Tech & Code with Kris

Reusable ValidateSets in PowerShell

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

When you’re creating scripts, in some cases, you may want to limit what values a consumer is allowed to provide for a specific parameter. In PowerShell a regular way to do that is with ValidateSet. ValidateSet is an attribute that you can define on a parameter together with a set of values that are allowed to be provided for the parameter. For example, let’s say you want to only allow to specify Development, Staging or Production as a value for the $DeploymentEnvironment parameter in your PowerShell script, with help of ValidateSet. It can look something like this:

Tech Bits and Bobs #1 - Reference GitHub Repository and Deployment Environment Secrets and Variables in Reusable Workflows

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this edition of Tech Bits and Bobs I would like to give a quick overview of how to reference variables and secrets, that are defined in the repository variables and secrets and in a GitHub Deployment Environment, in a reusable GitHub workflow. Disclaimer: there’s a tiny nuance to be aware of when it comes to referencing secrets 😼

The good thing is that you can reference all the variables and secrets that are coming both from the repository secrets and variables and the deployment environments in a regular way, i.e. ${{ secrets.MY_SECRET_FROM_ANYWHERE }} or ${{ vars.MY_VAR_FROM_ANYWHERE }}. The only caveat here is that when you want to reference secrets in a reusable workflow, be it from the repo or a deployment environment, you need to provide secrets: inherit parameter in the parent workflow job that is calling upon a reusable workflow. This parameter allows reusable workflow to access the secrets that the parent workflow has access to.

HomeLab Part 1 - Joining the self-hosting club

Sat, 28 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I have officially embarked on a homelab journey and will be sharing here what I learn and do as I progress🥳 It’s been a long time coming! Having a homelab will be super useful for me in order to do larger, more advanced experiments with bare metal Kubernetes. I have also been interested for some time in self-hosting some of the tools and services that I’m using. So it’s a win-win!

Azure DevOps Bits and Bobs: #1 - How to update PATH environment variable

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we will explore the proper way of updating PATH environment variable on Azure Pipelines build agents and what other logging commands are available in Azure DevOps.

Azure Private DNS zone fallback to internet - what, why and how

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we will explore recently released functionality for Azure Private DNS zones that allows fallback to internet on domain name resolution.

How to automate migration of classic Application Insights instances to workspace-based

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we will explore how you can easily automate migration of classic Application Insights instances to workspace-based instances at scale

Christmas the Whole Year Round...and Year++ with Kubernetes LTS

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we'll discuss in which use cases Kubernetes LTS makes sense, what this means for the core Kubernetes projects, and how the Kubernetes LTS works in context of AKS.

Passing Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA) certification exam

Sun, 05 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post I will share my experience from passing KCNA certification exam. I will also share resources and tips and tricks from prepraring for and taking the exam.

A bird's-eye view of upcoming KubeCon+CloudNativeCon North America 2023

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post I will share my perspective for the upcoming KubeCon+CloudNativeCon North America 2023: trends, what to expect and share personal tips about getting the most out of the event.

Resilience testing of Azure services with Azure Chaos Studio

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we will explore how you can use Azure Chaos Studio to ensure resilience of non-Kubernetes services in Azure like App Service, Key Vault, Virtual Machine, etc.

Kubernetes port forwarding: cleaning up orphaned ports

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we'll look into how we can clean up port reservations that got stuck after a completed port forwarding command in a Kubernetes cluster.

How to get all Azure Policy assignments of a specific category?

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we'll look into how we can retrieve all Azure Policy assignments that represent policy definitions under specific category.

Resolving Application Insights performance counters collection issue for .NET applications

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we'll look into how we can an issue with collecting performance counters for Application Insights from ASP.NET Framework and ASP.NET (Core) applications hosted in IIS.

Scanning Azure VMs, Azure Arc-enabled servers and ACR images for vulnerabilities with Microsoft Defender and Qualys

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we'll look into how we can use integrated Qualys scanner in MS Defender for vulnerability assessment of Azure Arc-enabled servers and other applicable resources.

Takeaways from attending KubeCon+CloudNativeCon Europe 2023, wearing many hats

Sat, 06 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post I will share my reflections and takeaways from attending KubeCon+CloudNativeCon Europe 2023 wearing multiple hats: speaker, CNCF ambassador, KCD organizer and attendee.

Creating custom Azure Policy for Kubernetes to disallow non-compliant image registries

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we'll look into how we can create custom Azure Policy to disallow workloads referencing non-compliant image registries.

Keeping AKS clusters continuously secure with Azure Policy

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we'll look into how we can enhance security and governance of AKS clusters with Azure Policy.

How to trigger subsequent GitHub workflow in a different repository

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this tech tip we take a look at how you can trigger a GitHub workflow residing in a different repository, based on a specific condition.

AKS control plane tiers - what, when and how?

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this tech tip we look at AKS control plane tiers, when to use which tier and how to define it in code.

How to modify Azure Arc (or any) Service Principal scope after creation

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this tech tip we take a look at how you can easily update the scope of an Azure Arc Service Principal or any other Service Principal after it has been created.

How to fix ServiceAccount error in Azure DevOps Environments for Kubernetes clusters v.1.24 and newer

Wed, 28 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this tech tip we look at how you can fix Azure DevOps Environments error related to missing Service Account Secret that occurs when targeting Kubernetes clusters on version 1.24 or newer.

Strengthening security posture of containerized .NET applications with .NET Chiseled Containers (updated Dec.2023)

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post explains how you can run containerized .NET applications in a more secure manner with .NET Chiseled Containers

[🎄Azure Advent Calendar🎄] Exploring upgrade strategies in Azure Kubernetes Service

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we'll look into importance of continuous upgrade of AKS clusters and nodes, and what are possible strategies to do it manually and automatically.

Kris's Quick Cup of (A)K8S #5 - Housekeeping for Kubernetes Contexts

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this tech tip we look at what Kubernetes context is and how we can clean up unused Kubernetes contexts.

Applying Dockerfile best practices with Hadolint

Sun, 13 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we'll look into how we can ensure that Dockerfiles we create are following best practices with Hadolint tool.

Validating quality of Helm Charts with helm lint

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this tech tip we take a look at how we can use helm lint to validate Helm Charts for errors and best practices prior to deployment to Kubernetes

Azure DevOps Auditing - Part 1 - Overview and Streaming to Azure Monitor Logs

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

First part of this blog post series gives an overview of Azure DevOps Auditing and how you can set up audit log streaming to Azure Monitor logs.

Kris's Quick Cup of (A)K8S #4 - HTTP Application Routing add-on in AKS

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this tech tip we look at how we can easily expose applications running in AKS in dev/test with HTTP Application Routing add-on.

Kris's Quick Cup of (A)K8S #3 - (Cluster)Role management

Sun, 14 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this tech tip we look at how we can locate a ClusterRole and/or Role and identify which accounts it is assigned to.

Monitoring Kubernetes API deprecations with Pluto

Sun, 14 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we'll look into how you can monitor Kubernetes API deprecations and automate it in CI/CD with Pluto.

How to override ASP.NET Core application runtime version

Sat, 23 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this post we take a look at how we can make an ASP.NET Core application use a different runtime version than the one it was compiled with.

Detect and avoid this certificate validation trap in .NET!

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this post we take a look at how to use ServerCertificateValidationCallback cautiously in .NET without creating security vulnerability in the code.

Log in to Microsoft Entra ID without active subscription from Azure CLI

Fri, 15 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this post we take a look at how you can log in to an Microsoft Entra ID without active subscription from Azure CLI.

Re-using Azure DevOps Environment efficiently across multiple pipelines

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this post we take a look at how we can avoid duplication and re-use Azure DevOps Environment across multiple pipelines with variable groups.

Setting up OAuth 2.0 authentication for applications in AKS with NGINX and OAuth2 Proxy

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post explains how to enable OAuth 2.0 authentication for an application running in AKS with help of NGINX Ingress Controller and OAuth2 Proxy.

Creating reusable build tasks in Azure DevOps pipelines with templates

Fri, 24 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this post we take a look at how to implement reusable build tasks in Azure DevOps pipelines with templates.

Handling failed Helm upgrade due to another operation in progress

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

How to handle failed helm upgrade with helm rollback

Accelerated Networking for AKS nodes

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we'll look into what accelerated networking is and how you can enable/disable and test it in AKS nodes, both Windows and Linux.

Continuous Delivery to AKS with Azure DevOps Environments - Part 2

Mon, 23 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Second part of this blog post series focuses on hands-on deployment to AKS with Azure DevOps Environments as well as automating migration of resources between environments.

Kris's Quick Cup of (A)K8S #2

Mon, 16 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A few tricks that can make your life easier when working with Kubernetes and AKS

Improving Pull Request flow with PR templates and PR Completion Stats in Azure DevOps

Fri, 06 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Let's take a look at how PR templates and PR Completion Stats extension can help us improve PR flow and quality in Azure DevOps.

Continuous Delivery to AKS with Azure DevOps Environments - Part 1

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

First part of this blog post series describes what Azure DevOps Environments are and provides some tips and tricks for using it deployment of applications to Kubernetes.

Automate .NET target framework update with PowerShell

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Let's take a look at how we can automate update of .NET target framework across projects with PowerShell.

Improving .NET code quality with NDepend in Visual Studio and Azure DevOps

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post explains how to use NDepend to analyze and improve code quality manually and automatically as part of CI/CD pipelines in Azure DevOps with help of NDepend tool.

Kris's Quick Cup of K8s #1

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

4 helpful commands that can make your life easier when working with Kubernetes and AKS

Cleaning up secrets in Azure DevOps and GitHub repositories with BFG Repo-Cleaner

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post explains how to clean up secrets and sensitive values that have been commited to Azure DevOps and GitHub repositories with help of BFG Repo-Cleaner tool.

Power of --query in Azure CLI

Sun, 13 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Let's take a look at how helpful query parameter can be in Azure CLI.

How to upgrade NGINX Ingress Controller with zero downtime in production

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post explains how to perform maintenance and upgrade of NGINX Ingress Controller with zero downtime in production.

Public talks and Publications

Sat, 30 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This page provides overview of all the presentations and external publications that I've done in the community.

How to include new Kubernetes resource into existing Helm release

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post explains how to patch an existing Helm release by including new Kubernetes resource as an example.

Using Kubernetes Service for proxying to external services

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post explains what Kubernetes Service is, what types of Kubernetes Service exist and how Kubernetes Service can be used for proxying to external services.

How to perform static code analysis of .NET Code with Security Code Scan

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post explains how to perform static code analysis of .NET code locally and as part of CI/CD with Security Code Scan tool.

Could not load file or assembly...Oh my! How I went through five stages of grief and mastered assembly version conflict debugging with .NET CLI, ILSpy and Fusion Log

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post explains how to debug and resolve assembly versioning conflicts with .NET CLI, ILSpy and FusionLog.

How to distribute console applications easily with .NET tools

Sun, 06 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post explains how packaging console apps as .NET tools will make it possible to distribute them in a faster and easier manner.

Security scanning of third-party dependencies with OWASP Dependency Check

Tue, 18 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post explains why it's important to scan third-party dependencies for known security vulnerabilities and how this can be done with OWASP Dependency Check tool

How to create new microservices easily with dotnet custom templates

Tue, 11 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post explains how dotnet custom templates can be used in order to easily start development of a new microservice

About

Sat, 01 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Heisann and welcome to my Tech Corner!