7 min read
Claude Code's Monitor Tool vs Polling: What Actually Happened
I gave Opus 5.5 a build to watch and a dev server to start, with and without the Monitor tool. It used Monitor inconsistently, and headless runs hid the answer.
DevOps
109 articles
7 min read
PBIR Is Now the Default: What Changes for Report Source Control
Developer mode and PBIP are GA and PBIR becomes the default report format. Why that makes report review realistic, what breaks, and how to stage the move.
8 min read
PostgreSQL Major Upgrades on Azure: Validate Early, Don't Pay to Wait
Pre-upgrade validation for Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server is GA and Extended Support is now billed. An upgrade runbook and a version policy to avoid paying.
8 min read
Treat Retrieval Changes Like Schema Changes: A RAG Regression Gate
Make retrieval-first a team rule: an owned question set, a side-by-side index comparison on Azure AI Search, and a gate that fails on lost answers.
8 min read
The Day-One Pipeline: Push to Main, Ship to App Service
A minimal GitHub Actions to App Service container pipeline for small apps, and the specific signals that tell you when slots, canaries or flags are worth it.
10 min read
Azure DevOps vs GitHub in 2026: Choosing the Whole Platform
A practitioner's comparison of Azure DevOps and GitHub as complete platforms in early 2026: planning, repos, CI/CD, security, cost and when to run both.
1 min read
Infrastructure as Code Best Practices: Lessons from 100+ Deployments
IaC is a skill that compounds. These practices become second nature and save countless hours of debugging and recovery.
1 min read
Kubernetes Cost Optimization on AKS: Lessons from 2025
Kubernetes cost optimization is continuous. Review these metrics weekly and adjust based on actual usage patterns.
1 min read
AI-Powered Code Review: Integrating LLMs into Development Workflows
While linters catch syntax issues, AI reviewers understand context, identify logical errors, suggest architectural improvements, and explain complex code…
1 min read
Testing LLM Applications: Strategies Beyond Traditional Unit Tests
LLM outputs vary between runs and model versions. Testing must focus on behavioral properties rather than exact string matching, while still catching…
1 min read
LLMOps: Operationalizing Large Language Models in Production
LLMs present distinct operational challenges: non-deterministic outputs, prompt sensitivity, context window management, and the difficulty of defining…
1 min read
Claude 3.5 Sonnet for Code Review: Automated PR Analysis Patterns
Claude 3.5 Sonnet has become my go-to model for automated code review workflows. Its exceptional ability to understand context across large codebases makes…
1 min read
AI Observability: Monitoring LLM Applications in Production
Comprehensive observability enables continuous improvement of AI applications.
1 min read
Testing AI Applications: Strategies for Non-Deterministic Systems
Robust AI testing combines deterministic checks with AI-powered evaluation.
1 min read
Agent Observability: Monitoring AI Systems in Production
Observability transforms AI agents from black boxes into understandable systems. Combine metrics, logs, and traces to gain complete visibility into agent…
1 min read
Fabric CI/CD: Building Deployment Pipelines
Implementing CI/CD for Microsoft Fabric ensures reliable, repeatable deployments of analytics artifacts. This guide covers building end-to-end deployment…
1 min read
Fabric Git Integration: Version Control for Analytics
Microsoft Fabric's Git integration brings modern version control practices to analytics. This guide covers setting up and using Git with Fabric workspaces.
1 min read
Gradual Rollout Strategies for AI Features
Deploying AI features to production requires careful risk management. Gradual rollouts help identify issues early while minimizing blast radius.
1 min read
Feature Flags for AI: Controlling AI Rollouts
Feature flags provide fine-grained control over AI features, enabling safe deployments, quick rollbacks, and targeted releases. This guide covers…
8 min read
Azure AI Search Index Operations: Schema Changes, Rebuilds and Aliases
Which Azure AI Search index changes work in place, which force a rebuild, and how to swap versioned indexes, load documents and check health safely.
1 min read
Platform Engineering Trends: Building Internal Data Platforms
Platform engineering is the pragmatic answer to scale: provide golden paths, self-service APIs and guardrails so teams move quickly without repeating…
1 min read
Fabric Deployment Pipelines: Promoting Content Across Environments
Deployment Pipelines provide controlled, auditable content promotion across environments. Tomorrow, I will cover Fabric Monitoring.
1 min read
Fabric Git Integration: Version Control for Your Data Platform
Git integration in Fabric is something I've been waiting for since the first preview. Power BI's lack of proper version control has been a persistent…
1 min read
Azure Deployment Environments: Self-Service Infrastructure for Developers
Deployment Environments enables platform engineering teams to provide governed self-service infrastructure to developers. Tomorrow, I will cover Azure…
1 min read
Azure Dev Box GA: Cloud-Powered Developer Workstations
Dev Box simplifies developer onboarding and ensures consistent development environments. Tomorrow, I will cover Azure Deployment Environments.
1 min read
Copilot for Pull Requests: AI-Enhanced Code Review
Commit messages: {chr(10).join(f'- {c}' for c in commits)} response = await self.client.chatcompletion( model="gpt-4", messages=[{"role": "user", "content"…
1 min read
Containerization and Kubernetes: Lessons Learned in 2022
Containerization and Kubernetes: Lessons Learned in 2022
1 min read
Observability and Monitoring: Practices That Worked in 2022
Observability in 2022 moved beyond simple monitoring to true understanding of system behavior. OpenTelemetry became the standard for instrumentation. SLOs…
1 min read
Infrastructure as Code Maturity: Where Are You on the Journey?
IaC maturity is a journey, not a destination. Start where you are, establish good practices early, and continuously improve. The goal is infrastructure that…
1 min read
The Rise of Platform Engineering in 2022
Platform engineering is the practice of building and maintaining internal developer platforms (IDPs) that enable self-service capabilities for development…
1 min read
DevOps Practices That Defined 2022
The four key metrics gained mainstream adoption: Security integrated earlier in the pipeline: IaC practices became more sophisticated: Three pillars…
1 min read
Cloud Native Maturity: Where Organizations Stand in 2022
Lift and shift migrations VMs in the cloud Traditional architectures Using managed services Basic automation Some containerization Microservices…
1 min read
Azure DevOps vs GitHub Actions: Choosing the Right CI/CD Platform
Feature Azure DevOps GitHub Actions YAML Config azure pipelines.yml .github/workflows/ .yml Hosted Runners Microsoft hosted GitHub hosted Self hosted Yes…
1 min read
Azure DevOps Best Practices - October 2022 Summary
Azure DevOps provides a comprehensive platform for enterprise DevOps with robust security and governance features.
1 min read
Azure DevOps Updates - October 2022
Azure DevOps provides enterprise-grade DevOps capabilities with deep Azure integration.
1 min read
GitHub Actions Artifact Management
Proper artifact management enables efficient multi-job pipelines and deployment workflows.
1 min read
Creating Custom GitHub Actions
Custom actions enable sophisticated automation tailored to your specific workflows.
1 min read
Building GitHub Composite Actions
Composite actions bridge the gap between simple step sequences and full custom actions.
1 min read
GitHub Actions Improvements - October 2022
GitHub now offers larger hosted runners for more demanding workloads. Enforce workflows across all repositories in an organization.
1 min read
GitHub Universe 2022 Preview
GitHub Universe 2022 promises significant advances in developer experience and platform capabilities.
1 min read
Data-tier Applications (DACPAC) for Azure SQL
DACPACs provide reliable, repeatable database deployments for enterprise applications.
1 min read
Database Projects in Azure Data Studio
Database Projects bring modern DevOps practices to database development.
1 min read
Ephemeral Containers: Debugging Kubernetes Pods
Inside the debug container: Ephemeral containers enable live debugging of production pods without disruption, making troubleshooting faster and safer.
1 min read
Kubernetes 1.24 Features: Deep Dive into New Capabilities
Handle node failures gracefully: Configure node shutdown behavior: Control traffic routing for services: Track batch job progress: Stricter API validation:…
1 min read
Azure Deployment Environments: Infrastructure as Code for Dev Teams
Azure Deployment Environments addresses these challenges with templated, self-service infrastructure.
1 min read
ALM Toolkit for Power BI: Schema Comparison and Deployment
ALM Toolkit is essential for Power BI DevOps: Visual schema comparison Controlled deployments Integration with CI/CD Environment management ALM Toolkit on…
1 min read
Power BI Deployment Pipelines: CI/CD for Analytics
Deployment Pipelines bring enterprise ALM to Power BI: Controlled content promotion Environment specific configurations Audit trail of deployments…
1 min read
Power BI REST API: Automating Analytics Operations
The Power BI REST API enables: Automated content deployment Scheduled refresh management Administrative automation Custom tooling and integrations REST API…
1 min read
Power Platform ALM: Application Lifecycle Management Best Practices
Proper ALM ensures Power Platform solutions are reliable, maintainable, and can be safely deployed across environments.
6 min read
Bicep Private Module Registry: Publishing and Versioning with ACR
How to run a private Bicep module registry on Azure Container Registry: publishing, aliases, immutable versions, and when template specs fit better.
6 min read
Bicep at v0.4 in January 2022: Ready for Production, With Caveats
Where Azure Bicep stands in January 2022: what v0.4 gives you in production, the gaps that still bite, and when I'd still pick Terraform instead.
6 min read
Dependabot Without the PR Flood: Config, Auto-Merge and Triage
How to configure Dependabot so update PRs stay reviewable: schedules, PR limits, ignore rules, safe auto-merge with GitHub Actions, and alert triage.
7 min read
GitHub Secret Scanning: What to Do When the Alert Fires
How GitHub secret scanning works in early 2022, what it misses, and a practical playbook for triaging alerts, custom patterns, and rotating leaked keys.
7 min read
GitHub Advanced Security: What You Get and How to Roll It Out
What GitHub Advanced Security includes in early 2022, how its active-committer licensing works, and a staged plan for enabling CodeQL and secret scanning.
8 min read
Azure DevOps in 2022: Lock Down Your YAML Pipelines First
Going into 2022, the Azure Pipelines features worth adopting are the security controls: environments, checks, protected repos and scoped tokens.
1 min read
Self-Service Infrastructure: Empowering Teams to Move Fast
The future is developers who can move fast within safe guardrails. Self-service infrastructure makes that possible.
1 min read
Internal Developer Platforms: Scaling Developer Self-Service
IDPs in 2021 became the way to scale DevOps practices. They encode organizational knowledge into platforms that enable consistent, secure, and fast software…
1 min read
Platform Engineering: Building the Foundation for Developer Productivity
Platform engineering is about creating golden paths - paved roads that make it easy for developers to do the right thing. It's infrastructure as a product…
1 min read
DataOps Practices: Agile for Data Teams
DataOps in 2021 matured from concept to standard practice. Teams that adopted these practices delivered faster and more reliably than those stuck in manual…
1 min read
FinOps Practices: Managing Cloud Financial Operations
FinOps in 2021 grew from a niche practice to an organizational capability. The tools exist; success requires culture change and executive support.
1 min read
GitOps Practices: Declarative Infrastructure and Application Delivery
1. Declarative : Desired state is expressed declaratively 2. Versioned and Immutable : Git stores the canonical desired state 3. Pulled Automatically :…
1 min read
Infrastructure as Code Maturity: Beyond the Basics
IaC maturity in 2021 meant treating infrastructure code with the same rigor as application code. The tools support it; the discipline makes it work.
1 min read
Kubernetes Adoption in the Enterprise: Lessons from 2021
Most enterprises settled on managed Kubernetes. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) became the default choice for Azure shops: Flux and ArgoCD emerged as the…
1 min read
Azure Developer CLI Preview: Streamlined Cloud Development
Azure Developer CLI represents a significant shift toward developer productivity. By providing high-level commands and proven templates, it reduces the…
1 min read
Azure Service Connector: Simplified Service-to-Service Connections
Azure Service Connector eliminates the boilerplate of connecting services while implementing security best practices. It's a significant productivity boost…
1 min read
Azure Monitor Application Insights: Deep Observability for Applications
Application Insights provides the deep observability needed for modern applications. Combined with Azure Monitor's broader capabilities, it enables…
1 min read
Azure Load Testing: Cloud-Native Performance Testing
Azure Load Testing makes performance validation accessible and integrated into modern DevOps workflows. By catching performance regressions early, you can…
1 min read
Azure Chaos Studio: Chaos Engineering for Resilient Applications
Chaos engineering is the practice of experimenting on a system to build confidence in its ability to withstand turbulent conditions. Netflix pioneered this…
1 min read
Power BI Deployment Pipelines: CI/CD for Business Intelligence
Power BI Deployment Pipelines transform how organizations manage their analytics lifecycle. By bringing CI/CD practices to BI, teams can deliver insights…
2 min read
Repos in Databricks: Managing Production Deployments
Databricks Repos in production use means the code running in your prod workspace is explicitly linked to a specific Git commit—not "whatever notebooks…
2 min read
Git Integration in Databricks for Version Control
Databricks Git integration (Repos) connects the workspace directly to GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, or Bitbucket, replacing the manual pattern of…
1 min read
Mastering the Databricks CLI for Automation
The Databricks CLI is the command-line interface for Databricks workspace operations—running jobs, managing clusters, deploying libraries, uploading…
2 min read
Azure Kubernetes Service Upgrades: A Practical Guide
AKS cluster upgrades are the operational task that feels straightforward until you do them in production and discover the nuances—node cordoning order, pod…
1 min read
MLOps Best Practices with Azure Machine Learning
MLOps transforms ML from an experimental practice to a reliable engineering discipline. Azure ML provides the tools to implement these practices at scale.
1 min read
Azure Desired State Configuration for Configuration Management
DSC works with three key components: Configurations : PowerShell scripts defining desired state Resources : Building blocks for configurations (files,…
1 min read
Azure Update Management for Patch Compliance
Set up Update Management for your VMs: Onboard VMs to Update Management: Schedule update deployments: Create maintenance scripts: Query update compliance…
1 min read
Azure Automation Runbooks for Infrastructure Management
Set up Azure Automation: Create a runbook for VM management: Create a Python runbook for resource cleanup: Create schedules for automated execution: Create…
1 min read
Configuring Azure Service Health Alerts
Service Health tracks three types of events: Service Issues : Active problems affecting Azure services Planned Maintenance : Upcoming maintenance that might…
1 min read
Monitoring Azure Resource Health for Proactive Operations
Resource Health reports four possible states: Available : Resource is healthy and operating normally Unavailable : Resource is not healthy due to Azure or…
1 min read
Configuring Azure Diagnostic Settings for Comprehensive Logging
Azure resources produce several types of diagnostic data: Platform Metrics : Numerical performance data Resource Logs : Detailed operational logs (formerly…
1 min read
Publishing Custom Metrics to Azure Monitor
There are two ways to publish custom metrics: Application Insights SDK : For application level metrics Azure Monitor REST API : For any metric source Use…
1 min read
Deep Dive into Azure Monitor Metrics
Azure Monitor collects two types of metrics: Platform Metrics : Automatically collected from Azure resources Custom Metrics : Application specific metrics…
1 min read
ARM Template Specs for Enterprise Template Management
ARM Template Specs provide a governed, versioned approach to managing infrastructure templates. With native RBAC integration and first class Azure resource…
1 min read
Terraform Azure Provider Fundamentals
Terraform with the AzureRM provider is the infrastructure-as-code choice I recommend to teams that need multi-cloud portability or already have Terraform…
1 min read
GitHub Actions Workflows for Azure Deployments
GitHub Actions workflows for Azure deployment have become my default for any project that lives on GitHub and targets Azure. The Azure/login action with…
1 min read
Azure Pipelines Templates for Reusable CI/CD
Azure Pipelines supports four template types: 1. Stage templates Reusable stages 2. Job templates Reusable jobs 3. Step templates Reusable steps 4. Variable…
1 min read
Mastering Azure DevOps YAML Pipelines
Configure in Azure DevOps UI or via YAML: Azure DevOps YAML pipelines provide powerful, version controlled CI/CD capabilities. By leveraging templates,…
1 min read
Centralized Configuration Management with Azure App Configuration
Traditional configuration approaches using appsettings.json or environment variables have limitations: No central management Requires redeployment for…
1 min read
Proactive Monitoring with Azure Monitor Alerts
Azure Monitor supports several alert types: Metric alerts Based on metric values crossing thresholds Log alerts Based on Log Analytics query results…
1 min read
Azure Resource Manager Templates Best Practices
I've written a lot of ARM templates in the past three years, and I've also inherited a lot of ARM templates written by people who were having a bad day. The…
1 min read
CI/CD to Azure with GitHub Actions
GitHub Actions went from "interesting alternative to Azure DevOps Pipelines" to "my default CI/CD choice for most new Azure projects" in about twelve…
1 min read
Container Management with Azure Container Registry
Run the task: 1. Use Premium SKU for production with geo replication and security features 2. Enable content trust for image signing 3. Implement lifecycle…
6 min read
Azure Bicep v0.2: Learn It Now, Hold Off on Production
What Azure Bicep v0.2 can and can't do in January 2021, how to build and deploy it today, and why I'd learn it now but wait for v0.3 before production.
1 min read
Azure App Configuration: Centralized Settings Management
"Why is the staging environment talking to the production database?" is a sentence I never want to hear again, and yet—when configuration lives in…
1 min read
Azure DevOps Test Plans: Quality Assurance at Scale
Automated tests are the bulk of my testing pyramid, but there's a tier you can't replace: the human running through a workflow looking for the thing nobody…
1 min read
Azure DevTest Labs: Managed Development Environments
Every consultancy I've worked at has the same problem: developers need a sandbox, finance needs to not get a heart attack, and three months later there are…
1 min read
Load Testing Azure Applications with Apache JMeter
Deploy JMeter on Azure VMs for distributed testing: Run JMeter in containers for quick, scalable tests: Metric Description Target Response Time (avg)…
1 min read
Application Insights: Full-Stack Application Monitoring
Application Insights is essential for production observability.
1 min read
Azure DevOps Pipeline Templates: Reusable CI/CD
Templates transform pipeline chaos into maintainable, standardized CI/CD.
1 min read
GitHub Actions for Azure Deployments
Azure DevOps Pipelines was the obvious answer for years. GitHub Actions in 2020 changed that calculus — for any project where the source already lives on…
1 min read
Azure Blueprints: Repeatable Environment Templates
Blueprints ensure every environment starts from a known, compliant state.
1 min read
Azure Automation Runbooks for Cloud Operations
Every cloud team eventually accumulates a folder full of "scripts I run monthly" — clean up old resource groups, rotate certificates, scale down dev…
1 min read
Azure Monitor Alerts and Action Groups
Alerts should be actionable. If you can't do anything about it, it's noise.
1 min read
Azure DevOps YAML Pipelines for Data Projects
The Azure DevOps Classic editor is comfortable, and I've watched many teams resist moving away from it for that exact reason. Until they need to branch a…
1 min read
Terraform Azure Provider: Infrastructure as Code Basics
After several years of writing ARM templates, picking up Terraform felt like getting glasses for the first time. The same infrastructure-as-code idea, but…
8 min read
ACR Tasks: Build and Patch Container Images Inside the Registry
How ACR Tasks builds images inside Azure Container Registry, rebuilds them when base images change, and when a CI runner is still the better fit.
8 min read
Rolling, Blue-Green and Canary Deployments on AKS
How to choose between rolling updates, blue-green and canary releases on AKS, what each one actually guarantees, and when the extra machinery pays off.
8 min read
Multi-Stage YAML Pipelines in Azure DevOps: A Starting Skeleton
A practical multi-stage YAML pipeline for .NET Core 3.1 on Azure DevOps: build, test, environments, approvals, templates, and the traps to avoid.