Category: Infrastructure
Azure Local | HomeLab – Migrate from Hyper-V
Reading Time: 13 minutesMigrating Hyper‑V virtual machines to Azure Local opens the door to a modern, hybrid infrastructure while preserving the flexibility of your existing environment. This post walks through the full migration journey—from preparing Azure Local and deploying the migration appliance to replicating and cutting over your workloads. Using Azure Migrate, the process becomes structured, predictable, and efficient, enabling you to transition Hyper‑V servers seamlessly into a resilient Azure Local cluster.
Azure Local | HomeLab – Windows Admin Center
Reading Time: 4 minutesDiscover how to integrate Windows Admin Center (WAC) within Azure to manage your Azure Local environment efficiently. This blog explains why WAC in Azure is a game-changer for hybrid management, outlines prerequisites, and provides a step-by-step guide to enable the feature. Learn best practices, permission requirements, and tips for troubleshooting, ensuring a smooth experience for your HomeLab or production setup.
Azure Local | Bicep – Marketplace Images
Reading Time: 2 minutesAzure Local makes VM deployment feel “cloud-like,” but there’s an important difference to remember: before you can deploy a virtual machine, the image must first be created and downloaded to your Azure Local instance as a VM image resource. That download step can take time, and doing it manually becomes painful when you run multiple…
Azure Local | Bicep – Logical Networks
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhen you deploy an Azure environment inside a complex enterprise landscape, the last thing you want is a build process that depends on manual steps, tribal knowledge, and someone remembering which portal blade contained the “one important checkbox.” In these scenarios, consistency is not a nice-to-have; it’s a prerequisite for reliability. Infrastructure as Code (IaC)…
Azure Local | Everything you need to know
Reading Time: 2 minutesAzure Local is designed to deliver the power of Microsoft Azure directly within your own data center. It combines the flexibility and scalability of the cloud with the control and compliance of on-premises infrastructure. By running Azure services locally, organizations can achieve low-latency performance, meet regulatory requirements, and maintain seamless integration with existing systems—all while leveraging the same tools and capabilities that make Azure a global leader in cloud computing.
Azure Local | HomeLab – Firewall requirements
Reading Time: 3 minutesAzure Local brings cloud services into your data center, but secure connectivity depends on proper firewall configuration. Internal rules must allow Active Directory, DNS, and NTP traffic, while external rules enable outbound HTTPS to Azure endpoints. Disable SSL inspection and use Azure service tags for dynamic updates. Planning these requirements ensures compliance, low latency, and seamless hybrid integration without compromising security.
Azure Local | HomeLab setup – Private Endpoints
Reading Time: 2 minutesSetting up Azure Local in a HomeLab offers a great hybrid experience, but it’s important to note that Private Endpoints are not fully supported. While Azure Local enables secure connectivity and local resource management, certain networking features like Private Endpoints remain limited. This means advanced isolation scenarios may require alternative approaches or future updates. Plan accordingly to ensure compatibility and maintain security in your HomeLab environment.
Azure Local | HomeLab setup – ARC Gateway
Reading Time: 7 minutesAzure Arc Gateway is a managed component that funnels Azure Connected Machine and Arc agent traffic through a centralized gateway, so on‑premises or edge machines only need to reach a small set of public endpoints rather than many Azure services directly. It’s designed for environments with strict egress controls, TLS inspection, or corporate proxies and…
Azure Local | Local Admin
Reading Time: 2 minutesIn Azure Local deployments, the default local administrator account is automatically renamed during setup to enhance security and reduce exposure to common attack vectors. This change aligns with best practices for privileged access management, ensuring that default credentials are never predictable. Administrators should document the new name securely and integrate it into compliance workflows to maintain operational continuity and meet organizational security standards.
Azure Local | HomeLab setup – Part III
Reading Time: 5 minutesBuilding an Azure Local cluster is the foundation for high availability and scalability in your hybrid environment. The process involves deploying multiple nodes, configuring networking, and enabling storage replication to ensure resilience. Once the cluster is formed, it provides a unified platform for running workloads locally while maintaining Azure integration. Proper planning of hardware, networking, and security ensures a smooth setup and optimal performance for enterprise-grade operations.
Azure Local | HomeLab setup – Part II
Reading Time: 6 minutesSetting up an Azure Local node in Hyper‑V lets you build a safe, repeatable lab for hybrid management. Create a Windows Server VM, enable nested virtualization, install Azure Stack HCI bits, and register the node. Then connect it to Azure Arc to gain centralized inventory, policy, monitoring, and extension management. With Arc, you govern the Hyper‑V–hosted node like any Azure resource—consistent tags, updates, and security at HomeLab scale and control.
Azure Local | HomeLab setup
Reading Time: 4 minutesBuilding a HomeLab with Hyper-V is a great way to explore virtualization and enterprise-grade technologies from the comfort of your home. This setup allows you to create virtual machines, test network configurations, and simulate production environments without expensive hardware. With Hyper-V’s flexibility and integration with Windows, enthusiasts and IT professionals can experiment, learn, and refine skills for real-world deployments in a secure, isolated environment.