Azure Weekly Newsletter Issue #300

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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

• The Azure updates team announces that QnA Maker has introduced deep learning Public Preview, runs through the Azure Machine Learning updates--November 2020 and announces that Custom Translator V2 upgrade (full trainability) is generally available
• On Channel 9, Jason Hand (@jasonhand) talks about How to Kick Off Your Career with Custom Vision
• On Code Project, Arnaldo P. Castao discusses Deep Learning in C#: Coin Recognition with a Pre-Trained Model in ML.NET
• Also on Channel 9, Neha Rajput (@neha_rajput16) covers Introducing QnA managed: Now in Public Preview
• On Azure Medium, Aysegul Yonet discusses No Code AI App with Azure Cognitive Services Custom Vision and Power Apps

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 MSSQL Tips site, Fikrat Azizov explains how to Explore Spark databases with Azure Synapse Analytics
• The Azure updates team announces a New version of SSMS and ADS tools for serverless SQL pools in Azure Synapse Analytics and that SQL Server Analysis Services Virtual Machine images are now available
• On SQL Server Central, Diponkar Paul describes How to simulate Case statement in Azure Data Factory (ADF) compared with SSIS

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

• Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) describes How to Run Scripts in your Azure VM using Run Command
• The Azure updates team announces that Intel SGX based confidential computing VMs now available on Azure Dedicated Hosts, that Node.js 14 for Azure Functions is now available in public preview and highlights that New constrained vCPUs capable VMs are now available
• On the DEV site, Justin Yoo (@justinchronicle) writes about Open API Extension Support for Azure Functions V1
• Tobias Zimmergren & Jussi Roine (@CtrlAltAzure) discuss A few thoughts on event-based automation with Azure

Containers

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

• Jose Moreno (@erjosito) discusses Azure Red Hat Openshift Storage Concepts
• The Azure updates team announces that Support for Oracle WebLogic Server on Azure Kubernetes Service is now available and that Service Fabric release 7.2 is now available
• Mikhail Shilkov (@MikhailShilkov) walks through How To Deploy Temporal to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
• On Azure Tips and Tricks, Michael Crump (@mbcrump) lists 5 Things you didn't know about Azure Kubernetes Service

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 Azure blog, Julia Liuson discusses how Microsoft is Meeting developer needs with powerful new features in Azure Cache for Redis
• The Azure updates team announces the Serverless offer for Azure Cosmos DB in preview on all APIs, that Azure Cosmos DB transactional batch support for Java SDK 4.7.0 and above is now available and that Redis 6.0 is now in preview for Azure Cache for Redis
• On Channel 9, Matt Gordon (@sqlatspeed) talks about Leveling Up Your Azure SQL Database Deployments
• On the SQL Server Blog, Alan Yu (@AlanYuSQL) highlights that The November 2020 release of Azure Data Studio is now available
• On the MSSQL Tips site, Ian Fogelman blogs about Getting Started with Snow Pipe

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, Pratik Nadagouda announces the Release of the Git Experience in Visual Studio
• Also on the Visual Studio blog, Ruben Rios (@rub8n) discusses A more secure GitHub Experience

DevOps

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

• On the MSSQL Tips site, Ron L'Esteve explains how to Deploy Azure Data Factory CI/CD Changes with Azure DevOps and on SQL Server Central, walks through Securing Secrets in Azure DevOps
• On the DEV site, Justin Yoo (@justinchronicle) discusses Deploying Azure Functions via GitHub Actions without Publish Profile
• On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Dan Hellem highlights the Delivery Plans 2.0 Public Preview
• Also on the Microsoft DevOps blog, Jay Gordon (@jaydestro) highlights the Project Bicep Demo at Ignite 2020 by Mark Russinovich
• Thomas Thornton (@tamstar1234) covers Azure DevOps Pipelines Approval Gates
• Kevin Chant explains how to Deploy SQLWATCH to SQL Server using Azure DevOps

Hybrid

Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack

• Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) covers RFC (Azure Stack Hub Partner Solutions Series) and explains how to Connect a Hybrid Server to Azure using Azure Arc
• The Azure updates team announces that Azure HDInsight ID Broker (HIB) is now generally available
• On Channel 9, Vin Yu (@tiger_vin) discusses: "What is Azure Arc Enabled SQL Managed Instance?"

Identity

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

• Nicolas Bonnet (@nico_bonnet) explains how to Manage external users
• Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) discusses Azure AD Administrative Units
• Damien Bowden (@damien_bod) explains how to Implement a Web APP and an ASP.NET Core Secure API using Azure AD which delegates to a second API

Integration

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

• On the Premier Developer blog, Rakhi Guha explains how to Generate a Service Bus SAS Token and Manage Token renewal using Azure Runbooks
• Thomas Thornton (@tamstar1234) walks through Log Analytics queries to CSV emailed using Azure Logic Apps
• On Hackernoon, Dave Manton walks through a solution to Issues With Setting up Azure Functions with a Service Bus Trigger

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 Channel 9, Nicholas Chen talks about Azure Sphere Cellular Connectivity
• The Azure updates team highlights that the Azure Sphere 20.10 update is now available
• Also on Channel 9, Alex Kendall talks about how Wayve is Disrupting Autonomous Driving

Learning

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

• Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) discusses Azure Learning and Microsoft Certification
• Adam Marczak (@MarczakIO) continues his series on Az-900, this week covering Azure Role-based Access Control RBAC and Azure Resource Locks

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, Omar Khan explains How to optimize your Azure workload costs
• The Azure updates team announces that Azure Automation is now available in Brazil Southeast region, New recommendations from Azure Advisor are now available, highlights that Azure achieves Service Organization Controls compliance for 14 additional services and announces that SQL Server Reporting Services Virtual Machine images are now available
• On Microsoft + Open Source, Chris Van Dyke talks about how Cloudera Data Platforms integration with Azure delivers enterprise security and governance
• Thomas Thornton (@tamstar1234) discusses how to Provision and store Terraform backend state remotely to use with TerraformTaskV1@0
• Sam Smith (@samsmithnz) walks through Using what-if to optimize ARM template deployments

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

• Radu Vunvulea (@RaduVunvulea) gives an Overview og Azure and covers Tools, templates and assessments for the Define strategy phase of the Cloud Adoption Framework
• On Channel 9, David Stanford and David Blank-Edelman talk about how to Architect successful workloads on Azure

Mobile

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

• On the Microsoft site, Reporter highlights that Safely recycling your unwanted technology is now as easy as opening an app

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

• John Joyner (@john_joyner) blogs about Azure Sentinel: Connecting the Enterprise Firewalls
• On the Azure blog, Suren Jamiyanaa writes about New enhanced DNS features in Azure Firewall—now generally available
• The Azure updates team announces that New Azure Firewall capabilities will be generally available in Q4 CY2020
• Aidan Finn (@joe_elway) highlights a recording: Introducing Azure Virtual WAN
• On the Azure blog, Mark Russinovich (@markrussinovich) discusses Advancing global network reliability through intelligent software

Security

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

• No content this week

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

• Gregor Reimling highlights some Azure Files Improvements – new Tiers and Soft Delete
• The Azure updates team announces that Premium tier for Azure Data Lake Storage is now generally available

Web

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

• The Azure updates team announces that .NET 5 now available in App Service
• On the DEV site, Waldek Mastykarz explains how to Connect your React app to Microsoft 365

Windows Virtual Desktop

Covering: Windows Virtual Desktop

• On The Azure Podcast, Pavithra Thiruvengadam runs through the WVD Updates
• Christiaan Brinkhoff (@Brinkhoff_C) explains how to Deploy the Remote Desktop (MSRDC) WVD client as Intune Win32 app – via Microsoft Endpoint Manager (MEM) to your physical clients
• Sandeep Patnaik covers some User experience and clients updates
• On System Center Automation, Billy York highlights his Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) Azure Monitor Workbook

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"!