diff --git a/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/03_Hybrid_Azure_Arc_Kubernetes/walkthrough/challenge-04/solution.md b/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/03_Hybrid_Azure_Arc_Kubernetes/walkthrough/challenge-04/solution.md
index a08bd72f3..5dbb3c3fe 100644
--- a/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/03_Hybrid_Azure_Arc_Kubernetes/walkthrough/challenge-04/solution.md
+++ b/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/03_Hybrid_Azure_Arc_Kubernetes/walkthrough/challenge-04/solution.md
@@ -24,23 +24,25 @@ The deployment uses ARM templates as this is the most robust way for deployment
 # Get current user's number (e.g., LabUser-37@... or hackuser-067@... -> 37 or 67)
 export azure_user=$(az account show --query user.name --output tsv)
 export user_number=$(echo "$azure_user" | cut -d'@' -f1 | sed -E -n 's/.*[^0-9]([0-9]+)$/\1/p' | sed 's/^0*//')
-export subscription_id=$(az account show --query id -o tsv)
 export resource_group="$user_number-k8s-arc"
+export connected_cluster_name="$user_number-k8s-arc-enabled"
+export extension_name="$user_number-arc-data-controller-ext"
+export namespace="$user_number-arc-data-controller"
+export custom_location_name="$user_number-arc-data-controller"
+export data_controller_name="$user_number-dc"
 
 # Get Log Analytics workspace details
 export log_analytics_workspace_id=$(az monitor log-analytics workspace show -g $resource_group -n "$user_number-law" --query customerId -o tsv)
 export log_analytics_primary_key=$(az monitor log-analytics workspace get-shared-keys -g $resource_group -n "$user_number-law" --query primarySharedKey -o tsv)
 
-# Generate new GUIDs for role assignments
-export guid1=$(uuidgen)
-export guid2=$(uuidgen)
-
 echo "Your values:"
-echo "USER_NUMBER: $user_number"
-echo "SUBSCRIPTION_ID: $subscription_id"
+echo "RESOURCE_GROUP: $resource_group"
+echo "CONNECTED_CLUSTER_NAME: $connected_cluster_name"
+echo "EXTENSION_NAME: $extension_name"
+echo "NAMESPACE: $namespace"
+echo "CUSTOM_LOCATION_NAME: $custom_location_name"
+echo "DATA_CONTROLLER_NAME: $data_controller_name"
 echo "LOG_ANALYTICS_WORKSPACE_ID: $log_analytics_workspace_id"
-echo "GUID 1: $guid1"
-echo "GUID 2: $guid2"
 ```
 
 ### Step 2: Update parameters.json
@@ -59,21 +61,25 @@ cp parameters.json parameters-my.json
 # Note: Escape special sed characters in the primary key to handle any potential delimiters
 escaped_key=$(printf '%s\n' "$log_analytics_primary_key" | sed 's/[\/&]/\\&/g')
 
-sed -i "s/<USER_NUMBER>/$user_number/g" parameters-my.json
-sed -i "s/<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>/$subscription_id/g" parameters-my.json
+sed -i "s/<CONNECTED_CLUSTER_NAME>/$connected_cluster_name/g" parameters-my.json
+sed -i "s/<EXTENSION_NAME>/$extension_name/g" parameters-my.json
+sed -i "s/<NAMESPACE>/$namespace/g" parameters-my.json
+sed -i "s/<CUSTOM_LOCATION_NAME>/$custom_location_name/g" parameters-my.json
+sed -i "s/<DATA_CONTROLLER_NAME>/$data_controller_name/g" parameters-my.json
 sed -i "s/<LOG_ANALYTICS_WORKSPACE_ID>/$log_analytics_workspace_id/g" parameters-my.json
 sed -i "s/<LOG_ANALYTICS_PRIMARY_KEY>/$escaped_key/g" parameters-my.json
-sed -i "s/<GENERATE_GUID_1>/$guid1/g" parameters-my.json
-sed -i "s/<GENERATE_GUID_2>/$guid2/g" parameters-my.json
+sed -i "s/<DC_DASHBOARD_USERNAME>/mhadmin/g" parameters-my.json
 
 # Alternative: manual replacement
 # Edit parameters-my.json and replace:
-#   <USER_NUMBER> with your user number
-#   <SUBSCRIPTION_ID> with your subscription ID
+#   <CONNECTED_CLUSTER_NAME> with the name of your arc-enabled connected cluster
+#   <EXTENSION_NAME> with the desired extension name
+#   <NAMESPACE> with the Kubernetes namespace for arc data services
+#   <CUSTOM_LOCATION_NAME> with the custom location name
+#   <DATA_CONTROLLER_NAME> with the desired data controller name
 #   <LOG_ANALYTICS_WORKSPACE_ID> with workspace ID
 #   <LOG_ANALYTICS_PRIMARY_KEY> with workspace key
-#   <GENERATE_GUID_1> with first new GUID (use 'uuidgen' command)
-#   <GENERATE_GUID_2> with second new GUID (use 'uuidgen' command again)
+#   <DC_DASHBOARD_USERNAME> with the desired dashboard username (e.g., mhadmin)
 ```
 
 ### Step 3: Deploy the Arc Data Controller
@@ -121,13 +127,12 @@ az deployment operation group list \
 ```bash
 # Set SQL MI name (must start with a letter for Kubernetes naming rules)
 export sqlmi_name="sqlmi-${user_number}-1"
-export custom_location="${user_number}-onprem"
 
 # Create SQL MI (you'll be prompted for sql admin user and password)
 az sql mi-arc create \
   --name $sqlmi_name \
   --resource-group $resource_group \
-  --custom-location $custom_location \
+  --custom-location $custom_location_name \
   --cores-request 1 \
   --memory-request 3Gi
 ```
@@ -139,7 +144,7 @@ The creation takes 5-10 minutes. Monitor progress:
 az sql mi-arc show --name $sqlmi_name --resource-group $resource_group --query "properties.k8sRaw.status.state" -o tsv
 
 # Check pods in the namespace
-kubectl get pods -n ${user_number}-onprem -l app.kubernetes.io/name=$sqlmi_name
+kubectl get pods -n $namespace -l app.kubernetes.io/name=$sqlmi_name
 ```
 
 ## Task 3 - Connect to your SQL Managed Instance
@@ -155,7 +160,7 @@ kubectl get pods -n ${user_number}-onprem -l app.kubernetes.io/name=$sqlmi_name
 master_ip=$(az vm list-ip-addresses --resource-group "${user_number}-k8s-onprem" --name "${user_number}-k8s-master" --query "[0].virtualMachine.network.privateIpAddresses[0]" --output tsv)
 
 # Get the NodePort assigned to SQL MI
-node_port=$(kubectl get svc ${sqlmi_name}-external-svc -n ${user_number}-onprem -o jsonpath='{.spec.ports[0].nodePort}')
+node_port=$(kubectl get svc ${sqlmi_name}-external-svc -n $namespace -o jsonpath='{.spec.ports[0].nodePort}')
 
 echo "Connection details:"
 echo "Server: $master_ip,$node_port"
@@ -179,7 +184,7 @@ echo "Server=$master_ip,$node_port;Database=master;User Id=sa;Password=<your-pas
 #### 3. Enter connection details:
 **💡Note: In this lab we are using the public ip to connect to the service.**
    - **Input type**: Parameters
-   - **Server:** `<Public-IP-Master-Node>,<NODE_PORT>` (e.g., `20.123.45.67,31433`, optionally, use the following command: ```echo "$master_ip,$(kubectl get svc ${sqlmi_name}-external-svc -n ${custom_location} -o jsonpath='{.spec.ports[0].nodePort}')"```
+   - **Server:** `<Public-IP-Master-Node>,<NODE_PORT>` (e.g., `20.123.45.67,31433`, optionally, use the following command: ```echo "$master_ip,$(kubectl get svc ${sqlmi_name}-external-svc -n $namespace -o jsonpath='{.spec.ports[0].nodePort}')"```
    - **Trust Server Certificate:** Yes
    - **Authentication Type:** SQL Login
    - **User name:** (the admin account you entered during SQL MI creation)
diff --git a/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/03_Hybrid_Azure_Arc_Kubernetes/walkthrough/challenge-04/templates/parameters.json b/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/03_Hybrid_Azure_Arc_Kubernetes/walkthrough/challenge-04/templates/parameters.json
index 07a78606a..91a0e0d89 100644
--- a/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/03_Hybrid_Azure_Arc_Kubernetes/walkthrough/challenge-04/templates/parameters.json
+++ b/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/03_Hybrid_Azure_Arc_Kubernetes/walkthrough/challenge-04/templates/parameters.json
@@ -2,46 +2,23 @@
     "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentParameters.json#",
     "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
     "parameters": {
-        "parentResource": {
-            "value": "Microsoft.Kubernetes/connectedClusters/<USER_NUMBER>-k8s-arc-enabled"
+        "connectedClusterName": {
+            "value": "<CONNECTED_CLUSTER_NAME>"
         },
         "k8sExtensionName": {
-            "value": "<USER_NUMBER>-onprem-ext"
+            "value": "<EXTENSION_NAME>"
         },
         "namespace": {
-            "value": "<USER_NUMBER>-onprem"
+            "value": "<NAMESPACE>"
         },
         "location": {
             "value": "westeurope"
         },
-        "roleDefinitionId_Contributor": {
-            "value": "/subscriptions/<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>/resourceGroups/<USER_NUMBER>-k8s-arc/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/roleDefinitions/b24988ac-6180-42a0-ab88-20f7382dd24c"
-        },
-        "roleAssignment_Contributor": {
-            "value": "<GENERATE_GUID_1>"
-        },
-        "roleDefinitionId_MonitoringMetricsPublisher": {
-            "value": "/subscriptions/<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>/resourceGroups/<USER_NUMBER>-k8s-arc/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/roleDefinitions/3913510d-42f4-4e42-8a64-420c390055eb"
-        },
-        "roleAssignment_MonitoringMetricsPublisher": {
-            "value": "<GENERATE_GUID_2>"
-        },
         "customLocationName": {
-            "value": "<USER_NUMBER>-onprem"
-        },
-        "customLocationId": {
-            "value": "/subscriptions/<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>/resourceGroups/<USER_NUMBER>-k8s-arc/providers/Microsoft.ExtendedLocation/customLocations/<USER_NUMBER>-onprem"
+            "value": "<CUSTOM_LOCATION_NAME>"
         },
-        "customLocation_hostResourceId": {
-            "value": "/subscriptions/<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>/resourceGroups/<USER_NUMBER>-k8s-arc/providers/Microsoft.Kubernetes/connectedClusters/<USER_NUMBER>-k8s-arc-enabled"
-        },
-        "customLocation_clusterExtensionIds": {
-            "value": [
-                "/subscriptions/<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>/resourceGroups/<USER_NUMBER>-k8s-arc/providers/Microsoft.Kubernetes/connectedClusters/<USER_NUMBER>-k8s-arc-enabled/providers/Microsoft.KubernetesConfiguration/extensions/<USER_NUMBER>-onprem-ext"
-            ]
-        },
-        "resourceSyncRuleName": {
-            "value": "<USER_NUMBER>-onprem/defaultResourceSyncRule"
+        "dataController_metricsAndLogsDashboardUsername": {
+            "value": "<DC_DASHBOARD_USERNAME>"
         },
         "dataController_metricsAndLogsDashboardPassword": {
             "value": null
@@ -55,14 +32,8 @@
         "storageClass": {
             "value": "local-path"
         },
-        "dataController_subscription": {
-            "value": "<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>"
-        },
-        "dataController_resourceGroup": {
-            "value": "<USER_NUMBER>-k8s-arc"
-        },
         "dataControllerName": {
-            "value": "<USER_NUMBER>-dc"
+            "value": "<DATA_CONTROLLER_NAME>"
         }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/03_Hybrid_Azure_Arc_Kubernetes/walkthrough/challenge-04/templates/template.json b/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/03_Hybrid_Azure_Arc_Kubernetes/walkthrough/challenge-04/templates/template.json
index 58d89efda..e40aea7bb 100644
--- a/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/03_Hybrid_Azure_Arc_Kubernetes/walkthrough/challenge-04/templates/template.json
+++ b/03-Azure/01-03-Infrastructure/03_Hybrid_Azure_Arc_Kubernetes/walkthrough/challenge-04/templates/template.json
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
     "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
     "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
     "parameters": {
-        "parentResource": {
+        "connectedClusterName": {
             "type": "String",
             "metadata": {
-                "description": "The resource ID of the arc-enabled K8s cluster where the extension will be installed."
+                "description": "The name of the arc-enabled connected Kubernetes cluster."
             }
         },
         "k8sExtensionName": {
@@ -24,28 +24,18 @@
             "type": "String",
             "defaultValue": "westeurope"
         },
-        "roleDefinitionId_Contributor": {
-            "type": "String",
-            "metadata": {
-                "description": "The role definition ID for the Contributor role."
-            }
-        },
         "roleAssignment_Contributor": {
             "type": "String",
+            "defaultValue": "[newGuid()]",
             "metadata": {
-                "description": "The role assignment name (GUID) for the Contributor role."
-            }
-        },
-        "roleDefinitionId_MonitoringMetricsPublisher": {
-            "type": "String",
-            "metadata": {
-                "description": "The role definition ID for the Monitoring Metrics Publisher role."
+                "description": "The role assignment name (GUID) for the Contributor role. Auto-generated if not provided."
             }
         },
         "roleAssignment_MonitoringMetricsPublisher": {
             "type": "String",
+            "defaultValue": "[newGuid()]",
             "metadata": {
-                "description": "The role assignment name (GUID) for the Monitoring Metrics Publisher role."
+                "description": "The role assignment name (GUID) for the Monitoring Metrics Publisher role. Auto-generated if not provided."
             }
         },
         "customLocationName": {
@@ -54,28 +44,10 @@
                 "description": "The name of the custom location."
             }
         },
-        "customLocationId": {
-            "type": "String",
-            "metadata": {
-                "description": "The ID of the custom location."
-            }
-        },
-        "customLocation_hostResourceId": {
+        "dataController_metricsAndLogsDashboardUsername": {
             "type": "String",
             "metadata": {
-                "description": "The host resource ID of the custom location."
-            }
-        },
-        "customLocation_clusterExtensionIds": {
-            "type": "Array",
-            "metadata": {
-                "description": "The cluster extension IDs of the custom location."
-            }
-        },
-        "resourceSyncRuleName": {
-            "type": "String",
-            "metadata": {
-                "description": "The name of the resource sync rule."
+                "description": "The username for the metrics and logs dashboard."
             }
         },
         "dataController_metricsAndLogsDashboardPassword": {
@@ -100,12 +72,6 @@
                 "description": "The storage class for data and logs storage."
             }
         },
-        "dataController_subscription": {
-            "type": "String"
-        },
-        "dataController_resourceGroup": {
-            "type": "String"
-        },
         "dataControllerName": {
             "type": "String",
             "metadata": {
@@ -113,7 +79,17 @@
             }
         }
     },
-    "variables": {},
+    "variables": {
+        "parentResource": "[concat('Microsoft.Kubernetes/connectedClusters/', parameters('connectedClusterName'))]",
+        "roleDefinitionId_Contributor": "[subscriptionResourceId('Microsoft.Authorization/roleDefinitions', 'b24988ac-6180-42a0-ab88-20f7382dd24c')]",
+        "roleDefinitionId_MonitoringMetricsPublisher": "[subscriptionResourceId('Microsoft.Authorization/roleDefinitions', '3913510d-42f4-4e42-8a64-420c390055eb')]",
+        "customLocationId": "[resourceId('Microsoft.ExtendedLocation/customLocations', parameters('customLocationName'))]",
+        "customLocation_hostResourceId": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Kubernetes/connectedClusters', parameters('connectedClusterName'))]",
+        "customLocation_clusterExtensionIds": [
+            "[extensionResourceId(resourceId('Microsoft.Kubernetes/connectedClusters', parameters('connectedClusterName')), 'Microsoft.KubernetesConfiguration/extensions', parameters('k8sExtensionName'))]"
+        ],
+        "resourceSyncRuleName": "[concat(parameters('customLocationName'), '/defaultResourceSyncRule')]"
+    },
     "functions": [],
     "resources": [
         {
@@ -141,7 +117,7 @@
                 },
                 "configurationProtectedSettings": {}
             },
-            "scope": "[parameters('parentResource')]"
+            "scope": "[variables('parentResource')]"
         },
         {
             "type": "Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments",
@@ -151,7 +127,7 @@
                 "[parameters('k8sExtensionName')]"
             ],
             "properties": {
-                "roleDefinitionId": "[parameters('roleDefinitionId_Contributor')]",
+                "roleDefinitionId": "[variables('roleDefinitionId_Contributor')]",
                 "principalId": "[reference(parameters('k8sExtensionName'), '2021-09-01', 'Full').identity.principalId]"
             }
         },
@@ -163,7 +139,7 @@
                 "[parameters('roleAssignment_Contributor')]"
             ],
             "properties": {
-                "roleDefinitionId": "[parameters('roleDefinitionId_MonitoringMetricsPublisher')]",
+                "roleDefinitionId": "[variables('roleDefinitionId_MonitoringMetricsPublisher')]",
                 "principalId": "[reference(parameters('k8sExtensionName'), '2021-09-01', 'Full').identity.principalId]"
             }
         },
@@ -177,23 +153,23 @@
             ],
             "properties": {
                 "hostType": "Kubernetes",
-                "hostResourceId": "[parameters('customLocation_hostResourceId')]",
+                "hostResourceId": "[variables('customLocation_hostResourceId')]",
                 "namespace": "[parameters('namespace')]",
                 "displayName": "",
-                "clusterExtensionIds": "[parameters('customLocation_clusterExtensionIds')]",
+                "clusterExtensionIds": "[variables('customLocation_clusterExtensionIds')]",
                 "authentication": {}
             }
         },
         {
             "type": "Microsoft.ExtendedLocation/customLocations/resourceSyncRules",
             "apiVersion": "2021-08-31-preview",
-            "name": "[parameters('resourceSyncRuleName')]",
+            "name": "[variables('resourceSyncRuleName')]",
             "location": "[parameters('location')]",
             "dependsOn": [
                 "[parameters('customLocationName')]"
             ],
             "properties": {
-                "targetResourceGroup": "[concat('/subscriptions/', parameters('dataController_subscription'), '/resourceGroups/', parameters('dataController_resourceGroup'))]",
+                "targetResourceGroup": "[resourceGroup().id]",
                 "priority": 100,
                 "selector": {
                     "matchLabels": {
@@ -208,20 +184,20 @@
             "name": "[parameters('dataControllerName')]",
             "location": "[parameters('location')]",
             "extendedLocation": {
-                "name": "[parameters('customLocationId')]",
+                "name": "[variables('customLocationId')]",
                 "type": "CustomLocation"
             },
             "dependsOn": [
-                "[last(split(parameters('resourceSyncRuleName'), '/'))]"
+                "[last(split(variables('resourceSyncRuleName'), '/'))]"
             ],
             "tags": {},
             "properties": {
                 "metricsDashboardCredential": {
-                    "username": "mhadmin",
+                    "username": "[parameters('dataController_metricsAndLogsDashboardUsername')]",
                     "password": "[parameters('dataController_metricsAndLogsDashboardPassword')]"
                 },
                 "logsDashboardCredential": {
-                    "username": "mhadmin",
+                    "username": "[parameters('dataController_metricsAndLogsDashboardUsername')]",
                     "password": "[parameters('dataController_metricsAndLogsDashboardPassword')]"
                 },
                 "logAnalyticsWorkspaceConfig": {
@@ -262,8 +238,8 @@
                             "azure": {
                                 "autoUploadMetrics": "true",
                                 "autoUploadLogs": "true",
-                                "subscription": "[parameters('dataController_subscription')]",
-                                "resourceGroup": "[parameters('dataController_resourceGroup')]",
+                                "subscription": "[subscription().subscriptionId]",
+                                "resourceGroup": "[resourceGroup().name]",
                                 "location": "[parameters('location')]",
                                 "connectionMode": "direct"
                             },