Azure Weekly Newsletter Issue #352

powered by endjin

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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

• Eric Boyd (@eric_boyd) highlights 4 reasons to attend the "Put Responsible AI into Practice" Azure digital event

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

• Mukund Bhashkar discusses Troubleshoot / Debug Package failures in Apache Spark for Azure Synapse
• Saveen Reddy highlights the Azure Synapse Analytics November 2021 Updates
• On the Azure blog, Arindam Chatterjee writes about 5 reasons Azure Databricks is best for Hadoop workloads
• The Azure Updates Team writes about General availability: Azure HDInsight API version updated
• On the Microsoft BI Tools blog, Joost van Rossum (@ssisjoost) describes ADF: Looping through pipelines and execute them
• Kevin Chant provides A fast and festive introduction to Azure Data Engineering services

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

• Chris Noring describes how to Build Serverless apps with Azure and Go
• On Visual Studio Magazine, David Ramel (@dramel) writes about .NET 6 Support Leads New GA Features in Azure Functions Fall Update
• Antti K. Koskela (@koskila) talks about Azure Function build fails with Mono.Cecil.AssemblyResolutionException: Failed to resolve assembly: Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Core
• Rachel Pruitt describes Connected-Cloud architecture for EDA workloads in Azure at scale with data security
• Simon Waight (@simonwaight) explains How to port AWS Serverless solutions to Microsoft Azure
• Shannon Kuehn talks about Video 6 of the Azure VMware Solution Zero to Hero Series FINAL VIDEO

Containers

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

• On the endjin blog, James Dawson (@James_Dawson) blogs about Adventures in Dapr: Episode 0
• The Azure Updates Team writes about the General Availability of Create AKS clusters without local user accounts, and AKS node image auto-upgrade and AKS auto-certificate rotation
• Thorsten Hans (@ThorstenHans) explains how to Manage ACR geo-replications with Azure CLI
• Lucas Santos and Aaron Wislang discuss Using Azure Kubernetes Service with Grafana and Prometheus
• Jay Gordon (@jaydestro) describe how to Get Started with Azure and WebAssembly with StevenMurawski on Episode 63 of AzureFunBytes
• On the Cloudera blog, Justin Hayes explains how to Create your Private Data Warehousing Environment Using Azure Kubernetes Service
• Vinicius Apolinario (@vrapolinario) talks about Networking considerations for gMSA on AKS
• Steve Buchanan (@buchatech) explains how to Deploy App to Azure Kubernetes Service via Argo CD

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 covers Azure Database for PostgreSQL: Flexible Server now generally available and Flexible Server: Geo-redundant backup and restore in public preview
• Sunitha Muthukrishna blogs about Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server – CLI cheat sheet and sample scripts
• On the MSSQL Tips site, Mohammed Moinudheen explains how to Determine correct Azure SQL DB SKU before migrating on premise SQL Server database
• On SQL Server Central, Aaron Bertrand discusses Trusting STRINGSPLIT order in Azure SQL Database
• Radu Vunvulea (@RaduVunvulea) describes Address data processing outside the data sovereignty region GDPR

Developer Tools

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

• Sander van de Velde talks about Creating an Azure Stream Analytics job using VS Code
• On Visual Studio Magazine, David Ramel (@dramel) talks about Auto Completions Speed Up in Java on Visual Studio Code and Uno Platform 4.0 Adds Visual Studio Code Plugin

DevOps

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

• On the Azure blog, Mandy Whaley covers Introducing Azure Load Testing: Optimize app performance at scale
• On the Microsoft DevOps blog, April Edwards (@TheAprilEdwards) covers Automating Azure Static Web Apps in Azure Pipelines
• Justin Yoo (@justinchronicle) describes Refactoring Azure Static Web Apps CI/CD Pipeline
• Bradley Ball covers CI/CD in Azure Synapse Analytics Part 5 - Deploying Azure Synapse Workspace from ARM
• Martina Hiemstra (@mlh3636) blogs about Azure Boards Ux Modernization – Public Preview
• On the Azure Developer Community Blog, Alison Yu walks through Putting Tools in Your Hands to Improve Developer Productivity and Introducing Developer Velocity Lab – A Research Initiative to Amplify Developer Work and Well-Being
• J. Tower describes how to Solving The current .NET SDK does not support targeting .NET 6.0. in an Azure DevOps Pipeline
• On the Q# blog, Holger Sirtl writes DevOps for Quantum Computing
• Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) describes Getting started with Terraform and Azure: Overview and Setup

Hybrid

Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack

• Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) discusses Sync and Backup Synology NAS to Azure Storage
• Anna Hoffman (@AnalyticAnna) blogs about SQL Server 2022: The cloud-connected database in Ep.2 Data Exposed
• Mayuri Gupta writes about In preview: Azure Key Vault secrets provider extension for Arc enabled Kubernetes clusters
• Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) writes about My Windows Server and Azure Arc Hybrid Cloud Lab Kit

Identity

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

• Alex Weinert writes about More coverage to protect your identities and More control and better insights for your Zero Trust deployments

Integration

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

• Ricardo Duncan describes how to Increase Efficiency with Azure Functions and Power Platform
• Ankita Singh explains how to Do you want to build a connector Let's do it together.
• Phil Jirsa blogs about FHIR-fighting: Access Denied

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 writes about the General availability of Secure Data Egress via Managed Identity in Azure IoT Central and Data transformation at Export in Azure IoT Central
• Arturo Lotito covers Stretching the IoT Edge performance limits
• Guy Reginiano covers Help us shape the future of Event/IoT hub with ADX short survey: 3 min. , 7 questions
• Paul Fisher describes Playing Poker with Azure IoT

Learning

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

• Monish Gangwani blogs about Community and certification related resources for developers

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 writes about General availability: Audit Logs of Azure Monitor log queries and Public preview: Azure Monitor action rules are now 'alert processing rules'
• Noa Kuperberg highlights that Azure Monitor Private Links now supports up to 300 workspaces and 1000 components
• Michael Flanakin (@flanakin) discusses Azure Cost Management and Billing updates in November 2021
• The Azure Updates Team describes Public preview: Measure product effectiveness with new user analytics experience in Application Insights
• Jay Gordon talks about Cloud Shell Quick Tip: Service Tag Network Security Group Rule

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

• No content this week

Mobile

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

• No content this week

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 writes about the General Availability of Wildcard listener on Application Gateways, and VPN Gateway NAT and New capabilities in Network Watcher Diagnostic tools to evaluate AVNM Security rules
• Gennady Kostinsky writes about Private Networking Patterns in Azure Database for Postgres Flexible Server

Security

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

• Thuan Nguyen writes about Quickly test Microsoft Sentinel REST API and Use Azure Resource Graph to query Microsoft Defender for Cloud Plan on all subscriptions
• Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) explains how to Manage Security Content as Code with Microsoft Sentinel
• Michael Grenetz explains How to defend against advanced attacks
• Efrat Kliger announces New Security Management Capabilities for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.

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

• Justin Yoo (@justinchronicle) covers Refactoring GitHub Actions Workflow for Azure Static Web Apps

Azure Virtual Desktop

Covering: Azure Virtual Desktop

• David Belanger announces Public Preview of FSLogix profiles for Azure AD-joined VMs in Azure Virtual Desktop

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"!