Azure Weekly Issue 258: 19th January 2020

A few announcements to share this week: we've been told that Azure is now certified for the ISO/IEC 27701 privacy standard, there is a New Azure blueprint for CIS Benchmark, and that Azure Storage Blobs User Delegation SAS Tokens now Generally Available. Elsewhere, James Ding has written about Azure Data Explorer and Stream Analytics for anomaly detection, and Adam Bertram has provided a complete guide to Understanding Azure DevOps Variables.

Last year I worked on a very complex project that used many aspects of Azure; Data Lake Storage, Azure Data Factory, Azure Functions, Machine Learning Services, Azure Kubernetes Service, API Management, and Logic Apps, to name a few!

The system processes 1.5bn+ messages per month & performs complex geospatial analytics to detect suspicious shipping vessel activity which could signify illegal fishing, human trafficking or illegal salvage of heritage sites. The project was very successful & featured in Future Decoded and Web Summit keynotes.

We are awash with high level Azure architectures, and low level implementation details, but there is a paucity of information about thinking how you solve the problem of migrating or re-engineering an existing platform onto Azure and how to optimise for performance, TCO, & value, and the various trade-offs you have to make.

We've been big fans of Wardley Maps since we came across them 18 months ago. We were inspired after attending Map Camp in 2019 to share something with the wider community. Although there is a fantastic free ebook to get you started, real world examples of Wardley Maps are thin on the ground. So my my colleague Jess Panni created an absolutely awesome 10 minute video explaining what Wardley Maps are, and how we used them to think strategically about building this solution on Azure.

Wardley Maps - Explaining how OceanMind use Microsoft Azure & AI to combat Illegal Fishing

If you have any questions or thoughts on Wardley Maps, please get in touch!

If this cause & architecture interests you, OceanMind are currently looking for a Development Manager in the UK.

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

• On Channel 9, Seth Juarez (@sethjuarez) talks about Azure Machine Learning Datasets with Sihui (May) Hu
• On the Azure blog, John 'JG' Chirapurath (@OriginalJGC) describes Creating a more accessible world with Azure AI
• Michael Crump (@mbcrump) shares Tip 240 - Make your data searchable with Azure Search and AI

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

• On the Azure blog, James Ding talks about Azure Data Explorer and Stream Analytics for anomaly detection
• On the MSSQL Tips site, Ron L'Esteve writes about Real-Time Anomaly Detection Using Azure Stream Analytics
• The Azure updates team writes about Azure HDInsight TLS 1.2 Enforcement
• On Channel 9, Cecil Phillip (@cecilphillip) talks about Messaging with Azure Event Hubs with Serkant Karaca and Shubha Vijayasarathy

Blockchain

Covering: Azure Blockchain Service, Azure Blockchain Tokens, Azure Blockchain Workbench

• The Azure updates team writes about the Additional Regions Available for Azure Blockchain Workbench 1.8.0 and highlights that The Azure Blockchain Workbench Solidity compiler has been upgraded to version 0.5.10
• On Channel 9, Chris Segura (@IoTHybridCloud) talks about Blockchain Trends 2020 with Mike Walker

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 Microsoft Cloud Blogs, Vijay Kumar discusses Turning to a new chapter of Windows Server innovation
• On the DEV site, Aaron Powell (@slace) discusses Creating Azure Functions in F#
• The Azure updates team highlights the Azure Batch updates—December 2019
• Roelf Zomerman discusses Azure Availability Sets & Azure Capacity
• Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) writes about Proximity Placement Groups and Accelerated Networking

Containers

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

• Daniel Neumann (@neumanndaniel) describes how to Check cluster manageability with Azure Kubernetes Service Diagnostics
• On the DEV site, Abhishek Gupta (@abhi_tweeter) shares a Tutorial: Integrate Dapr and Azure Event Hubs using Kafka bindings
• Richard Hooper (@Pixel_Robots) describes How to fix Authentication issues with container insights live data on an Azure AD protected AKS cluster
• On Channel 9, Donovan Brown (@DonovanBrown) talks about How to build and deploy a containerized app to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) with Jay Gordon

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 shares some updates: Private Link for Azure Database for PostgreSQL single server now in preview, Private Link for Azure Database for MySQL is now in preview and Private Link for Azure Database for MariaDB is now in preview
• On Channel 9, Anna Hoffman (@AnalyticAnna) describes How to connect to Azure SQL Database from Azure Data Studio
• On the Azure SQL Database blog, Dimitri Furman (@DimitriFurman) blogs about Scaling up an IoT workload using an M-series Azure SQL database
• On the Premier Developer blog, Jean Hayes describes how to Secure Access to Azure SQL Servers for Power BI

Developer Tools

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

• On .NET Rocks, Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell present Visual Studio Online with Nik Molnar
• On the Black Marble blog, Richard Fennell (@richardfennell) writes that Visual Studio Online is back and it is an editor this time!
• The Azure updates team highlights that Azure Lab Services automatically installs GPU drivers with GPU machines
• On the DEV site, Brian Clark (@_clarkio) writes New Year, New VS Code Themes
• On the Premier Developer blog, Tammy McClellan writes about Misty Robotics and Azure

DevOps

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

• On the Azure podcast, The Azure podcast team (@AzurePodcast) presents Episode 311 - Pivotal on Azure with Jason Stevens
• Jeffrey Palermo (@jeffreypalermo) presents Christina Rudolph on DevOps from a Product Manager's Perspective - Episode 71
• On the Daily Dot Net Tips blog, Abhijit Jana (@AbhijitJana) walks through Exporting Visual Studio App Center Data to Azure Application Insights
• On the .NET Curry blog, Gouri Sohoni talks about Azure DevOps - YAML for CI-CD Pipelines
• Adam Bertram (@adbertram) blogs about Understanding Azure DevOps Variables [Complete Guide]
• On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Sasha Rosenbaum (@DivineOps) lists the Top Stories from the Microsoft DevOps Community – 2020.01.10
• On the Premier Developer blog, Sidi Merzouk talks about Deploying React apps to Azure with Azure DevOps
• Wouter de Kort (@wouterdekort) walks through Moving to the Azure Pipelines agent pool

Hybrid

Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack

• On the Check your Logs blog, Dave Kawula (@DaveKawula) discusses The Case of Migrating an Azure Stack HCI Cluster to a new Fabric Domain
• Anand Kumar R (@ranand12) presents Episode 11 – Thomas Maurer – Azure Hybrid using Stack & Arc

Identity

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

• On the Check your Logs blog, John O'Neill Sr. (@JohnONeillSr) covers The Case Of Error Enabling Security Defaults for Azure AD and discusses Creating an Azure AD Conditional Access Policy Requiring MFA for Admins
• Adam Bertram (@adbertram) blogs about Setting Up Hybrid Azure AD-Join: The Best of Both Worlds
• The Azure updates team blogs about Azure Active Directory B2C—Send customized emails using a custom policy

Integration

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

• Radu Vunvulea (@RaduVunvulea) covers FIFO and queues inside AWS and Azure
• On the Premier Developer blog, Deepak Malik (@deepakmalik0) blogs about Azure API for FHIR
• On the Check your Logs blog, Cary Sun (@SifuSun) explains How to create a Free SendGrid Account at Azure, describes How to Send Email from Exchange Server VM with Azure and explains How to use SendGrid as SMTP Relay at Sophos UTM firewall

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 the Azure blog, Adam Lanteigne writes that Retailers embrace Azure IoT Central
• Also on the Azure blog, Sam George (@samjgeorge) shares a IoT Signals retail report: IoT’s promise for retail will be unlocked addressing security, privacy and compliance
• Tobias Zimmergren & Jussi Roine (@CtrlAltAzure) present Episode 12 - Azure IoT Hub and Raspberry Pi
• On Channel 9, Olivier Bloch (@obloch) presents Let's Talk IoT Security with Ofir Barzilay and talks about Geofencing with Azure Maps with Jim Bennett

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, Sceduler

• The Azure updates team provides a Log Analytics gateway in Azure Monitor update—December 2019
• Jessica Deen (@jldeen) discusses Azure Cloud Shell + zsh, oh-my-zsh, tmux, and badass terminal!
• On the Azure blog, John Molesky highlights the New Azure blueprint for CIS Benchmark
• On the Premier Developer blog, Pete Tian (@PetePtian) describes how to Use Azure Application Insights in Java Spring Boot Projects
• Stefan Roth (@stefanroth_net) writes about Azure Policy – How Precedence Works
• On the Azure blog, Noelle Walsh writes that the Microsoft Sustainability Calculator helps enterprises analyze the carbon emissions of their IT infrastructure

Media

Covering: Azure Media Player, Content Protection, Encoding, Live and On-Demand Streaming, Media Analytics, Media Services, Video Indexer

Mixed Reality

Covering: Kinect DK, Remote rendering, Spatial anchors

Migration

Covering: Azure Database Migration Service, Azure Migrate, Data Box

Mobile

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

• On Channel 9, Matt Soucoup (@CodeMillMatt) presents Mostly Cloudy Azure CDN & Front Door and writes a Recap: Mostly Cloudy CDN & Front Door
• Also on Channel 9, James Montemagno (@JamesMontemagno) talks about Device Display Information (Xamarin.Essentials API of the Week) and talks about Best Practices - Advanced Async / Await with Dean Faizel

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

• Aidan Finn (@joe_elway) writes about Why A Bastion Host Is Necessary For Remote VM Administration (Including Azure)

Security

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

• On the Azure blog, Russell McDonald discusses Learning from cryptocurrency mining attack scripts on Linux
• Also on the Azure blog, David Burt writes that Azure is now certified for the ISO/IEC 27701 privacy standard
• Thuan Nguyen provides An analysis of Suspicious Authentication activity from Azure Security Center, explains how to Demystify alert generated by Azure Sentinel versus other 3rd products, explains how to Get started with Azure Sentinel Notebooks and explains how to Authenticate with Log Analytics workspace interactively in Azure Sentinel notebooks

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

• James Serra (@JamesSerra) provides some Azure Storage tips
• Thuan Nguyen explains how to Enable storage account analytics logging on all storage accounts
• The Azure updates team highlights that Azure Storage Blobs User Delegation SAS Tokens now Generally Available
• Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) explains How To Convert Azure File Sync From Standard File Share To Premium File Share and explains How To Calculate The File Share Snapshots Size For An Azure Storage Account

Web

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

• Ruslan Yakushev (@ruslany) describes How to monitor Azure App Service content changes and publishing activity
• Mark Heath (@mark_heath) explains how to Configure Full (Strict) Cloudflare SSL for an Azure App Service Website
• K. Scott Allen (@OdeToCode) writes about Nine Performance Tips for Azure App Services
• Mohit Gupta (@MohitGu48372760) describes how to Secure API in Azure API Management using OKTA Identity management
• On Code Project, Chris A. Johnson describes Installing a Free SSL Certificate on Azure
• On the Check your Logs blog, Cary Sun (@SifuSun) describes How to enable SSL certificate at website of Azure

Windows Virtual Desktop

Covering: Windows Virtual Desktop