Azure Weekly Issue 337: 22nd August 2021
Slightly late to press this week the combination of a leaking roof and some unplanned "Uncle Duties" (which mainly involved playing Minecraft with my 6 YO nephew) on Sunday meant I didn't have time to complete the newsletter to the usual deadline. Sorry about that!
There's a mixed bag of updates this week - a firehose of Azure Updates Team announcements around various services, VM SKUs, and SDK being retired, as well as a slew of new GA and public previews.
Most interesting links this week include Automating security assessments using Cloud Katana, Microsoft named a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Streaming Analytics, Q2 2021, and Accelerate time to insights with Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse.
There's an interesting video about "climate first development" in CodeStories Denmark - All about sustainable software engineering. I also enjoyed reading this article showing how to use Root Domains with Azure Front Door, and it's great to see Azure Blob storage Inventory reach generally availability.
Finally there are two posts on the endjin blog; Carmel Eve's New LinkedIn Learning Course: AZ-204 - Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure and How to deploy a Vue app to Azure Static Web Apps using Azure DevOps and YAML, and on the same subject John Reilly shows how to Publish Azure Static Web Apps with Bicep and Azure DevOps.
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, Lu Zhang talks about Data Extraction from ID documents with Azure Form Recognizer in Episode 26 of the AI Show
- Sonia Ang writes about Semantic Search in Action
- Ornella Altunyan describes Beep Boop 3: Create a Web App with Data and ML
- The Azure Updates Team writes that Select Azure Cognitive Search skills will be retired on 31 August 2024
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
- On the Azure blog, Jean-Sbastien Brunner (@JSBrunner) announces that Microsoft has been named a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Streaming Analytics, Q2 2021
- On Channel 9, Scott Hanselman is joined by Josh Caplan, Sabin Nair, and Priyanka Langade to talk about Accelerate time to insights with Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse on Azure Friday
- Raunak Jhawar covers Synapse serverless shared database and tables access for non sysadmins
- Kevin Chant describes Azure Test Plans example for Azure Data Factory
- On SQL Server Central, Arindam Mondal discusses Working with Get Metadata Activity in Azure Data Factory
- Robb Schiefer explains how to Avoid join in Azure Databricks, save $$$$
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 make a number of retirement announcements NC-series Azure Virtual Machines will be retired by 31 August 2022, HB-series Azure Virtual Machines will be retired by 31 August 2024, NV-series and NVPromo Azure Virtual Machines will be retired by 31 August 2022, NC v2-series Azure Virtual Machines will be retired by 31 August 2022 and finally, announces the General availability: New VM series supported by Azure Batch
- Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) discusses Schedule Start/Stop for Azure VM using Azure Function
- Chris Noring writes about New module: Build Serverless apps with Azure and Go and Thorsten Hans covers Azure Functions with Go
- David Justo writes that Durable Functions for Python just got faster
- Mark Heath (@mark_heath) explains how to Scheduled tasks with the Cron binding in Dapr
- Linru Hui explains how to Install AzureAD and AzureADPreview module in a PowerShell Function App
- Gabe Monroy discusses Genomics testing on the ISS with HPE Spaceborne Computer-2 and Azure
- The Azure Updates Team say Placement polices now in public preview for Azure VMware Solution
- Jeffrey Raymond Kitt blogs about Friday Five: Azure VM, Teams Tips, More
- On ZDNet, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols discusses AlmaLinux arrives on Azure cloud
- The Azure Updates Team blogs about H-series Azure Virtual Machines will be retired by 31 August 2022
Containers
Covering: Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure Red Hat OpenShift, CNAB, CNCF, Container Instances, Container Registry, Porter, WSL, Web App for Containers
- The Azure Updates Team announces the General Availability of CSI storage driver support on Azure Kubernetes Service, and Public DNS support for private Azure Kubernetes Service clusters and writes about AKS support for Kubernetes 1.21
- Ala Raddaoui blogs about AKS - different load balancing options for a single cluster. When to use what
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 covers Version 2.x of theAzure Cosmos DB.NET SDK will be retired on 31 August 2024 and Update Java SDK 3.x to Java SDK 4.x by 31 August 2024
- The Azure Updates Team describes Azure Cosmos DB: Continuous backup with point in time restore now in general availability
- The Azure Updates Team announce Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Flexible Server: New regions now available in public preview and Flexible Server: Burstable credit metrics in public preview
- The Azure Updates Team blogs about Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Hyperscale Citus: Server group restart now generally available, and Support for Citus 10 now generally available, and Managed PgBouncer now generally available, and Columnar compression now generally available, and Basic tier now generally available, and PostgreSQL 12 & 13 now generally available and Same region read replicas now generally available
- The Azure Updates Team blogs about Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server: Eight new regions supported, andStandby Zone selection in public preview and Azure Burstable credit metrics in public preview
- Warren Chu discusses SQL Server 3rd Party Backend for Django v1.0 Released
- Niko Neugebauer writes about How-to determine the timestamp of the last SQL MI failover
- On Channel 9, Anna Hoffman Marisa Brasile talks about Azure SQL VM: Get the best price-performance for your SQL Server workloads on Azure VM Data Exposed
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, Grace Taylor talks about Flexible theming capabilities for Visual Studio
- Ruben Rios (@rub8n) talks about Improving developer security with Visual Studio 2022
- Cameron Dwyer blogs about Simulating 429 Throttling in Microsoft Graph API SharePoint/OneDrive workloads
- Vesa Juvonen (@vesajuvonen) talks about Microsoft 365 Developer Community Call recording – 19th of August, 2021
- Werner Rall covers Azure & Desired State Configuration Part 1/4
- Jeffrey Palermo (@jeffreypalermo) delves into Dean Guida on the Future of .NET Components - Episode 154
- Harshada Hole describes Debugging External Sources with Visual Studio
- Sarah Lean (@TechieLass) writes about Weekly Update 104 - Az Modules, VPN Client for macOS, foldable phones
- Sarah Lean (@TechieLass) writes about Weekly Update 105 - GitHub Codespaces, AVS placement policies, Azure Storage Inventory
DevOps
Covering: Azure Artifacts, Azure Boards, Azure DevOps, Azure Pipelines, Azure Repos, Azure Test Plans, Azure DevTest Labs, DevOps tool integrations
- Jay Gordon (@jaydestro) talks about AzureFunBytes Episode 51 – Deploy With ARM Templates with Shannon Kuehn
- Thomas Thornton (@tamstar1234) walks through Creating templates in Azure DevOps Pipelines
- On Channel 9, Anna Soracco Matthew Leib talks about CodeStories Denmark All about sustainable software engineering CodeStories
- The Azure Updates Team covers Release annotations using API keys will be retired on 31 August 2024
Hybrid
Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack
- Locky Ainley covers Azure VMware Solution Releases Placement Polices in Public Preview
- Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) writes about Your first in-depth look at Windows Server 2022 at the Windows Server Summit
Identity
Covering: Azure Active Directory (AD), Azure Active Directory B2C, Azure Active Directory Domain Services
- Alex Simons introduces diagnostic settings for Identity Protection
- Michael Hildebrand talks about Azure AD Sign-in Logs + Workbooks Know Who is Using Windows Hello for Business
- Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) says Dont Use Azure AD Domain Services to Replace Windows Domain Controllers
Integration
Covering: Azure API for FHIR, Event Grid, Logic Apps, Service Bus
- Tom Keane (@tomwkeane) covers Azure Government Top Secret now generally available for US national security missions
- Brian Smith (@LunchWithALens) blogs about Getting M365 Admin Center info with the Graph API
- Chenye Charlie Zhu discusses Event Driven Architecture with Custom Event Trigger and Advanced Filtering
- John Kilmister (@johnkilmister) describes How to Create Azure Resource Graph Explorer Scheduled Reports and Email Alerts
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 you should Migrate your Azure IoT Central apps to version 3 before 1 March 2022
- Also on Tech Community blog, Pierre Roman (@pierreroman) describes AzUpdate S03E03: Azure Orbital - Edge Computing - Azure Ad
Learning
Covering: Microsoft Certifications, Azure Certifications, Microsoft Learning Paths, Certification Pathway Information
- On the endjin blog, Carmel Eve (@Carmel_Eve) announces her New LinkedIn Learning Course: AZ-204 - Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure
- On Microsoft Docs, AUTHOR explains how to Describe core Azure architectural components - Learn
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
- The Azure Updates Team announces Azure Monitors Baseline and CalculateBaseline APIs will be retired on 30 November 2021 and We're retiring the Log Analytics agent in Azure Monitor on 31 August 2024
- The Azure Updates Team announces the Public preview: Application Insights auto-instrumentation of .NET apps on Linux
- Adam Bertram (@adbertram) explains How to Failover an Azure Site Recovery Snapshot Step by Step
- Cindy Na explains how to Achieve unified data governance with Azure Purview
- Marisa Brasile explains how to Learn how Azure SQL works with Azure Purview on at the Azure Data Governance event on September 28
- Ariya Khamvongsa covers Azure portal July 2021 update
- On the Redmond magazine site, John K. Waters talks about Microsoft 'Azure Government Top Secret' Goes GA
Media
Covering: Azure Media Player, Content Protection, Encoding, Live and On-Demand Streaming, Media Analytics, Media Services, Video Indexer
- Gustavo Cordido walks through Creating in New Realities: Mixed Reality Development from a Students Perspective
Migration
Covering: Azure Database Migration Service, Azure Migrate, Data Box
- On the Azure blog, Vineet Vikram explains how to Discover and assess ASP.NET apps at-scale with Azure Migrate
- Jakub Ferenc talks to Walter Pongratz from ÖBB about how their move to Azure helped scale their system and increase reliability in Customer Tech Talks
Mobile
Covering: App Service (Mobile), Mobile apps, Notification Hubs, Visual Studio App Centre, Xamarin
- On the Xamarin blog, Rachel Kang She/her blogs about The Journey to Accessible Apps: Making Visual Text Accessible
- On Visual Studio Magazine - Blogs, David Ramel (@dramel) writes about .NET MAUI Layouts Revamped, Developers Question Lack of Linux
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
- Alan Kinane (@Azure_Alan) explains How to use Root Domains with Azure Front Door
- Symona Wang explains how to Integrate Azure Front Door with Azure API Management
- Jeff Christman explains How to Set up an Azure Firewall And Why Not NSGS
- The Azure Updates Team say Enhanced troubleshooting experiences now generally available for additional resources in Network Insights
- Kiran Angadi writes about ARR Configuration for backend sites with SNI binding on IIS
- Jose Moreno (@erjosito) writes about Multi-region design with Azure Route Server without an overlay
- On the Azure blog, Sanjay Mewada explains how to Optimize your private mobile network and accelerate innovation with hyperscale cloud
Security
Covering: Azure DDoS Protection, Azure Information Protection, Azure Sentinel, Key Vault, Security Center
- On Microsoft Security blog, Emma Jones talks about Automating security assessments using Cloud Katana
- James Havens blogs about Microsoft Compliance - Paint By Numbers Series Part 2- Information Protection
- Sarah Wendel describes How and why enforce Azure Defender plans with newly released Azure policies
- Zachary Cavanell writes about Zero Trust for Data - Essentials Series - Episode 5
- On Azure Sentinel blog, Ely Abramovitch explains how to What's new: Azure Sentinel new onboarding/offboarding API
- On Microsoft Security blog, Emma Jones talks about Migrating content from traditional SIEMs to Azure Sentinel
- Liana Tomescu blogs about Azure Defender PoC Series – Azure Defender for SQL
- On the Azure blog, Scott Woodgate explains how to Innovate securely with Azure
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 announce Azure Blob storage - Inventory generally availability, and Last access time tracking now generally available and General availability: Azure Archive Storage events for easy rehydration of archived blobs
- On The Azure Podcast, Melissa Ma talks about the new Pronunciation Assessment Service.
- On Tech Community blog, Linru Hui writes about Secure storage account linked to Function App with private endpoint
- Elizabeth Maher discusses Power BI Reports for Azure Lab Services - Part 1: Visualizing Cost Management Data
- Juan Pablo Montoya blogs about Use Azure Storage Table REST API with AAD token via PostMan
Web
Covering: API apps, API Management, App Service (Web), Azure Cognitive Search, Azure SignalR Service, Azure Spring Cloud, Web apps
- On the endjin blog, Carmel Eve (@Carmel_Eve) describes How to deploy a Vue app to Azure Static Web Apps using Azure DevOps and YAML
- Justin Yoo (@justinchronicle) writes about .NET 5 Support of Azure Functions OpenAPI Extension
- The Azure Updates Team announces Azure Static Web Apps adds public preview support for Private Endpoints and Mounting Azure Storage as a local share for web apps deployed on App Service is generally available
- John Reilly (@johnny_reilly) explains how to Publish Azure Static Web Apps with Bicep and Azure DevOps
- On the DEV site, Justin Yoo (@justinchronicle) describes Building Hackathon Backend System with GitHub Actions, Microsoft 365 and Power Platform
- Ifan describes How to clone a private git repository from Azure App Service Kudu console
Windows Virtual Desktop
Covering: Azure Virtual Desktop
- Kam Vedbrat discusses Windows 11 preview is now available on Azure Virtual Desktop
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