Azure Weekly Issue 471: 16th June 2024
A slimmer edition this week, partly due to a number of official Azure RSS feeds having suddenly vanished. There have been quite a few Microsoft Fabric articles though! First up and exiting announcement: Public Preview of Native Execution Engine for Apache Spark on Fabric Data Engineering and Data Science, and a video explaining how we achieved 10x Apache Spark performance improvement in Microsoft Fabric processing lots of small files. Microsoft Fabric RTI: Eventhouse and Real-Time Dashboards and Update Fabric Deployment Pipeline stages with DeploymentPipelines-DeployAll and YAML Pipelines.
An interesting post on RAG on structured data with PostgreSQL, and Seamless Recovery: How to Automate Azure VM Evictions Start Ups with Azure Functions, and .NET Aspire & Dapr: What are they and how they complement each other when building distributed applications, and finally App Service Web App for Containers vs Azure Container Apps.
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
- Dale Jacques writes about Technical Pattern: Build Your Own AI Assistant
- Alicia Frame covers Pricing Update: Token Based Billing for Fine Tuning Training
- Divya Swarnkar delves into Announcement Azure OpenAI and Azure AI Search connectors are now Generally Available GA
- On episode 301 of the Azure DevOps podcast, Jeffrey Palermo (@jeffreypalermo) is joined by Scott Forsyth to talk about Generative Artificial Intelligence
- Marco Aurelio Cardoso discusses Keeping your AI out of trouble
- Paolo Colecchia describes How to identify the most impactful GenAI use case
- Hristo Hristov explains how to Build Chatbot with Large Language Model LLM and Azure SQL Database
- Pamela Fox delves into RAG on structured data with PostgreSQL
- Abdulhamid Onawole talks about Integrating Azure AI and OpenAI for Smart App Development
- Panu Oksala talks about Unpacking AI and Copilot Studios
- Manoranjan Rajguru discusses Azure OpenAI Best Practices Insights from Customer Journeys
Analytics
Covering: Apache Spark for HDInsight, Azure Analysis Services, Azure Data Explorer, Azure Data Share, Azure Databricks, Azure Stream Analytics, Azure Synapse Analytics, Data Factory, Event Hubs, HDInsight, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Fabric
- On Microsoft Fabric Blog, Estera Kot discusses Public Preview of Native Execution Engine for Apache Spark on Fabric Data Engineering and Data Science
- On the endjin blog, Ian Griffiths (@idg10) shows how he achieved a 10x Apache Spark performance improvement in Microsoft Fabric
- Koen Verbeeck (@Ko_Ver) explains How to Set Up Microsoft Fabric Database Mirroring for Azure Cosmos DB
- Kevin Chant explains how to Update Fabric Deployment Pipeline stages with DeploymentPipelines-DeployAll and YAML Pipelines
- Guy Reginiano blogs about Set alerts on Real-time Dashboards with Data Activator triggers preview
- Sander van de Velde (@svelde) talks about Microsoft Fabric RTI: Eventhouse and Real-Time Dashboards
- Sean Mirabile provides A Data Factory Pipeline Navigator Map to a Successful POC
- John Folberth (@j_folberth) introduces Deployment Stacks to Azure Data Factory
- On The New Stack, Joab Jackson discusses Snowflake, DataBricks and the Fight for Apache Iceberg Tables
- Michal Bar writes about ADX Web updates – May 2024
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
- Thiago Almeida (@nzthiago) writes about Our latest work to improve Azure Functions cold starts
- Steven Ekren describes Hyper-V live migration network selection in Windows Server 2025
- Gerasimos Alexiou discusses Azure Linux virtual machine not booting – disk issue
- Werner Rall writes about Seamless Recovery: How to Automate Azure VM Evictions Start Ups with Azure Functions
- Raven Zhang walks through Steps to Manually Add PowerShell Modules in Function App
Containers
Covering: Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure Red Hat OpenShift, CNAB, CNCF, Container Instances, Container Registry, Porter, WSL, Web App for Containers
- On Diagrid Blog, Marc Duiker (@marcduiker) writes about .NET Aspire & Dapr: What are they and how they complement each other when building distributed applications
- Anthony Chu (@nthonyChu) talks about Azure Container Apps Newsletter – June 2024
- Harjit Dhaliwal blogs about Myths and misconceptions: Windows 11 and cloud native
- Shyam Yadav writes about AKS Networking Bring your own CNI plugin BYOC
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
- Sravani Saluru writes about Efficient Time-Based Audit Log Filtering for Azure SQL Database
- Diana Putnam covers SQL Server 2022 is EAL 2 Common Criteria certified
- Gennady Kostinsky explains how to Prevent SQL Injection attacks on your PostgreSQL servers
- Matt Changchien walks through Tuning logical replication on Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Flexible Server
- On the Microsoft Mechanics show, Jeremy Chapman (@deployjeremy) and Kirill Gavrylyuk talk about Vector Search using 95% Less Compute DiskANN with Azure CosmosDB
- On the Data Exposed show, Anna Hoffman (@AnalyticAnna) Davide Mauri talk about Azure SQL DB Vector Functions Private Preview
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, Ashok Kamath writes about Visual Studio 2022 – 17.10 Performance Enhancements
- Also on the Visual Studio blog, Jessie Houghton discusses Catch up on the latest Git tooling features in 17.10 GA
- Justin Royal covers M365 Developers Update June 2024 Edition
- On Visual Studio Magazine - Blogs, David Ramel (@dramel) writes about Visual Studio Devs Quick to Sound Off on Automatic Updates: 'Please No'
- Gaurav Seth (@segaurav) talks about Upcoming Changes to Supported Versions of Visual Studio for Remote Debugging with Azure App Service
- Shreyan Fernandes covers Visual Studio Code AI Toolkit: Run LLMs locally
DevOps
Covering: Azure Artifacts, Azure Boards, Azure DevOps, Azure Pipelines, Azure Repos, Azure Test Plans, Azure DevTest Labs, DevOps tool integrations
- On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Gloridel Morales blogs about June patches for Azure DevOps Server
- Also on the Microsoft DevOps blog, Jihye Eom describes Test & Feedback Extension in Manifest V3
- Debjyoti Ganguly blogs about Boosting Code Security with GHAS Code Scanning in Azure DevOps & GitHub
- Kelly Johnson blogs about Whats new from Teams Rooms and Devices at InfoComm 2024
- Surbhi talks about Azure Chaos Studio supports new fault for Azure Event Hub
Hybrid + Multicloud
Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack
Identity
Covering: Azure Active Directory (AD), Azure Active Directory B2C, Azure Active Directory Domain Services
- Irina Nechaeva explains how to SAP Identity Management to Microsoft Entra ID Migration Guidance Now Available
- Andrea Katsivelis covers Fight fraud across the full identity lifecycle with Transmit Security and Microsoft
- Deniz Sezer writes about Effective strategies for conducting Mass Password Resets during cybersecurity incidents
Integration
Covering: Azure API for FHIR, Event Grid, Logic Apps, Service Bus
- Divya Swarnkar blogs about Templates for Azure Logic Apps Standard: Seeking Your Feedback on UI Wireframes
- Gyanendra Kumar Gautam discusses June 10, 2024 Weekly Update on Microsoft Integration Platform & Azure iPaaS
- Harold Campos talks about Implementing Mission Critical Solutions with the Azure Logic Apps Rules Engine
- Kent Weare (@wearsy) talks about Integration Environment Update: Introducing Unified Monitoring and Business Process Tracking Update
- Luis Rigueira provides a Friday Fact: Consistency in Logic App Trigger Names Ensures Successful Resubmissions
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 Sphere Team blogs about Azure Sphere OS version 24.06 is now available for evaluation
Learning
Covering: Microsoft Certifications, Azure Certifications, Microsoft Learning Paths, Certification Pathway Information
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
- Varun Dhawan talks about Azure Advisor Integration with Troubleshooting Guides for enhanced performance
- Yoav Barzilay describes Expanding Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform MDEP support to new devices and form factors
- Diana Hoffman covers Whats new in Windows Autopatch: June 2024
- Gregor Wohlfarter describes How to budget your Azure cloud spend with Microsoft Cost Management
- On the Azure Enablement show, Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) discusses Azure Pricing: How to navigate Azure pricing options and resources
Media
Covering: Azure Media Player, Content Protection, Encoding, Live and On-Demand Streaming, Media Analytics, Media Services, Video Indexer
Migration
Covering: Azure Database Migration Service, Azure Migrate, Data Box
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
- Andrea Michael describes Azure Virtual Network Manager AVNM mesh and direct connectivity are generally available
- Sowmya Mahadevaiah writes about General availability of Azure WAF Bot Manager1.1 Ruleset
- Craig DuBose blogs about Controlling Data Egress in Azure
- David Frazee provides A Closer Look at Azure WAFs Data Masking Capabilities for Azure Front Door
- Wim Matthyssen (@wmatthyssen) delves into Azure Bastion: Solving VM Connection problems caused by NSG on AzureBastionSubnet when using the Azure Bastion Premium SKU
Security
Covering: Azure DDoS Protection, Azure Information Protection, Azure Sentinel, Key Vault, Security Center
- Madhurika Ravela discusses Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Shadow IT Discovery Capabilities Now Support MacOS
- Shawn Hays writes about NIST CSF 2.0 - Protect PR - Applications for Microsoft 365 Part 1
- Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) covers Microsoft Sentinel Sizing and Pricing – Optimize Costs and Enhance Security
- Gary Bushey walks through Debugging Playbooks
- Saar Cohen explains how to Detect suspicious processes running on hidden desktops
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
Web
Covering: API apps, API Management, App Service (Web), Azure Cognitive Search, Azure SignalR Service, Azure Spring Cloud, Web apps
- On the Microsoft Reactor show, Renee Noble and Pamela Fox explain how to Create and deploy a web app with Python and Azure
- John Kilmister (@johnkilmister) covers App Service Web App for Containers vs Azure Container Apps
- Skyler Hartle (@skylerhartle) explains how to Create a Retrieval-Augmented Generation RAG app instantly with React, FastAPI, and Qdrant
Azure Virtual Desktop
Covering: Azure Virtual Desktop
- Jim Moyle discusses App attach for Azure Virtual Desktop now generally available
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