Azure Weekly Issue 300: 15th November 2020
In honour of our 300th edition, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has been following over the past 6 years, and huge welcome to all the new-comers!
It's been a big week in the .NET community, with the long awaited release of .NET 5. In line with this, the Azure team have announced that .NET 5 now available in App Service! It was also lovely to see endjin get a mention in the .NET Foundation keynote, as we became Corporate Sponsors earlier this year (individuals can become members, and talk to your leadership about whether your org can become a corporate sponsor too). Alongside this, they have also announced that premium tier for Azure Data Lake Storage is now generally available.
On the Azure blog, Mark Russinovich has written a great post on advancing global network reliability through intelligent software. And, on the Microsoft Developer blog, the ream has announced the Release of the Git Experience in Visual Studio, which anyone using VS this week may already be aware of!
Elsewhere, Thomas Maurer has provided a run-down of Azure Learning and Microsoft Certifications, which is definitely worth checking out if you're thinking of getting Microsoft certified.
Finally, Sam Smith walks through using what-if to optimize ARM template deployments, which could have a drastic impact on pipeline performance.
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
- The Azure updates team announces that QnA Maker has introduced deep learning Public Preview, runs through the Azure Machine Learning updates--November 2020 and announces that Custom Translator V2 upgrade (full trainability) is generally available
- On Channel 9, Jason Hand (@jasonhand) talks about How to Kick Off Your Career with Custom Vision
- On Code Project, Arnaldo P. Castao discusses Deep Learning in C#: Coin Recognition with a Pre-Trained Model in ML.NET
- Also on Channel 9, Neha Rajput (@neha_rajput16) covers Introducing QnA managed: Now in Public Preview
- On Azure Medium, Aysegul Yonet discusses No Code AI App with Azure Cognitive Services Custom Vision and Power Apps
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 MSSQL Tips site, Fikrat Azizov explains how to Explore Spark databases with Azure Synapse Analytics
- The Azure updates team announces a New version of SSMS and ADS tools for serverless SQL pools in Azure Synapse Analytics and that SQL Server Analysis Services Virtual Machine images are now available
- On SQL Server Central, Diponkar Paul describes How to simulate Case statement in Azure Data Factory (ADF) compared with SSIS
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
- Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) describes How to Run Scripts in your Azure VM using Run Command
- The Azure updates team announces that Intel SGX based confidential computing VMs now available on Azure Dedicated Hosts, that Node.js 14 for Azure Functions is now available in public preview and highlights that New constrained vCPUs capable VMs are now available
- On the DEV site, Justin Yoo (@justinchronicle) writes about Open API Extension Support for Azure Functions V1
- Tobias Zimmergren & Jussi Roine (@CtrlAltAzure) discuss A few thoughts on event-based automation with Azure
Containers
Covering: Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure Red Hat OpenShift, CNAB, CNCF, Container Instances, Container Registry, Porter, WSL, Web App for Containers
- Jose Moreno (@erjosito) discusses Azure Red Hat Openshift Storage Concepts
- The Azure updates team announces that Support for Oracle WebLogic Server on Azure Kubernetes Service is now available and that Service Fabric release 7.2 is now available
- Mikhail Shilkov (@MikhailShilkov) walks through How To Deploy Temporal to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
- On Azure Tips and Tricks, Michael Crump (@mbcrump) lists 5 Things you didn't know about Azure Kubernetes Service
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 Azure blog, Julia Liuson discusses how Microsoft is Meeting developer needs with powerful new features in Azure Cache for Redis
- The Azure updates team announces the Serverless offer for Azure Cosmos DB in preview on all APIs, that Azure Cosmos DB transactional batch support for Java SDK 4.7.0 and above is now available and that Redis 6.0 is now in preview for Azure Cache for Redis
- On Channel 9, Matt Gordon (@sqlatspeed) talks about Leveling Up Your Azure SQL Database Deployments
- On the SQL Server Blog, Alan Yu (@AlanYuSQL) highlights that The November 2020 release of Azure Data Studio is now available
- On the MSSQL Tips site, Ian Fogelman blogs about Getting Started with Snow Pipe
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, Pratik Nadagouda announces the Release of the Git Experience in Visual Studio
- Also on the Visual Studio blog, Ruben Rios (@rub8n) discusses A more secure GitHub Experience
DevOps
Covering: Azure Artifacts, Azure Boards, Azure DevOps, Azure Pipelines, Azure Repos, Azure Test Plans, Azure DevTest Labs, DevOps tool integrations
- On the MSSQL Tips site, Ron L'Esteve explains how to Deploy Azure Data Factory CI/CD Changes with Azure DevOps and on SQL Server Central, walks through Securing Secrets in Azure DevOps
- On the DEV site, Justin Yoo (@justinchronicle) discusses Deploying Azure Functions via GitHub Actions without Publish Profile
- On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Dan Hellem highlights the Delivery Plans 2.0 Public Preview
- Also on the Microsoft DevOps blog, Jay Gordon (@jaydestro) highlights the Project Bicep Demo at Ignite 2020 by Mark Russinovich
- Thomas Thornton (@tamstar1234) covers Azure DevOps Pipelines Approval Gates
- Kevin Chant explains how to Deploy SQLWATCH to SQL Server using Azure DevOps
Hybrid
Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack
- Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) covers RFC (Azure Stack Hub Partner Solutions Series) and explains how to Connect a Hybrid Server to Azure using Azure Arc
- The Azure updates team announces that Azure HDInsight ID Broker (HIB) is now generally available
- On Channel 9, Vin Yu (@tiger_vin) discusses: "What is Azure Arc Enabled SQL Managed Instance?"
Identity
Covering: Azure Active Directory (AD), Azure Active Directory B2C, Azure Active Directory Domain Services
- Nicolas Bonnet (@nico_bonnet) explains how to Manage external users
- Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) discusses Azure AD Administrative Units
- Damien Bowden (@damien_bod) explains how to Implement a Web APP and an ASP.NET Core Secure API using Azure AD which delegates to a second API
Integration
Covering: Azure API for FHIR, Event Grid, Logic Apps, Service Bus
- On the Premier Developer blog, Rakhi Guha explains how to Generate a Service Bus SAS Token and Manage Token renewal using Azure Runbooks
- Thomas Thornton (@tamstar1234) walks through Log Analytics queries to CSV emailed using Azure Logic Apps
- On Hackernoon, Dave Manton walks through a solution to Issues With Setting up Azure Functions with a Service Bus Trigger
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 Channel 9, Nicholas Chen talks about Azure Sphere Cellular Connectivity
- The Azure updates team highlights that the Azure Sphere 20.10 update is now available
- Also on Channel 9, Alex Kendall talks about how Wayve is Disrupting Autonomous Driving
Learning
Covering: Microsoft Certifications, Azure Certifications, Microsoft Learning Paths, Certification Pathway Information
- Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) discusses Azure Learning and Microsoft Certification
- Adam Marczak (@MarczakIO) continues his series on Az-900, this week covering Azure Role-based Access Control RBAC and Azure Resource Locks
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, Omar Khan explains How to optimize your Azure workload costs
- The Azure updates team announces that Azure Automation is now available in Brazil Southeast region, New recommendations from Azure Advisor are now available, highlights that Azure achieves Service Organization Controls compliance for 14 additional services and announces that SQL Server Reporting Services Virtual Machine images are now available
- On Microsoft + Open Source, Chris Van Dyke talks about how Cloudera Data Platforms integration with Azure delivers enterprise security and governance
- Thomas Thornton (@tamstar1234) discusses how to Provision and store Terraform backend state remotely to use with TerraformTaskV1@0
- Sam Smith (@samsmithnz) walks through Using what-if to optimize ARM template deployments
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
- Radu Vunvulea (@RaduVunvulea) gives an Overview og Azure and covers Tools, templates and assessments for the Define strategy phase of the Cloud Adoption Framework
- On Channel 9, David Stanford and David Blank-Edelman talk about how to Architect successful workloads on Azure
Mobile
Covering: App Service (Mobile), Mobile apps, Notification Hubs, Visual Studio App Centre, Xamarin
- On the Microsoft site, Reporter highlights that Safely recycling your unwanted technology is now as easy as opening an app
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
- John Joyner (@john_joyner) blogs about Azure Sentinel: Connecting the Enterprise Firewalls
- On the Azure blog, Suren Jamiyanaa writes about New enhanced DNS features in Azure Firewall—now generally available
- The Azure updates team announces that New Azure Firewall capabilities will be generally available in Q4 CY2020
- Aidan Finn (@joe_elway) highlights a recording: Introducing Azure Virtual WAN
- On the Azure blog, Mark Russinovich (@markrussinovich) discusses Advancing global network reliability through intelligent software
Security
Covering: Azure DDoS Protection, Azure Information Protection, Azure Sentinel, Key Vault, Security Center
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
- Gregor Reimling highlights some Azure Files Improvements – new Tiers and Soft Delete
- The Azure updates team announces that Premium tier for Azure Data Lake Storage is now generally available
Web
Covering: API apps, API Management, App Service (Web), Azure Cognitive Search, Azure SignalR Service, Azure Spring Cloud, Web apps
- The Azure updates team announces that .NET 5 now available in App Service
- On the DEV site, Waldek Mastykarz explains how to Connect your React app to Microsoft 365
Windows Virtual Desktop
Covering: Windows Virtual Desktop
- On The Azure Podcast, Pavithra Thiruvengadam runs through the WVD Updates
- Christiaan Brinkhoff (@Brinkhoff_C) explains how to Deploy the Remote Desktop (MSRDC) WVD client as Intune Win32 app – via Microsoft Endpoint Manager (MEM) to your physical clients
- Sandeep Patnaik covers some User experience and clients updates
- On System Center Automation, Billy York highlights his Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) Azure Monitor Workbook
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