Azure Weekly

Issue #173 - 6th May 2018

It's Build 2018 this coming week, and what better way to prepare than getting up to scratch with all of the past week's Azure news with this newsletter.

We're sporting a slightly modified format this week, in line with Azure's new structure for all of its product categories: Azure Products. As you will see, the categories are now more granular and are listed in alphabetical order. We've de-duped the services which span multiple categories, so make sure you look at each category description to familiarize yourself with where we've placed each of the distinct services. They should all be there!

Let's have a look at this week's announcements:

We've also been told that Azure has expanded its certification scope of Health Information Trust Alliance Common Security Framework and we've been given an introduction to the The Azure Cloud Collaboration Center: A First-of-Its Kind Facility.

Are you interested in implementing serverless architectures and all things IoT? Azure is inviting you to participate in the Azure IoT on Serverless hackathon: Bring the power of serverless to your IoT application and compete for cash prizes.

Elsewhere, Sam Cogan has described the numerous ways as to how one can implement Backup for Azure Blob Storage.

⚙️ AI + Machine Learning

On the Azure blog, the Azure team announces that Microsoft extends AI support to PyTorch 1.0 deep learning framework
On TechNet, Nissanka Seneviratne writes about the Azure Custom Vision Service : How to do a simple custom image recognition.
On MSDN, Sheri Gilley writes On-Prem or On the Cloud
On TechNet, Bart Czernicki writes about Microsoft Artificial Intelligence: A platform for all information worker skill set levels
On MSDN, Harry Churchill writes about Azure Notebooks at Imperial College Machine Learning Society
Also on MSDN, Jing Chang discusses TensorFlow on Azure: Enabling Blob Storage via Alluxio

🔎 Analytics

On the Azure blog, Gaurav Malhotra, Program Manager - Azure Data Factory, describes how to Secure credential management for ETL workloads using Azure Key Vault and Data Factory
On MSDN, Sandy Winarko writes about the Enterprise Edition, Custom Setup, and 3rd Party Extensibility for SSIS in ADF
Also on MSDN, Ashish Thapliyal (@ashishth) answers some HDInsight Hive Frequently Asked Questions
On TechNet, Alp Kaya explains how to Replace your SAP BW by leveraging Simplement and the Microsoft Azure Data Stack
Chris Webb (@cwebb_bi) walks through Troubleshooting Data Refresh Performance Issues With OData Data Sources In Power BI And Excel Using Fiddler
Devin Knight (@knight_devin) presents Power BI Custom Visuals Class Module 101 – Tachometer
On the Power BI blog, Nimrod Shalit provides the Power BI Developer community April update and Nick Michetti writes that Power BI Revs Up NASCAR Fantasy Game

🖥️ Compute

On the Azure blog, Kay Singh writes that OS Disk Swap for Managed Virtual Machines now available and announces that Per disk metrics for Managed & Unmanaged Disks now in public preview
Also on the Azure blog, Rashmi Iyer announces that Write Accelerator for M-Series virtual machines now generally available
On Channel 9, Scott Hanselman (@shanselman) talks about Low-Priority VM Scale Set (VMSS) with Ziv Rafalovich
On MSDN, Igor Pagliai (@igorpag) provides a Azure Availability Zones Quick Tour and Guide
On TechNet, Bernhard Frank explains How to find out which image was used for the deployment of an existing Azure VM
On the Kloud blog, Darren Robinson (@darrenjrobinson) blogs about Deploying a SailPoint IdentityNow Virtual Appliance in Azure
Mark Heath (@mark_heath) describes Error Handling with Durable Functions
Jason Roberts (@robertsjason) writes a Testing Precompiled Azure Functions Overview
On MSDN, Greg Oliver (@GoLiveMSFT) describes how to Bootstrap your Container-Based Azure Function
Also on MSDN, Lee Stott (@lee_stott) describes Understanding your GPU Performance on Azure with GPU Monitor
Also on MSDN, Farah Deendar and Chike Okor talk about Blockchain in the Enterprise

🚢 Containers

On MSDN, David Sanchez describes Running your DVWA on Azure AKS
Daniel Neumann (@neumanndaniel) describes Keeping your ACS Engine Kubernetes cluster on Azure up-to-date and writes about Using ACS Engine to build private Kubernetes clusters with bring your own Virtual Network on Azure
Also on MSDN, LukasSteindl explains How to create a docker image with a node js express website, push it to azure container registrationACR, create a linux web app for containers and configure it to run the docker image stored in the ACR.
On Channel 9, Alena Hall (@lenadroid) presents Part 4 of 4: Terraform for Azure Container Service
Vincent-Philippe Lauzon (@vplauzon) writes Azure Container Registry – Getting Started
On TechNet, Courtenay Bernier writes about the Microsoft Cloud App Security log collector + OMS Docker container monitoring

🗄️ Databases

On the Azure blog, Alexander (Sasha) Nosov writes about the Flexible new way to purchase Azure SQL Database
On the Azure blog, Rohan Kumar writes Turbocharge cloud analytics with Azure SQL Data Warehouse
Also on the Azure blog, Igor Stanko writes about the Blazing fast data warehousing with Azure SQL Data Warehouse
Also on the Azure blog, Kevin Ngo describes the Region expansion for the next generation of SQL Data Warehouse
Also on the Azure blog, Tomas Talius writes about the Adaptive caching powers Azure SQL Data Warehouse performance gains
James Serra (@JamesSerra) writes that Azure SQL Data Warehouse Gen2 announced
Also on the Azure blog, Anum Jang Sher writes Explore SaaS analytics with Azure SQL Database, SQL Data Warehouse, Data Factory, and Power BI
On MSDN, Jasmine Greenaway writes that Cosmos DB Solves Common Data Challenges in App Development

🛠️ Developer Tools

On the Azure blog, Shubha Vijayasarathy covers Python, Node.js, Go client libraries for Azure Event Hubs in public preview
On the Daily Dot Net Tips blog, Abhijit Jana (@AbhijitJana) explains how to Create new Azure App Service using Cloud Explorer in Visual Studio
On MSDN, Ahmed Elnably writes about the App Service Command Line Tools Resources
On Channel 9, Donovan Brown (@DonovanBrown) talks about VS Code for Java Microservices in Kubernetes with Rome Li
Michael Crump (@mbcrump) writes Azure Tips and Tricks Part 120 - Run Azure PowerShell Cmdlets in Visual Studio 2017

🔩 DevOps

On MSDN, Sam Guckenheimer announces the DevOps Resource Center
Also on MSDN, Jamie Cool writes about the VSTS Public Projects Limited Preview
On MSDN, Alex Nichols covers What's new in VSTS Sprint 133 Update
Also on MSDN, Willy-P. Schaub lists the Top stories from the VSTS community – 2018.04.27
Simon Waight (@simonwaight) writes about Multi-environment deployments for Compiled C# Azure Functions with VSTS Release Management
On Channel 9, Damian Brady talks about Deploying Azure Functions with VSTS with Simon Waight
Also on MSDN, Giles Davies (@gdavi) writes about Azure DevOps: Use VSTS conditions to control build or release flow
Also on MSDN, Benjamin Xue describes How to Add a New Visual Studio Solution to an Existing VSTS Repository
Also on MSDN, Wael Kdouh (@waelkdouh) describes Integrating Angular Unit Tests With Visual Studio Team Services VSTS Using Headless Chrome and Puppeteer
On the Black Marble blog, Richard Fennell (@richardfennell) writes Major new release of my VSTS Cross Platform Extension to build Release Notes
Also on MSDN, Tanmayee Kamath covers Image Factory – Part 4: Set Retention Policy and Run Cleanup Steps
On the Daily Dot Net Tips blog, Abhijit Jana (@AbhijitJana) describes how to Bring your own Git Repository Code to Azure DevOps Project
On the Azure podcast, the Azure podcast team and guest Richard Clawson present Episode 227 - Azure SRE
Gunnar Peipman (@gpeipman) writes that the Global DevOps Bootcamp 2018 is coming to Tallinn

🎭 Identity

On the Insentra blog, Richard Young blogs about Hybrid: Cross-Premises Delegation
On TechNet, Tim Macaulay provides a Support-Tip: (AADCONNECT): How to insert the TargetAddress Attribute Value into the ProxyAddresses list
On Code Project, Majdi Saibi describes Zendesk authentication using JWT and Azure Active Directory

🔌 Integration

On MSDN, Deepa Chandramouli describes Enterprise Integration made easy in Azure
On the Kloud blog, Asish Padhy writes about the Automation and Creation of Office 365 groups using Flow, Microsoft Graph and Azure Function – Part 1 and describes how to Set up a Microsoft Graph App for Office 365 and SharePoint Online management to use in Azure Functions, Flow, .Net solutions and much more
Also on MSDN, Marc Schweigert (@devkeydet) describes Calling an Azure AD secured REST API from PowerApps using Flow

💡 Internet of Things

On the Azure blog, Gorka Madariaga writes Bring the power of serverless to your IoT application and compete for cash prizes
On MSDN, Enes Uysal welcomes us to the Azure IoT, Devices and Cognitive Services CSS Team Blog
On Channel 9, Olivier Bloch (@obloch) provides a few build teasers with an 'On the Road to Build' series Azure IoT Solutions with Cory Newton Smith, Azure IoT Platform Services with Chris and Andrew, Azure IoT Hub updates with Chris, Azure IoT Edge updates with Emmanuel, IoT Security with Eustace Asangawa and Azure Sphere with Galen Hunt and Mike Hall
On Code Project, harleydk covers Going serverless with Internet-of-Things and Azure Functions
Also on MSDN, Shailendra Miglani and Kumar Shiv Subramanyam discusses Enabling Industry 4.0 and smart factories with IoT and AI
On the risual blog, Charlie Lennon provides a Microsoft Azure Sphere Overview

⚖️ Management and Governance

On the Azure blog, Jason Zander (@jlzander), Corporate Vice President of Development for the Windows Azure team, describes The Azure Cloud Collaboration Center: A First-of-Its Kind Facility
Also on the Azure blog, Francis Yu writes about the General availability: Azure Storage metrics in Azure Monitor
Callon Campbell gives an Overview of Monitoring in Azure
On the Kloud blog, Syed Naqvi describes Azure Policy for Auditing VM Tags
On the Daily Dot Net Tips blog, Abhijit Jana (@AbhijitJana) provides an Azure Tip: Global Subscription Filtering in Azure Portal
On MSDN, Adel Ghabboun covers Application Insights in Disconnection Mode
Also on MSDN, CliveW writes Azure Log Analytics: Queries, Has the Hostname been changed
Also on MSDN, Peter Groenewegen and Pascal Naber writes about Best practices for using Azure Resource Manager Templates
On Microsoft + Open Source, Eugene Chuvyrov describes Deploying and using HashiCorp Terraform Enterprise on Azure
On the Microsoft Cloud Show, Andrew Connell (@andrewconnell) presents Episode 249 | HashiCorp Terraform with Microsoft Azure with Ali Mazaheri and Anubhav Mishra
Also on MSDN, Stuart Leeks (@stuartleeks) covers posh-HumpCompletion in Azure Cloud Shell
Also on MSDN, Kanwartej Basrai describes How to use a different version of DSC modules available in Azure DSC Module Gallery
Also on MSDN, Trey Talbott writes Understanding RPO and RTO considerations of Azure Solutions
Also on the Kloud blog, Syed Naqvi talks about OMS Patching – Active Directory Groups

📱 Mobile

On Channel 9, James Montemagno (@JamesMontemagno) talks about Lifting App State with Geoffrey Huntley
Also on Channel 9, there has been a lot of gaming content on the Level Up channel

🌐 Networking

On the Azure blog, Abhave Sharma describes how to Monitor Microsoft peering in ExpressRoute with Network Performance Monitor - public preview
Also on the Azure blog, Anavi Nahar announces that Global VNet Peering now generally available

🔐 Security

On TechNet, Yuri Diogenes (@yuridiogenes) describes the Integrated Security Configuration for your Azure VM and describes Leveraging Azure Security Center Capabilities in a PCI DSS Compliant Environment
Also on TechNet, Mark O'Shea (@intunedin) writes about the New Microsoft 365 Business Capabilities – Azure Information Protection Premium P1

📦 Storage

On the Azure blog, Sercan Guler writes that AzCopy on Linux now generally available
Sam Cogan (@samcogan) blogs about Backup for Azure Blob Storage
On the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast, Ben Stegink and Scott Hoag present Episode 61 – Cloud File Shares

🔗 Web

On MSDN, MiaoJiang writes about the API Management General Availability in China and US Government Cloud
On the Azure podcast, the Azure podcast team and guest Thuru Vijayakumar discusses Episode 226 - API Management Best Practices
On the Azure blog, Oded Dvoskin (@odeded) writes about the Breaking change for SNI-SSL host names on Azure App Service
Also on MSDN, Andrew Hall (@AndrewBrianHall) writes Exploring Azure App Service – Introduction
Michael Crump (@mbcrump) writes Azure Tips and Tricks Part 119 - Determine the outbound IP addresses of your Azure App Service
On Code Project, Majdi Saibi (@majdisaibi) talks about Automating code deployment with Github and Azure