Cloud Automation – Get Practical

Integrate Other Clouds with Azure Using the Multicloud Connector

Introduction

As businesses adopt multi-cloud strategies to leverage the unique strengths of various cloud providers, managing these environments can become complex. Microsoft’s Azure Arc Multicloud Connector provides a streamlined solution to integrate and manage resources across different cloud platforms, specifically focusing on AWS. This blog post will explore the capabilities of the Azure Arc Multicloud Connector and guide you through a step-by-step lab to connect AWS resources to Azure.

Key Features of the Multicloud Connector

1. Unified Inventory: The Multicloud Connector automatically collects metadata from external cloud resources, providing a comprehensive view within the Azure portal. This helps in maintaining a consistent inventory across cloud environments.
2. Arc Onboarding: It facilitates the onboarding of AWS EC2 instances to Azure Arc, allowing advanced management features like policy enforcement, monitoring, and configuration management.
3. Consistent Governance: Apply Azure policies and role-based access controls (RBAC) to resources in external clouds, ensuring uniform security and compliance standards across all environments.
4. Enhanced Management: Utilize Azure Arc capabilities for onboarded resources, including vulnerability scanning and deployment automation.

Implementation Steps

Prerequisites

– An Azure subscription with Contributor access.
– An AWS account with AmazonEC2FullAccess permissions.
– Azure Arc and required resource providers registered (Microsoft.HybridCompute, Microsoft.HybridConnectivity, Microsoft.AwsConnector).

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Deploying Rapid7 Agent Using Azure Automation for Azure Servers Managed via Azure Arc

Deploying the Rapid7 agent across diverse environments, such as Azure and AWS servers managed through Azure Arc (Windows and Linux), can be streamlined using Azure Automation. This blog post will guide you through the step-by-step process to automate this deployment.

Step 1: Set Up an Azure Automation Account

Navigate to the Azure Portal:

Open the Azure portal and search for "Automation Accounts" in the search bar.

Create or Use an Existing Automation Account:

Click on "Add" to create a new Automation Account.
Fill in the necessary details like Name, Resource Group, and Location.
Click on "Create".

Step 2: Configure Hybrid Runbook Worker

To run scripts on servers outside Azure, you need a Hybrid Runbook Worker.

Add a Hybrid Worker Group:

In the Automation Account, go to "Hybrid Worker Groups" under the "Process Automation" section.
Click "Add a hybrid worker group" and follow the instructions.

Install the Hybrid Runbook Worker on Your Servers:

Download and install the Hybrid Runbook Worker on your Azure and AWS servers as per the instructions provided.
Register these servers to the newly created Hybrid Worker Group.

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Automating Device Wipe in Microsoft 365 with PowerShell and Azure

In today’s digitally connected world, organizations often need to manage and secure their devices efficiently. This includes the ability to remotely wipe devices in case they are lost or stolen. Microsoft 365 offers powerful tools for device management and security, and with PowerShell and Azure, you can automate the process of wiping devices when needed.

In this blog post, we will walk you through a PowerShell script that utilizes Azure and Microsoft Graph API to search for a user and remotely wipe their devices if necessary. We will also include some Azure screenshots to help you visualize the process.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following prerequisites in place:

Azure AD App Registration: You will need to register an Azure AD App and obtain the AppID and AppSecret for authentication.