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Step-by-Step Guide: How to configure Azure Private DNS? (PowerShell Guide)

If we are in an Active Directory environment, we can use windows DNS services to manage DNS records. This allows us to connect to hosts using their FQDN. When a new host added or when host IP address updated, relevant DNS entries are get updated automatically. Also, the same DNS servers can use to create custom DNS records. 

If it is not an Active Directory environment and still wants to use DNS services, we have to use a custom DNS solution. In such a situation most of the time we need to manually add/update DNS records. 

So, what about Azure environment? Does the same apply to it? 

Azure DNS is a managed DNS solution. We can use it for public DNS records as well as for private DNS records. Using Azure private DNS, we can resolve DNS names in a virtual network. 

Azure Private DNS has following benefits, 

• No additional servers – We do not need to maintain additional servers to run DNS solution. It is a fully managed service. 

• Automatic Record Update – Similar to Active Directory DNS, we can configure Azure DNS to register/update/delete hostname records for virtual machines automatically. 

• Support common DNS records types – It supports common DNS records types such A, AAAA, MX, NS, SRV, TXT. 

• DNS resolution between virtual networks – Azure Private DNS zones can be shared between virtual networks.

In this demo, I am going to demonstrate how to create an Azure private DNS zone.

For the configuration process, I will be using PowerShell. Therefore, please make sure you have Azure PowerShell module installed. More info about it can find under https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/azure/install-az-ps?view=azps-2.6.0

Let's go ahead and start the configuration process by creating a new resource group. 

1. Launch PowerShell console and connect to Azure using Connect-AzAccount

2. Then create a new resource group using,

New-AzResourceGroup -Name REBELRG -Location "East US"

In the above, REBELRG is the resource group name and East US is the resource group location.

3. The next step is to create a new virtual network.

$vmsubnet  = New-AzVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -Name vmsubnet -AddressPrefix "10.0.2.0/24"

New-AzVirtualNetwork -Name REBELVN1 -ResourceGroupName REBELRG -Location "East US" -AddressPrefix "10.0.0.0/16" -Subnet $vmsubnet

[Read more…] about Step-by-Step Guide: How to configure Azure Private DNS? (PowerShell Guide)

Step-by-Step Guide: How to access Azure VMs securely using Azure Bastion?

If we need to access an Azure VM using RDP or SSH, most commonly we use public IP method. In this way, the virtual machine will have a public IP address (static or dynamic) assigned to it. Also, RDP or SSH service ports will open to the public via NSG. This is easy but not a very secure method. 

If we have VPN or Express Route connectivity to Azure, we can connect to virtual machines using private IP addresses. It is secure than the public IP address method. However, it required additional configuration in-network level. 

Azure Bastion is a solution that we can use to access Azure VM securely without the use of public IP addresses or VPN connectivity. This is similar to using a jump-server to connect to resources in the remote network but instead of the traditional RDP method, it is using browser-based secure HTTP connectivity. Let's go ahead and explore a bit more about the Azure bastion solution. 

1. This service is now generally available (From 4th of Nov 2019). However, it is still only available for six Azure regions which are Australia East, East US, Japan East, South Central US, West Europe, and West US.

2. Azure bastion service deployment is per virtual network. 

3. Users can connect to Azure bastion service via the Azure portal. It is a browser-based connectivity. From the user end, only TCP port 443 needs to be open. 

4. Machines in the virtual network don't need to have public IP addresses assigned. Bastion service can connect to virtual machines using private IP addresses. 

5. Azure bastion is a fully managed PaaS service. We do not need to worry about the hardening or protection of it. 

In this post, I am going to demonstrate how we can enable Azure bastion service. 

Create Virtual Machines

Before we go into the Azure bastion service setup, I am going to create one windows 2019 virtual machine and one ubuntu Linux virtual machine. These machines will not have any public IP address assign. After that, I will demonstrate how we can access those securely using Azure bastion service. 

To begin,

1. Log in to Azure portal (https://portal.azure.com) as Global Administrator 

2. Go to Virtual Machines | + Add 

3. Create Windows Server 2019 Server with following settings,

Resource Group Name (new) : REBELBASTION

Virtual Machine Name : REBELWIN01

Region : East US

Image : Windows Server 2019 DataCenter

Size : Standard D2s v3

Public inbounds ports: None

Virtual network : REBELBASTION-vnet

Subnet : 10.0.3.0/24

Public IP : None

[Read more…] about Step-by-Step Guide: How to access Azure VMs securely using Azure Bastion?

Step-by-Step Guide: How to move Azure VM from one region to another

There are many different reasons to move Azure VMs from one region to another. 

• Operation Requirements – As an example, if organization open a branch in different region and want to move some operations to them, it is best to move infrastructure resource to the same geographical location as it will improve the reliability and availability of the services.

• Compliance requirements – Sometimes rules and regulations force businesses to keep the data/operations in the same country or continent.

• Azure feature requirements – Sometimes new Azure services & features are the first rollout to certain regions. If your current region has such limitations and still wants to use those features/services, you will need to move the resource to a supported region. 

In this post, I am going to demonstrate how to move Azure VM from one region to another using Azure site recovery. 

Prerequisites

Before start lets make sure we have the following in place, 

• Valid Subscription – Subscription should support to create resources in the target region. It also should have enough credit.

• Account Permission – We need to make sure we have enough permissions to create virtual machines, storage accounts, virtual networks in Azure. 

• Network layout – Make sure to check the source network setup including all the components such as NSG, public IP, load balancer. The failover process will create a virtual network automatically to match the source network. But we have to create all other resources manually after the migration.  

• Compatible regions – Make sure the source and target regions are part of compatible list https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/azure/site-recovery/azure-to-azure-support-matrix#region-support

In this demo, I am going to create windows server 2019 VM in East US region and then move it West US region using Azure site recovery.

Create Source VM

1. Launch PowerShell console and connect to Azure using Connect-AzAccount 

[su_note]Please make sure you have Azure PowerShell module installed. More info about it can find under https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/azure/install-az-ps?view=azps-2.6.0[/su_note]

2. Create a new resource group using, 

New-AzResourceGroup -Name REBELRG -Location "East US"

In the above, REBELRG is the resource group name and East US is the resource group location.

3. Then create a new VM using,

$mylogin = Get-Credential

New-AzVm -ResourceGroupName REBELRG -Name "REBELVM01" -Location "East US" -VirtualNetworkName "REBELVNET1" -SubnetName "REBELVMSubnet1" -PublicIpAddressName "REBELVM01IP1" -OpenPorts 80,3389 -Image win2019datacenter -Size Standard_D2s_v3 -Credential $mylogin

In the above, REBELVM01 is the VM name. It is running windows server 2019 data center edition. I have specified it using -Image parameter. It also using Standard_D2s_v3 vm size. [Read more…] about Step-by-Step Guide: How to move Azure VM from one region to another

Step-by-Step Guide: How to update an Azure Linux VM using Update management?

Operating system updates include feature updates, bug fixes, and security improvements. It is important to update operating systems periodically. This is applying to desktop computers as well as servers. If it is windows operating systems, there are many tools out there that can use to manage the update process. But when it comes to Linux, we struggle as not many tools support Linux system updates. Luckily in Azure, we can manage updates for Linux VMs without any 3rd party tool.  

In this post, I am going to demonstrate how to enable patch management for Linux VM and how we can automate the patch deployment task. 

In my demo environment, I do not have any Linux machine. Let's go ahead and create one. 

[su_note]For the configuration process, I will be using PowerShell. Therefore, please make sure you have Azure PowerShell module installed. More info about it can find under https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/azure/install-az-ps?view=azps-2.6.0[/su_note]

1. Launch PowerShell console and connect to Azure using Connect-AzAccount

2. Then create a new resource group using,

New-AzResourceGroup -Name REBELRG -Location "East US"

In the above, REBELRG is the resource group name and East US is the resource group location.

3. Then we need to create a new Linux VM. In this demo, I am going to create one with Ubuntu operating system.

$mylogin = Get-Credential

New-AzVm -ResourceGroupName REBELRG -Name "REBELVM01" -Location "East US" -VirtualNetworkName "REBELVNET1" -SubnetName "REBELVMSubnet1" -PublicIpAddressName "REBELVM01IP1" -OpenPorts 22 -Image UbuntuLTS -Size Standard_D2s_v3 -Credential $mylogin

In the above, REBELVM01 is the VM name. It is running UbuntuLTS edition. I have specified it using -Image parameter. It also using Standard_D2s_v3 vm size. This also has SSH connection enabled.

[Read more…] about Step-by-Step Guide: How to update an Azure Linux VM using Update management?

Step-by-Step Guide: How to backup/restore encrypted Azure VM using Azure Backup?

In my last few blog posts, I have explained how we can encrypt Azure VMs (Windows & Linux) using BitLocker & dm-crypt. You can access these articles using the following links, 

Step-by-Step Guide to Encrypt Azure Windows VM using BitLocker (PowerShell Guide) – https://www.rebeladmin.com/2019/09/step-step-guide-encrypt-azure-windows-vm-using-bitlocker-powershell-guide/https://www.rebeladmin.com/2019/09/step-step-guide-encrypt-azure-windows-vm-using-bitlocker-powershell-guide/

Step-by-Step Guide to Encrypt Azure Linux VM (PowerShell Guide) – https://www.rebeladmin.com/2019/09/step-step-guide-encrypt-azure-linux-vm-powershell-guide/

When we encrypt complete disks, it not only encrypting the files in there. It also encrypts file system information which uses by the operating system. The operating system itself doesn't have an issue accessing content as it is aware of the key information. But any other system can't access this content without the encryption key information. This is the same when it comes to backup and restore. In this demo, I am going to demonstrate how we can backup and restore an encrypted Azure VM using Azure Backup. 

As with any other backup solution, Azure backup also has a certain limitation when it comes to encrypted data backup/restore. 

1. Encrypted VM backup/restore only supported within the same region & same subscription. 

2. Azure backup only supports the VM which is encrypted using standalone keys. 

3. When it comes to data restore, Encrypted VM required full restore. It can't recover data in files or folders level. 

4. When restoring VM, Azure backup can't use replace existing VM option for encrypted VMs. 

In my demo environment, I already have an encrypted windows VM called REBELVM01. I am going to back up it and restore using Azure Backup. 

Create a Recovery Services backup vault

Before we go ahead with backup, first we need a recovery service backup vault. It can be created using,

New-AzRecoveryServicesVault -ResourceGroupName "REBELRG1" -Name "REBELRecoveryServicesVault" -Location "East US"

[su_note]I am using Azure PowerShell module here. You can find more info about it under https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/azure/install-az-ps?view=azps-2.6.0[/su_note]

In the above, I am creating a recovery service vault called "REBELRecoveryServicesVault" in the same resource group as my encrypted VM. 

[Read more…] about Step-by-Step Guide: How to backup/restore encrypted Azure VM using Azure Backup?