Azure Weekly Newsletter Issue #335

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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 Microsoft Docs team explains how to Add LUIS to your bot
• On Channel 9, Shivani Santosh Sambare talks about Prebuilt Docker Images for Inference in Azure Machine Learning
• Parashar Shah announces the General availability of Text Analytics for health, Opinion Mining, PII and Analyze
• Qinying Liao introduces The latest technology advancement in Azure Neural TTS
• On the DEV site, Ornella Altunyan provides an Intro to AI/ML
• On the Azure blog, Mark Russinovich (@markrussinovich) discusses Advancing Azure Virtual Machine availability transparency
• Also on Microsoft Docs, the team explains how to Create a Regression Model with Azure Machine Learning designer
• Amit Marathe covers Building a Traffic Monitoring AI application for a Smart City with Azure Percept

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 announces that Australia Central region has been added to Azure HDInsight
• Mark Kromer (@kromerbigdata) highlights that REST source and sink is now available for data flows
• On SQL Server Central, Arindam Mondal explains how to Merge Multiple Files in Azure Data Factory
• On the MSSQL Tips site, Maria Zakourdaev talks about Azure Data Factory Incremental Pipeline from Azure SQL Database to Databricks

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

• Mark Heath (@mark_heath) covers The Serverless Sliding Scale
• Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) asks Azure Virtual Machine, Gen 1 or Gen 2?
• Jaliya Udagedara (@JaliyaUdagedara) describes Running Puppeteer inside .NET Azure Function

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 Azure Red Hat OpenShift support for OpenShift 4.7
• Thuan Nguyen covers how to Upload container vulnerability assessment result to Azure Storage Account
• Thorsten Hans explains how to Encrypt your Kubernetes Secrets with Mozilla SOPS
• On Code It Yourself, Carlos Mendible (@cmendibl3) talks about Persistent Volume Claim with an Azure File Storage protected with a Private Endpoint in AKS

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:
  Public preview of Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server now offers reserved instance pricing,
  Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Hyperscale Citus support for PostgreSQL versions 13.3 and 12.7 in public preview,
  Private DNS zone integration for Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Flexible Server in public preview,
  Private DNS integration zone integration for Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server in public preview,
  Public preview of Azure Database – Flexible Server now available in new regions,
  Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server: Same-zone high availability in public preview
  and Public preview of Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Flexible Server now offers reserved instance pricing
• Mara Steiu (@MSteiu) walks through Using Qlik Data Integration to Stream Data Changes from a CDC-Enabled Azure SQL Database
• Björn Peters (@SQL_aus_HH) describes Azure SQL Database – General Overview – Refresh Part 1
• On Channel 9, Pam Lahoud (@SQLGoddess) talks about Azure SQL VM: Automate Management with the SQL Server IaaS Agent extension Ep. 2
• On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Steven Murawski (@StevenMurawski) provides an Intro to Azure SQL

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) highlights that JavaScript Debugging is now Built-In to VS Code
• Akihiro Nishikawa (@Logico_jp) delves into how ro Use database CLI to operate databases without either VMs or remote clients

DevOps

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

• Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) explains how to Deploy and Assign Azure Policy via Azure DevOps Pipelines
• Gregor Suttie (@gregor_suttie) walks through Deploying your Azure Function using Azure DevOps
• Thomas Thornton (@tamstar1234) writes about Conditional Variables in Azure DevOps Pipelines
• Kevin Chant covers Using Azure Test Plans with GitHub deployments

Hybrid

Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack

• The Azure Updates Team runs through the general availability updates for Azure SQL, and the public preview updates for Azure SQL and that Azure Managed HSM Private Link is generally available
• Ben Armstrong writes about AKS on Azure Stack HCI
• Bruno Gabrielli covers How To Update Arc Agent Using Azure Automation
• Niko Neugebauer runs through How to find out the SQL MI total amount of RAM
• Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) covers Azure Arc for Developers, IT Pros, Cloud Architects, and Security Engineers
• Danimir Ljepava (@danimir) discusses how to Use external tables on Azure SQL Managed Instance to read data from Azure SQL Database

Identity

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

• Meenal Srivastva explains how to Understand the identity used during component execution in Synapse
• Sonia Cuff (@soniacuff) writes about Windows hybrid join single-sign-on to Azure Active Directory
• Yoann Mallet explains how to Protect your Slack environment using Microsoft Cloud App Security
• Tobias Zimmergren (@zimmergren) explains how to Enforce authentication when sending Application Insights telemetry

Integration

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

• Thuan Nguyen covers how to Notify container image vulnerability assessment result to email using Azure Logic App
• Mohammed Barqawi covers how to Download Logic app run history from internal ISE
• Tareq Saifi talks about Pagination to return large list of items in Azure Logic App
• On the Serverless360 blog, Logeshwaran Rangarajan discusses Application view for azure integration services
• Michael Crump (@mbcrump) explains How to use Azure Service Bus Queues

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, Terry Warwick and Craig Loewen talk about EFLOW and WSL for IoT edge development
• Jim Bennett highlights the JulyOT Student Ambassador Projects
• Paul DeCarlo discusses the Azure IoT Product Feature Updates
• On SQL Server Central, Sucharita Das talks about Working with Azure IoT Central
• Justine Coates (@iotgirl) explores Fleet Management Scenarios with Azure Maps
• Yannis Lempidakis talks about Windows Autopilot for HoloLens 2 general availability
• Henry Sierk explains How to Gain More from your Connection to an OT Network

Learning

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

• Sebastian Zolg (@sebastianzolg) runs through 5 Tips to Become a Microsoft Certified Azure AI Engineer Associate

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 Lower capacity reservation tier for Azure Monitor dedicated clusters, the Azure Monitor Scheduled Query Rules API 2021-02-01-preview, that Azure Monitor IT Service Management Connector is now certified with ServiceNow Quebec version and that General availability: Azure Backup now supports Archive Tier for backups of SQL Server in Azure VMs
• Gregor Suttie (@gregor_suttie) explains How to set environment variables for use with an Azure Function
• On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Peter De Tender (@pdtit) discusses Monitoring Azure by using Grafana dashboards
• Praveen Kumar Sreeram (@PrawinSreeram) describes Azure Bicep for Beginners
• On the Redmond magazine site, Kurt Mackie (@kurmac) covers Azure Virtual Machine Users To Get Failure Analysis Reports
• On the Serverless360 blog, Ezhilarasi Chezhiyan discusses Application view for Microsoft Azure Resources
• Christine Alford (@heyalford) explains how to Enhance Your Cloud Visibility and Operations with Prisma Cloud and Azure

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 Software inventory and agentless dependency analysis generally available with Azure Migrate
• Bill Zack (@WilliamHZack) asks: What is your Azure Maturity Level?

Mobile

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

• On the Trailhead blog, Rodrigo Juarez covers Custom Controls in 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

• The Azure Updates Team announces that Web Application Firewall WAF bot protection on Application Gateway is generally available and that Web Application Firewall WAF geomatch custom rules on Application Gateway is generally available
• Prasun Aggarwal explains how to Apply Adaptive Network Hardening across multiple Subscriptions

Security

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

• The Azure Updates Team announces that Azure Defender for SQL is now in general availability on the Azure SQL Virtual Machine blade
• Thuan Nguyen provides a Quick look at CI/CD Integration in Azure Security Center to scan your docker image
• On Microsoft Security blog, Emma Jones explains How to manage a side-by-side transition from your traditional SIEM to Azure Sentinel

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

• No content this week

Web

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

• On Channel 9, Anthony Chu (@nthonyChu) talks about Getting started with Azure Static Web Apps
• On the DEV site, Adron Hall (@Adron) provides an Intro to GraphQL
• On the Azure blog, Heather Jordan Cartwright (@hjc_microsoft) blogs about how Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare expands portfolio with Azure Healthcare APIs
• Yvette O'Meally explains how to Update 2107 for Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager current branch is now available

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"!