There is some exciting news for AKS. Brian Redmond a PM with the AKS team has worked to get the External AKS Community up and running again. This community will have monthly meetings and recorded content.
The AKS Community Meetings will be live-streamed on YouTube and will cover interesting technical content on AKS related topics “Ask me anything” sessions and more. Here is a recording of the inaugural meeting for the AKS Community. https://www.youtube.com/live/1_ukekQEzBw?feature=share&t=32
If you miss the old ‘AKS Office Hours’, you definitely need to check out this new AKS community. Looking forward to seeing this community grow!
To make sure you’re always in the loop and never miss a beat, follow the official PG on various social media sites. Stay informed about upcoming meetings, exclusive content drops, and other exciting AKS-related news:
Hey everyone, today I’m super excited to tell you about a recent episode of Azure Friday that I was lucky enough to be a guest on.
Azure Friday is a weekly video series hosted by the legendary Scott Hanselman, where he interviews experts and developers on various Azure-related topics. In this episode, we talked about Automated Deployments for AKS, a new feature that makes it super easy to deploy your apps to Azure Kubernetes Service.
If you’re not familiar with AKS, it’s a managed Kubernetes service that lets you run containerized applications on Azure without having to worry about the complexity of managing the cluster. It’s a great way to scale your apps and take advantage of the benefits of Kubernetes, such as high availability, load balancing, and service discovery.
But what if you’re not familiar with containers or Kubernetes? What if you just have some code in a GitHub repo and you want to run it on AKS? That’s where Automated Deployments for AKS come in. It’s a feature that simplifies the Kubernetes development process by taking care of the tedious work of containerization for you. It uses a tool called Draft, which automatically detects the language and framework of your app, creates a Dockerfile and a Helm chart for you, builds and pushes the image to Azure Container Registry, and deploys the app to AKS. All with just a few clicks in the Azure Portal.
Sounds amazing, right? Well, that’s what I wanted to show Scott in this episode. I had an app hosted in a GitHub repo that I wanted to run on AKS. The app was a simple web app that displayed some data from a database. I had already created a few resources in Azure, such as a resource group, an Azure Container Registry, and an AKS cluster. All I needed to do was use Automated Deployments for AKS to get this app from code to running on a cluster.
So how did it go? Well, you’ll have to watch the episode to find out. But spoiler alert: it was super easy and fast. In just a few commands, I went from code to an app running on AKS. Scott was impressed and so was I. We had a great time chatting about how Automated Deployments for AKS works under the hood, some of the benefits and limitations of using it, and how it can help developers get started with containers and Kubernetes.
With Automated Deployments, Microsoft is opening up new avenues for developers to embrace the power of containers and AKS, enabling them to effortlessly build scalable and robust applications.
If you’re interested in learning more about Automated Deployments for AKS, you can check out the documentation here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/automated-deployments. It’s available today in public preview, so you can try it out for yourself and see how easy it is to run your apps on AKS.
That’s all for today. I hope you enjoy this episode of Azure Friday as much as I did. It was an honor and a pleasure to be a guest on Scott’s show and talk about one of my favorite topics: Azure Kubernetes Service. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me on Twitter at @Buchatech. Thanks for reading and happy coding!
I recently had the honor to film an episode of Spotlight at the Pluralsight headquarters.
It was an awesome experience and fun talking with Adam Gunn.
In the episode, we talked about:
Tech skills you need to master for the future, including hybrid and multi-cloud, Kubernetes, AI, and more. We also touched on how I landed in tech and how to overcome impostor syndrome to become a successful professional.
I was a guest on a very popular cloud podcast. This is one of the longest-running cloud podcasts around starting in 2011. It is the Cloudcast Podcast.
I was on episode #714 titled “Combining Kubernetes Community and Careers”. In this episode, I had a great time chatting with Aaron Delp about my journey in the Kubernetes community, building a personal brand through education and sharing, content creation, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Here are the show notes breaking down the topics:
Topic 1 – Today we are going to be talking about careers and Kubernetes. Steve, welcome to the show! You have a super fascinating career journey, can you give everyone a quick introduction?
Topic 2 – I heard you over on the Kubernetes Unpacked podcast. First off, it’s hard to keep up with everything you are doing in the community these days. What is your current focus and passion? Have you reached 20 courses on Pluralsight yet?!
Topic 3 – How do you balance the day job (Program Manager for AKS) and the nights and weekends (PluralSight courses, blogging, podcasts, etc.)? Besides learning and sharing, what benefits are you seeing with this approach?
Topic 4 – I believe your journey parallels our journey here. We started the podcast to learn and give back to the community. Prior to the podcast, blogging was the big thing (we are completely aging ourselves I know) but I think it is safe to say blogging isn’t a primary source today. How would you recommend folks new to the industry get started sharing their journey? Where is the most “bang for your buck” these days?
Topic 5 – Let’s talk about Kubernetes and specifically AKS, what are customers finding new and interesting? What are the leading solutions and integrations you see combined with AKS? How do you create a “stack” in AKS (GitHub Actions, Azure Container Registry, etc.)
I am excited to be a part of another Learn Live series. This study hall is all about Azure core IaaS. In this series, we will walk through how to build infrastructure solutions with Azure IaaS services and products. This twenty two-part weekly series will answer your questions live and walk through how to build infrastructure solutions with Azure IaaS services and products.
In the study hall sessions, together with you live, we will work through Microsoft Learn modules focused on various IaaS scenarios in Azure. You can see all of the sessions in this study hall series here:
The series has a solid lineup of speakers from Microsoft and the community! And I will be co-delivering a session focused on Linux on Azure and the 2nd topic will be on open-source database migration on Azure.
Here is a complete description of my session:
Discover the unique benefits of running Linux on Azure, and how to run Linux-based applications and workloads in the cloud with Azure. Then you’ll learn about the issues and considerations for migrating on-premises open-source databases to Azure, the services Azure provides to help you migrate your databases, and how to plan a migration. In this episode, you will:
Differentiate between Linux on Azure infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) computing, and the value of each
Describe Azure tools and services that bring additional value to Linux workloads
Explain the components of Linux virtual infrastructure in Azure, and the role of Microsoft in supporting different Linux distributions
Describe the features and services available in Azure for hosting an open-source database
Explain the key considerations for implementing a migration project
Describe different approaches that you can take for migrating databases
This event will be on March 30, 2023, at 10:00AM – 11:30AM (Pacific).
I recently was a guest on StreamingClouds. StreamingClouds is a multicloud live stream by Microsoft CSA Kevin Evans and Microsoft MVP Robin Smorenburg. With topics ranging from cloud native to hybrid, security, architecture, strategy, careers, personal development, and more.
StreamingClouds is more than just a live stream podcast its also a diverse community where the members can all learn from each other.
To highlight what we covered in the episode, we discussed how to effectively use Microsoft’s AKS documentation, reference architectures, scripts, and tools for your AKS project. We also touched on GitOps, Fleet Management, Platform Engineering and more.
Here is a full description of what we covered on the episode: Starting an AKS project soon or in the middle of one and lost? Have you tried to use the Microsoft AKS documentation, reference architectures, scripts, and tools but feel stuck on what to use and when to use it? Let’s talk about it and get you the guidance you need. There is a formula and framework to using these AKS artifacts from Microsoft.
In 2022 I wrote a couple of blog posts that give guidance on how to utilize the Microsoft AKS artifacts and tools. In these blog posts I baked in experience from my days delivering AKS projects to Fortune 500 enterprises. We thought it would be a good idea to dive into the content from these live on the podcast talking through these topics to help listeners who are embarking on an AKS journey. Here aforementioned blog posts for reference:
Architecture Design: Baseline architecture for an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster AKS Secure Baseline with Private Cluster AKS baseline for multi-region clusters AKS regulated cluster for PCI Advanced Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) microservices architecture
Deployment: AKS landing zone accelerator AKS Construction Helper AKS Baseline Automation Azure Draft for AKS
Operation: Operations management considerations for Azure Kubernetes Service Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS) day-2 operations guide
In February Come Cloud With Us is hosting a Kubernetes panel with some of the industry’s BEST Kubernetes experts. I am honored and humbled to be one of the panelists. This panel consists of K8s experts from Dell, Google, Microsoft, Intercept, United Wholesale Mortgage, and Admincontrol. This is a global panel with panelists and hosts from the United States, Norway, United Kingdom, and Canada. Several of the panelists are also authors, Microsoft MVP’s and CNCF Ambassadors.
Here is a breakdown of the hosts and the panelists:
The panel will discuss Kubernetes and answer attendee questions. This will be a virtual event. This will be an event that you DON’T want to miss! Mark your calendars for the event on Thursday, February 16, 2023 4:00PM-5:30PM CST!
I am kicking off the new year as a guest on the “AzureTalks” podcast by Rolf Schutten. Rolf is a Microsoft MVP based out of the Netherlands. The AzureTalks podcast is a free-form conversation with experts and advocates around the industry discussing various topics on Azure, its services, and integration points with Azure. Some of the topics also get into strategy career, personal development, and more. You can listen to podcast episodes on Google Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. You can find the website for this podcast here: www.azuretalks.com
The episode I am a guest on is #004 titled “Containerize apps to AKS with Azure Draft, and Hybrid with Azure Arc“.
In this episode, we discuss how developers can utilize Azure Draft to streamline taking their non-containerized app from code to running on AKS. Azure Draft takes you through the entire process from creating the container, the files needed to run on Kubernetes manifests, Helm charts, or Kustomize, pushing up to an Azure Container Registry, and deploying to AKS.
We also dive into GitHub, GitOps, the differences between push and pull methods with continuous deployment, and even we even touched on hybrid cloud strategies and what role Azure Arc plays in this space. Listen to the audio version of the podcast episode here:
I recently was a guest on Michael Levan‘s Kubernetes Unpacked Podcast on the Packet Pushers network.
This is Kubernetes Unpacked episode #014 it is titled: “Using GitOps And AKS To Build And Deploy Applications“
Michael and I talked about using GitOps and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) to automate the building and deployment of applications. We also chat about an entire architecture incorporating AKS, GitHub Actions, Azure Container Registry, GitHub, and ArgoCD along with how it all comes together to make a useful stack. Check out the podcast below.
I will be giving the Keynote at the next (MN)NUG (Minnesota Networking User Group) event on December 6th. (MN)NUG is a part of the (US)NUA (US Networking User Association) organization that hosts a vendor-neutral environment to talk networks. With beer.
After my talk, there will be a panel of networking experts from Target, Cologix, Cisco, and Arista Networks.
Here is my talk info:
Title:
Networking is more relevant than ever in a cloud-native world (cloud & Kubernetes)
Abstract:
Folks are often so focused on the new and shiny stuff in modern technology such as cloud, Kubernetes, and DevOps, however, core skills such as networking are as relevant as ever and one of the top skills one should have when working with these modern technologies. In this session, Steve is going to explore why you should start with networking when embarking on a journey into the cloud or Kubernetes.
Here is the full schedule:
4:30pm – 5:00pm Check-In / Open Mingle
5:00pm – 5:50pm Keynote Presentation Networking more relevant than ever in a cloud-native world (cloud & Kubernetes)
