Azure Weekly Newsletter Issue #359

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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

• Meer Alam covers Connecting to Azure Services from within Azure ML Notebook
• Neal McFee talks about Powering the Azure Percept DK using batteries for multiple scenarios

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

• Olesya Melnichenko writes about Genomic data in Parquet format on Azure
• James Serra (@JamesSerra) describes DataLakehouse, Data Mesh, and Data Fabric
• Ron L'Esteve describes Reporting, Advanced Analytics, CICD, and Governance in the Lakehouse
• John Miner (@JohnMiner3) blogs about Leveraging the Power Query activity within Azure Data Factory
• Leo Furlong describes how to Leverage Azure Databricks jobs orchestration from Azure Data Factory
• On the Cloudera blog, Michael Kohs announces the GA of Cloudera DataFlow for the Public Cloud on Microsoft Azure

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, Manoj Kumar writes about Genomic analysis on Galaxy using Azure CycleCloud
• On the Data Exposed channel Anna Hoffman talks with Pam Lahoud and Aditya Badramraju about Azure SQL VM: New and Improved SQL on Azure VM deployment & management experience Ep.8
• Aaron Powell (@slace) discusses OpenAPI for JavaScript Azure Functions
• On episode 411 of the Azure Podcast Sujit D'Mello, Cynthia Kreng, Suhas Rao, and Graeme Foster talk about Event Driven Architectures on Azure
• On the Azure blog, Erin Chapple (@erinchapple) explains how to Learn how open source plays a key role in Microsofts cloud strategy with Inside Azure for IT

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 Private preview: AKS cluster persistent volume backup
• Thorsten Hans (@ThorstenHans) walks through Exposing gRPC services in Azure Container Apps
• The serverless360 team provide a Azure Container Apps overview

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

• Rajendra Gupta (@rajendragupta16) walks through Migrating SQL Data into Azure Cosmos DB
• Sajeetharan Sinnathurai covers Cosmos DB Pagination & Continuation Tokens with JavaScript
• Sudheesh Narayanaswamy talks about Monitoring and creating alerts for Data-in replication with Azure Database for MySQL-Flexible Server

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, Paul Chapman covers Support ends for older versions of Visual Studio

DevOps

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

• Brad Wyatt blogs about Getting Started with Bicep, an ARM DSL for Azure
• On episode 179 of the Azure DevOps podcast Jeffrey Palermo (@jeffreypalermo) talks with Shaun Walker about Blazor and Oqtane
• On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Dan Hellem describes Copy Dashboard Public Preview Part 3
• On episode 67 of the AzureFunBytes podacast, Jay Gordon (@jaydestro), Gahl Levy and Theo van Kray discuss What's New With AzureCosmosDB
• Episode 120 of the Ctr+Alt+Azure podcast with Tobias Zimmergren and Jussi Roine covers Azure Updates

Hybrid + Multicloud

Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack

• Andy Chan writes about IC Manage Holodeck Enables Microsoft Azure For Semiconductor Design

Identity

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

• The Azure Updates Team announces Public preview: Azure Bastion now supports file transfer via the native client
• Ralf Klahr discusses Implementing Azure NetApp Files with Kerberos
• Robin Goldstein explains how to Collaborate more securely with new cross-tenant access settings
• On Code Project, Rahul Sharma covers Azure AD Managed Identities: Java Apps on Azure Kubernetes Service and Azure AD Managed Identities: Using Managed Identities to Obtain Key Store Credentials

Integration

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

• No content this week

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 the General Availabilty of: Regional deployments for all new and existing IoT Central applications, and Search results page improvements in Azure IoT Central, and Improved getting started material in Azure IoT Central documentation and Find developer resources easily with the IoT Central GitHub repository
• Antti K. Koskela (@koskila) shares Azure IoT Edge gotchas

Learning

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

• Deepak Kaushik (@ThinkForDeepak) Webinar: Boost Azure Analytics with Databricks and Deploying an AI model in Azure

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 the General Availability of: Azure Site Recovery update rollup 60 - January 2022 and Recovery points extended to 15 days with Azure Site Recovery
• Alan Kinane (@Azure_Alan) covers MSP: The well-tempered Azure tenant – Part 2
• Roelf Zomerman (@RCZ_Jag) writes about when Azure subscriptions make sense

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

• Nicola Delfino (@NicolTwit) writes about creating an Azure Hub and Spoke Playground
• Akshay Attota discusses Azure Data Components Network Architecture with secure configurations

Security

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

• Sharon Ko explains highlights What's New: Consolidating Apache Log4j-related insights across Multiple Tenants and Workspaces
• Tobias Zimmergren (@zimmergren) describes how to Track your Secure Score over time in Azure

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

• Jim Gray explains how to GET Azure Blob with Subtle Crypto Signed Pure JavaScript

Web

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

• John Reilly (@johnny_reilly) talks about Azure Static Web Apps - a Netlify alternative
• Daichi Isami (@normalian) describes how to Leverage collaboration between PowerApps and Azure API Management - No.1
• Also on Tech Community blog, Aaron Powell (@slace) blogs about GraphQL on Azure: Part 7 - Server-side Authentication and Part 8 - Logging

Azure Virtual Desktop

Covering: Azure 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"!