Windows on Martijn's Notes

Azure DevOps — Part 2: Your First YAML Pipeline

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 19:01:00 +0200

In part 1 the azure-pipelines.yml was merged into the main branch via a Pull Request. In this second part we attach that YAML to a pipeline and run it on a Microsoft-hosted Windows agent in the cloud.

The Pipelines section

The Pipelines section in the sidebar contains more items than Repos:

Pipelines — the CI pipelines (build)
Environments — deployment targets such as acceptance and production
Releases — the classic visual release pipelines (older system, being replaced by multi-stage YAML)
Library — variable groups and secure files
Task groups — reusable task blocks that can be shared across multiple pipelines
Deployment groups — self-hosted agents grouped per environment

On a new project the Pipelines list is empty.

Azure DevOps — Part 1: Repos, Branches, Policies and Pull Requests

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 19:00:00 +0200

Azure DevOps is Microsoft’s platform for managing the complete software delivery chain: version control, CI/CD pipelines, project planning, package feeds and documentation. In this first part of the series we build the foundation: a Git repository, branch protection and the Pull Request workflow.

Setup: organisation and project

After logging in to dev.azure.com the mvdboom organisation is visible with one existing project.

Windows Server 2022 — Active Directory and DNS Installation

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

This article describes step by step how I installed Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and DNS on a Windows Server 2022 Datacenter VM in a VMware Fusion lab environment. The result is a fully functional domain controller for the domain lab.local, serving as the foundation for a Windows DevOps lab.

Environment

Component	Value
Virtualization	VMware Fusion (macOS)
Guest OS	Windows Server 2022 Datacenter (Desktop Experience)
Hostname	DC01
Domain name	lab.local
NetBIOS name	LAB
Lab network adapter	Ethernet1 — 172.16.37.10 (static IP)
Internet adapter	Ethernet0 — DHCP via VMware NAT

Step 1 — Configure Networking

Before installing Active Directory, the domain controller needs a static IP address. AD DS and DNS depend on a stable address.

Windows Packet Capturing for LDAPS Analysis

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 20:19:01 +0100

Troubleshooting LDAPS Connectivity: Using Built-in Windows Tools to Audit Firewall Compliance As organizations move toward more secure infrastructure, migrating from standard LDAP (Port 389) to LDAPS (Port 636) is a critical step. However, this transition often reveals “silent” failures where a network firewall might allow the initial connection but block the subsequent SSL/TLS handshake.

At Van den Boom Online, we understand that a smooth user experience starts with a robust backend. In this guide, we’ll show you how to perform packet capturing using only built-in Windows tools to verify if your traffic is reaching its destination or being dropped by security appliances.