Azure Weekly Newsletter Issue #409

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@HowardvRooijen | @endjin

AI + Machine Learning

Covering: Anomaly detector, Azure Bot Service, Azure Machine Learning, Azure Open Datasets, Bing APIs, Cognitive Services, Computer Vision, Content moderator, Custom vision, Data Science Virtual Machines, Face, Form Recogniser, Immersive Reader, Ink Recogniser, Language Understanding (LUIS), Machine Learning Studio, Microsoft Genomics, ML.NET, Personaliser, Project Cortex, QnA Maker, Speaker Recognition, Speech-to-Text, Speech translation, Text Analytics, Text to Speech , Translator Speech, Translator Text

• Eric Boyd (@eric_boyd) announces that ChatGPT is now available in Azure OpenAI Service
• On the Azure Medium blog, Valentina Alto covers Custom ChatGPT with Azure OpenAI
• Kurt Mackie (@kurmac) highlight that Microsoft Previews ChatGPT in Azure OpenAI Service
• David Ramel (@dramel) covers ChatGPT in Preview on Azure OpenAI Service
• Niels Swimberghe explains how to Build a ChatGPT SMS bot with the OpenAI API and ASP.NET Core
• Pablo Castro explains how to Revolutionize your Enterprise Data with ChatGPT: Next-gen Apps w/ Azure OpenAI and Cognitive Search
• Takuto Higuchi blogs about Exploring open-source capabilities in Azure AI
• Ruth Yakubu describes How to train a machine learning model to be analyzed for issues with Responsible AI Part 2
• Xuedong Huang announces a renaissance in computer vision AI with Microsoft's Florence foundation model

Analytics

Covering: Apache Spark for HDInsight, Apache Storm for HDInsight, Azure Analysis Services, Azure Data Explorer, Azure Data Share, Azure Databricks, Azure Stream Analytics, Azure Synapse Analytics, Data Catalog, Data Factory, Data Lake Analytics, Event Hubs, HDInsight, .NET for Apache Spark, R Server for HDInsight, Azure Purview

• Katie Cummiskey announces General Availability of Azure Databricks Model Serving and The Azure Updates Team writes about Generally Available: Model Serving on Azure Databricks
• Ryan Majidimehr (@rmajidimehr) blogs about Azure Synapse Analytics February Update 2023
• Gilles LHerault blogs about Azure Synapse Data Explorer enterprise readiness - Part 1: Keeping your data safe
• Noelle Li blogs about Azure Data Factory February 2023 Monthly Update
• John Miner talks about Code Reuse with Spark Functions for Azure Databricks
• On the Microsoft BI Tools blog, Joost van Rossum (@ssisjoost) provides a Synapse snack - Get child pipeline value to parent
• Sunitha Muthukrishna announces Power BI integration for Azure Database for MySQL in the Azure portal
• Sudeshna Bhattacharyya blogs about Custom DNS server issues while connecting from Databricks to Event Hub
• Guy Reginiano asks Does news affect Bitcoin rates Use Logstash & Free Kusto to analyze Bitcoin rates and news reports
• Diponkar Paul explains How to Implement CI/CD in Azure Data Factory ADF
• Vincent-Philippe Lauzon writes about Private Endpoint support for Cosmos DB to Azure Data Explorer Synapse Link

Compute

Covering: Azure CycleCloud, Azure Dedicated Host, Azure Functions, Azure VMware Solution by CloudSimple, Batch, Cloud Services, Linux Virtual Machines, SAP HANA on Azure Large Instances, Service Fabric, Virtual Machines, Virtual Machine Scale Sets

• The Azure Updates Team writes about Generally available: App Insights Extension for Azure Virtual Machines and VM Scale Sets and describes GA: Spot Priority Mix
• Simon Waight (@simonwaight) explains how to Build an Azure Functions Extension in 20 minutes
• On episode 324 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast, Scott Hoag and Ben Stegink (@msclouditpro) describe how to Have your cake and it eat too with VMSS Flex
• Apoorva Nori and Krysta Svore talks about Quantum Computing on Azure How it Works, What's Coming, & What You Can TryToday
• Tareq Saifi describes how to Call Azure Function App using AAD OAuth certificate

Containers

Covering: Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure Red Hat OpenShift, CNAB, CNCF, Container Instances, Container Registry, Porter, WSL, Web App for Containers

• The Azure Updates Team announces the Public Preview: Collect Syslog from AKS nodes using Azure Monitor - Container Insights
• Sam Cogan (@samcogan) writes 'WTH is Pod Sandboxing for AKS'

Databases

Covering: Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Database for MariaDB, Azure Database for MySQL, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Database Edge, Azure Cache for Redis, SQL Data Warehouse, SQL Server on virtual machines, SQL Server Stretch Database, Table storage

• Ricky Diep describes Public Preview: JSON Support for Active Geo-Replication on Azure Cache for Redis Enterprise
• David Engel discusses Microsoft Drivers 5.11 for PHP for SQL Server Released
• Sunil Agarwal announces new security and observability features in Azure Database for PostgreSQL
• Varun Dhawan describes Monitoring PgBouncer in Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server
• Greg Low (@greglow) discusses SQL: Understanding Change Data Capture for Azure SQL Database – Part 2 – How does it work
• Parikshit Savjani (@talktosavjani) blogs about Azure Open-Source Day: Announcing new integrations with Azure Database for MySQL
• Sunitha Muthukrishna announces the Azure Database for MySQL connector for Power Apps Preview

Developer Tools

Covering: App Configuration, Azure Lab Services, CLIs, Developer tool integrations, SDKs, Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio Online

• Nayana Srikanth writes about Visual Studio 2022 – 17.5 Performance Enhancements
• David Ramel (@dramel) writes about Hands-On with Profiles: 'One of the All-Time Most Requested VS Code Features'
• Dante Gagne discusses Developing Accessible Apps with Visual Studio
• Lucille Xiong announces Log Monitor 2.0 Release Candidate
• On the endjin blog, James Dawson (@James_Dawson) explains How to setup Python, PyEnv & Poetry on Windows and Liam Mooney deep dives into Data validation in Python: a look into Pandera and Great Expectations

DevOps

Covering: Azure Artifacts, Azure Boards, Azure DevOps, Azure Pipelines, Azure Repos, Azure Test Plans, Azure DevTest Labs, DevOps tool integrations

• Dan Hellem writes about New Boards Hub, Sprint 218 Update
• On the Microsoft DevOps blog, April Edwards (@TheAprilEdwards) explains how to Create Azure DevOps Management Reports, describes how to Integrate Azure Load Testing into Azure DevOps and shows how to Write Your Bicep Files in Visual Studio
• Microsoft DevOps blog, Liam Hampton describes How to build, test and deploy your application using Azure and GitHub
• On the Armchair Architects show, Eric Charran, David Blank-Edelman and Uli Homann discuss Architectural Erosion and Technical Debt
• Edi Wang describes How to Run Cloud Init YAML with Azure Bicep when Creating VM
• On epsiode 235 of the Azure DevOps Podcast, Jeffrey Palermo (@jeffreypalermo) is joined by Christoph Vollmer to talk about  Automated Testing Techniques
  

Hybrid + Multicloud

Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack

• On the Q Sharp blog, Fabrice Frachon writes Azure Quantum unlocks the next generation of Hybrid Quantum Computing
• James van Den Berg talks about Microsoft Azure Arc enabled Servers managed with Windows Admin Center in Azure AzureHybrid MVPBuzz

Identity

Covering: Azure Active Directory (AD), Azure Active Directory B2C, Azure Active Directory Domain Services

• Mei Jin describes Azure Classic Subscription Administrator: guest user and why you should care
• Damien Bowden (@damien_bod) covers Auto sign-out using ASP.NET Core Razor Pages with Azure AD B2C
• Cristal Kawula describes Troubleshooting Active Directory Delegation

Integration

Covering: Azure API for FHIR, Event Grid, Logic Apps, Service Bus

• Alex Zúñiga blogs about Logic Apps Aviators Newsletter - March 2023
• Kent Weare delves into Application Insights Enhancements for Azure Logic Apps Standard - Preview
• Luis Apellaniz Fontanez describes Converting X12 EDI Health Insurance Claims to FHIR
• Luis Henrique Demetrio walks through Integrating Service Now with Microsoft Teams Approvals via Power Automate
• Shree Divya blogs about Deploying Logic App Standard resource using Bicep templates and DevOps pipeline
• Sandro Pereira (@sandro_asp) covers Logic App Best Practices, Tips, and Tricks: 23 Debatching Messages
• Shadrack Inusah discusses Enhancing Your Power Apps with AI: Create a Custom Connector with ChatGPT's API
• Stefan Stranger (@sstranger) demonstrates Running PowerShell in Azure Logic App Workflows

Internet of Things

Covering: Azure Digital Twins, Azure IoT Central, Azure IoT Edge, Azure IoT Hub, Azure IoT solution accelerators, Azure Maps, Azure Sphere, Azure Time Series Insights, IoT DevKit, WildernessLabs, Windows 10 IoT Core Services

• The Azure Updates Team announces the General availability: Yocto Kirkstone recipes for IoT Edge 1.4 LTS

Learning

Covering: Microsoft Certifications, Azure Certifications, Microsoft Learning Paths, Certification Pathway Information

• On the Azure blog, David Dennis explains how to Discover the latest innovations at Azure Open Source Day 2023
• Barb Blanchard writes about Open Source
• Katie Fritsch describes Azure Open Source Day – Attend a Local Event Near You
• Puja Aneja talks about Prep for certification exams with free Practice Assessments on Microsoft Learn
• Cristal Kawula blogs about Getting Started with Azure Hybrid AZ800: Top 10 Study Items
• Lee Stott (@lee_stott) writes Meet the Experts - Hack Together with Microsoft Graph SDK and .NET - March 8th 4PM GMT

Management and Governance

Covering: Automation, Azure Advisor, Azure Backup, Azure Blueprints, Azure Lighthouse, Azure Managed Applications, Azure mobile app, Azure Monitor, Azure Policy, Azure Resource Manager, Azure Service Health, Azure Site Recovery, Cloud Shell, Cost Management, Microsoft Azure portal, Scheduler, Azure Purview

• The Azure Updates Team announces the Public Preview of: Data sharing lineage and search for Azure Storage in Microsoft Purview, and Azure Monitor managed service for Prometheus now supports querying PromQL and Azure Backup enables vaulted backups for Azure Blob for comprehensive data protection.
• The Azure Updates Team announces the Private Preview: Azure Backup enables vaulted backups for Azure Files for comprehensive data protection.
• Noa Kuperberg covers Azure Monitor Logs now supports Availability Zones in North Europe
• Rene van den Bedem describes Azure VMware Solution Syslog Forwarder
• Sita Dontharaju blogs about Data Sharing Lineage and search for Azure Storage in-place sharing in Microsoft Purview
• Eric Li discusses Information Barriers v2 is now generally available for all new onboarding customers
• Melissa Palmer (@vmiss33) explains how to Protect Your Data in Azure to Be Ready to Recover
• Brad Wyatt explains how to Migrate your Runbooks in Azure Automation to Managed Identities
• Felipe Binotto discusses Monitoring Storage Replication - Part 2
• Stanislav Zhelyazkov (@StanZhelyazkov) says Do not use tags for filtering security related Azure Policies
• On Microsoft Security blog, Christine Barrett explains how to Get integrated Microsoft Purview Information Protection in Adobe Acrobat—now available

Media

Covering: Azure Media Player, Content Protection, Encoding, Live and On-Demand Streaming, Media Analytics, Media Services, Video Indexer

• No content this week

Migration

Covering: Azure Database Migration Service, Azure Migrate, Data Box

• No content this week

Mobile

Covering: App Service (Mobile), Mobile apps, Notification Hubs, Visual Studio App Centre, Xamarin

• Eric Van Aelstyn walks through Improving security and productivity: Securely save files from Microsoft Edge on mobile devices
• Harshitha Murthy blogs about History of Surface and Arm
• Antti K. Koskela (@koskila) describes How to build a functional CI/CD pipeline for a MAUI app on GitHub in less than 1 hour

Networking

Covering: Application Gateway, Azure Bastion, Azure DNS, Azure ExpressRoute, Azure Firewall, Azure Firewall Manager, Azure Front Door, Azure Internet Analyzer, Azure Private Link, Content Delivery Network, Load Balancer, Network Watcher, Traffic Manager, Virtual Network, Virtual WAN, VPN Gateway, Web Application Firewall

• On the Azure blog, Andrea Michael describes Monitor Azure Virtual Network Manager changes with event logging
• Gustavo Modena talks about Illumio for Azure Firewall - Combines Benefits of Zero Trust Segmentation and Cloud-Native Firewall

Security

Covering: Azure DDoS Protection, Azure Information Protection, Azure Sentinel, Key Vault, Security Center

• Preeti Krishna (@PreetiKr007) discusses Coming soon Microsoft Sentinel out-of-the-box content centralization
• Stanislav Belov writes about Microsoft Defender Monthly news - March 2023
• Rahi Patel covers Customer Managed Keys for Azure VMware Solution
• Vasavi Pasula explains how to Prioritize Risk remediation with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Attack Path Analysis
• Daniel Bates provides an Introduction to OpenAI and Microsoft Sentinel and presents OpenAI and Microsoft Sentinel Part 2: Explaining an Analytics Rule

Storage

Covering: Archive Storage, Avere vFXT for Azure, Azure Data Lake Store, Azure FXT Edge Filer, Azure HPC Cache, Azure NetApp Files, Blob Storage, Disk Storage, File Storage, Managed Disks, Queue Storage, Storage Accounts, Storage Explorer, StorSimple

• The Azure Updates Team announces the Generally available: Azure Ultra Disk Storage in the China North 3 Azure region
• Alec Becker blogs about Cost saving with Standard SSD Billing Caps
• The Azure Updates Team writes about More transactions at no additional cost for Azure Standard SSD
• Meera Haridasa covers Storage Explorer 1.28 New Features
• Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) explains how to Enable Vaulted Backup for Azure Blob Storage
• Rajukumar Padi blogs about Azure Storage How to migrate Azure Queue Data from One Account to Another
• On the Microsoft Mechanics show, Matt McSpirit (@mattmcspirit) talks about Block storage options with Azure Disk Storage and Elastic SAN

Web

Covering: API apps, API Management, App Service (Web), Azure Cognitive Search, Azure SignalR Service, Azure Spring Cloud, Web apps

• Abhishek Reddy explains how to Accelerated Admin Performance with WordPress on Azure App Service
• Tony Ju talks about Azure Function App doesn't work after unlinking to Azure static web app
• Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) explains How To Create a WordPress Site on App Service in Microsoft Azure
• David Giard (@DavidGiard) blogs about Deploying a Spring Application to Azure Spring Apps

Azure Virtual Desktop

Covering: Azure Virtual Desktop

• Ben Murphy announces The General Availability of Azure Virtual Desktop Insights at Scale
• Colby Hanley announces the Public Preview of Uniform Resource Identifier schemes with the Remote Desktop client
• On episode 176 of the Ctrl+Alt+Azure Podcast, Tobias Zimmergren and Jussi Roine talk about Azure Virtual Desktop
  
• Cristal Kawula blogs about Restoring a Failed Azure Virtual Desktop with Azure Backup
• Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) writes about What is RDP Shortpath for AVD Managed Networks and How to Use It
• Christian Montoya presents a Skilling snack: Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop

Useful Links

• Azure Resource Inventory - Azure Resource Inventory is a powerful script written in PowerShell to generate an Excel report of any Azure Environment you have read access
• Azure Quickstart Templates - Learn how to deploy to Azure using ARM Templates. Over 850 examples in this repo.
• Azure CNAB Quickstarts Library - You can deploy to the Cloud, on Prem and on the Edge using CNAB & Porter. This library provides a number of quickstart templates to help you get started, fast!
• Power BI Weekly - Interested in Power BI? Sign up to our sister newsletter Power BI Weekly to receive all the week's Power BI news.
• Azure Resources - A fantastic collection of resources contained in this repo. Issue a PR if you have resources to share. Managed by Azure MVP Gregor Suttie.
• Azure Charts - Azure Charts is a set of auto-rebuilt charts to keep you updated on Azure changes, news, stats. Public updates, RSS channels and web pages are used as data sources
• The Developer’s Guide to Microsoft Azure (2nd Edition) - ebook from Microsoft showcasing architectural approaches and common design patterns you face when building modern applications.
• Azure Virtual Datacenter - ebook from Microsoft highlighting an approach to isolation, security, and trust in the Microsoft cloud.
• Cyber Security Demystified - ebook from Microsoft describing how to keep your organisation safe.
• Microsoft's What is Azure poster - a visual overview of Azure's services and features.
• Microsoft Azure Essentials: Fundamentals of Azure - a free ebook from Microsoft Press, by Michael S. Collier and Robin E. Shahan.
• Data Science in the Cloud with Microsoft Azure Machine Learning and R - a free ebook on Azure Machine Learning, by Stephen F. Elston.
• Protecting Data in Microsoft Azure - a whitepaper that describes the various mechanism you can you can leverage for managing sensitive data in the Azure platform.
• Azure Architecture Center - guidance from the Patterns & Practices team covering API Design, API implementation, Autoscaling, Background jobs, CDN, Caching, Data partitioning, Monitoring and diagnostics, Retry, Scalability and availability.
• Azure Architect's Reference - if you are an architect responsible for building an application on Azure, or are trying to figure out how you could migrate an application and need to dig deep into the workload, cost, security, capacity, availability, deployment and operational modelling this invaluable resource should be your first stop. An open source project, with contributions from several experienced architects, it gathers data from many different references into a single, useful guide that is constantly updated by the community.
• Azure Table Storage Design Guide - a guide from the storage team.
• Azure infrastructure services implementation guidelines - key design and implementation guidelines for deploying an IT workload in Azure infrastructure services.
• Azure Speed Test - a simple web tool that measures the latency between you and Azure Datacenters to suggest which might be fastest for you location.
• Azure Websites Cheatsheet - everything you need to know about configuring & managing Azure Websites on a single page.
• Data Migration Assistant - enables you to upgrade to a modern data platform by detecting compatibility issues that can impact database functionality on your new version of SQL Server and Azure SQL Database. It recommends performance and reliability improvements for your target environment.
• Azure SQL DTU Calculator - a tool to help you determine the number of DTUs for your existing SQL Server database(s) as well as a recommendation of the minimum performance level and service tier that you need before you migrate to Azure SQL Database.
• Microsoft Azure Symbol/Icon Set - a set of Visio and PowerPoint shapes for use in architecture diagrams / presentations.
• Service Bus Explorer - a free and open source tool for managing and exploring Azure Service Bus(including Event Hubs).
• Best practices for designing Azure Resource Manager Templates - guidance based on the whitepaper 'World Class ARM Templates Considerations and Proven Practices'.
• Microsoft Cloud Networking for Enterprise Architects - a downloadable guide to Azure networking, covering topics such as cloud migration and networking for PaaS and SaaS services
• Whitepapers for Power BI - numerous whitepapers ranging various Power BI topics
• Azure Serverless Computing Cookbook - ebook from Microsoft, including use cases, hands-on steps, and tutorials for quickly configuring your own serverless environments.
• Executive Summary: Enterprise Cloud Strategy - executive summary of the 140-page e-book from Microsoft. Learn about the basics of adopting a cloud computing strategy for your enterprise.
• Migrating SQL Server to Azure SQL Database Managed Instance—A Step-by-Step Guide - ebook from Microsoft providing breakdown of tactical steps for implementing a quick, simple, and low-impact data migration with Azure SQL Database Managed Instance.
• Azure Backup Deep Dive Whitepaper - a deep dive by Adin Ermie and Charbel Nemnom describing Azure Backup
• Azure Stack: An extension of Azure - whitepaper from Microsoft detailing how you can extend Azure Stack to make Azure services available on-premises
• Azure Strategy and Implementation Guide - For Azure users - ebook from Microsoft outlining recommended general architecture and cloud design principles, DevOps, approaches to service management, and overall governance.
• Azure Data Factory: SSIS in the Cloud - eBook from Microsoft explaining why you would want to migrate your existing SSIS workloads to Azure Data Factory and addressing common considerations and concerns. Includes technical details of creating an Azure-SSIS IR and then walk-throughs of how to upload, execute, and monitor your packages through Azure Data Factory
• Parallel Virtual File Systems on Microsoft Azure - ebook from Microsoft documenting the results of a series of performance tests on Azure to see how scalable Lustre, GlusterFS, and BeeGFS are
• Build and deploy a multi-container application in Azure Service Fabric - ebook from Microsoft which shows how to create a sample multi-container application using ASP.NET Core and Docker and deploy it on an Azure Service Fabric cluster.
• Azure ebook/whitepaper resources - White papers, analyst reports, and e-books landing page with an abundance of extra resources.
• Farmer - This is a DSL for ARM template creation - "Making repeatable Azure deployments easy"!