Blogs

Working through a challenge, and can’t quite solve it? Think it could make a good blog post idea? I’d love to hear!

Make a suggestion over on the cloudwithchris.com GitHub repository.

Crossposting Content: A New Project

Following on from my recent post where I discussed using schema.org for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), I wanted to stick with a similar theme, but a slightly different angle or topic. This time, we'll be covering the topic of crossposting content.

May 5, 2021
Using GPG Keys to sign Git Commits - Part 1

For a while now, I've been using GPG Keys to sign my Git Commits to prove that my commits on GitHub are genuine and from me. Over the last few weeks, I've been inspired by a couple of colleagues (Kudos to Adrian and Julie if you're reading this) to dig out my YubiKey and use these for my key signing activities. While there are several blog posts on the topic already, I encountered a number of roadblocks along the way. The intent of this blog post is to be the first of a series, where we'll explore what GPG is, why it may be valuable to you and how you can get going using them. We'll then take this forwards an additional step, and show how you can use YubiKeys as a second factor of verification and the benefits of this approach. By no means am I the world's expert in cryptography, and some of these topics, but I wanted to document my own understanding for posterity, as I'll inevitably need to repeat/review the process in the future. I hope that this may be useful to you.

February 24, 2021
Using Azure Arc for Apps - Part 6 - Setting up Event Grid on Kubernetes with Azure Arc

In part 1 of this Using Azure Arc for Apps series, we explored Azure Arc and Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes clusters. In this post, we'll be exploring Event Grid for Kubernetes. At time of writing, this approach is in public preview, so we may see certain limitations / features that are not yet available.

June 10, 2021

Latest Blogs

Cloud With Chris - Moving Forwards

You may have noticed there are some posts preceding this one. I’ve had a few attempts at putting my blog together, but then dwindle out on my cadence… Well, given the recent success with my Cloud with Chris podcast, I’m beginning to consolidate… Starting with my blog! Here’s an update on what you have to look forward to!

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January 2, 2021
Deploying a multi-region Serverless API Layer (Part 1)

In my spare time, I work on a pet project called Theatreers. The aim of this is a microservice based platform focused on Theatre / Musical Theatre (bringing a few of my passion areas together). I’ve recently re-architected the project to align to a multi-region serverless technology stack.

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July 13, 2019
Using Azure DevOps REST APIs to automatically create Team Iterations

Consider this scenario. You are managing a software project using Azure DevOps, and you have multiple teams working towards a common cadence. Perhaps that cadence is managed by a central team. To gain the most value from your sprint planning, you would need to associate the iterations from the project level with each individual team. This is a scenario that I have for my fictitious Theatreers project, but also a scenario I encountered recently with a colleague. I have been helping them setup an Azure DevOps project to track the development of IP and collateral, so that they can more accurately forecast what they expect to land and show the value being delivered by the team.

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June 16, 2019
Azure Scaffold - Governance Recommendations

Cloud Governance seems to have come up a few times over the past few weeks, so I wanted to post a short, sharp blog about it!

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February 25, 2017
Are you thinking of scalability in your cloud application?

Scalability is one of the common areas where I have seen common misconceptions, when customers begin building on the platform.

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September 29, 2016
An Introduction to Azure Functions

If you have been keeping up to date with the latest and greatest in Azure Services (yes, I know there are quite a few!), you may have heard of a new service called Azure Functions. Azure Functions is an event-driven Platform as a Service capability, helping you to execute code upon the occurrence of a particular event. It is currently in preview, though already has a lot of potential.

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September 12, 2016
DigiCert Certificate Management through Azure Key Vault

When designing a solution, you want to be sure that your communications are secure and that your users can trust your application. Typically, SSL certificates can be useful for this purpose.That is well and good from a design and development perspective, but there may some management headaches when operating and governing the solution. How do you keep track of the certificates? How do you guarantee that they are kept secure? How do you ensure that certificates renew on time?

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September 12, 2016
Integration Platform as a Service: Logic Apps

In case you had not already heard, Logic Apps have now reached general availability on Azure (or read an MSDN article by Jeff Hollan on the topic).

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September 12, 2016
A few useful Azure Resources

Over the past few weeks, I have been working on a number of projects relating to Azure. The usual theme has crept up, around recommended practices, and where to go for documentation. There are a couple of great resources to be aware of!

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September 3, 2016
Approaching Resilience in Azure Solutions

I mentioned in Building Solutions in the Cloud that I would be writing a series of blog posts on the areas of risk that I have seen since I have been providing guidance around Azure. In this post, I will provide some thoughts on how you can consider resilience within the context of your own solution or application.

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August 26, 2016