Administration

Introduction Every administrator has a folder full of scripts — PowerShell to clean up stale accounts, Bash to rotate logs, maybe a Python snippet to send alerts. Scripts are powerful, but they come with challenges: you need to schedule them, maintain infrastructure, and make sure they run reliably. This is where Azure Functions shine. They’re … Read more

Introduction One of the most frustrating parts of system administration is when something goes wrong and the first question is: “What happened?” Without proper monitoring, the answer is often guesswork. In Azure, two tools form the backbone of observability: Azure Monitor and Log Analytics. Together, they collect metrics, logs, and insights across your environment, helping … Read more

Introduction Every admin has at some point stored a password in a text file “just for testing” or left an API key sitting in a config file. It works, but it’s risky. In the cloud era, those shortcuts can lead to breaches, compliance failures, or worse — and attackers know exactly where to look. That’s … Read more

Introduction One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen in cloud environments is leaving Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) or SSH ports open to the internet. It feels convenient, but it’s like leaving your front door unlocked in a busy city — someone will try to walk in. Azure Bastion solves this problem by providing secure, seamless … Read more

Introduction Cloud and system administrators don’t just keep the lights on anymore. We design resilient infrastructures, secure identities, and make sure costs don’t spiral out of control. When it comes to interviews, hiring managers want to see more than technical know-how — they want problem-solvers who understand how technology serves the business. I’ve sat across … Read more

Introduction Moving to the cloud doesn’t make compliance easier by default — it often makes it more complex. When your workloads live across multiple regions and services, proving you meet standards like NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and SOC 2 (Service Organization Control 2) becomes critical. In my experience, cloud compliance is where … Read more

Introduction Not every workload lives in the cloud. Many organizations still run critical systems on-premises, in other clouds, or even in branch offices. The challenge for administrators is managing this hybrid sprawl without juggling ten different consoles. This is where Azure Arc comes in. Arc extends Azure’s management and governance tools to servers, Kubernetes clusters, … Read more

Introduction Storage in Azure can look simple on the surface — just create an account and drop your data in. But the details matter. Choosing between Azure Files and Blob Storage can mean the difference between cost efficiency and overspending, or between smooth application performance and frustrated users. Both services are built on the same … Read more

Introduction No matter how carefully you design an Azure environment, sooner or later, a virtual machine (VM) will misbehave. Maybe it won’t start, maybe it’s running slowly, or maybe a user insists “the server is down” while all your dashboards are green. As a system administrator, your value often shows not when everything runs smoothly, … Read more

Introduction Every system administrator knows patching isn’t glamorous, but it’s the backbone of security. I’ve seen firsthand how one missed update can create a vulnerability that attackers are quick to exploit. In hybrid environments — where you’re managing on-prem servers, cloud workloads, and laptops that live on coffee shop Wi-Fi — patching feels like solving … Read more