ACI | Cloud and Datacenter Management Blog

Windows Admin Center

Windows Admin Center runs in a web browser and can manage :

Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows 11, Windows 10
Azure Stack HCI
Clusters
Containers; Docker, Kubernetes, AKS
Azure Virtual Servers, Azure integration via extensions like Azure Monitoring, Azure Security, and much more….
Lot of extensions to manage for example third party solutions.

This goes with the locally Windows Admin Center gateway installed on Windows Server or domain-joined Windows 10 /11.

Windows Admin Center Architecture.

Here you find more information about the Install options of Windows Admin Center

I’m working with Windows Admin Center every day to manage our datacenter and to mange my MVP LAB. When you have to install Windows Server Core
or Microsoft Azure Stack HCI Operating system, then Windows Admin Center is the right tool for you as an Administrator. You can use all the Server Manager tools via WAC
and you don’t have to work with Command-line tools only like CMD and PowerShell.

You can download Microsoft Windows Admin Center here

Installing Docker Host on Windows Server 2022

In my MVP LAB I have a Microsoft Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Edition Hyper-V Host, and I like to make a Docker Host Server for my Containers.
With Windows Admin Center it’s easy to roll out a Docker host Server for your Containers.
In the following steps I will Install a Docker Host Server on Windows Server 2022.

Open Windows Admin Center and connect to your Server.

I Have Container Extension installed version 1.150.0

Click on Containers and Click on Install
Windows Admin Center will Restart your Server for the Docker Installation!

Hang on while Docker Host will be Installed on Windows Server 2022.

Docker Host Installed Successfully.

Docker Host Container Overview Screen on Windows Server 2022.

From here you can Pull containers images to the Docker Host.
This is what I did but…..

Instead of pulling a Container Image you can also Create your Own Container Image.

Here I’m Pulling a ASP.NET Container Image from Microsoft.

Pulled Container Image Successfully.

The ASP.NET Container Image is now Available on the Docker Host.

Select the Container Image and Click on Run.

Give the Docker Container a name.
You can Manage the ports,
Hyper-V Isolation,
Memory,
CPU
And add addition Docker Run options,
Click on Run.

The ASP.NET Docker Container is running on Windows Server 2022.

When you Click on the running Container you will get options like :
Stats, Details, Logs, Console and Events.
When you Click on Console you will go remote by PowerShell to the Docker Host.

Here you got all the Docker commands 😉

And of course when you want to develop Containers as a developer you can use Microsoft Visual Studio Code as well.

The ASP.NET Container in VSCode.
Download Microsoft Visual Studio Code here

(I’m using Visual Studio Code Insiders version in my MVP LAB)

Microsoft Azure Container Instances

Containers are becoming the preferred way to package, deploy, and manage cloud applications. Azure Container Instances offers the fastest and simplest way to run a container in Azure, without having to manage any virtual machines and without having to adopt a higher-level service.

Azure Container Instances is a great solution for any scenario that can operate in isolated containers, including simple applications, task automation, and build jobs. For scenarios where you need full container orchestration, including service discovery across multiple containers, automatic scaling, and coordinated application upgrades, we recommend Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).

For my MVP LAB Azure Container Instances (ACI) is a great way to run Containers fast in the Cloud and have a overview with Windows Admin Center for :

Here you have a overview of your Azure Container Instances in Windows Admin Center.

In the following steps I will create an Azure Container Instance via the Microsoft Azure Portal and show it in Windows Admin Center. For this you need to integrate Windows Admin Center with your Microsoft Azure Subscription. This you can do in settings of WAC:

Register your Azure Subscription with Windows Admin Center for Hybrid Benefit.
Here you find more information about Azure integration with Windows Admin Center

When you have your Azure Account active in Windows Admin Center, go to the Microsoft Azure Portal and search for Container instances.

Click on Create Container Instances

Here you set the basics of your Azure Container Instance

Here you set the following items for your Azure Container Instance (ACI) :

Select your Azure Subscription which is integrated with your Microsoft Windows Admin Center.
Select or Create the Resource Group for your Azure Container Instance.
Give your Container a name.
Select the Region in Microsoft Azure where you want your Azure Container Instance to run.
Availability zones to select.
Select your Image Source, I selected Quickstart images of Microsoft, but you can also select your own Container image.
Then select the size for vcpu, memory, gpus for your Azure Container Instance application.

Click on Next for Networking.

I Selected Public for testing but here you can select private too
with your own DNS name Label with the
right ports and protocols.

At Advanced settings you can configure additional container properties and variables

here you can TAG the Owner of the Azure Container Instance.
Click on Review + Create.

Now you can Click Create or Download the template for Automation.

Have a look at the Options here what you can do with the Template from here.

Microsoft Azure Container Instance is Deployed and running.

Nginx Container Instance is running on Azure.

Now we have the Microsoft Azure Container Instance with Nginx running in the Cloud, we can see that in Windows Admin Center.

Azure Container Instance in Windows Admin Center in running state.
When you don’t need it anymore you can end it here or in the Azure Portal.

Azure Container Instance is stopped by Windows Admin Center.

Run your Own Azure Container Instances from the ACR via
Windows Admin Center.

Manage Kubernetes Clusters and Containers with Windows Admin Center

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) on Azure Stack HCI is an on-premises implementation of Azure Kubernetes Service, which automates running containerized applications at scale. Azure Kubernetes Service is available on Azure Stack HCI, Windows Server 2019 Datacenter, and Windows Server 2022 Datacenter, making it quicker to get started hosting Linux and Windows containers in your datacenter. This is the High Available Container Solution on-premises from Microsoft, where you can run Containers and microservices in a isolated way in your datacenter with your DevOps Team. But you can also make your Azure Stack HCI Cluster hybrid with Azure integration and Azure Arc Services to benefit of Azure Hybrid Services.

Setup AKS on Azure Stack HCI with Windows Admin Center

Create your Own locally Azure Stack HCI Cluster with Azure Kubernetes Services

Conclusion

Microsoft product team of Windows Admin Center | Windows Server | Azure Stack HCI are working hard to make the Windows Admin Center Tool better and better to install and manage Container / microservices solutions. With Microsoft Azure extensions in Windows Admin Center and Azure Arc Services, Microsoft features from the Azure Cloud becomes available for your Containers like Azure Defender for Cloud with Container Insights, Azure Monitor, Azure App Services and much more.
Windows Admin Center is a Great Server Manager tool for your Windows Servers in your Datacenter. Especially when you use Windows Server Core or Azure Stack HCI.

Important:

Some features in Windows Admin Center are preview and not production ready yet, like ACR and ACI Integration I just showed in preview.
Please feel free to provide Microsoft feedback on Windows Admin Center here.

JOIN Windows Admin Center Community Group on LinkedIn

Microsoft Azure Container Instances

Containers are quickly becoming the preferred way to package, deploy, and manage cloud applications. Azure Container Instances offers the fastest and simplest way to run a container in Azure, without having to provision any virtual machines and without having to adopt a higher-level service. Azure Container Instances is a great solution for any scenario that can operate in isolated containers, including simple applications, task automation, and build jobs. For scenarios where you need full container orchestration, including service discovery across multiple containers, automatic scaling, and coordinated application upgrades, I recommend the Azure Container Service.

Here you see a quick example of making a Microsoft Azure Container Instance :

You can create an Microsoft Azure Container Instance with the Azure Portal or with Azure Cloud Shell (CLI 2.0)

From the Azure portal, you will create the Azure Container Instance Name, Container Image, Resource Group and Location.
For this quick example I used the public Docker HUB Image WordPress ( https://hub.docker.com/r/library/wordpress/)

Here you set the configuration of the Azure Container Instance, like how many Cores and Memory for the Container.
and Public IP Address yes or no with the port settings.

When you are almost finished in 3 steps, don’t hit OK but have a look at Download Template and Parameters first.

From here you can :

Download the Template for making Automation deployment scripts.
Save the template to the Library
And Deploy the script button.

Also have a look here !

It’s really powerful to work with Azure Resource Management Templates.

Deploying the Azure Container Instance with WordPress

Done, just click here to see the running Container Instance

When you go to the IP-Address of the Azure Container Instance with your browser, you will see the WordPress site config.

Of course you can do this installation also from the Azure Cloud Shell :

Here you find an Overview of Microsoft Azure Cloud Shell and the Activation

Azure Cloud Shell is a browser-based shell experience to manage and develop Azure resources. Cloud Shell offers a browser-accessible, pre-configured shell experience for managing Azure resources without the overhead of installing, versioning, and maintaining a machine yourself. Cloud Shell provisions machines on a per-request basis and as a result machine state will not persist across sessions. Since Cloud Shell is built for interactive sessions, shells automatically terminate after 20 minutes of shell inactivity.

Bash in Cloud Shell

Tools

Category	Name
Linux shell interpreter	Bash sh
Azure tools	Azure CLI 2.0 and 1.0 AzCopy Batch Shipyard
Text editors	vim nano emacs
Source control	git
Build tools	make maven npm pip
Containers	Docker CLI/Docker Machine Kubectl Draft DC/OS CLI
Databases	MySQL client PostgreSql client sqlcmd Utility mssql-scripter
Other	iPython Client Cloud Foundry CLI

Language support

Language	Version
.NET	1.01
Go	1.7
Java	1.8
Node.js	6.9.4
Python	2.7 and 3.5 (default)

Secure automatic authentication

Cloud Shell securely and automatically authenticates account access for the Azure CLI 2.0.

Azure Files persistence

Since Cloud Shell is allocated on a per-request basis using a temporary machine, files outside of your $Home and machine state are not persisted across sessions. To persist files across sessions, Cloud Shell walks you through attaching an Azure file share on first launch. Once completed Cloud Shell will automatically attach your storage for all future sessions.

Learn more about attaching Azure file shares to Cloud Shell.

Here you see in Azure Cloud Shell the Azure Container Instance (ACI)