A place to share the thoughts of a software engineer and architect working with C#, DevOps and Azure.https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/icons/icon-512x512.pnghttps://www.blueboxes.co.ukAstrohttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/setting-up-your-own-android-work-profile/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/setting-up-your-own-android-work-profile/Discover how to create a separate, easily managed work environment on your Android device—even if you're self-employed or outside a corporate setup—withSat, 24 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/top-10-azure-mistakes-and-pitfalls-to-avoid/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/top-10-azure-mistakes-and-pitfalls-to-avoid/Avoid these common pitfalls when working with Azure to ensure a smoother experience and better outcomes for your projects.Thu, 18 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/replacing-sendgrid-free-tier-with-azure-communication-services-for-emails-via-smtp/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/replacing-sendgrid-free-tier-with-azure-communication-services-for-emails-via-smtp/We look at how to replace SendGrid's free tier with Azure Communication Services.Wed, 06 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/navigating-running-containers-in-azure/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/navigating-running-containers-in-azure/There are so many ways to run containers in Azure. In this post we will look at the options and how to choose the right one for your needs.Wed, 21 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/exploring-container-sidecars-on-app-service-plans/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/exploring-container-sidecars-on-app-service-plans/In this post we take a look at the sidecar pattern and how it can be used with Azure App Service Plans. We will look at the history of sidecars on appWed, 23 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/migrating-aspnet-apps-on-azure-app-service-plans-from-windows-to-linux/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/migrating-aspnet-apps-on-azure-app-service-plans-from-windows-to-linux/Migrating Apps on Azure App Service Plans from Windows to Linux can save money and is generally straight forward with minimal code changes needed. In thisWed, 05 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/keeping-net-base-docker-images-updated-with-azure-container-registry/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/keeping-net-base-docker-images-updated-with-azure-container-registry/Keeping base images up to date is important to ensure that your applications are secure. In this post we cover how to keep your .NET base images up toWed, 26 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/demystifying-azure-with-10-commonly-confused-services/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/demystifying-azure-with-10-commonly-confused-services/In this post we cover the problem of confusing names and those services which offer nearly identical feature sets on the surface but do have some fundamentalWed, 15 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/reflections-on-2024/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/reflections-on-2024/A look back at 2024 and some of the highlights of the year.Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/32-more-links-and-resources-for-technical-teams-developers-managers-and-architects/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/32-more-links-and-resources-for-technical-teams-developers-managers-and-architects/Over the years I have collected a number of useful links that had been shared to me by colleagues, found on twitter, in newsletters or just while exploringWed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/festive-tech-calender-building-personalised-cloud-year-in-review-videos/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/festive-tech-calender-building-personalised-cloud-year-in-review-videos/An overview of the how to build a personalised Cloud Year in Review VideosWed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/gathering-usage-data-with-the-azure-usage-api/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/gathering-usage-data-with-the-azure-usage-api/This post looks at how to use the Azure Usage API to gather usage data for your Azure resources. A code sample will query the API for the last 12 monthsWed, 13 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/executing-azure-sql-database-queries-from-azure-devops-pipelines/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/executing-azure-sql-database-queries-from-azure-devops-pipelines/A quick guide on how to execute a SQL script against an Azure SQL Database from an Azure DevOps Pipeline using the AzurePowerShell task.Wed, 16 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/azure-container-registry-more-than-just-an-image-store/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/azure-container-registry-more-than-just-an-image-store/In this Azure Back to School post, we're going to take a look at the Azure Container Registry (ACR). In this post we will look deeper at its many featuresTue, 24 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/static-sites-on-azure-storage-vs-azure-static-web-apps/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/static-sites-on-azure-storage-vs-azure-static-web-apps/A comparison of Static Sites on Azure Storage vs Azure Static Web Apps services that both host webpage in an easy to use way.Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/going-beyond-azure-ai-text-to-speech-maximum-media-duration-of-10-minutes/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/going-beyond-azure-ai-text-to-speech-maximum-media-duration-of-10-minutes/In this post we look at how to go beyond the processed audio has exceeded the configured maximum media duration of 600000ms error message when using AzureWed, 17 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/app-service-web-app-for-containers-vs-azure-container-apps/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/app-service-web-app-for-containers-vs-azure-container-apps/A comparison of Azure App Service Plan Containers and Azure Container Apps, two Azure PaaS services that support containers.Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/create-soft-validation-of-pull-requests-in-azure-devops/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/create-soft-validation-of-pull-requests-in-azure-devops/Wed, 15 May 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/exploring-azure-storage-actions-for-blob-storage/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/exploring-azure-storage-actions-for-blob-storage/Azure Storage Actions are in public preview and allow for much more complex automation of tasks on your blobs in Azure Storage. In this post, we take aWed, 10 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/managing-your-azure-resources-with-deployment-stacks/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/managing-your-azure-resources-with-deployment-stacks/Deployment stacks are a new feature of Azure that we can attach resources to. These offer a range of unique abilities to help us better manage our resourcesMon, 04 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/azure-metrics-in-teams-with-azure-functions-and-adaptive-card-tables/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/azure-metrics-in-teams-with-azure-functions-and-adaptive-card-tables/Azure has many useful metrics, and we can set up email alerts but it can be easy for these to get lots. In this article, I will show you how to createWed, 14 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/connecting-azure-to-azure-devops-with-federated-credentials-and-service-connections/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/connecting-azure-to-azure-devops-with-federated-credentials-and-service-connections/We will look at how to connect Azure to Azure DevOps using Federation Credentials, Service Connections, and Managed Identities using both manual and automaticWed, 24 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/reflections-on-2023/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/reflections-on-2023/As we come to the end of another year, lets look back at the highlights and reflect on the year. Although this post focuses on my personal achievementsSat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/creating-command-line-azure-devops-pull-requests/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/creating-command-line-azure-devops-pull-requests/In this post we look at how we can create Azure DevOps pull requests from the command line using the azure devops CLI and some powershell.Wed, 20 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/festive-tech-calender-building-a-word-search-in-c/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/festive-tech-calender-building-a-word-search-in-c/An overview of the BlueBoxes.WordSearchBuilder Nuget package and how to use it to build a word search.Mon, 11 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/chrome-browser-extensions-for-azure-and-azure-devops/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/chrome-browser-extensions-for-azure-and-azure-devops/An overview of a few chrome extensions built for use with Azure DevOps and Azure.Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/a-replatforming-journey-from-gatsby-to-astro/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/a-replatforming-journey-from-gatsby-to-astro/A reflection on the journey, and the decisions I made along the way, and the kind of decisions I take on nearly every project.Wed, 01 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/deploying-an-astro-website-to-azure-static-web-apps/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/deploying-an-astro-website-to-azure-static-web-apps/In this post we cover how to deploy an Astro website to Azure Static Web Apps. We cover how to create the site using the VS Code extension and the AzureTue, 10 Oct 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/a-beginners-guide-to-getting-started-with-the-kusto-query-language-in-azure/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/a-beginners-guide-to-getting-started-with-the-kusto-query-language-in-azure/This post introduces the Kusto Query Language (KQL), a powerful tool used across Azure services for data diagnostics and analysis. It highlights KQL’sMon, 11 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/controlling-azure-devops-pipelines-through-teams-integration-and-manual-intervention-steps/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/controlling-azure-devops-pipelines-through-teams-integration-and-manual-intervention-steps/In this post we have looked at how we can create a manual intervention step in Azure DevOps that prompts you in Microsoft teams. This is a great way toTue, 15 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/exploring-the-new-preview-features-in-azure-container-registry/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/exploring-the-new-preview-features-in-azure-container-registry/A quick look at some of the latest preview features in Azure Container Registry (ACR) and their key benefits.Tue, 18 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/automating-custom-vm-image-creation-with-azure-image-builder-and-azure-devops/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/automating-custom-vm-image-creation-with-azure-image-builder-and-azure-devops/In this post we will look at how we can automate the creation of a custom virtual machine image using Azure Image Builder and Azure DevOps.Tue, 27 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/3-ways-to-export-metrics-from-azure-for-unlimited-retention/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/3-ways-to-export-metrics-from-azure-for-unlimited-retention/There are many options for exporting our metrics data. In this post we talked about what Azure metrics are, before looking at three alternative ways ofTue, 16 May 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/enhancing-accessibility-building-a-read-this-page-feature-with-azure-speech-service-and-c/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/enhancing-accessibility-building-a-read-this-page-feature-with-azure-speech-service-and-c/In this post we have seen how we can quickly use the Azure Speech Service and it's C# SDK to take the text files that make up this blog and generate MP3Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/maximizing-data-protection-across-azure-with-soft-delete-and-why-you-should-consider-it/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/maximizing-data-protection-across-azure-with-soft-delete-and-why-you-should-consider-it/Soft delete is a very useful feature giving us the reassurance that if something is deleted it can be un-deleted again. Adding purge protection where availableThu, 16 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/putting-your-application-to-the-test-with-azure-load-test/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/putting-your-application-to-the-test-with-azure-load-test/Putting an application under stress and comparing the results to previous tests can be useful to ensure that new features and additions do not have a negativeTue, 28 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/how-to-use-azure-management-apis-in-c-with-azureidentity/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/how-to-use-azure-management-apis-in-c-with-azureidentity/Azure offers a wide range of management APIs to automate a range of actions that can be performed in the Azure portal. These include things like stoppingSun, 15 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/reflections-on-2022/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/reflections-on-2022/As we come to the end of another year, lets look back at the highlights and reflect on the year. Although this post focuses on my personal achievementsFri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/festive-tech-calender-building-a-festive-poll-with-signalr/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/festive-tech-calender-building-a-festive-poll-with-signalr/This year for the Festive Tech Calender I have created a christmas themed poll sample that is updated in real time using serverless SignalR, Azure functionsTue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/my-top-10-visual-studio-code-extensions-for-2022/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/my-top-10-visual-studio-code-extensions-for-2022/One of the best features of VS Code is the ability to extend it through the use of extensions. In this post we covered my current favorite extensions.Sat, 26 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/how-to-build-a-url-shorter-with-c-minimal-apis-and-azure/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/how-to-build-a-url-shorter-with-c-minimal-apis-and-azure/For some time now I have wanted to create a URL shortener of my own, and although there are many third-party services that offer this there's an appealTue, 18 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/azure-blob-storage-and-life-cycle-management/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/azure-blob-storage-and-life-cycle-management/During the month of September, the Azure Back to School community event showcases a large number of Azure related videos and blog posts from communityFri, 23 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/prompting-developers-to-install-recommended-azure-tools/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/prompting-developers-to-install-recommended-azure-tools/Discovering which prerequisite add-ons are needed for a project, then finding them online before installing them can be time consuming and frustrating.Thu, 11 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/reading-google-calendar-events-in-an-azure-function/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/reading-google-calendar-events-in-an-azure-function/I recently had the need to look at how to read Google Calendar events from inside an Azure function, however it's not been as straight forward as I initiallyThu, 28 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/creating-scheduled-reports-from-azure-devops-with-azure-logic-apps/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/creating-scheduled-reports-from-azure-devops-with-azure-logic-apps/Azure DevOps has many features; however it is missing the functionality to send scheduled reports from DevOps. We can fill this gap and others using anMon, 27 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/an-introduction-to-running-and-deploying-backstage-on-azure/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/an-introduction-to-running-and-deploying-backstage-on-azure/For the last few months, I've had the opportunity to configure and use Backstage with Azure. In this post we will cover what Backstage is, how we can useTue, 24 May 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/two-approaches-of-dynamically-generating-images-with-azure-functions/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/two-approaches-of-dynamically-generating-images-with-azure-functions/I recently started looking into how to generate images using JavaScript Azure functions on a consumption plan. This is something that until recently hasSat, 23 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/51-links-and-resources-for-technical-teams-developers-managers-and-architects/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/51-links-and-resources-for-technical-teams-developers-managers-and-architects/Over the years I have collected a number of useful links that had been shared to me by colleagues, found on twitter, in newsletters or just while exploringSun, 03 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/how-to-separate-production-test-and-development-resources-in-azure/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/how-to-separate-production-test-and-development-resources-in-azure/When following the best practice of least privilege access, separating our production from our development and test resources is essential. Azure is veryMon, 14 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/tips-on-reading-code-what-i-learnt-from-reading-code-in-24-languages/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/tips-on-reading-code-what-i-learnt-from-reading-code-in-24-languages/Code is everywhere and as software engineers, QAs and Operations teams we are likely to read more code than we write. Over recent years that has only increasedWed, 16 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/reading-and-parsing-inbound-emails-with-sendgrid-and-azure-logic-apps/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/reading-and-parsing-inbound-emails-with-sendgrid-and-azure-logic-apps/Emails are a really important part of the workplace and while sending emails is common in code, the ability to read incoming emails in Azure is not asSat, 22 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/looking-back-on-2021/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/looking-back-on-2021/In the last year I decided to share my learnings more publicly. What had started out as a simple idea has led to meeting new people and inspired me toThu, 06 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/templating-html-emails-in-azure-functions/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/templating-html-emails-in-azure-functions/Sending emails in Azure Functions is relatively straightforward using the SendGrid output binding. There is even a visual studio SendGrid template connectingMon, 06 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/breaking-up-monolithic-websites-with-azure/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/breaking-up-monolithic-websites-with-azure/I recently presented on the topic of Breaking up Monolithic Websites with Azure and I thought it also worth sharing as a blog post. If you would like toSun, 28 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/the-exam-journey-to-microsoft-certified-azure-solution-architect/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/the-exam-journey-to-microsoft-certified-azure-solution-architect/Many years ago I completed two Microsoft developer exams, however, since those early years in my career I ignored the certification program. At the endWed, 27 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/manual-intervention-steps-in-azure-logic-apps-with-ms-teams/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/manual-intervention-steps-in-azure-logic-apps-with-ms-teams/In this post we will run through a demo of an Azure logic app looking first at a simple plain text integration then at a richer solution using adaptiveSun, 05 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/how-to-create-azure-resource-graph-explorer-scheduled-reports-and-email-alerts/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/how-to-create-azure-resource-graph-explorer-scheduled-reports-and-email-alerts/Azure Resource Graph Explorer is a powerful tool for querying resources in Azure. In this post we will look at how to create scheduled reports and emailSun, 15 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/getting-started-with-serverless-signalr-and-azure-functions/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/getting-started-with-serverless-signalr-and-azure-functions/SignalR is a technology that allows for real-time communication between a server and a client. In this post we will look at how to get started with SignalRWed, 28 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/keeping-up-to-date-on-azure-with-ms-teams/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/keeping-up-to-date-on-azure-with-ms-teams/With hundreds of services in Azure across many data centres it can be hard to keep up when items are introduced or updated. In this post I wanted to shareFri, 09 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/6-sample-sql-databases-for-your-next-azure-project/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/6-sample-sql-databases-for-your-next-azure-project/Sample datasets are useful for many things, from quick proof of concepts to technical demos, however when you start searching for one to use on Azure itWed, 30 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/building-a-ms-teams-status-cube-with-the-graph-api-presence-subscriptions/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/building-a-ms-teams-status-cube-with-the-graph-api-presence-subscriptions/Microsoft teams displays a small icon to show if you are busy, available, away and other statuses. Using the Microsoft Graph API we can be notified whenFri, 14 May 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/extending-the-gatsby-novela-blog-theme/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/extending-the-gatsby-novela-blog-theme/The Novela theme by narative is a great starting point for any Gatsby blog. Using component shadowing and a number of NPM packages it was easy to extendTue, 27 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/azure-custom-roles-following-least-privilege-best-practices/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/azure-custom-roles-following-least-privilege-best-practices/Azure permissions are controlled through Role Based Access Control (RBAC) that can be applied at many levels through the use of users, groups and roles.Wed, 24 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/working-with-tags-in-azure-resource-graph-explorer/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/working-with-tags-in-azure-resource-graph-explorer/Azure Resource Graph Explorer is a powerful tool for querying resources in Azure. In this post we will look at how to work with tags in queries.Sun, 28 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/an-introduction-to-azure-static-webapps/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/an-introduction-to-azure-static-webapps/Azure Static Web Apps add first class support for modern, fast and responsive websites inside the Azure portal. The integration allows you to create andTue, 09 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/oauth-device-flow-for-iot-with-the-microsoft-graph-api/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/oauth-device-flow-for-iot-with-the-microsoft-graph-api/Device code flow is a flow for browserless and input constrained devices that can be used by your applications on IoT devicesThu, 28 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/project-teams-to-product-teams-with-team-topologies/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/project-teams-to-product-teams-with-team-topologies/As our department grew both in numbers of engineers and in products owned there was a need to revisit this structure, to reduce cognitive load and increaseFri, 10 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/the-inevitability-of-bugs-and-the-need-for-error-codes/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/the-inevitability-of-bugs-and-the-need-for-error-codes/It seems like an inevitability that with modern software comes bugs, errors and unexpected features.Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/random-learnings-from-entering-js13k-games-2019/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/random-learnings-from-entering-js13k-games-2019/The JS13K Games is an annual, coding competition to create a web-based game with a size of only 13k.Sun, 29 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.blueboxes.co.uk/silverlight-and-xaml-legacy/https://www.blueboxes.co.uk/silverlight-and-xaml-legacy/Back in 2009 I wrote a series of Silverlight blog posts this is a download of them.Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT