Azure Weekly Newsletter Issue #493

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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

• Marco Casalaina covers The Future of AI: Generative AI for...Time Series Forecasting A Look at Nixtla TimeGEN-1
• Vinayak Hegde covers The Future of AI: GraphRAG – A better way to query interlinked documents
• Matt Peniket walks through Building Safer AI Applications: A Practical Approach
• Sunil Sattiraju covers Getting Started with New AutoGen Core API: A Step-by-Step Guide for Developers
• Dan Narloch blogs about Microsoft Ignite session: AI for the Public Sector with Microsoft 365 Copilot GCC available Nov 19
• Bill Wilder (@codingoutloud) describes Talk: Hello Semantic Kernel and Giving your AI a Goal
• Michael Gannotti writes about Candidly Copilot Episode 5
• Zachary Cavanell describes How Azure AI Search powers RAG in ChatGPT and global scaleapps
• Sourabh Kumar Verma writes about What is retrieval-augmented generation RAG
• Allie Thompson covers Microsoft 365 Copilot Microsoft Ignite 2024 Event Guide
• Gaurav Mantri (@gmantri) discusses Keeping Your Azure OpenAI App Running Smoothly During Service Interruptions
• hieunhu talks about Implementing Event Hub Logging for Azure OpenAI Streaming APIs

Analytics

Covering: Apache Spark for HDInsight, Azure Analysis Services, Azure Data Explorer, Azure Data Share, Azure Databricks, Azure Stream Analytics, Azure Synapse Analytics, Data Factory, Event Hubs, HDInsight, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Fabric

• On Microsoft Fabric Blog, Matthew Hicks blogs about Store and access your Iceberg data in OneLake using Snowflake and shortcuts
• Naama Tsafrir discusses Domains in Fabric – new enhancements
• On SQL Server Central, Additional Articles discusses Relationships with Microsoft Fabric GraphQL API
• Koen Verbeeck (@Ko_Ver) discusses Microsoft finally adds Tenant Switcher for Fabric / Power BI
• Kim Manis describes The Microsoft Fabric Community Conference is coming back to Las Vegas
• Panu Oksala describes How to Securely Handle Secrets with Azure Key Vault in Microsoft Fabric Notebooks
• Jeffrey Palermo (@jeffreypalermo) blogs about David Morton: What is a Data Scientist - Episode 323
• On Microsoft Fabric Blog, Ye Xu talks about Simplifying Data Ingestion with Copy Job: Upsert to Azure SQL Database & Overwrite to Fabric Lakehouse
• Jose Barreto talks about MGDC for SharePoint FAQ: How to flatten datasets for SQL or Fabric and talks about MGDC for SharePoint FAQ: How to flatten datasets

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

• Dalibor Kovacevic announces Conversational Diagnostics for Azure Functions
• Shikha Ghildiyal writes about VMSS - Reimage-Activity logs analysis
• Venkat Malladi covers Accelerating pathogen identification by using Snakemake on Azure

Containers

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

• On the Azure blog, Chandan Aggarwal And Deepak Bansal explains how to Enhance the security and operational capabilities of your Azure Kubernetes Service with Advanced Container Networking Services, now generally available
• Dalibor Kovacevic announces Conversational Diagnostics for AKS at Ignite 2024
• On Diagrid Blog, Mark Fussell (@mfussell) announces Dapr's Graduation

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

• Alper Kocatas describes Introducing support for oraclefdw extension in Azure Database for PostgreSQL
• Dinakar Nethi describes Geo Zone Redundant Storage GZRS is now available for additional Azure SQL database service tiers
• Jose M Jurado (@jmjuradodiaz) talks about Lesson Learned 513: Using SQL Copilot and Python Retry Logic to Resolve Deadlocks in Azure SQL DB
• Krishna Mamillapalli writes about 7-point checklist to conquer MySQL 5.7 to 8.0 upgrade challenges
• Jorge Bernhardt blogs about Azure SQL - Managing Server-Level Transparent Data Encryption TDE Keys with Azure PowerShell
• Abhishek Kumar describes Release: Azure SQL Migration extension for Azure Data Studio v1.5.6
• Sandip Khandelwal blogs about Resolving ADF Copy Upsert Failures in SQL DB for XML Columns
• Shay Patel covers Diagnosing and Resolving Oracle to Azure PostgreSQL Migration Failures with Ora2Pg and blogs about Diagnosing and Fixing Oracle to Azure PostgreSQL Migration Failures due to Data Errors using Ora2Pg

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 blog, Mads Kristensen (@mkristensen) writes about Visual Studio 2022 v17.12 with .NET 9
• Matthew Adams (@ythos) shares How .NET 9.0 boosted JSON Schema performance by 32%
• Ian Griffiths (@idg10) shares How .NET 9.0 boosted AIS.NET performance by 9%
• On Visual Studio Magazine - Blogs, David Ramel (@dramel) writes about Visual Studio 2022 v17.12 Ships with AI Enhancements and Streamlined Dev Tools
• Also on the Visual Studio blog, Mads Kristensen (@mkristensen) writes about First preview of Visual Studio 2022 v17.13
• Mika Dumont writes about Better GitHub Copilot Completions for C# and covers Fix Code with GitHub Copilot
• Sharda Kaur describes Getting Started with GitHub Copilot for Azure
• On the Azure Developer Community Blog, Vinayak Hegde explains how to Expanded model catalog for AI Toolkit
• On the Visual Studio blog, Amy Nguyen explains how to Join Us at Microsoft Ignite: Unlock GitHub Copilots New Potential in Visual Studio
• Vinayak Hegde explains how to Expanded model catalog for AI Toolkit
• Erin Stellato (@erinstellato) announces the release of SQL Server Management Studio 21 Preview 1
• Julia Kasper blogs about Azure API Center Plugin for GitHub Copilot for Azure

DevOps

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

• John Reilly (@johnny_reilly) blogs about Introducing Azure DevOps npm auth-lite and blogs about Introducing Azure DevOps npm auth
• Gerasimos Alexiou talks about Azure Chaos Studio terraform properties
• John Kerski describes Testing for Broken Visuals with Azure DevOps - Its a Team Sport
• On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Gloridel Morales describes November Patches for Azure DevOps Server
• Devi Priya talks about Harnessing Microsoft Dev Box and Azure Deployment Environments
• Md Ullah explains how to Automated Continuous integration and delivery – CI/CD in Azure Data Factory

Hybrid + Multicloud

Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack

• James van Den Berg blogs about Windows Server 2025: Highlights of whats new in security, hybrid cloud, and performance
• Robert Smit (@Clustermvp) blogs about Starting with Azure Arc pros vs cons Arc HCI Azure jumpstart
• Jalen McGee announces the Public Preview of the Azure Arc gateway
• msft-samuel describes Bridging Connectivity: Exploring Azure Relay Bridge azbridge
• redsa describes Enhancing infrastructure efficiency across storage, network, acceleration

Identity

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

• On Microsoft + Open Source, Brendan Burns (@brendandburns) blogs about Whats new with Microsoft in open-source and Kubernetes at KubeCon North America 2024
• Gyanendra Kumar Gautam blogs about November 11, 2024 Weekly Update on Microsoft Integration Platform & Azure iPaaS
• Heather Cook writes about Modern Work/Microsoft 365 Community Team at Microsoft Ignite and discusses Microsoft Ignite - Join us in the Hub at the Community Area at Microsoft Ignite
• Joylynn Kirui explains how to Implement authentication on mobile apps with Native Authentication for Microsoft Entra External ID
• Priyanka Agarwal talks about MTO/Cross Tenant Sync Identity Considerations
• Samer Baroudi announces mandatory multifactor authentication for the Microsoft 365 admin center
• Tim Beasley describes Looking for a career in Incident Response Consider the DART Infrastructure Engineer role

Integration

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

• Beena More walks through Building Intelligent Workflows with Azure Integration Services: Session 2 Preview and explains how to Get Ready for Azure Integration Services at Microsoft Ignite 2024
• Charitha Basani describes CRM automation with Azure OpenAI and Promptflow
• Henry Yan explains how to Extend the lifecycle of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server in Azure
• Milan Kaur blogs about Guest Post: Send emails with PowerShell and managed identity using Azure Communication Services
• Wagner Silveira discusses Upgrading Logic Apps standard to .NET 8

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

• Sander van de Velde (@svelde) blogs about Microsoft Ignite 2024, IoT related sessions and more
• The Student Developer Team writes about 2025 Microsoft Imagine Cup: Idea Round Winners

Learning

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

• Mindy Rosenthal writes about URGENT: Updated course releases for DP-3020 & AI-3022
• Rie Moriguchi blogs about Awareness of Responsible AI in Japanese Communities
• Shirleyse Haley blogs about Start learning how Copilot can help you by watching Microsoft Copilot for Security Flight School
• Jill Armour explains how to Attend Microsoft Ignite between November 19-21 from anywhere in the world
• Deepa Athre covers Level up your Azure skills with essential resources from Microsoft Learn
• On the Azure blog, Scott Hunter (@coolcsh) writes 'Microsoft is a Leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud Application Platform'
• Tobias Zimmergren Jussi Roine writes about 264 - Microsoft Tech Updates

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

• Stanislav Zhelyazkov (@StanZhelyazkov) discusses Understanding Azure Resource Health for Log Alerts
• Shikha Ghildiyal discusses Data Ingestion for Azure Event Hubs: Quick Guide
• Scott Schnoll talks about Microsoft 365 data residency offerings now available in Taiwan
• John Kilmister (@johnkilmister) walks through Gathering Usage Data with the Azure Usage API
• Dan Costenaro blogs about Loop governance, lifecycle, manageability for IT Admins – Nov 2024

Media

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

• Pabhanda talks about The Generative AI Revolution: A new era for partners in the telecom, media and gaming industries

Migration

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

• Ben Brauer describes Mastering secure migration: Essentials for modernizing and innovating on Azure
• N V Sudhir Kumar Raparla provides A quick way to generate Azure SQL migration assessments
• Shiva Shastri covers Azure Migrate - Ignite 2024 updates

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

• Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) delves into Azure Private Link Service Explained: Secure IaaS Connectivity Without Network Peering
• Luke Murray (@lukemurraynz) writes about New Zealand North Latency Testing and Results
• Suren Jamiyanaa describes Enhancements to the Azure Firewall User Experience

Security

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

• Aashis Luitel blogs about Microsoft Security Copilot Achieves SOC 2 Certification
• Julie Hersum writes about 3 internal obstacles to overcome for comprehensive security
• Richa Bindal explains how to Create targeted attack simulation training campaigns with dynamic groups
• Rod Trent explains how to Know Before You Go: Security Copilot at Microsoft Ignite 2024
• Shirleyse Haley explains how to Discover our latest Microsoft Security training on Microsoft Learn
• The Intune Support Team explains how to Known issue: Windows Security Center health status for Windows MAM may require update
• Zophar Sante writes about From prevention to recovery: Microsoft Unifieds holistic cybersecurity approach and discusses Enhancing Threat Hunting with Microsoft Defender Experts Plugin
• Daniel Neumann (@neumanndaniel) walks through Designing the Azure Data Explorer table structure for Azure Diagnostic Logs or Defender for Cloud data ingestion

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

• Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) covers Azure Storage Actions Deep Dive
• dbusireddy describes Empowering migration: Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty comprehensive policy portfolio

Web

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

• Jeff Martinez writes about .NET 9 GA available on Azure App Service
• Dalibor Kovacevic describes Exciting Updates Coming to Conversational Diagnostics Preview
• Renee Noble explains how to Deploy web apps with help from GitHub Copilot for Azure
• Andrew Matveychuk describes Ghost on Azure: Project Update Ghost 5, MySQL Flexible Server, Private Link, RBAC for Key Vault, App Service access restrictions to Front Door
• On the Black Marble blog, Andrew Wilson writes about Easy Auth Function App with Azure API Management

Azure Virtual Desktop

Covering: Azure Virtual Desktop

• Luxmi Nagaraj blogs about Customer review: ThinPrint's ezeep Blue simplifies print management for any remote device

Community Links

• Azure Resource Inventory - Azure Resource Inventory - It's a Powerful tool to create EXCEL inventory from Azure Resources with low effort
• Azure Quick Review (azqr) - A command-line interface (CLI) tool specifically designed to analyze Azure resources and identify whether they comply with Azure's best practices and recommendations.
• AzSaveMoney - Clean-up and save money by identifying and marking unused Azure resources/groups as subject for deletion by tagging.
• Azure Cost CLI - CLI tool to perform cost analysis on your Azure subscription
• Azure Code Samples - Explore Microsoft's samples and discover the things you can build.
• 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 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
• Azure Resource Center - Whitepapers, code samples, solution architectures
• 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.
• Design scalable and performant tables - a guide from the storage team.
• Azure Speed Test 2.0 - a simple web tool that measures the latency between you and Azure Datacenters to suggest which might be fastest for you location.
• 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).
• Microsoft cloud for IT architects illustrations - These cloud architecture posters give you information about Microsoft cloud services, including Microsoft 365, Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and hybrid on-premises and cloud solutions.
• Farmer - This is a DSL for ARM template creation - "Making repeatable Azure deployments easy"!