// West Coast IT Hipster
Perspective of an ex-admin turned sales engineer.
Hands-on notes on Azure, VMware, Kubernetes, Pure Storage, Veeam, and the philosophy of keeping IT simple.
Azure
Azure AD and App Registrations
How to create an App Registration in Azure Active Directory and assign the roles needed to provide a preexisting service account with API access for the Veeam Backup for Azure appliance.
Azure Lab- Network and Peering
Walkthrough of creating a Resource Group and two Azure VNets with subnets, then configuring VNet Peering so the networks can communicate as the networking foundation of an Azure lab.
Azure Lab pt3 - Compute
Walkthrough of deploying an Azure Ubuntu 18.04 VM with an SSH key pair, then setting up a Putty connection using PuttyGen to access the VM as part of an Azure lab.
Azure Lab pt4 - Network Security Groups
How Azure Network Security Groups work at the subnet and NIC level, demonstrated by creating an NSG, associating it to a subnet, and troubleshooting blocked SSH access by adding an inbound rule.
Private Endpoints
How to use Azure Private Link to create a Private Endpoint that routes traffic to an Azure Storage blob account over a private VNet IP address, verified with ping from a VM.
VMware
Assigning vSphere Tags through CLI
A step-by-step guide to creating tag categories, creating tags, assigning them to vSphere objects, and verifying assignments using VMware PowerCLI.
Assigning vSphere Tags through the UI
A step-by-step guide to creating tag categories, creating tags, and assigning them to inventory objects directly within the vCenter vSphere client GUI.
Kubernetes
My Home Lab Kubernetes Cluster using Containerd
A documented walkthrough of building an on-prem four-node Kubernetes cluster on Ubuntu 20.04 VMs using containerd instead of Docker, kubeadm, and the Calico pod network.
Simple KUBE Cluster
A repeatable raw command procedure for setting up the Docker repository, installing Docker Engine and Kubernetes (kubeadm/kubelet/kubectl) on Ubuntu, and initializing a cluster with Flannel networking.
Veeam
A First Look at Veeam Backup & Replication v13: Linux-Based and Web Console Awesomeness
An early alpha walkthrough of Veeam Backup & Replication v13's fully Linux-based backup server and long-awaited HTTPS web console.
A Veeam Vanguard Journey
Zane Allyn's career story rooted in data protection and community, from Veeam SE to Pure Storage Principal Technologist and Veeam Vanguard.
Deploy and Configure VBAzure
A step-by-step lab guide to deploying the Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure (BYOL) appliance from the Azure Marketplace and configuring it for backup and restore.
DR with Veeam Orchestrator and Pure Storage
A demo combining Veeam configuration restore and Recovery Orchestrator with Pure Storage ActiveDR to rebuild a lost VBR server and run a DR plan.
Future of Monitoring with Veeam One V13: First Look
An early hands-on preview of Veeam One V13's new web interface, Threat Center, Report Catalog, dashboards, job calendar, and alarms.
Linux Agent Volume Restore
A short video walkthrough demonstrating a volume restore from a Veeam Linux Agent backup.
Near-zero Replication for Veeam Repositories
A lab demo using Pure Storage ActiveDR to provide near-zero RPO site-to-site replication for Veeam repositories without backup copy jobs.
Unlocking the Power of Azure Sentinel for Veeam Syslog Analysis
How to feed Veeam syslog into Microsoft Azure Sentinel and use KQL queries to hunt for suspicious restore point deletions and other security events.
vSphere Tags & Veeam Backup
How to use vSphere tags and categories to automate VMware backup job membership and application processing in Veeam, organizing VMs by SLA and workload.
vSphere Tags & the Veeam Recovery Orchestrator
A step-by-step guide to planning and using vSphere tags and categories to drive recovery locations and DR plans in Veeam Recovery Orchestrator (VRO).
Veeam 100 Prague: Community, Innovation, and Lifelong Friendships
A reflection on the Veeam 100 Vanguard gathering in Prague, the value of the community, and insights into V13, VDC, and the Pure Storage partnership.
Veeam Hardened Linux Repository
A step-by-step lab guide to building a Veeam v11 hardened Linux repository with immutable backup files using XATTR, hardened credentials, and a FlashArray volume.
NFS Veeam Repository Hosted on Pure FlashArray File
Using Pure FlashArray File Services to host an NFS Veeam backup repository, decoupling repository storage from dedicated Windows or Linux servers.
Veeam V13 for Windows: What Actually Matters
Why upgrading to V13 for Windows matters for security, performance, operational efficiency, and as the on-ramp to the Veeam Software Appliance.
Veeam v13: Four Years Later, the Platform I Always Hoped It Would Become
A deep look at Veeam v13's transformational changes: the HTTPS web UI, hardened Linux/JeOS foundation, enforced role separation, and hybrid-cloud architecture.