Azure Weekly Newsletter Issue #284

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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 Channel 9, Seth Juarez (@sethjuarez) talks about Distributed Processing
• On the DEV site, Chloe Condon (@ChloeCondon) explains How to Make AI Feel Less like Sci-Fi with AI Builder
• On Azure Medium, Francesca Lazzeri (@frlazzeri) highlights a Data Science Video Series for getting started with Machine Learning on Azure

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, Jess Panni (@JessPanni) has written another great post on Azure Synapse Analytics: How serverless is replacing the data warehouse
• Andy Leonard (@AndyLeonard) writes about One Way to Incrementally Develop ADF Pipelines
• On the Azure blog, John Chirapurath writes about how to Save up to 76 percent on Azure Synapse Analytics and gain breathtaking insights of your ERP data
• The Azure updates team announces that .NET Core support for Azure Analysis Services client libraries is in preview and that Data Factory connector support for Delta Lake and Excel is now available
• Radu Vunvulea (@RaduVunvulea) talks about a transformation from From Azure Data Factory to Event Hub and Functions
• On the Azure blog, Bharat Sandhu highlights that you could Now save up to 52 percent when migrating to Azure Databricks
• Andy Leonard (@AndyLeonard) discusses Nesting ForEach Activities in Azure Data Factory
• On Channel 9, Kaitlin McKinnon provides a Dev Intro to Data Science
• On the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast, Scott Hoag (@ciphertxt) talks about Azure Synapse, Cognitive Search, and Forms Recognizer

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

• On the Azure blog, Brenda Bell writes about the fact that AMD-based memory-optimized Azure virtual machines are now available in more regions
• Jaliya Udagedara discusses Dependency Injection in Azure Functions

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 that Azure Monitor for Containers now supports recommended alerts

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

• The Azure updates team announces New Azure SQL Database gateways in Australia East, Canada Central, and West US 2
• Mike Donnelly (@SQLMD) asks: What is Cosmos DB?
• On the SQL Server Blog, Alan Yu (@AlanYuSQL) highlights that The July 2020 release of Azure Data Studio is now available

Developer Tools

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

• The Azure updates team announces that you can now Debug Azure Stream Analytics queries using job diagram in Visual Studio Code
• Tobias Zimmergren & Jussi Roine (@CtrlAltAzure) discuss Remote development with Visual Studio Code

DevOps

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

• On the premier developer blog, Bernard Apolinario, Sujith Nair, and Latha Natarajan give a thorough overview of GitHub Actions
• On the .NET Curry blog, Subodh Sohoni (@subodhsohoni) discusses the GitHub Integration with Azure DevOps
• The Azure updates team announces that State transition restriction rules for Azure Boards are now generally available
• On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Dan Hellem discusses the Azure Boards Summer Update
• Also on the Microsoft DevOps blog, Gloridel Morales walks through the July patches for Azure DevOps Server and Team Foundation Server
• On Channel 9, Cormac Foster (@cormacfoster) talks about how to use GitLab with Azure

Hybrid

Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack

• Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) highlights that Azure Arc enabled SQL Server Preview is now available, discusses Azure Log Analytics for Azure Arc Enabled Servers and walks through How to Run Custom Scripts on Azure Arc Enabled Servers
• On the Azure blog, Tad Brockway (@tadbrockway) announces the general availability of Azure shared disks and new Azure Disk Storage enhancements
• The Azure updates team announces that Azure Site Recovery now supports replication with private links and that the Azure SQL Managed Instance management pack is now generally available
• James van Den Berg explains how to Manage Servers On-premises with Microsoft Azure Cloud Services

Identity

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

• On the Visual Studio blog, Ruben Rios (@rub8n) blogs about how they are Improving the authentication experience for enterprises leveraging Conditional Access policies
• Sam Cogan (@samcogan) asks: WTH are Azure AD Security Defaults?

Integration

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

• The Azure updates team announces that Azure Private Link for Azure SignalR Service is now generally available
• Praveen Kumar Sreeram (@PrawinSreeram) covers how to Rename the Application Insight Service
• On the DEV site, Abhishek Gupta (@abhi_tweeter) explains how to Manage Azure Event Hubs with Azure Service Operator on Kubernetes
• Also on the DEV site, Sandra Ahlgrimm explains how to Connect your Java App with Power Apps

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, Diego Viso blogs about Azure Time Series Insights Gen2: Leading the next generation of industrial IoT analytics platforms
• Also on the Azure blog, Ricky Brundritt (@rbrundritt) highlights that Azure Maps Power BI visual is now in preview
• The Azure updates team highlights the Azure IoT Central UI and documentation updates (June 2020), talks about the Azure IoT Central UI new and updated features, has given a Notification of upcoming changes to Azure Time Series Insights web experience URL and announces that Azure Sphere OS update 20.07 is available for compatibility testing
• On the DEV site, Jim Bennett talks about Building smart garden ornaments with a Raspberry Pi and micro:bits
• Also on the DEV site, Paul DeCarlo blogs about Building the Intelligent Edge with Jetson and Azure ft. the NVIDIA Embedded team (JulyOT)
• On Channel 9, Anna Hoffman and Davide Mauri discuss Azure SQL and IoT
• Also on Channel 9, Olivier Bloch (@obloch) discusses Using Azure Time Series Insights to create an Industrial IoT analytics platform and highlights Microsoft Rocket for democratizing Live Video Analytics
• On the DEV site, Paul DeCarlo covers Visualizing Object Detection Data in Near Real-Time with PowerBI (JulyOT)
• Also on the Azure blog, Heather Jordan Cartwright (@hjc_microsoft) highlights that the Microsoft Azure IoT Connector for FHIR is now in preview

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 MSSQL Tips site, Ron L'Esteve describes Getting Started with Azure Blueprints
• On the Azure blog, Sameeksha Khare highlights that Azure Monitor for SAP Solutions is now in preview and on Channel 9, Scott Hanselman and Syeda Persia Aziz introduce walk through the technology
• The Azure updates team provide an Azure Site Recovery update rollup
• Praveen Kumar Sreeram (@PrawinSreeram) walks through 6 steps to integrate Application Insights with .Net Core application hosted in Azure App Service
• On the Azure blog, Nick Vossburg blogs about how Azure Partner Zone brings new resources and special events for Partners, and discusses the Azure Management workshop
• Tobias Zimmergren (@zimmergren) describes how to Stay on top of the Azure Governance game
• On the Serverless360 blog, Nishanth Prabhakaran explains how to Visualize Azure Resources from Multiple Subscriptions under One-roof
• On the DEV site, Frank Boucher explains How to Manage Azure Resources
• Praveen Kumar Sreeram (@PrawinSreeram) describes how to use Application Insights to Analyze live traffic using Live Metrics
• On Azure Tips and Tricks, Michael Crump (@mbcrump) discusses Getting Started with the Azure Quickstart Center

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

• The Azure updates team announces that Azure Data Box Disk is now available in China
• Dave Rendn covers how to Move VHD to Azure and create Virtual Machine image using Powershell Az Module
• On the Azure blog, Jeremy Winter discusses Preparing for what’s next: Financial considerations for cloud migration

Mobile

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

• On Channel 9, James Montemagno and Maddy Leger discuss Using Hot Restart to easily Debug to iOS Devices

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

• Aidan Finn (@joe_elway) describes Azure Virtual WAN ARM – Secured Virtual Hub Azure Firewall
• On the Azure blog, Leo Li describes an Azure Data Factory Managed Virtual Network
• Also on the Azure blog, Yousef Khalidi (@YousefkAzure) walks through Running SD-WAN virtual appliances natively in Azure Virtual WAN
• On the DEV site, Jay Gordon (@jaydestro) discusses Azure VNETs with Abel Wang

Security

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

• Thuan Nguyen runs through Everything you need to know about Azure Security Center Alert Suppression and explains how to Get Alert Relation from an Incident using Azure Sentinel Incident Relation API
• On the Azure blog, Hasan Abo-Shally announces Azure Files support and new updates in advanced threat protection for Azure Storage
• On Channel 9, Anna Hoffman and Joseph D'Antoni discuss The Benefits of Advanced Threat Protection in Azure SQL Database
• Tobias Zimmergren (@zimmergren) explains how to Create a custom Azure Security Center recommendation with Azure Policy

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

• On the MSSQL Tips site, Mohammed Moinudheen covers Azure VM Backup File Restore
• On the Check your Logs blog, Rick Vanover (@RickVanover) highlights: Azure Storage Explorer Updated with New Capability for Blobs
• On the Azure blog, Klaas Langhout describes how to Run high scale workloads on Blob storage with new 200 TB object sizes
• The Azure updates team announces that you can now Choose to allow or disallow blob public access on Azure Storage accounts and highlights the Azure Blob versioning public preview region expansion
• On Code Project, Kevin Mack explains How to Pull Blobs Out of Archive Storage

Web

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

• The Azure updates team highlights the Azure API Management update (July 2020)
• On the DEV site, Aaron Powell (@slace) discusses GraphQL on Azure: Part 1 - Getting Started
• On the Azure podcast, Stephen Wu delves into Azure Data Lake Storage Static Website

Learning

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

• On the endjin blog, Carmel Eve (@Carmel_Eve) explains How to prepare for Exam AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure
• On the Whizlabs blog, Neeru Jain provides a Preparation Guide for AI-900 Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals Exam

Windows Virtual Desktop

Covering: Windows Virtual Desktop

• On the Azure blog, Ofir Monza talks about Protecting Windows Virtual Desktop environments with Azure Security Center
• Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) blogs about Windows Virtual Desktop Email Discovery

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.
• Farmer - This is a DSL for ARM template creation - "Making repeatable Azure deployments easy"!