Updated Solutions to Classic Challenges
A personal website dedicated to helping IT professionals review where we've been, where we are, and maybe where we are headed.
Log onto the AMI via SSH
Go to the log folder: type: cd /opt/bitnami/var/log
Get the username . type : sudo more pre-start.log |grep user
Get the password . type: sudo more pre-start.log |grep password
AWS caused quite a stir during this year’s annual re:Invent conference when they announced not only were they making their own ARM-based microprocessors called the Graviton 2, but also using those chips to power a new AWS instance type - the EC2 M6g. AWS claims the new instances not only provide several advantages over Intel based processors powering the large majority of the fleet (such as the m5), but that the instance types will also cost less. Truth be told, most customers will find that the of a vm is already pretty low, however, savings are savings. Out of curiosity, I decided to dig a little deeper into what that new instance is like during launch week.
Read MoreThis error is encountered when attempting to connect to an EC2 instance via SSH with a .pem file that doesn’t have the appropriate linux filesystem permissions in place.
CD to the directory where the file exists
Type : sudo chmod 400 <filename>
The next time you run ssh it should work.
I ran into this issue on a Macbook Pro running OS X. My file permissions were “too open” for use. The file permissions before I made the change were set to 0644 which threw the error.
“Zero Trust” is a big security concept / buzzword at the moment. When most people think Zero Trust, they often think policies around systems in the form of firewalls or enclaves. Banyan, however, sees it differently. Banyan brings the least privilege access model to remote access. Banyan positions their solution as a replacement to VPN spurred on by Security Teams and DevOps professionals.
Read MoreAmazon has made available a new set of graphics in Visio, and other formats. These stencils are an excellent resource for architects and engineers who need to document cloud environments.
The symbols can be found here: https://aws.amazon.com/architecture/icons/
All the major file formats are available including: EPS, PNG, SVG, Visio, and PowerPoint. Interestingly, there are two sets of PowerPoint shapes. One supports light backgrounds. The other supports dark backgrounds. I’ve included an example of what each looks like for comparison.
Read MoreI recently read through Nick Triantafillou’s excellent review of AWS re:Invent 2018 SWAG and feel there needs to be a bit of a level set for people who didn’t attend. This is especially true if you are considering attending next year, and you expect to take home a massive haul of free stuff. Not everyone who attends walks away with all of the items. Know that the best way to get swag at re:Invent is to have a plan.
Read MoreAWS is the clear leader in cloud, Microsoft, Google, and even Oracle have recently made attempts to cut into Amazon’s market share. Microsoft has done an admirable job of leveraging enterprise connections coupled with some very nice cloud products to emerge has a worthy challenger. Google recently made some leadership changes at the top which observers of the space find intriguing. Finally, Oracle keeps pushing in terms of price to performance ratios. AWS has to keep the pedal to medal in terms of innovation to keep their lead position.
Read MoreThere were a number of interesting announcements at Day 1 of VMworld 2018. Here are my brief thoughts.
Read MoreIn my past, I've worked with NetApp, Equallogic, EMC, and various other NAS/SAN devices. After working briefly with SoftNAS, I can say that anyone familiar with those types of systems will feel right at home. Think of the SoftNAS vm as a "controller" and the local cloud storage as "shelves." The layout and terminology should make sense to anyone with a storage background. That level of knowledge could be comforting to an organization making a transition to the public cloud.
Read MoreI recently completed the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam. This blog post details some of my exam prep experience and testing tips.
Read MoreAmazon Web Services offers several services which are region specific. When encountering an error, the first thing you should do is validate that you are operating in the correct region(s). This was an issue I ran into recently when using CloudFormation.
Read MoreAmazon's AWS public cloud is often used by IT pros to test and prototype ideas on their own often replacing a traditional home lab setup. The ability to quickly spin up virtual infrastructure components and then shut them down after testing completes is a great help for exploring new ideas. Costs for AWS are based upon consumption. Customers "pay by the drink." Because the monthly bill is based on what's consumed, it's important to keep track of the costs.
Recently, I was confronted with a higher than usual monthly bill. I wasn't sure how it was possible as I hadn't used the service very much the previous month. Moreover, I always remember to shutdown unused servers.
Read MoreI recently had an experience which underscored for me the power of AWS CloudFormation. My test lab is almost exclusively run in the cloud now. So when I need to demo things before discussing them with a customer, I build environments in AWS. One such environment was for SQL Server 2016. The original idea was to use Windows Server 2012 as the OS with SQL Server 2016 as the database platform. The customer recently decided that we should look at Windows Server 2016 as the OS instead.
I was able to adjust to the customer's request by altering two lines of code - one per EC2 instance. That's it! Just two lines of code, and I could redeploy the whole setup. The only lines that needed to be updated were the ones referencing the ImageId property. Previously, I would have built these servers in VMware workstation or Hyper-V and it would have taken a few hours. Now, it's just minutes.
Read More
I recently created an Amazon EC2 CloudFormation template to automate the build out of a Windows Server with SQL Server pre-installed. The template came from an official Amazon/Microsoft ami in the Amazon Marketplace. Since this was for a simple proof-of-concept test, I wanted to use the t2.medium type, which I've used for various other projects. The t2.medium instance type usually provides a reasonable value in terms of price to performance. Upon execution of the CF Template, I noticed the template rolled back. When I looked for an error, it read "Microsoft SQL Server is not supported for the instance type 't2.medium'."
The error threw me for a minute, but then I ran a quick google search and it came back with a few hits. I wasn't the first person to hit this error. I found the page defining the Windows Server 2012 with SQL Server 2016 Standard Edition. That page can be found here (https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/B01H4DL45A?qid=1518460124383&sr=0-1&ref_=srh_res_product_title) . The page lists all supported instance types. My favorite, the t2.medium was not among them. I instead chose to use the m4.medium, and the template ran to completion as expected. The moral of the story - always check the documentation.
At the time of this writing, the full list of supported EC2 Instance Types for Windows Server 2012R2 with SQL Server 2016 Standard is:
m1.small
m1.medium
m1.large
m1.xlarge
m2.xlarge
m2.2xlarge
m2.4xlarge
m3.medium
m3.large
m3.xlarge
m3.2xlarge
m4.large
m4.xlarge
m4.2xlarge
m4.4xlarge
m4.10xlarge
m4.16xlarge
m5.large
m5.xlarge
m5.2xlarge
m5.4xlarge
m5.12xlarge
m5.24xlarge
c1.xlarge
c3.large
c3.xlarge
c3.2xlarge
c3.4xlarge
c3.8xlarge
c4.large
c4.xlarge
c4.2xlarge
c4.4xlarge
c4.8xlarge
c5.large
c5.xlarge
c5.2xlarge
c5.4xlarge
c5.9xlarge
c5.18xlarge
cc2.8xlarge
cg1.4xlarge
cr1.8xlarge
x1.16xlarge
x1.32xlarge
x1e.xlarge
x1e.2xlarge
x1e.4xlarge
x1e.8xlarge
x1e.16xlarge
x1e.32xlarge
r3.large
r3.xlarge
r3.2xlarge
r3.4xlarge
r3.8xlarge
r4.large
r4.xlarge
r4.2xlarge
r4.4xlarge
r4.8xlarge
r4.16xlarge
g2.2xlarge
h1.2xlarge
h1.4xlarge
h1.8xlarge
h1.16xlarge
hs1.8xlarge
i2.xlarge
i2.2xlarge
i2.4xlarge
i2.8xlarge
i3.large
i3.xlarge
i3.2xlarge
i3.4xlarge
i3.8xlarge
i3.16xlarge
I've been working more hands-on with AWS off and on for the past few months. I've worked on a few cool projects hosted on the AWS infrastructure. Those projects have included SQL Server 2017 containers, CloudFormation templates and working with some of the basic DevOps tools like CodeCommit. During my time working with AWS I began to see the benefits of the platform. I also decided that I should formalize my understanding through certification.
Over the years, I've certified in many different vendor's technologies. While I've tested myself with most of the major vendors, I've yet to go up against an Amazon exam. I'm still somewhat undecided which exam to take first. I've purchased books for both the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate and the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate exams. SysOps is where my heart has been my entire career, yet there's more employer understanding around the Solution's Architect cert given the certification's' number of years available. Maybe I'll do both, but I'll cross that bridge later.
Confession time - I've never set up my own AWS instance. Ever. I've read about it, and I've even taken training for AWS; but I've never setup my own AWS anything for personal use. I've used competitive offerings such as MS Azure and Verizon's Terremark, but not AWS. I decided to take the plunge today since #vDM30in30 is about new experiences, learning, and experimentation. This post will cover my general impressions of the AWS sign up process.
So how did it go? Well, My honest impression of the setup process is that it probably could have been a little easier. I decided to select the Free tier. I was asked to sign up. The login / sign up dialogue box resembled the same screen used for buying products through Amazon, however, the same UID / pw combination didn't work. It's a new and separate account. It's a minor annoyance but definitely not a show stopper.
Next, I had to verify my tier. Amazon does a pretty good job of explaining what you get for free. The problem is in knowing if it's enough. In addition, only a small subsection of services are mentioned.
After some basic payment info, I thought I'd be done. Not so fast! Amazon does an interesting and welcome Identity verification check where an automated system calls a telephone number you provide. Upon answering the call, the applicant enters a four digit code that's provided onscreen.
AWS Identity Verification Screen
The applicant is then asked to review the support plan options. Nothing here is too surprising, but the upper tiers really provide what appears to be exceptional support. Then again for a minimum of $15,000 an enterprise should receive "white glove case handling." Also eye-catching is the fact that telephone support isn't available for anything less than $100. Basic developer level support allows for e-mailing support.
There's a lot of information, and I could see how someone buying AWS in a shadow IT ops type of situation would make a mistake by either buying too much or not enough support.
So after all of the screens and choices, I signed into the console and was overwhelmed by the choices. The vast number and types of options was intimidating. It reminded me of a friend who installed Oracle back when he was starting out in IT. Upon seeing a screen full of icons he asked, "So what do I do now?" I had a very similar feeling looking over the ocean of choices.
The last few years have been filled with warnings of Shadow Ops. This concept of non-IT departments buying and deploying cloud-based services on their own without the knowledge or consent of a centralized IT department. Based on what I just experienced, I see this trend slowing down when it comes to AWS. AWS has added tons of features. So many features, I'd argue that the complexity associated with deploying an app properly has also increased. Confronted by all of these options it seems unlikely for a less sophisticated power user to go out and deploy an app on AWS. Amazon makes sign up and payment easy, but that's not the difficult part.