PowerShell Core

I recently read a great post by Paul Cunningham on career advice for IT professionals, and this line stuck with me: ‘Change is a constant’. This really resonated, especially as I belatedly caught up with the recent changes in PowerShell.

I started using PowerShell in 2008, after a more experienced colleague advised me to start spending one afternoon a week learning about new technologies and tools as part of my professional development. This is great advice, by the way, and I would recommend every developer to do it. I also would suggest not asking your manager for permission to do this – if you’re a professional software developer, you need to make time as part of your job to learn new technologies. It is for both for your benefit (professional development) and your company’s (they get a more efficient developer), even if they may not always realise it.

So I started using PowerShell 10 years ago, and I quickly started using it daily, especially as my career started involving more and more SharePoint development, support and administration. However, sometimes I don’t follow my own advice, and I haven’t been keeping up with the major changes happening with PowerShell. It was only when I realised that development had stopped on the AzureRM PowerShell module, and that Microsoft was instead focusing on a new cross platform Az module , that I realised that I had missed a number of major announcements about PowerShell and the direction it was heading. With the release of .Net Core in 2016, Microsoft had started implementing a cross platform version of PowerShell, now known as PowerShell Core 6.0. This was released to general availability back in January 2018. I had missed a major change in an essential developer tool that I use daily.  Change really is constant, and I hadn’t been prepared for this particular one!

The major differences between PowerShell Core and the legacy Windows PowerShell are:

1. PowerShell Core is cross platform and can be run on Windows, Linux and Mac systems.
2. PowerShell Core is open source.
3. Currently, the major breaking changes in PowerShell Core are:
1. PowerShell Workflows are not available.
2. The Out-Gridview command is not available in PowerShell Core
3. PowerShell Core does not support the WMI v1 cmdlets and a large number of other Windows OS specific cmdlets.
4. While Windows PowerShell ships with the ISE editor, PowerShell Core encourages the use of Visual Studio Code.
5. PowerShell core is case-sensitive, as it must now run on Unix operating systems.

As PowerShell Core uses the less feature-rich .NET Core and .NET Standard, it currently only offers a subset of the functionality offered by Windows PowerShell. This will change over time as the Powershell Core framework matures, and as more functionality is developed for it. While Windows PowerShell will continue to be maintained (with bug fixes and security updates), there will be no new functionality added to it.

It is pretty easy to get started using PowerShell Core. It can be installed and run alongside your existing Windows PowerShell. I use Chocolatey to install (almost) everything on my Windows PCs, as it allows me to configure automatic updates. To install PowerShell Core using Chocolatey, run:

choco install powershell-core

Once installed, it is worth configuring the following:

1. Modify your profile. The profile path in PowerShell Core is different to that of Windows PowerShell, and is at C:\Users\{username}\Documents\PowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
2. Modify VS Code to use the PowerShell Core Integrated Terminal.
3. Install the Windows Compatibility module to allow PowerShell Core to invoke commands that are currently only available in Windows PowerShell. This will allow you to run existing PowerShell scripts in PowerShell Core without any changes.

As I’m spending a lot of time in Azure, the first new PowerShell Core module I installed was the new Az module, which replaces the older AzureRM modules. Once the module is installed, to ensure compatibility with existing AzureRm scripts you should run the Enable-AzureRmAlias cmdlet, to enable aliases for your existing scripts for the current session only.

Reducing Azure Costs

As part of my study for the Microsoft 70-533 exam, I’ve been interested in finding out how to minimize my costs in Azure. This is particularly important as I’m spinning up a large number of virtual machines and web applications as part of my study for the exam. I’ve gathered the following list of tips on how to reduce your Azure costs.

General

• Each Azure service is priced differently. Use of the Azure Pricing Calculator to estimate the cost for a specific resource and to identify all the resources/services used to host an application.
• While is is obvious that different services will have different costs, not everyone is aware that the same service will vary in cost between the different Azure locations. The https://azureprice.net/ site lists the regional pricing for Azure VMs.
• You’re charged for the resources services you use, so shut down non-production resources when they're not required (like outside working hours). This can be done using either a scheduled script or by using one of the various cloud management applications.
• Use pre-paid subscriptions to get a discount (even on pay as you go subscriptions) - Microsoft offers discounts of 2.5-5% based on 6 or 12 months pre-payment.
• If available on your subscription, make use of a spending limit on your Azure account/subscription.
• Also set up automated email alerts to email you once your account spends more than a set amount.
• Audit your Azure usage so you know what you are paying for and not using in Azure
• View your Azure Subscription in the portal
• Use the free service https://azure-costs.com/ to identify your costs
• Consider using the Azure Cost Management service offered by Cloudyn, a Microsoft subsidiary.
• Delete unused resources
• Use auto-scaling to reduce costs during off hours. These deployment types all support auto-scaling:
• Cloud Service
• App Services
• VM Scale Sets (Including Batch, Service Fabric, Container Service)
• Scaling could also mean shutting your app down completely. App Services have a feature called AlwaysOn that controls if the app should shut down due to no activity. You could also schedule shutting down your dev/QA servers with something like DevTest Labs. There are also third party services like Park My Cloud.

Virtual Machines

• Need to shut down and deallocate VMs to stop Azure continuing to reserve the VM's compute resources
  • Use Azure Portal or PowerShell to do this
  • Can also configure the auto shutdown option on the VM
• Resize over-provisioned VMs
  • Note, the VM will have to be rebooted, so need to avoid when the VM is under peak load
• Use Azure PaaS features; don’t roll your own on VMs unless you have to.
• Make use of Dynamic Scaling with VM Scale Sets
• Use Azure Marketplace VM Images to prevent additional licensing costs (such as for the Windows OS)
• Use Azure DevTest Labs to automate the start-up and shutdown of VMs, and also implement quotas and policies for VM management
• Use Reserved Instances to get discounts on the price of VMs - need to reserve for 1 or 3 years
• Make use of existing Microsoft licences in Azure using the Azure Hybrid Benefit
• Make use of Azure Site Recovery to back up your VMs
  • Only pay for replication software and the cost of storage

Azure SQL

• Blob storage offers a cost effective solution to store graphics data. Blob storage of type Table and Queue of 2 GB costs $0.14/month and type block blob costs just $0.05/month. A SQL Database of similar capacity will cost $4.98/month. Hence, use blob storage to store images, videos and text files instead of storing in SQL Database. To reduce the cost and increase the performance, put the large items in the blob storage and store the blob record key in SQL database.
• If you want to develop, test, or build a proof of concept, then use the freely licensed SQL Server Developer edition. A SQL Server Developer edition VM only incurs charges for the cost of the VM, because there are no associated SQL Server licensing costs.
• If you want to run a lightweight workload in production (<4 cores, <1 GB memory, <10 GB/database), use the freely licensed SQL Server Express edition. A SQL Server Express edition VM also only incurs charges for the cost of the VM.
• Use the appropriate edition of SQL Server for other tasks.
• Use the Pay Per Usage (per second cost of the VM including the SQL Server licence) or the Bring Your Own Licence (BYOL) option as appropriate.
• Paying the SQL Server licensing per usage is recommended for:
  • Temporary or periodic workloads. For example, an app that needs to support an event for a couple of months every year, or business analysis on Mondays.
  • Workloads with unknown lifetime or scale. For example, an app that may not be required in a few months, or which may require more, or less compute power, depending on demand.
• Bringing your own SQL licensing through License Mobility is recommended for:
  • Continuous workloads. For example, an app that needs to support business operations 24x7.
  • Workloads with known lifetime and scale. For example, an app that is required for the whole year and which demand has been forecasted.
• If you have a lot of databases, consider using SQL Elastic pools.
• Optimize your SQL Database performance

App Services

• Migrate Apps to Azure App Service, instead of 'Lift and Shift' to a dedicated VM. This is a cheaper option and avoids having to manage a VM.
• Avoid paying for staging slots on Cloud Services:
  • Delete staging slots as quickly as possible, as these are charged at the same rate as a Production slot
  • Cloud Services cost you money even if the servers are stopped. You have to delete them!
• Combine web apps with Azure App Service Plans to reduce server count.
• Stop using Cloud Service Web Roles unless you have to. Use App Services instead - these are also faster to deploy to.
• Move Worker Roles to Azure Service Fabric or Container Service. This allows you to combine apps and reduce server count and cost.

Miscellaneous

• Delete the unused VPN gateway and application gateway as they will be charged whether they run inside virtual network or connect to other virtual networks in Azure. Your account will be charged based on the time gateway is provisioned and available.
• Use Azure Storage for SMB File Shares, instead of a dedicated VM. Again, this is a cheaper option and avoids having to manage a VM.
• Improve the performance of your application to reduce the amount of cloud resources it uses. Make use of logging and performance monitoring tools/profilers to identify ways of improving your app.
• Consider using a CDN like CloudFlare for additional caching.
• Consider the Azure cold storage option for reduced costs
• Consider using Azure Automation to automatically build and tear down services/resources when required.

References

• https://8kmiles.com/blog/7-tips-to-save-costs-in-azure-cloud-management/
• https://buildazure.com/2017/04/08/top-10-tricks-to-save-money-with-azure-virtual-machines/
• https://www.swc.com/blog/cloud/five-ways-save-money-on-azure-vms
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows/sql/virtual-machines-windows-sql-server-pricing-guidance
• https://www.cloudcomputing-news.net/news/2018/may/04/microsoft-azure-pricing-101-tips-and-tricks/

Microsoft Exam 70-533 - Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions

As I develop solutions using Azure, and because I want learn more about the platform, I’ve decided to study for the 70-533 Implementing Azure Infrastructure Solutions exam. I have mixed thoughts about certifications, but this one will help in my day-to-day work and seems to be in demand with employers.

I have chosen to do the IT exam (70-533) first, rather than the Developer exam (70-532), as there is more of a focus on PowerShell in 70-533, and I love working with PowerShell. There is also significant overlap between the 2 exams, and I do plan on completing 70-532 at a later date.

As I study, I’ll be posting some blog posts on various Azure related topics. I’ll use this post to list all Azure related posts:

1. Reducing Azure Costs