George Ollis

Invoking a custom Web API in Azure AI Search for enrichment

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Hi everyone, I thought I would do another blog looking more closely at custom web APIs in Azure AI Search. We will not look at entirely securing them with authentication or anything like that, but I just wanted to show you how they work.

Custom web APIs can be used

Using the MCP extension in Azure Functions

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT

This blog will explore the use of the MCP extension in Azure Functions. I will show you how to do the following:

Create a simple MCP server that exposes a single tool called get_pet_details. This tool will take in properties such as petName and petType.
Run the MCP

Why Azure Container Apps Should Be Your Go‑To for Azure Functions

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Running Azure Functions in Azure Container Apps (ACA) gives you the best of both worlds: the simplicity of serverless with the flexibility of containers. It’s a powerful way to modernise workloads without losing what makes Functions special — rapid development, event‑driven execution, and effortless scaling.

Why

Consuming a Microsoft Foundry Agent programatically

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Hello everyone,

In this post, I’ll walk through how to create prompt-based agents in Microsoft Foundry, publish them, and then consume them via Python. This approach provides a straightforward way to build agents in Foundry, publish them, and receive an API endpoint in your Foundry resource that you

Skillsets in Azure AI Search

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT

First - thanks for coming to this blog. I've made a promise to myself that I'll start blogging each week again!

Many people use Azure AI Search for RAG-based applications – it’s the go-to option from Microsoft (while also supporting a range of other

Deploying applications on Azure Functions using Flex Consumption Plans

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

In this blog, I will walk you through deploying code to Azure Functions using the Azure CLI and the Flex Consumption plan. Previous plans for Azure Functions offered several different deployment options. However, deployments in the Flex Consumption plan follow a single path. After your project code is built and

Using managed private endpoints in Microsoft Foundry

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

In this blog, I will cover using private endpoints in Azure AI Foundry. At the time of this blog, you can only use a managed virtual network managed and provided by Microsoft.

This means that BYOVN (Bring your virtual network) is not supported. However, what can you do to connect

Using Azure Functions with PowerShell to query Azure SQL

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

(This blog has been in my drafts since 2022, but I thought it was worth posting!) - Yes, Azure Functions running PowerShell can query an Azure SQL database. This blog is not a production-ready implementation, but it covers the core areas of how you would do this.

Initially, an overview

Using VM applications and Azure Policy to deploy applications.

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Have you ever had an agent that needed to be installed on all virtual machines, and you wanted a way to do this automatically and the ability to view compliant and non-compliant resources? This is where you can use VM Applications and Azure Policy to achieve just that.

An excellent

Azure Virtual WAN - Understanding Bypass Next Hop IP for workloads within this VNet

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Have you used Azure Virtual WAN and noticed this setting? Bypass Next Hop IP for workloads within this VNet? What exactly does this mean? In this short blog, I thought I would go through what this means, how to test this configuration and why you may think about setting it

Routing traffic via an NVA in Azure Virtual WAN.

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Before we start this blog post, it's important to note that some customers may not require this since routing intent is now generally available (Link here: How to configure Virtual WAN Hub routing policies - Azure Virtual WAN | Microsoft Learn), but this could be a suggested solution if

What are Azure Policy Overrides?

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Before we start, I'd like to say that this functionaility is currently in public preview but is so powerful and helpful, especially when enforcing new policies across an environment. Azure Policy Overrides is pretty simple.

For example, I have a policy definition with a policy effect of deny.

Using Azure Bastion in Azure Virtual WAN

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

So you've deployed Azure Virtual WAN and want to start using Azure Bastion for remote management to virtual machines that are in connected virtual networks to the Azure VWAN.

You've got a virtual network appliance sitting in a separate virtual network; this peers directly with the

Looking at Azure Policy resource selectors

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

So I recently did some work with Azure Policy, and we had a requirement to use the same policy but target different resources. I could have created a custom policy and used the field type (Example: field equals "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts"). However, I wanted to avoid the overhead

Running commands on your virtual machines using VM extensions in Terraform

Wed, 24 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

A shorter blog post that explores using the custom script extension for both Windows and Linux Virtual machines in Terraform. It's slightly different for both operating systems so a blog post might be a good idea.

There's going to come to a point when you start

Creating a user licensing Azure Workbook using Azure Logic Apps and Log Analytics.

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Have you ever had a requirement to find out who has a particular license across an organisation? What about a quick view of user accounts that have been assigned licenses but are disabled? I've always found the built-in experience in the portal or running PowerShell scripts to extract licensing information

Testing out Azure Policies Modify Effect

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMT

This will be the first blog around Azure Policy. I'm hoping, but I don't promise to have a blog about all the policy effects Azure Policy can do and the best ways to run, deploy and configure the policies. In our first blog, we will examine the modify effect policy.

Understanding access in Log Analytics Workspaces

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Sometimes customers will ask how we control log access in their Log Analytics Workspaces and ensure that only the correct users can access the logs for their resources. This is especially important when considering having a shared workspace, where lots of logs are being ingested from many different departments and application teams.

What is Azure attribute-based access control?

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT

ABAC is an authorisation system that allows granular access based on attributes associated with security principles, resources, etc. Allowing access through attributes provides fine-grained access controls. ABAC is built on top of traditional RBAC within Azure. ABAC only works with storage accounts when writing this blog, which we will look

Testing out Cross-Region Azure Load Balancer

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT

My first blog about a load balancer. (It's been on my list for a while), Many blogs already cover basic and standard internal and external load balancers, so I don't want to cover those just yet, although I will blog about them at some point. Still, we will cover a

Exploring Defender for Key Vault

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Another blog about a Defender product in Microsoft Defender for Cloud - Have you ever looked at Defender for Key Vault and thought, what is it? Luckily, you've come across this blog (Or not so lucky). Let's first answer the questions about what it is - Defender for Key Vault

Using Microsoft Defender for DNS

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

I never understood Defender for DNS's usefulness before writing this blog. Microsoft Defender for DNS provides another layer of protection for resources that utilise Azure DNS's Azure-provided name resolution capability. The Defender for DNS service can monitor the queries from resources, detecting suspicious activities without requiring additional agents. It's beneficial

Migrate to Azure Files using Robocopy

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

This blog will be the first of a few about migrating from Windows server file shares to Azure Files. In this blog, we will be looking at using Robopy to achieve this migration. Many customers are looking to modernise their file shares in some way, whether moving them to the

Looking at Azure Network Watcher

Mon, 09 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Who doesn't like a tool that helps troubleshoot networking issues? Everyone wants a hand now and then, which is precisely what Network Watcher is about. Network watcher is just an umbrella term for multiple tools you can use. Note: I won't include legacy tools being deprecated in this blog. This

Investigating Service Endpoints

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

This blog will explore service endpoints, how they work, and why you may want to use them to protect your cloud resources. Another blog will be created to explore other ways of doing a similar functionality through private endpoints, but let's look at service endpoints. Service endpoints allow you to

Exploring Azure NAT Gateway

Sat, 24 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

This blog will explore Azure NAT Gateway. At a high level, Azure NAT gateway is a fully managed Network Address Translation (NAT) service. NAT gateway simplifies outbound Internet connectivity for virtual networks. Azure NAT Gateway has several benefits and is recommended by Microsoft for outbound connectivity. First, let's explore deploying

Azure Virtual Desktop GPU Licensing - NVv3 Series Overview

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

This short blog will cover important information about GPU licenses, specifically around VDI (Virtual desktop infrastructure) scenarios and some things to look out for. We will be exploring the NVv3-Series, a GPU-backed series used and recommended for Azure Virtual Desktop or other VDI solutions. NVv3-Series The NVv3-series virtual machines are

Azure Virtual Network Manager - Controlling virtual networks at scale

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

We are discussing Azure Virtual Network Manager (AVNM). It's a service that interests me. So, let's explore and see what it's all about. If you don't know what AVNM is, it is a central management service for your virtual network resources. You should be able to easily manage your virtual

Azure Policy - Looking at the DenyAction Effect

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

This blog will discuss the new Azure Policy effect currently in public preview called denyAction. I've only found out about this new effect from this YouTube video here that Microsoft posted. We don't have much information, and I can't find anything on Microsoft's official documents yet. Update: Microsoft has now

Exploring Workspace Data Transformations in Azure Monitor

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT

In a previous blog, we looked at using Data Transformation Rules with the Azure Monitor Agent; this blog can be viewed here: Exploring AMA Data Collection Transformations in Azure Monitor (georgeollis.com) However, how do we set up transformations for data that isn't ingested through an agent? That's where workspace

Azure VWAN routes, propagations and labels.

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT

This blog will go over Azure VWAN routing, propagations and labels. Our use case is simple, we have deployed Azure VWAN and one virtual hub. We have four spokes connecting to our hub. An overview can be found below. We want to ensure virtual machines in the blue virtual networks

Exploring AMA Data Collection Transformations in Azure Monitor

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT

This blog will look at the Data Collection Transformations you can do with Data Collection Rules (DCR) and why they may benefit you. Transformations allow you to filter or modify incoming data before it's sent to a Log Analytics workspace. There are several reasons why you might want to do

Microsoft Certified: Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT

This is a quick review and study guide for the AZ-120 (Microsoft Certified: Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty). If you want to take this exam, a short description can be found below, which summarises who this exam is intended for. Candidates for this certification should be architects or engineers with

Storing Bicep Modules in Azure Container Registry

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT

You can use Azure Container Registry (ACR) to create a private module repo to share modules within your organisation. You publish modules to that registry and give read access to users who need to deploy the modules. After the modules are shared in the registry, you can reference them from

Storing secrets for Azure Functions

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Do you want to store connection strings, secrets or sensitive information in a Function App and ensure it's only accessible to the application? This is where we can use Azure Key Vault and Key Vault references within the Functions Apps application settings. We see many customers who don't set this

Azure Data Engineer - Study Guide

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT

I recently passed the Azure Data Engineer exam. This quick blog reviews the exam and what material I used to pass it. The exam is all about data services within Azure, and a quick summary can be seen below: A candidate for the Azure Data Engineer Associate certification should have

Sending performance counters to Azure Monitor Metrics.

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Using the Azure Monitor Agent and configuring a data collection rule to send performance counters to Azure Monitor Metrics allows you to collect performance counters from the guest operating system that runs as part of a virtual machine. This allows counters to be directly sent to the Azure Monitor metrics

Testing private endpoint network policies

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT

We now have the ability to use NSGs and UDRs with Private Endpoints within an Azure Virtual Network. This feature has been requested over the last couple of years, and it's finally here! This blog is to demonstrate how this works with NSGs. The diagram below shows the currently running

Removing diagnostic settings at scale in Azure for Log Analytics Workspaces.

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Sometimes you may need to view all the diagnostic settings for your resources and where they are sending them. You may also have a requirement to remove these at scale. This blog will go over exactly this. Firstly you will need to open PowerShell; this can be done through the

Using Azure Route Server with P2S VPN Gateway

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Recently I had a customer who wanted to use Azure VPN Gateway for P2S connections for end-users which would allow them to access Azure resources through a VPN, but they also had a Cisco Meraki NVA in the hub virtual network that connected their Azure region to the head office