Azure Weekly Issue 267: 22nd March 2020
It's been quite a quiet week in the Azure community, I suspect as everyone adjusts to working from home. Endjin went fully remote just over two years ago and we know it can be quite an adjustment!
Microsoft have announced this week that the Filesystem SDKs for Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 now generally available. This is great news for those of us developing with Azure Data Lake Gen2!
There is also a new Deploy to Azure extension for Visual Studio Code, and we've had a bit of a look at the extension for editing ARM templates, which is looking pretty good!
In line with this, Michael Crump has listed the Top 5 Visual Studio Code extensions for Azure Developers.
And, here at endjin, James has written another great blog on Azure Analysis Services – This time on how to process an asynchronous model refresh from .NET.
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
- In Azure Cognitive Services, the Azure updates team has announced that Brazilian Portuguese has been added to neural Text to Speech and Cognitive Services introduces new Neural Text to Speech voices for different styles
- On the Azure podcast, Jose Medina talks about Machine Learning Options
- On Channel 9, Seth Juarez (@sethjuarez) talks about Capturing telemetry to gain insights into your conversational health (Part 2 of 3)
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 endjin blog, James Broome (@broomej) has written another blog about Azure Analysis Services – How to process an asynchronous model refresh from .NET
- Andy Leonard (@AndyLeonard) writes about the ADF Publisher Pending Changes Blade and highlights that ADF Wait Activity Wait Time Property is Now Dynamic
- On the DEV site, Cecil L. Phillip talks about Improving accessibility of health insurance in the Dominican Republic
Blockchain
Covering: Azure Blockchain Service, Azure Blockchain Tokens, Azure Blockchain Workbench
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
- The Azure updates team announces that Azure Functions custom handlers are now in preview and Python 3.8 support is now generally available in Azure Functions
- On the DEV site, Abhishek Gupta (@abhi_tweeter) gives us an Azure Functions tip: making sense of GSON JsonSyntaxException
- On the Serverless360 blog, Nadeem Ahamed highlights Azure Functions Live
- On the SQL Server Blog, the SQL Server Team (@SQLServer) explains How to provision a Linux SQL Server Virtual Machine in Azure
- Thuan Nguyen writes about Quick notes in deploying Guest Configuration Extension on Azure VM
- On the Azure blog, Vijay Kanchanahalli blogs about how to Power your Azure GPU workstations with flexible GPU partitioning
- The Azure updates team announces the Azure Shared Disks for clustered applications preview now available, FastTrack for Azure is now generally available in MEA and that HBv2-Series VMs are Generally Available in West Europe
Containers
Covering: Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure Red Hat OpenShift, CNAB, CNCF, Container Instances, Container Registry, Porter, WSL, Web App for Containers
- On the Azure blog, Reshmi Mangalore (@rmangalore) covers Azure Container Registry: Preview of customer-managed keys
- The Azure updates team announces that Managed keys for Azure Container Registry is now in preview and that ACR built-in audit policies for Azure Policy is now in preview
- Larry Wall describes Using the Azure Files Volume driver with multiple volumes in Service Fabric
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
- On the MSSQL Tips site, John Miner (@JohnMiner3) explains how to Deploy SSIS Catalog to Azure Cloudwith Part 1 and Part 2
- The Azure updates team has a few announcements:
Azure Private Link for Azure Database for MariaDB is now generally available,
Azure Private Link for Azure Database for MySQL is now available,
Private Link for Azure Database for PostgreSQL Single Server is now available,
Azure Private Link for Azure Cosmos DB is now generally available,
Azure Cache for Redis reserved capacity now available,
Azure Database for MySQL—Connection redirection support for PHP drivers
and Native Mongo shell on Azure Cosmos DB API for MongoDB is now in preview - On the SQL Server Blog, the SQL Server Team (@SQLServer) lists some Tips to select the best Azure SQL deployment option
- On the DEV site, Aaron Powell (@slace) introduces FSharp.CosmosDb
- Also on the DEV site, Burke Holland (@burkeholland) describes Trimming expenses on The Urlist with Azure Cosmos DB Free Tier
- On the Azure SQL Database blog, Rohit Nayak covers Azure SQL Database Connectivity and Network Security improvements
Developer Tools
Covering: App Configuration, Azure Lab Services, CLIs, Developer tool integrations, SDKs, Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio Online
- On the Azure blog, Pulkit Agarwal writes about the New Deploy to Azure extension for Visual Studio Code
- On the DEV site, Michael Crump (@mbcrump) lists his Top 5 Visual Studio Code extensions for Azure Developers
- Also on the DEV site, Yohan Lasorsa (@sinedied) highlights the New VS Code extension to manage Azure VMs
- On the Visual Studio blog, Mike Morton writes about Visual Studio Code Docker extension 1.0 – Better than Ever
- On ZDNet, Liam Tung blogs about the fact that Microsoft's Windows Terminal now has mouse support for Windows Subsystem for Linux
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, Jimson Chalissery (@jimsonc) blogs about Supporting SHA-2 algorithm in SSH on Azure DevOps
- Also on the Microsoft DevOps blog, Steven Murawski lists the Top Stories from the Microsoft DevOps Community
- On the Premier Developer blog, Guru Satish Piduru and Aaron Perry walk through Converting Classic Azure DevOps Pipelines to YAML
- Sam Cogan (@samcogan) covers Using Terraform Modules from Git in Azure DevOps
Hybrid
Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack
- On the Azure blog, David Kurth helps us Learn new strategies and technologies to optimize your hybrid cloud
- Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) describes how to Onboard On-Premises Servers To Azure ARC From Windows Admin Center
- On Channel 9, Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) talks about how to Manage and govern your hybrid servers using Azure Arc
Identity
Covering: Azure Active Directory (AD), Azure Active Directory B2C, Azure Active Directory Domain Services
- Nicolas Bonnet (@nico_bonnet) covers Azure AD Connect Cloud Provisionning
Integration
Covering: Azure API for FHIR, Event Grid, Logic Apps, Service Bus
- On the Planet Geek blog, Daniel Marbach (@danielmarbach) delves into Azure Serivice bus, focusing on Receiving a message and Sender, receiver and abstractions
- The Azure updates team announces that Azure Service Fabric 7.0 fourth refresh release is now rolling out, Event Grid Premium tier is now in preview, Azure Private Link is Generally Available for Azure Services and highlights 101 services at FedRAMP High as Azure Government continues expanding capacity
- On the Azure Developer Community Blog, Jeffrey Chilberto delves into Azure Event Grid
- Mariano Gomez talks about Using Azure Text Analytics to monitor Coronavirus COVID-19 updates with Power Apps
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 that Azure IoT Edge 1.0.9 release is now available
- On Channel 9, Caitie McCaffrey provides an Introduction to the Azure Sphere Security Service
- On the DEV site, Jim Bennett writes about An IoT Busy light for folks working from home
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
- On the Azure blog, Scott Kinghorn announces the general availability of Azure Monitor for virtual machines
- The Azure updates team highlight an Action Required—Log Analytics agent for Windows will enforce SHA-2 signing on May 18, 2020, and announces that Azure Cloud Shell now supports additional storage regions and describes Log Analytics Agent for Windows March 2020 release is now available
- On the DEV site, Frank Boucher explains How to know how much your application is consuming on Azure
- Yung Chou (@yungchou) walks through Creating Azure Managed Disk with VHD Using PowerShell
- The Azure updates team announces that Multi-organization billing for Azure DevOps is now available
- On the Azure Developer Community Blog, Tanmayee Kamath announces that Azure DevTest Labs is enforcing TLS 1.2 starting May 01 2020.
- Deepak Kaushik (@ThinkForDeepak) discusses Azure -Disaster Recovery for SAP HANA Systems
- Rafael Rivera (@WithinRafael) covers Typing text on a virtual machine keyboard via PowerShell CIM Cmdlets
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
- On the Premier Developer blog, Tim Omta asks: How do I get data from SQL CE to Azure DB?
- Sarah Lean (@TechieLass) talks about how to Start your datacentre transformation with Azure Migrate
Mobile
Covering: App Service (Mobile), Mobile apps, Notification Hubs, Visual Studio App Centre, Xamarin
- On Channel 9, James Montemagno (@JamesMontemagno) talks about Text-to-Speech - Xamarin.Essentials API of the 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
- On the Azure blog, Viny Nigam highlights that Unified network monitoring with Connection Monitor now in preview
The Azure updates team has several updates:
Azure Data Explorer deployment into Azure Virtual Networks now generally available,
Http Raw logs for Azure Content Delivery Network, Private Link for Azure SQL Database is now available,
Azure Web Application Firewall integration with Azure Content Delivery Network service now in preview,
Azure Front Door—March 2020 updates
and Azure Web Application Firewall for Azure Content Delivery Network is in preview- The Azure updates team announces that App Service regional Virtual Network integration is now available
Security
Covering: Azure DDoS Protection, Azure Information Protection, Azure Sentinel, Key Vault, Security Center
- Thuan Nguyen gives us a Quick look at new Azure Sentinel Incident API
- The Azure updates team announces that Azure Sentinel generally available in Azure Government, and Azure Security Center—Protection for Azure Kubernetes Service is now available and highlights how to Onboard on-prem servers to Security Center from Windows Admin Center
- On the Tallan blog, Byron Branning covers Azure Governance – Part 3 Azure Blueprints
- Tobias Zimmergren & Jussi Roine (@CtrlAltAzure) are Talking about Azure Sentinel with Maarten Goet
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
- The Azure updates team announces that Append Blob immutability support now generally available in Azure Storage
- On the Azure blog, Priya Shetty announces that Filesystem SDKs for Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 now generally available
- The Azure updates team announces that Private Endpoints for Azure Storage are now Generally Available
Web
Covering: API apps, API Management, App Service (Web), Azure Cognitive Search, Azure SignalR Service, Azure Spring Cloud, Web apps
- Shahed C talks about Key Vault for ASP .NET Core 3.1 Web Apps
- On the DEV site, Julien Dubois (@juliendubois) describes using Spring Boot, JHipster and Azure Spring Cloud together
Windows Virtual Desktop
Covering: Windows Virtual Desktop
Roelf Zomerman walks through several concepts with Windows Virtual Desktop:
An overview
Reusing your template VM,
Profile Management with Azure files & FSLogix,
AutoDeploy FSLogix
and Expanding and renewing
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