[Online] Strategies for Automating Cloud Resources

Posted on by Mark A. Wilson

Join Insight Digital Innovation and us online on Tuesday, May 26th, at 6:00 PM. How do you automate cloud resources and use simple requests to kickoff automations? In this presentation, Scott and Ben will review some of the steps to build repeatable cloud resource creation using IaC and different tools. They will go over use cases where they have clients implementing these technologies across their digital estate.

More specifically, we will dig into these elements in the journey:

  • How to develop virtual machine images using Packer and Ansible
  • Implement virtual machine and other resources using Terraform
  • Build automation pipelines in Azure DevOps
  • Show tagging policies in Terraform Cloud
  • Implement automated resource request processes from ServiceNow
  • Discuss chargeback/show back approaches

The meeting presenters are Scott Morgan and Ben Westmoreland.

Scott graduated from Miami University (Ohio) 30 years ago this year and is in his 17th year with Cardinal/Insight DI. After moving to the Raleigh office in 2012, he became a Practice Manager for ten years before taking a Southeast Regional Cloud Enablement/Architect role in April. Scott is an avid surfer and into paddleboarding. He lives in Raleigh with his wife and children.

Ben graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte 20 years ago this year and has been with Cardinal/Insight DI for four years. He was a Practice Manager for two years before taking a Southeast Regional Principal role in April. Ben is an avid saltwater fisherman and into boating. He lives in Huntersville with his wife and twin boys.

The meeting sponsor is Insight Digital Innovation.

Insight DI is a services firm specializing in Cloud Enablement, Data & AI, Intelligent Apps, IoT & Smart Edge, DevOps, Digital Strategy, and Transformational Services, providing services for companies globally.
Learn more at https://www.insight.com/en_US/what-we-do/digital-innovation.html

Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7049051675?pwd=dlBhWFNnTkdjWXZaeEpNMU9RUXNrdz09

Please RSVP.

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August Meeting: Cloud Tales from the Trenches (Lightning Talks)

Posted on by Mark A. Wilson

Join Insight and us on Tuesday, August 27th, at 6:00 PM in the Redwood Conference Room of the Microsoft Charlotte Office for our 21st Anniversary meeting. Started in August 1998 by co-founder Bill Jones, the Guild created a vital community where enthusiasts can share knowledge. For 21 years, we have been gathering to assist software developers in the exploration of new processes and technologies. Here’s to many more!

This month, we will have a series of 20-minute talks on our favorite cloud topics. Each could easily be an entire Guild presentation by itself! But for this meeting, we’ll get right to the meat while giving you enough context and info to research further on your own.

Secure Hosting Patterns for Azure PaaS Compute – Joe Eager

In this session, we will explore an alternative design pattern for securing Azure App Services. The goal is to show ways of segmenting off your PaaS hosting environment without using an App Service Environment to save you money and improve your security footprint.

Joe is a Cloud Solution Architect at Insight specializing in solution strategy and has been an IT consultant for 20+ years.

API Security Patterns using AAD – Sachin Pandit

API service authentication can be challenging to configure and ensuring security is a must in today’s environment. In this session, we will review service to service authentication patterns that work for our projects.

Sachin is a Senior Software Engineer Consultant at Insight specializing in Cloud Development and has been an IT consultant in the Charlotte area for 10+ years.

Managing Azure App Configurations and Deployments – Ben Westmoreland

Application configuration and secret management have evolved over the last few years with the continual advancement of DevOps tooling and Azure cloud capabilities. Let’s review some high-level approach to managing your app’s config and setting up maintainable deployment pipelines.

Ben is a Practice Manager specializing in cloud strategy and digital transformation. He has been an IT consultant in the Charlotte area for 20+ years.

The meeting sponsor is Insight.

Today, every business is a technology business. Insight Enterprises Inc. empowers organizations of all sizes with Insight Intelligent Technology Solutions™ and services to maximize the business value of IT. As a Fortune 500-ranked global provider of digital innovation, cloud and data center transformation, connected workforce, and supply chain optimization solutions and services, we help clients successfully manage their IT today while transforming for the future. From IT strategy and design to implementation and management, our 6,600+ employees help clients innovate and optimize their operations to run business smarter.

On August 1, 2018, Cardinal was acquired by Insight Enterprises, joining the Digital Innovation solution area. Our combined capabilities, deep expertise, and a shared passion for client relationships make us the partner to work closely with you to drive the results businesses are seeking. Discover more at http://www.insight.com.

Please RSVP so we know how much food to order.

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April Meeting: Cloud-First Lightning Talks

Posted on by Mark A. Wilson

Join Cardinal Solutions and us on Tuesday, April 24th, at 6:00 PM in the Redwood Conference Room (formerly named MPR or the Multi-Purpose Room) of the Microsoft Charlotte Office. This month, we will have a series of 20 min talks centered around our favorite topic: Cloud! Each could easily be an entire Guild presentation by itself, so we’ll get right to the meat while giving you enough context and info to research further on your own.

CI/CD for Serverless – Ben Westmoreland

The Azure Function offerings are quickly becoming a mainstream approach for getting things out the door more frequently and more reliably. Going serverless doesn’t mean missing out on the great workflows, CI/CD, and other options in your deployment pipeline. In this session, we will explore methods to incorporate Azure Functions into your DevOps workflow including build and release approaches, as well as approaches for automated testing and environment provisioning.

Ben is a Managing Consultant at Cardinal specializing in DevOps strategy and has been an IT consultant in the Charlotte area for 20+ years

Scaling Containers with Kubernetes and AKS – Jason Petrin

Containers are rightfully touted as a must-have tool in your DevOps toolkit, reducing operations overhead and providing scalability. Containerizing apps in some cases can be as easy as checking a box, but scaling them isn’t as straightforward. In this session, we will discuss scaling Docker containers with Kubernetes and Azure Container Services (AKS) as well as demonstrate how Kubernetes can deal with changing workloads.

Jason is a Principal Consultant at Cardinal with expertise in cloud architecture and 20 years of experience in IT.

.NET Examples of Key Cloud Patterns – Lloyd Faulkner

Just because you have microservices or have deployed to Azure doesn’t mean your app is optimized for the cloud. We’ll look at some of the most common design patterns you’ll want to employ in your app architecture to take advantage of the cloud, and particularly see .NET examples for implementing those patterns.

Lloyd is the AppDev Practice Manager for Cardinal’s Charlotte office, specializing in cloud architecture and agile processes.

The meeting sponsor is Cardinal Solutions.

Cardinal Solutions delivers digital solutions across cloud, data and analytics, mobile, and web. We have 500 employees in seven offices who use an Agile process to collaborate with clients across the country, delivering the right solutions that users embrace, and providing strategic guidance and training to help advance businesses.

Please RSVP so we know how much food to order.

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