Azure Weekly Issue 316: 21st March 2021
It's a slightly quieter week, but there's still plenty to read. First off there's a limited-time free quantities offer for Azure Synapse Analytics. Next, Prevent exceeding Azure budget with forecasted cost alerts, and Dynamic data masking granular permissions for Azure SQL and Azure Synapse Analytics is generally available.
Azure Communication Services is one of the lesser known offerings, and covers some of the same features as Twilio. Bicep is a new higher level abstraction over ARM, John Reilly integrates Bicep with Azure Pipelines. Another overlooked service is Azure Cognitive Search, if you're interested in Knowledge Management, it something to take a look at, and it features in the latest AI Show: find meaningful insights using semantic capabilities in Azure Cognitive Search. Investments in Azure Storage keep adding great features, this week Directory scoped shared access signatures SAS is generally available.
And finally, my favourite post from this week, where Jon Gallant shows just how much effort went into the deciding whether the Azure SDK should use Iot or IoT in their naming conventions in A behind the scenes look at how we decided to capitalize the T in Azure.IoT.
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, Luis Cabrera (@msluisca) discusses how to Find meaningful insights using semantic capabilities in Azure Cognitive Search
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, Azure Purview
- Chris Webb (@cwebb_bi) discusses Comparing The Performance Of Importing Data Into Power BI From ADLSgen2 Direct And Via Azure Synapse Analytics Serverless, Part 3: Parquet Files
- On the Azure blog, Daniel Yu highlights a Limited-time free quantities offer for Azure Synapse Analytics
- The Azure updates team announces that Azure Data Explorer ADX Performance Updates are generally available and that Azure Data Explorer performance update EngineV3 is now generally available
- On Tech Community blog, Liliam Leme discusses Managed and External tables on Serverless
- On SQL Server Central, Ryan Kennedy writes: What is Azure Databricks?
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 the Azure podcast, Anavi Nahar (@AnaviNahar) delves into Azure Load Balancer
- On the Azure blog, Evan Burness (@evanburness) writes about More performance and choice with new Azure HBv3 virtual machines for HPC
- On Channel 9, David Justo (@davidjustodavid) talks about Durable functions in Python for Azure Functions
- On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Jay Gordon (@jaydestro) explains how to Scale your cloud resources with elasticity
- Philip Cumner talks about Azure Functions Environment Separation with Linux Apps
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) walks through ACI in VNet with Init and Sidecar Containers
- Pixel Robots. discusses Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS): How to over-provision node pools
- Daniel Neumann (@neumanndaniel) explains how to Distribute your application across different availability zones in AKS using Pod Topology Spread Constraints
- Donovan Brown (@DonovanBrown) explains how to Develop Dapr Components in a container
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, Rajendra Gupta (@rajendragupta16) talks about Query Audit data in Azure SQL Database using Kusto Query Language (KQL)
- On SQL Server Central, Steve Jones describes Using Non-SQL Languages in Azure Data Studio
Developer Tools
Covering: App Configuration, Azure Lab Services, CLIs, Developer tool integrations, SDKs, Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio Online
- Waldek Mastykarz (@waldekm) highlights the CLI for Microsoft 365 v3.7
- Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) explains How to run scripts against multiple Azure VMs by using Run Command
- Arun Chandrasekhar runs through the Azure CLI Highlights from Microsoft Ignite
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, Steven Murawski (@StevenMurawski) lists the Top Stories from the Microsoft DevOps Community
- Also on the Microsoft DevOps blog, Vijay Machiraju covers the Change in Azure Pipelines Grant for Private Projects
- On Channel 9, Abel Wang and Steven Murawski discuss On Prem To The Cloud: Everything As Code (Episode 4)
- On Code Project, Arun Endapally walks through Migrating your Old TFVC Repository to Git with Full History in Azure DevOps
- Kevin Chant describes Configuring your personal Azure DevOps organization for Azure Synapse Studio Git integration
Hybrid
Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack
- The Azure updates team announces that Service Broker message exchange for Azure SQL Managed Instance is in public preview, that Long-term backup retention LTR for Azure SQL Managed Instance is in public preview and that Machine Learning Services on Azure SQL Managed Instance is now generally available
- Ben Armstrong writes about AKS on Azure Stack HCI (March Update)
- Jason Yi discusses Hidden Treasure Part 1: Additional Performance Insights in DISKSPD XML
Identity
Covering: Azure Active Directory (AD), Azure Active Directory B2C, Azure Active Directory Domain Services
- Geert Baeke (@GeertBaeke) talks about Azure Kubernetes Service authentication with Azure AD
- On the DEV site, Peter De Tender (@pdtit) covers Azure Identity and Service Principals
- Marius Rochon writes: To B2B or to B2C?
- Alex Simons Azure explains how to Accelerate your move to the cloud with new capabilities in Azure AD Domain Services
- Andreas Wolter (@AndreasWolter) talks about Delegation of Authority
- Herman Arnedo Mahr walks through Understanding hybrid Azure AD join and co-management
- Lee Stott (@lee_stott) describes Implementing SSO with Microsoft Accounts for Single Page Apps
- On SQL Server Central, Rajendra Gupta (@rajendragupta16) blogs about Azure AD Authentication for Azure SQL Databases
Integration
Covering: Azure API for FHIR, Event Grid, Logic Apps, Service Bus
- Jame Maguire writes about Azure Communication Services (ACS)
- On the Azure Developer Community Blog, Sagar Lankala discusses Enabling an Event Driven Architecture with DevTest Labs
- Aaron Powell (@slace) discusses GraphQL on Azure: Part 6 - Subscriptions With SignalR
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
- Jon Gallant (@jongallant) provides A behind the scenes look at how we decided to capitalize the T in Azure.IoT
- The Azure Updates Team announces Azure IoT Central new and updated features - February 2021
- Sander van de Velde describes Azure Stream Analytics anomaly detection on the edge
- The Azure Sphere Team highlights that Azure Sphere OS version 21.03 is now available for evaluation
- On the Azure blog, Tom Keane (@tomwkeane) explains they Do more for the National Security mission with Azure
Learning
Covering: Microsoft Certifications, Azure Certifications, Microsoft Learning Paths, Certification Pathway Information
- Sarah Lean (@TechieLass) discusses the Microsoft Beta Exams
- Lee Stott (@lee_stott) discusses Developing amazing educational apps with Microsoft Graph
- Ayca Bas explains how to Get started with Microsoft Graph Toolkit at Microsoft Learn
- Adam Marczak (@MarczakIO) continues his series on AZ-900, covering Azure Cost Management
- Sarah Lean (@TechieLass) covers Studying for the SC-900 Exam - Day 4
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
- John Reilly (@johnny_reilly) demonstrates how to integrate Bicep with Azure Pipelines
- Barbara Forbes (@Ba4bes) explains how to Get started with ARM templates
- On the Azure blog, Adam Wise explains how to Prevent exceeding Azure budget with forecasted cost alerts
- The Azure Updates team announces:
General availability: Azure Log Analytics in Australia Central 2, General availability: Application Insight in Australia Central 2, Generally available: Monitor your spending through forecasted cost alerts with Azure Cost Management and Billing, Azure Monitor SQL insights for Azure SQL in public preview and Brazil South Availability Zones now generally available - On Channel 9, Gaurav Malhotra (@GauravMalhot12) discusses Azure Purview: New connectors, Synapse integration, enhanced business glossary, and more
- Pierre Roman (@pierreroman) discusses Azure Monitor Agent
- On SQL Server Central, David Poole discusses Documenting a SQL Server Data Catalog in HTML and Git Markdown
- David Trigano highlights that Azure SQL Auditing of Microsoft support operations is now generally available
- Alain Dormehl discusses Azure Monitor SQL Insights
- Shikha Jain (@be_shikha) discusses Azure Workbooks - Save as PDF
- On the Azure blog, Pradeep Nair writes about a Commitment to expand Azure Availability Zones to more regions
Media
Covering: Azure Media Player, Content Protection, Encoding, Live and On-Demand Streaming, Media Analytics, Media Services, Video Indexer
- The Azure Updates Team announces Media Services introduces new security features and HEVC encoding support in Standard Encoder in Azure Media Services
Migration
Covering: Azure Database Migration Service, Azure Migrate, Data Box
- On the Azure blog, Sarah Lean (@TechieLass) explains how to Accelerate your cloud adoption with the start small and expand landing zone
- On the Whizlabs blog, Sudip Sengupta describes How to Migrate your On-Prem Web App to Azure Cloud
Mobile
Covering: App Service (Mobile), Mobile apps, Notification Hubs, Visual Studio App Centre, Xamarin
- On Channel 9, Mark Allibone talks about how to Forget Time Zones with DateTimeOffsetConverter
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
- Paul Edwards discusses Accelerated Networking with H-series VMs on Azure for older OS distributions
Security
Covering: Azure DDoS Protection, Azure Information Protection, Azure Sentinel, Key Vault, Security Center
- The Azure Updates team announces that you can now Make workloads on AMD-backed virtual machines confidential without recompiling code (limited preview), that Azure expands PCI DSS certification and that Dynamic data masking granular permissions for Azure SQL and Azure Synapse Analytics is generally available
- On the Azure Medium blog, Valentina Alto describes How to power Azure Defender with Sentinel
- On Channel 9, Anna Hoffman and David Trigano discuss What's New in Azure SQL Auditing
- Idan Pelleg highlights Azure Sentinel and Microsoft 365 Defender incident integration
- Joanna Harding talks about the Microsoft Cloud App Security update: March 2021
- Sonia Cuff (@soniacuff) talks about Microsoft 365 threat hunting with Azure Sentinel
- On Azure Sentinel blog, Ely Abramovitch discusses Whats new: Automation rules
- Also on Azure Sentinel blog, Jeremy Tan writes about Best practices for migrating detection rules from ArcSight, Splunk and QRadar to Azure Sentinel
- Tobias Zimmergren (@zimmergren) covers Backing up all Azure Key Vault Secrets, Keys, and Certificates
- On the Azure blog, Mark Russinovich (@markrussinovich) highlights: Azure and AMD announce landmark in confidential computing evolution
- Anthony Roman provides a Certificate Management Overview for Azure Firewall Premium TLS Inspection
- Gopal Shankar walks through Understanding Microsoft Information Protection Encryption Key Types
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 Azure Storage Explorer v1.18.0 is now generally available and The Azure Updates Team Directory scoped shared access signatures SAS is generally available
- Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) walks through how to Sync Between Two Azure File Shares for Disaster Recovery and Protecting Azure Blobs using Azure Backup
Web
Covering: API apps, API Management, App Service (Web), Azure Cognitive Search, Azure SignalR Service, Azure Spring Cloud, Web apps
Windows Virtual Desktop
Covering: Windows Virtual Desktop
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