Azure Weekly Newsletter Issue #330

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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, Krishna Doss talks about how to Translate documents at scale and preserve formatting with Azure Translator
• The Azure Updates Team runs through the Azure Machine Learning public preview announcements for June 2021 and announces Azure Cognitive Services Text Analytics for Health
• Gopal Vashishtha explains how to Deploy PyTorch models with TorchServe in Azure Machine Learning online endpoints
• Jeffrey Raymond Kitt writes: Meet The Swiss Group Uniting Biz Apps And Cognitive Services
• On Code Project, Jeremy Morgan (@JeremyCMorgan) runs through Building a Face Recognition App with Blazor and Azure Cognitive Services
• Michael Crump (@mbcrump) explains How to deploy Azure Cognitive Services in containers

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

• The Azure Updates Team writes about General availability: Azure Data Explorer adds new geospatial capabilities
• On the MSSQL Tips site, John Miner (@JohnMiner3) describes Azure Data Factory Parameter Driven Pipelines to Export Tables to CSV Files
• Abhishek Narain explains how to Send notification on a Microsoft Teams channel from a Data Factory pipeline
• On Code Project, Mehreen Tahir writes about Seamless Streaming Analytics with Azure Synapse Analytics Part 1: Overview
• Jianlei Shen highlights that Azure Data Factory Copy now supports Always Encrypted for both source and sink
• Also on the MSSQL Tips site, Jeremy Kadlec talks about Microsofts commitment to the data community
• On Channel 9, Lisa Cohen (@lisafeig) talks about Better Azure content, programs & services through applied data science
• On the Perficient blog, David Callaghan provides a Deep Dive into Databricks Tempo for Time Series Analytics

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, Kevin Raines highlights that we should Join Microsoft at ISC 2021 and drive innovations with Azure high-performance computing
• On the Perficient blog, Amit Belekar runs through The Benefits of the Azure Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS)
• Aman Verma covers Azure HBv3 VMs and Excelero NVMesh Performance Results: 100+ GB/s, 23+ million IOPS, 100 µs latency
• Jon Shelley writes about Optimal MPI Process Placement for Azure HB Series VMs
• Zachary Cavanell explains how to Migrate & Modernize Linux VMs and Databases into Azure
• Also on the Azure blog, Michael Yen-Chi Ho explains how to Streamline your custom image building process with Azure VM Image Builder service
• Orin Thomas highlights that Windows Server 2022 Azure Edition is in Public Preview
• On the Azure blog, Andy Jia explains how to Optimize extreme computing performance with Azure FX-series Virtual Machines
• Alan Kinane (@Azure_Alan) discusses why Its time to start using Generation 2 virtual machines in Azure
• The Azure Updates Team announces the Expansion of credit-based disk bursting to Azure Standard SSDs E30 and smaller
• On The Azure Podcast, Brandy Brown and Sherryl Manalo discuss Reducing Carbon Emissions with Spot VMs

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 Container Registry is now available in West US 3
• Richard Hooper (@Pixel_Robots) talks about ExternalDNS and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
• The Service Fabric team highlights the Azure Service Fabric 8.0 Second Refresh Release

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:
  Full text query in diagnostics logs for Azure Cosmos DB in general availability,
  Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Flexible Server: Forced failover in public preview,
  Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Hyperscale Citus now offers server group restart feature in public preview,
  AzureSQL—general availability updates forlate June 2021
  and AzureSQL—public preview updates forlate June 2021
• On the Perficient blog, Tejas Wadbudhe describes How to Achieve High-Availability for Azure SQL by Using Auto-Failover Group
• On Channel 9, Jason Anderson (@JasonMA_MSFT) talks about The power of blockchain with the simplicity of SQL
• Davide Mauri (@mauridb) highlights that Azure SQL Database Hyperscale named replicas are now in preview
• On the MSSQL Tips site, Mohammed Moinudheen discusses some Options to backup SQL Server databases on Azure SQL VMs

Developer Tools

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

• On Visual Studio Magazine - Blogs, David Ramel (@dramel) discusses what's New in Azure SDK: Data Tables & Monitor Libraries, and More
• Geert Baeke (@GeertBaeke) walks through Approving a private endpoint connection with Azure CLI

DevOps

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

• The Azure Updates Team announces the Azure DevOps updates for June 2021
• On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Jay Gordon (@jaydestro) lists the Top Stories from the Microsoft DevOps Community
• Feng Xue discusses Combining multiple repositories with Azure DevOps pipelines
• Thomas Thornton (@tamstar1234) blogs about Storing and retrieving secrets in Azure KeyVault with Variable Groups in Azure DevOps Pipelines
• Kevin Chant highlights an event about GitHub and Azure DevOps
• Rick Roché shares tips on Migrating Azure ARM templates to Bicep

Hybrid

Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack

• Steve Buchanan (@buchatech) highlights a Pluralsight course on Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes
• On the DEV site, Rob Sewell (@sqldbawithbeard) and Jay Gordon discuss Azure Arc Enabled Data Services
• Bozhong Lin runs through some Updates to Azure Arc-enabled Machine Learning
• Gregor Reimling explains how to Connect physical/virtual servers to Azure Arc for centralized Azure management

Identity

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

• On the Redmond magazine site, Kurt Mackie (@kurmac) delves into a Microsoft Offers Tool for Finding Outdated Azure Active Directory App Dependencies
• Joseph Dadzie writes about how to Securely collaborate with guests using Azure AD guest access reviews
• Sue Bohn provides Guidance on using Azure AD to meet Zero Trust Architecture and MFA requirements

Integration

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

• The Azure Updates Team announces that the Azure Maps Mobility Services Preview will be retired on 5 October 2021
• Wen-Jun Zhang walks through How to capture exception and dump files of LogicApp standard in Kudu console

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 that Azure Sphere OS version 21.06 is now generally available, that Azure IoT Edge for Linux now generally available and the Azure Digital Twins plugin for Azure Data Explorer
• On the DEV site, Nitya Narasimhan (@ntiya) provides A Visual Guide To: Computer Vision in Azure
• On the Azure Developer Community Blog, Paul DeCarlo discusses JulyOT: 31 Days of Learning for everyone interested in the Internet of Things
• Justine Coates (@iotgirl) talks about Saving time and money with Azure Maps
• Martin Tuip announces the GA of Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows
• Taylor Anderson highlights that Adding Context to IoT Data Just Became Easier
• The Azure Sphere Team announces that Azure Sphere OS version 21.06 is now generally available
• On Code Project, Mohamed Ashiq blogs about Azure IoT with Arduino UNO Board to Turn On/Off LED using a .NET Core Console Application
• Pete Gallagher provides a first look at Azure Percept, then Azure Percept Audio – First Steps and Azure Percept Audio – Custom Keywords and Commands

Learning

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

• Tobias Zimmergren & Jussi Roine (@CtrlAltAzure) discuss how to Get certified on Azure Security with AZ-500
• Timothy Warner (@TechTrainerTim) discusses Building Your Azure Cloud Skills
• Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) provides an AZ-700 Study Guide: Azure Network Engineer

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 Log Analytics Open In Excel - A new Excel integration capability
• On Channel 9, Ritesh Kini discusses how to Rightsize your Azure Virtual Machines and Priyanshi Mittal runs through Lower costs with Azure Virtual Machine reservations
• On Azure Sentinel Blog, Roberto Rodriguez (@Cyb3rWard0g) describes Testing the New Version of the Windows Security Events Connector with Azure Sentinel To-Go
• Roy Kim (@roykimyyz) writes about Pragmatic Guide to Azure Resource Naming Conventions
• On Azure Sentinel blog, Shahar Aviv describes Moving Azure Activity Connector to an improved method
• Anthony Watherston discusses Software Installation using Azure Policy State Change events
• Sonia Cuff (@soniacuff) explains How to display Azure Monitor alerts with smart lights and no code

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

• On Microsoft + Open Source, Chhavi Nijhawan describes How to migrate and modernize Linux workloads and open source databases to Azure
• On the Codit blog, Tom Kerkhove (@TomKerkhove) describes how Azure makes it easy to run open-source products
• On the Azure blog, Jaishree Subramania (@JaishreeMS) explains how to Manage your digital transformation at scale for retail with Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure
• Anna Hoffman (@AnalyticAnna) explains how to Build serverless, full stack applications in Azure

Mobile

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

• On the Azure blog, Jason Freeberg explains how to Deploy apps seamlessly with Red Hat JBoss EAP on Azure App Service—now generally available
• The Azure Updates Team announces that you can now Turn your phone into an IoT device with the new IoT Plug and Play mobile app
• David Ramel (@dramel) runs through What's New in .NET MAUI Preview 5

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

• The Azure Updates Team announces the Public preview of Default Rule Set 2.0 for Azure Web Application Firewall
• Geert Baeke (@GeertBaeke) discusses Azure App Services with Private Link

Security

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

• The Azure Updates Team announces that the Azure Key Vault Managed HSM is generally available
• On Azure Sentinel blog, Preeti Krishna (@PreetiKr007) explains how to Join in the Azure Sentinel Hackathon 2021
• On Code Project, Aditya Sharma (@adinb007) describes Implementing Azure Information Protection in MS Office documents and PDFs programmatically
• On SQL Server Central, Ron L'Esteve discusses Azure Databricks Access Controls and Row Level Security
• On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Abhishek Narain (@narainabhishek) covers Azure Data Factory Security

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 Azure blog, Yuan Zheng explains how to Modernize large-scale NFS workloads and eliminate data silos with Azure Blob Storage
• The Azure Updates Team announces that NFS 3.0 protocol support is generally available in Azure Blob storage, a Azure NetApp Files Regional Capacity Quota and highlights that Account creation will be blocked for Azure Data Lake Storage Gen1 for new customers starting July 5, 2021
• On SQL Server Central, Tonie Huizer walks through Running SQL Clone on an Azure VM with Azure File Storage

Web

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

• Jamie McCrindle's blog, Jamie McCrindle writes about Building an Azure App Service with a custom container using Bicep
• On the DEV site, Yan Jin explains how to Build serverless real-time chat application with Web PubSub and Static Web Apps
• Yuchen Wang explains how to Deploy Java app and dependencies to Azure App Service in a single step with Maven

Windows Virtual Desktop

Covering: Windows Virtual Desktop

• No content this week

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"!