Azure Weekly Newsletter Issue #270

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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

• On the DEV site, Ari Bornstein (@pythiccoder) walks through an example of Attendance Estimation with Azure ML
• Also on the DEV site, Chloe Condon (@ChloeCondon) talks about Some great ways that people have been using Azure Cognitive Services
• And Dmitry Soshnikov talks about Creating Generative Art using GANs on Azure ML
• On the Azure Medium blog, Luca Zavarella blogs about Azure Machine Learning using the R SDK
• The Azure updates team announces that Azure Machine Learning is available in the US Gov region
• On the Azure blog, Vinod Kurpad (@Kurpad) Introduces incremental enrichment in Azure Cognitive Search

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

• On the endjin blog, James Broome has written yet another great blog on Azure Analysis Services: How to update the expression for a calculated column from .NET
• On the MSSQL Tips site, Koen Verbeeck (@Ko_Ver) writes about Incremental File Load using Azure Data Factory
• The Azure updates team highlights that you need to Update self-hosted integration runtime nodes to TLS 1.2 by May 11, 2020
• On the DEV site, Lena Hall (@lenadroid) writes about how Apache Kafka Applications Can Work Without Apache Kafka Cluster
• Also, on Channel 9, Lena Hall joins Scott Hanselman to discuss Big data processing with Azure Event Hubs for Apache Kafka

Blockchain

Covering: Azure Blockchain Service, Azure Blockchain Tokens, Azure Blockchain Workbench

• On the Azure DevOps podcast, Jeremy Holt and Jeffrey Palermo discuss Cashew & Nut Trading Software, and using Blockchain to trace the food supply chain

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

• Tobias Zimmergren (@zimmergren) lists some Best Practices for building and designing Azure Functions
• On the DEV site, Chloe Condon (@ChloeCondon) writes: Let's Get this Bread! Using Azure Functions to Make Sourdough
• On the DEV site, Tania Allard (@ixek) provides two Tech bites, on: What is serverless? and What is the cloud?

Containers

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

• On the DEV site, Chris Noring (@chris_noring) has provided some resources around How YOU can learn Kubernetes
• Also on the DEV site, Jay Gordon (@jaydestro) writes about Multiple Node Pools on Azure Kubernetes Service and has recorded An Azure Twitch Stream on Kubernetes, Datadog and Chaos Engineering w/ Gremlin
• On the Premier Developer blog, Monu Bambroo writes about how to Monitor AKS Cluster with Prometheus (Basic Monitoring)
• On Microsoft + Open Source, Jeff Hollan (@jeffhollan) highlights: Kubernetes Event-driven Autoscaling KEDA joins the CNCF as a sandbox project
• Also on Microsoft + Open Source, Ralph Squillace covers: "WebAssembly meets Kubernetes with Krustlet"
• Also on the Premier Developer blog, Larry Wall describes Using the Azure Files Volume driver with multiple volumes (Service Fabric)
• On the Azure blog, Yossi Weizman explains how to Detect large-scale cryptocurrency mining attacks against Kubernetes clusters
• On the Microsoft OS blog, Craig Peters and Mark Rossetti highlight the fact that Kubernetes v1.18 advances Windows container support

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

• On the SQL Down Under Podcast, Mark Brown joins Greg Low (@greglow) to discuss CosmosDB and the latest licensing changes
• Aaron Powell (@slace) walks through Using GraphQL in Azure Functions to Access Cosmos DB
• On Channel 9, Anna Hoffman and Jeroen ter Heerdt provide an Intro to PowerShell notebooks for Azure SQL
• On Code Project, Venkatesh Subbarao walks through how to Copy with Stored Procedure Data from One Database to Another on Azure SQL using Azure Data Factory
• On the DEV site, Abhishek Gupta (@abhi_tweeter) provides a Tutorial: Getting started with MongoDB on Azure using Go

Developer Tools

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

• On the Visual Studio Magazine, David Ramel lists the Top 3 Blazor Extensions for Visual Studio Code
• And on the Visual Studio blog, Filisha Shah provides A guide to remote development with Live Share

DevOps

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

• On the Daily Dot Net Tips blog, Abhijit Jana (@AbhijitJana) explains How to define custom rules for Work Items in Azure DevOps and how to Revert Azure DevOps Pipeline Changes
• Adam Bertram (@adbertram) describes How to Parse ARM Output Variables in Azure DevOps Pipelines
• On the Black Marble blog, Richard Fennell (@richardfennell) discusses Enriching the data available in Azure DevOps Pipelines Cross Platform Release Notes Task, Swapping Azure DevOps Pipeline Extensions release process to use Multistage YAML pipelines and how he Fixed an issue where Azure DevOps Pipeline was not triggering on a GitHub Pull request
• On the Premier Developer blog, Brian Blackman and Eldon Gormsen cover InnerSource with Azure DevOps
• On Channel 9, Damian Brady and Todd Gardner talk about Testing and Monitoring Systems for Confidence
• Also on the Premier Developer blog, Rick Caudle talks about Integrating Support cases into your DevOps process with the Azure Support API
• Also on Channel 9, Abel Wang (@abelsquidhead) joins Donovan Brown to talk about Serverless operations with Azure DevOps

Hybrid

Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack

• Thomas Maurer and Carmen Crincoli discuss Azure Stack HCI and the Future on Azure Unblogged
• The Azure updates team announces that The preview version of Event Hubs on Azure Stack Hub is now available
• On the Azure SQL Database blog, Danimir Ljepava (@danimir) runs through the Monitoring options available for Azure SQL Database Managed Instance

Identity

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

• On Microsoft Cloud Blogs, the Enterprise Mobility + Security Team announces that Azure Active Directory Premium P1 is coming to Microsoft 365 Business
• Tobias Zimmergren (@zimmergren) provides A few tips for securing your remote workforce in a Microsoft cloud landscape
• On the Azure Developer Community Blog, Stephane Eyskens (@stephaneeyskens) provides an Architecture Walkthrough: Building a multi-tenant Azure Architecture for a B2C scenario

Integration

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

• On the Planet Geek blog, Daniel Marbach (@danielmarbach) has dived into Forwarding with the Azure Service Bus .NET SDK
• Sean Feldman (@sfeldman) discusses The future of Azure Service Bus .NET SDK
• On the Azure Developer Community Blog, Stephane Eyskens (@stephaneeyskens) discusses some KEDA and AKS Experiments

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

• On the Azure blog, Olivia Burgess discusses Accelerating innovation: Start with Azure Sphere to secure IoT solutions
• The Azure updates team announces that Azure Sphere update 20.04 is now available for compatibility testing
• On Channel 9, Ricky Brundritt (@rbrundritt) joins Oliver Block to discuss how to Easily integrate spatial data into the Azure Maps
• The Azure updates team announces that Significant connection resiliency improvements are now available in the Azure IoT SDK for Python

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, Sceduler

• On the Azure blog, Matt McCleary walks through Using Azure Monitor source map support to debug JavaScript errors
• The Azure updates team showcases the Azure Monitor Logs new "create workspace" experience
• On the DEV site, Maxime Rouiller (@MaximRouiller) blogs about 1-Click Deployment of Cognitive Services with ARM Templates
• On the Sharegate blog, Elle Crosby brings us the Highlights from the expert-led webinar on Azure Policy essentials
• Henry Been (@henry_been) covers Working with ARM Template Functions
• Marcel Zehner (@marcelzehner) provides a walkthrough on How to use and configure reservations to save money
• On the Sharegate blog, Stephane Lapointe (@s_lapointe) delves into Working with Azure during high demand: What to do when the cloud wont scale
• On the Serverless360 blog, Ezhilarasi Chezhiyan writes: Discover How Serverless360 Can Help Improve Remote Work
• Tobias Zimmergren & Jussi Roine (@CtrlAltAzure) run through An overview of Azure Governance
• On the Premier Developer blog, Adel Ghabboun explains how to Implement an App Insights Telemetry Processor in Azure Functions

Media

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

• No content this week

Mixed Reality

Covering: Kinect DK, Remote rendering, Spatial anchors

• No content this week

Migration

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

• On the endjin blog, Jess Panni (@JessPanni) talks about Wardley Maps – Explaining how OceanMind use Microsoft Azure & AI to combat Illegal Fishing

Mobile

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

• On Channel 9, James Montemagno (@JamesMontemagno) brings us the Xamarin.Essentials API of the Week: Permissions
• Also on Channel 9, Maddy Leger (@maddyleger1) asks: What is the future of Xamarin.Forms?

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 SQL Database blog, Rohit Nayak blogs about Using Failover Groups with Private Link for Azure SQL Database

Security

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

• On Microsoft Cloud Blogs, Tal Maor (@talthemaor) highlights that Azure ATP now detects SMBGhost
• Sam Cogan (@samcogan) blogs about Scanning Containers during Builds with Azure Security Centre
• Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) explains how to Automate Continuous Export For Azure Security Center With Azure Policy
• Marcel Zehner (@marcelzehner) describes Azure Guest Policy Configuration – A look behind the curtain

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 that Storage Analytics logs for Azure Data Lake Storage are now generally available

Web

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

• Jessica Deen (@jldeen) describes Running a 64 bit node Web App in Windows Azure App Service
• Also on the Premier Developer blog, Chris Hanna explains how to Integrate Azure API Management with Okta
• On Azure Tips and Tricks, Michael Crump (@mbcrump) discusses How to use Azure App Service managed certificates

Windows Virtual Desktop

Covering: Windows Virtual Desktop

• No content this week

Useful Links

• 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!
• Azure Quickstart Templates - Learn how to deploy to Azure using ARM Templates. Over 850 examples in this repo.
• 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.
• A-Z of the Azure ecosystem - a slide deck outlining current Azure services.
• 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.