes Cluster

Before you begin, you need this prerequisites

Extension add

the Extension was already installed.

Here you set the subscription and resource group first.
Cluster name in Azure and the Microsoft Azure Region.
and at last, the network connectivity method, in my scenario a public endpoint.

you can add your tags.

Here you can select your script type Bash or PowerShell
Then download your script.

Azure login

Enter the code and login your Azure subscription.

You now have signed in.

Check these Provider registrations (requirement)

Running the bash script.

Starting to install Azure Arc agents on the Kubernetes Cluster.

In Azure Portal, Kubecluster is connected to Azure.

kubectl get pods -n azure-arc

Kubecluster Overview in Azure portal.

the kubecluster is Azure Arc enabled and running. 🙂

Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes with Azure Monitor options.

Azure ArcNetworking extension for loadbalancer service.

Arc Enabled kubernetes Cluster features.
Azure provides an automated application deployments capability using GitOps 

Try your Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes Cluster Today first in your test lab and see all the features you can use for your environment.
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Running Nano Server Insider Container on Windows Server 2025 Insider Preview Build 26080

Installing Docker on Windows Server 2025 Insider Preview Build 26080.1

During the Microsoft Windows Server Summit 2024 I got inspired to run a Windows Server 2025 Insider Preview Build and do something with Microsoft WinGet because this is now default installed on the latest Windows Server 2025 Insider Preview Build.

So with the following command, I installed Docker on the Window Server Insider Preview Build version 26080:

Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing “https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/Windows-Containers/Main/helpful_tools/Install-DockerCE/install-docker-ce.ps1” -o install-docker-ce.ps1
.\install-docker-ce.ps1

Docker running on Windows Server 2025 Insider Preview Build.

Here I’m pulling NanoServer Insider 26080 image.

With the following command:

docker pull mcr.microsoft.com/windows/nanoserver/insider:10.0.26080.1

the NanoServer Insider container image is in the repository.

So now is Microsoft Windows Package Manager (WinGet) tool handy on this Windows Server Insider Build, because I like to have Microsoft Visual Studio Code Installed to play with Windows Nano Server Insider Container.

First I did a Winget upgrade –all

with Winget search vscode you get the list
To install Visual Studio Code with Winget:
winget install Microsoft.VisualStudioCode

Visual Studio Code is installing.

Visual Studio Code is Installed.

I installed the Docker extension in VSCode.

Microsoft Windows Nano Server Insider Image version 26080 in VSCode.

Running Nano Server Insider Container on Windows Server 2025 Insider Preview Build.

On the Container host is a virtual Nat adapter 172.24.16.1 for
the containers the gateway.

Important:

This is not for production environment but for testing and learning only with new Microsoft technologies.

More information about running Containers on Windows Servers

Become Microsoft Windows Server Insider

Updating my MVPLAB with Windows Server 2025 Insider Preview Build 26040

Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacenter Insider Preview Build 26040

Microsoft released a new Windows Server Insider preview Build 26040 on January 26th and changed Windows Server vNext name into Microsoft Windows Server 2025!

So time to update my MVPLAB domain stack.local.

I’m updating my domain controller from build 26010 to 26040.

Before we can move further, we have to run adprep.

Run adprep from the new ISO on the Domain controller.
by Typing C and enter it will run.

Schema upgrade from 90 to 91

adprep /domainprep.

Adprep successfully updated.

After this click on refresh in the Windows Server Setup if you have this still open.

 

I want to keep my files, settings and apps on my domain controller.
Click on Install

Installing Windows Server 2025 Insider Preview Build 26040

Don’t turn off your machine. 😉

Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacenter Insider Preview Build 26040
is running as my Domain Controller.

Don’t forget the last updates.

Running Schema object version 91.

Here you can find more information about Windows Server 2025 Insider Preview Build 26040

Follow Jeff Woolsey on X (Twitter) here

Follow Ned Pyle on X (Twitter) here

Get started by joining Windows Server Insider program

Make your Windows Servers Hybrid with Microsoft Azure Arc
for more Hybrid IT management Benefits

Happy Holidays

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year 2024!
Thank you for all your support in the Community.

Join these Free LinkedIn Community Groups during the Holidays and keep up-to-date 😉

Microsoft Azure Monitor & Security for Hybrid IT

Azure Hybrid Community

Windows Admin Center Community

Azure DevOps Community

Containers in the Cloud

Azure Copilot and Security Copilot (NEW)

Adding Windows Server 2022 to Azure Arc Services #AzureHybrid #HybridIT #Azure

Azure Arc Enabled Server

With Microsoft Azure Arc Machine agent you can connect your Windows Server 2022 with Microsoft Azure Arc Services.
Microsoft Azure Arc-enabled servers lets you manage Windows and Linux physical servers and virtual machines hosted outside of Azure, on your corporate network, or other cloud provider. in October 2023 Microsoft released via Windows Update Center the setup of Azure Arc Machine agent. In the following steps I will install Azure Arc via the Windows Server Manager:

Click on Disabled

Click on Next

Azure Connected Machine Agent is installing.

Click on Configure

Click on Next

Sign into your Azure Subscription

Click on Next

Select your Azure Active Directory Tenant.
Select Subscription
Select the Resource Group
Select the Azure Region
Select Network Connectivity.
Click on Next

 

Your done, your Windows Server is now connected with Azure Arc
Click on Finish

Here is our Azure Arc enabled Windows Server 2022 in the Microsoft Azure Portal.

 

From here you have all the Azure Arc Services available for your on-prem Server.

When you connect your machine to Azure Arc-enabled servers, you can perform many operational functions, just as you would with native Azure virtual machines. Below are some of the key supported actions for connected machines.

• Govern:
  • Assign Azure Automanage machine configurations to audit settings inside the machine.
• Protect:
  • Protect non-Azure servers with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, included through Microsoft Defender for Cloud, for threat detection, for vulnerability management, and to proactively monitor for potential security threats. Microsoft Defender for Cloud presents the alerts and remediation suggestions from the threats detected.
  • Use Microsoft Sentinel to collect security-related events and correlate them with other data sources.
• Configure:
  • Use Azure Automation for frequent and time-consuming management tasks using PowerShell and Python runbooks. Assess configuration changes for installed software, Microsoft services, Windows registry and files, and Linux daemons using Change Tracking and Inventory
  • Use Update Management to manage operating system updates for your Windows and Linux servers. Automate onboarding and configuration of a set of Azure services when you use Azure Automanage (preview).
  • Perform post-deployment configuration and automation tasks using supported Arc-enabled servers VM extensions for your non-Azure Windows or Linux machine.
• Monitor:
  • Monitor operating system performance and discover application components to monitor processes and dependencies with other resources using VM insights.
  • Collect other log data, such as performance data and events, from the operating system or workloads running on the machine with the Log Analytics agent. This data is stored in a Log Analytics workspace.

This is handy to install a couple of Servers manually but when you have to do more, you can generate a script for multiple
Servers installation:

From the Azure Portal
Click on Generate Script

Here you can make a Basic script or for Configuration Manager,
or a script for a Group Policy or via Ansible.

Important:

Before you begin with making your Windows Server Azure Hybrid with the Arc Connected Machine Agent, you have to think about Security by Design. with Identity Access Management (IAM) you can manage who will get access to your Arc enabled Servers.
Wo may use Windows Admin Center for example in the Azure portal?

Access Control on Azure Arc enabled Server.

With Microsoft Azure policy you can set your governance and policies for the organization. There are a lot of pre-defined policies, but you can also make your own Azure policies for your Arc enabled Servers.

Conclusion

Make your datacenter(s) securely Hybrid with Microsoft Azure Arc Services is easy to do and gives you a lot of Azure Hybrid benefits.
Start with your test environment and make your own Azure Arc enabled solutions and when the experience is good you can do it in production 😉

 Here you find more about Azure Arc enabled Services:

• Learn about Azure Arc-enabled servers.
• Learn about Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes.
• Learn about Azure Arc-enabled data services.
• Learn about SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc.
• Learn about Azure Arc-enabled VMware vSphere.
• Learn about Azure Arc-enabled VM Management on Azure Stack HCI.
• Learn about Azure Arc-enabled System Center Virtual Machine Manager.
• Experience Azure Arc by exploring the Azure Arc Jumpstart.
• Learn about best practices and design patterns through the Azure Arc Landing Zone Accelerators.
• Understand network requirements for Azure Arc.

Join the Azure Hybrid Community on LinkedIn for Free

Whats new with Azure Connected Machine agent and More CLI #AzureArc #AzureHybrid

Azure Connected Machine Agent

Microsoft is continuously improving and fixing issues on the Azure Connected Machine agent for Azure Arc Enabled Servers.

Before you make your Servers in your datacenter Hybrid with Azure Arc Connected Machine Agent, you can have a look at Security first when you want to be in Controle of the Azure Arc extensions. For example, who can install Azure Arc Extensions? and which Extensions should be installed and which not. Or in the latest Azure Connected Machine Agent Version 1.35 of October 2023 No Extensions allowed to install on this Server.

With Azure Arc Connected Machine Agent version 1.35 you can configure the extension manager to run, without allowing any extensions to be installed, by configuring the allowlist to “Allow/None”.  This supports Windows Server 2012 ESU scenarios where the extension manager is required for billing purposes but doesn’t need to allow any extensions to be installed.

Users and applications granted contributor or administrator role access to the resource can make changes to the resource, including deploying or deleting extensions on the machine. Extensions can include arbitrary scripts that run in a privileged context, so consider any contributor on the Azure resource to be an indirect administrator of the server.

The Azure Connected Machine Onboarding role is available for at-scale onboarding and is only able to read or create new Azure Arc-enabled servers in Azure. It cannot be used to delete servers already registered or manage extensions. As a best practice, we recommend only assigning this role to the Microsoft Entra service principal used to onboard machines at scale.

Users as a member of the Azure Connected Machine Resource Administrator role can read, modify, re-onboard, and delete a machine. This role is designed to support management of Azure Arc-enabled servers, but not other resources in the resource group or subscription.

Identity and Access Management (IAM) in Azure to Configure Roles.

Azure Arc Portal Agent version.

With AZCMAGENT CLI command, you can see more information from the Arc enabled Server and is handy for
the Administrator to know:

azcmagent check

azcmagent Config get config.mode

azcmagent show

azcmagent logs

in ProgramData you will find the Azure Arc Connected Machine Agent Logs

Guest config logs of Azure Arc extensions

The Azure Connected Machine agent command line tool, azcmagent, helps you configure, manage, and troubleshoot a server’s connection with Azure Arc. I just showed you some azcmagent commands I use for troubleshooting or to just get the right information.
Here you find the complete Azure Connected Machine Agent Command line reference

Hope this information is useful for you and keep your azcmagent up-to-date for fixes and new innovated features!

Join the Azure Hybrid Community on LinkedIn Group

 

Windows Server after 30 Years running all over the World #Winserv #WindowsServer #AzureHybrid

 

Yesterday Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.1 had his 30 years anniversary on July 27, 2023.
At that Time I was working for a Computer Broker as an IT technician, working with IBM mainframes like
System 36 and AS/400 with PC connections and going from OS/2 to Microsoft Windows NT.
The biggest change was Microsoft Windows NT 4 Server and Windows NT 4 Workstation making small networks and
Enterprise Datacenters here in the Netherlands. Doing early Beta programs with Windows Server 2000 and Windows 2003 Server instead of Windows NT 4 in production. In the Netherlands we made one of the first Microsoft Windows 2008 R2
Hyper-V Clusters in the Datacenter with Blade Server Technology to virtualize almost every physical Server.
Doing Upgrades to Windows Server 2012 R2 and making the first connection with Microsoft Azure with a System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2012 R2 and Azure Vault. At this time lot of companies are doing migrations from Windows
Server 2012 R2 to Windows Server 2019 or Windows Server 2022. Or they are innovating to the Microsoft Azure Cloud.
Microsoft Azure Stack HCI Clusters is a New way to work Hybrid with Azure Cloud technology.

As a Microsoft MVP for Cloud and Datacenter Management and Windows Insider MVP, I work every day with Windows Servers
in Datacenters and now also in the Microsoft Azure Cloud. What I really like is the Microsoft Windows Server Insider Program
Here you can test the Newest Microsoft Windows Server Insider Preview Builds from the Windows Server product group and give your opinions / ideas and Feedback on the new features in Windows Server but also in Windows.
You can build your own Test Lab like I did in Microsoft Azure with Virtual Machines:

Windows Server 2022 Insider Preview Datacenter Azure Edition Build 25379

Here you see my Azure Virtual Machine with Windows Server 2022 Insider Preview Build Azure Edition.
More information about Microsoft Windows Server Azure Edition is here

Today it’s a Hybrid Cloud World to get the benefits of Microsoft Azure Cloud together with your on-premises DataCenters.
You can connect your Windows Servers with Microsoft Azure Arc agent for central Cloud Management features, Security with
Azure Defender for Cloud, Azure Monitor and Log Analytics. Here you find all the Microsoft Azure Arc Service docs.

I’m really curious about the future of Microsoft Windows Server in a world where you have Azure Open AI

Microsoft Technology is going fast, but I really liked the 30 years I worked with Microsoft Windows Server and the
Product Groups also with the Windows Insider Program Team 🙂

Going for the Next 30 years of Microsoft Windows, Server, Clusters, and Containers

 

Microsoft Azure Arc Extensions Updates #AzureHybrid #AzureArc #AzOps

Azure Arc Extensions

Keep your Azure Arc extensions up-to-date

Welcome to the ITOpsTalk GitHub Repo! #Azure #Winserv #ITOps

ITOps Talk GitHub Repo

GitHub has become the central location for open-source projects, samples, and even content – but primarily focused on developers. This new repository will focus on you: The ITPro/Ops person managing the environment in your company, keeping the lights on, supporting end-users or other IT teams.

The Microsoft Modern Infrastructure Cloud Advocates are responsible for the content on this repo, but sharing your handy script samples on this repo would be Awesome to manage Modern Azure Infrastructure, Azure Stack HCI, Windows Servers, Hyper-V, Containers and more. Have a look at the announcement on Microsoft tech community, Sharing together to make IT Better 😉

Microsoft Announcing the ITOpsTalk GitHub repo – A central location for IT/Ops related samples

Microsoft Windows Server Insider Preview Builds #Winserv #WindowsServer #WIMVP #AzureHybrid

Windows Server Insider Preview Downloads

With Microsoft Prerelease Software like Windows Server Insider Preview Builds, you can experience and test the new features in your Test environment before it’s GA and in your production datacenter(s). First you have to register for the Windows Server Insider program here

Then you can download the Windows Server Insider Preview Build.

I’m updating my mvplab.local domain.

With this you can Build your own test environment and experience the new features in Windows Server Insider Preview Builds.
The Microsoft Windows Server Insider Team is also on Microsoft Tech Community.

• Windows Server Long-Term Servicing Channel Preview in ISO format in 18 languages, and in VHDX format in English only.
• Windows Server Datacenter Azure Edition Preview in ISO and VHDX format, English only.
• Microsoft Server Languages and Optional Features Preview

Keys: Keys are valid for preview builds only

• Server Standard: MFY9F-XBN2F-TYFMP-CCV49-RMYVH
• Datacenter: 2KNJJ-33Y9H-2GXGX-KMQWH-G6H67
• Azure Edition does not accept a key

Expiration: This Windows Server Preview will expire September 15, 2023.

Installing Windows Server Insider Preview Build 25314

For the Microsoft Product Group it’s important to give your feedback when you have ideas or experience some issues with these Windows Server Insider Preview Builds. Here you find more information about the Feedback Hub.

With this you can build great Hybrid Solutions with Windows Server Insider Preview Build Clusters which is connected with
Microsoft Azure Arc Services for Azure Hybrid IT Solutions. In this way you can test new experiences before you go into production and learn a lot of what you can do! Here you can read more about Azure Arc enabled Servers

My Domain Controller is Up-to-date with the Newest Windows Server Insider Preview Build 25314 for now 😉

Here you find Microsoft Comparison of Standard, Datacenter, and Datacenter: Azure Edition editions of Windows Server 2022

Conclusion

With Windows Server Insider Preview Build you can make your own environment, with your own domain, Clusters, Hybrid Servers or build your environment for Containers. You can experience and test for example Windows Server Insider Preview Azure edition with
Hot Patching feature on. Start today with Microsoft Windows Server Insider Preview Builds and Share your feedback with Microsoft.