Azure Weekly
Issue #419 - 21st May 2023
A mix bag of announcements this week in the run up to the Microsoft BUILD conference. Starting with AI; Introducing LangChain Agents, a useful post on Scaling strategies for large scale Azure Cognitive Services deployments, and I found the following Microsoft Mechanics episode really interesting: How Microsoft 365 Copilot works - this is a useful insight on why prompt engineering is a new type of API layer.
In the cloud native space; Transforming containerized applications with Azure Container Storage - now in preview, and two posts on Securing your AKS Deployments: Microservice User Authentication using Azure AD and Oauth 2 Proxy and SSL Termination on NGINX ILB using Front Door and Private Link
In App Dev & DevOps; Use Azure PIM with groups in ASP.NET Core and a fascinating new feature: Microsoft Previews AI-Based Code Optimizations for .NET Apps, A nice guide demonstrating 3 Ways to Export Metrics from Azure Monitor for Unlimited Retention, and an item of note: Azure Storage updating some default security settings on new accounts - Aug 2023
Finally, in analytics: Data Transfer from Snowflake to Azure Blob using Synapse Analytics and Jessica Hill provides a deep dive into Notebooks in Azure Synapse Analytics
⚙️ AI + Machine Learning
- Stephen Cleary (@aSteveCleary) blogs about Grounded ChatGPT
- On the Azure Medium blog, Valentina Alto blogs about LangChain Agents
- Facundo Santiago explains how Reaching production has never been easier: Announcing Pipeline component deployments
- RK Iyer delves into Scaling strategies for large scale Azure Cognitive Services deployments
- Gia Mondragon explains how to Eliminate Dependency on Key-based Authentication in Azure Cognitive Search with RBAC and Azure AD
- On the Azure Developer Community Blog, Shruti Pathak, Samuel Partee and Kyle Teegarden discuss Vector Similarity Search with Azure Cache for Redis Enterprise
- Niels Swimberghe explains how to Build a ChatGPT SMS bot with Azure OpenAI Service and ASP.NET Core
- Savita Mittal writes about Enhancing Accessibility: Language and Audio Document Translation Solution Architecture
- Ajit Dash explains How to Secure Azure OpenAI Keys Using Environment Variables, Azure Vault, and Streamlit Secrets
- On the Microsoft Mechanics show, Mary David Pasch explains How Microsoft 365 Copilot works
- Kathrine Hammervold describes Microsoft Search: Connecting You to Knowledge and Expertise
🔎 Analytics
- On the endjin blog, Jessica Hill covers Notebooks in Azure Synapse Analytics
- The Azure Updates Team writes about General availability: Azure Data Explorer adds new geospatial capabilities
- Bradley Ball (@SQLBalls) covers Microsoft Digital Event Pre-Show: Azure FastTrack, Power BI CAT, & Azure Synapse Analytics PG
- Sander van de Velde explains how to Test KQL table mappings inline
- Vincent-Philippe Lauzon describes How to architect a multi-tenant solution with Azure Data Explorer
- Dany Hoter describes how to Search text in a Kusto/ADX table using any number of terms from Power BI
- Gregor Suttie (@gregor_suttie) covers Azure DataBricks talking to Azure SQL Database using Private Endpoints
- Eduardo Pivaral delves into Data Transfer from Snowflake to Azure Blob using Synapse Analytics
🖥️ Compute
- The Azure Updates Team talks about Public preview: Rolling Upgrades with MaxSurge for Virtual Machine Scale Sets
- Anuraj Parameswaran discusses Azure SQL output binding for Azure Functions and Azure SQL input binding for Azure Functions
🚢 Containers
- Yuemin Lu blogs about Azure Container Storage in Public Preview
- On the Azure blog, Brianna McGovern talks about Transforming containerized applications with Azure Container Storage
- Dalan Mendonca covers Container Insights Linux is migrating its container image to CBL-Mariner 2.0
- Simon Gallagher writes 'Confidential Computing is Child's Play with ACI'
- On the .NET Curry blog, Brian Martel blogs about Mastering Azure Kubernetes Service
- Jason Williams talks about Improving customer experiences with F5 NGINX and Windows on Azure Kubernetes Service
- Owain Osborne-Walsh blogs about Securing your AKS Deployments - Microservice User Authentication using Azure AD and Oauth 2 Proxy and discusses Securing your AKS deployments - SSL Termination on NGINX ILB using Front Door and Private Link
- Vinicius Apolinario (@vrapolinario) blogs about Securing your Windows environments running on Azure Kubernetes Service with Chef
🗄️ Databases
- On Tech Community blog, Aravind Mahadevan explains how to Released: Latest Azure VM Marketplace images for SQL Server 2022, 2019 on Linux
- The Azure Updates Team covers Azure Backup Reports now includes support for more workloads
- On the Cosmos Down Under podcast, Greg Low (@greglow) talks with Blaize Stewart (@theonemule) about antipatterns: Cosmos Down Under podcast 8 with guest Blaize Stewart
- Neil Dsouza covers Migrating an Azure Database for MySQL single server v5.6 to a flexible server v5.7
- On the Data Exposed show,
Anna Hoffman and Subhojit Basak (@AnalyticAnna) discuss What's new in SQL Server Data Tools SSDT - On episode 245 of the Azure DevOps podcast, Jeffrey Palermo (@jeffreypalermo) and Ryan Booz (@ryanbooz) discuss Modern Databases
- Karla Escobar writes about General Availability: Online migration for Azure Database for MySQL using Azure DMS
🛠️ Developer Tools
- On the Visual Studio blog, Jim Harrer explains how to Get Ready for Visual Studio at Build 2023: Join Tens of Thousands Online
- Also on the Visual Studio blog, Marian Luparu (@mluparu) writes about Visual Studio 2022 – 17.6 Now Available
- On the Visual Studio Magazine Blog, David Ramel (@dramel) writes about Visual Studio 2022 v17.6 Released
- Also on the Visual Studio blog, Taysser Gherfal (@taysser) writes about Visual Studio 2022 17.7 Preview 1 is here
- On the Visual Studio blog, Leah Tran writes about Sticky Scroll: Stay in the Right Context
- Jason Yee discusses Streamlit two-way binding with debugging using Poetry & VS Code
- Drew Skwiers-Koballa writes about Recently released: Updates to SqlPackage and the DacFx ecosystem
- Sharon Mehta blogs about Working with our partners who build assistive technology
- Jerry Zhang explains How to send an Azure REST API request
- John Miner provides an Introduction to JSON, Python and REST API
🔩 DevOps
- On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Jorge Minana covers Azure DevOps Achieves ISO 26262 ASIL D level of Certification
- On episode 186 of the Ctrl+Alt+Azure podcast, Tobias Zimmergren and Jussi Roine are joined by Panu Oksala to discuss Azure Pipelines vs. GitHub Actions
- Ahetejazahmad Khan explains how to Publish Code Coverage Report in Azure DevOps Services pipeline execution summary. and how to Make Test Cases Readonly in Azure DevOps Services.
- Charles Oxyer blogs about Remediating Infrastructure-as-Code Security Misconfigurations with Microsoft Defender for DevOps
⚙️ Hybrid + Multicloud
- Saniya Islam announces the General Availability of Azure Monitor HCI Insights
- Shijo Joy announces the Public Preview of Azure Site Recovery with Azure Stack HCI
- Ian Curtis discusses Achieving Distributed High Availability: Stack HCI and AKS Hybrid
- Nikola Zagorac describes Export capability CETAS for Data Virtualization in Azure SQL Managed Instance generally available
🎭 Identity
- The Azure Updates Team blogs about Transition to Azure AD to query data from Azure Monitor application insights by 31 March 2026
- The Azure Updates Team covers Switch to Azure AD authentication for application insights by 30 September 2025
- Alex Weinert highlights GA: System-preferred multifactor authentication
- Elijah Weber writes about Just In Time User Migration Approach in Azure AD B2C, covers Bulk User Migration Approach in Azure AD B2C and discusses Consolidating User Accounts in Azure AD B2C
- Damien Bowden (@damien_bod) show how to Use Azure PIM with groups in ASP.NET Core
- Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) discusses Dont get Locked Out of Azure AD Use Emergency Access Accounts
- On episode 334 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast, Scott Hoag and Ben Stegink (@msclouditpro) discuss Converged Authentication Methods in Azure AD
🔌 Integration
- Travis Harris announces General Availability of the New Logic Apps Designer
- Mohsin Khan explains how to Purge Deferred Messages in Service Bus
- On BizTalk Gurus, Sandro Pereira (@sandro_asp) describes How to create a Logic App Consumption Visual Studio project
- Mark Brimble (@BrimbleMark) covers Division in Logic App Liquid
- Balasubramaniam Murugesan discusses Configuring Azure Logic App Failure Alerts To Stay Ahead
📚 Learning
- Allison Kraker blogs that Microsoft Learn sparks possibility at Microsoft Build
- Akash Malhotra provides a Skilling snack: Windows Update for Business reports
⚖️ Management and Governance
- The Azure Updates Team announces General Availability : Azure Monitor for SAP solutions and Generally available: Azure Site Recovery update rollup 67 - May 2023
- The Azure Updates Team announces Public preview: Optimize your workloads for reliability using new workbook template in Azure Advisor
- The Azure Updates Team announces Private preview: Azure Backup support for confidential VMs using Customer Managed Keys
- On the Redmond magazine site, Kurt Mackie (@kurmac) talks about Microsoft Previews AI-Based Code Optimizations for .NET Apps and Ryan Kahng announces the Public Preview of Code Optimizations
- John Kilmister (@johnkilmister) writes about 3 Ways to Export Metrics from Azure for Unlimited Retention
- Felipe Binotto explains how to Build Reports Faster with Azure Resource Graph
🚌 Migration
📱 Mobile
- On the Xamarin blog, Gerald Versluis (@jfversluis) describes Xamarin.Forms and Essentials now target Android 13 in Preview
🌐 Networking
- The Azure Updates Team writes about Generally available: Policy analytics for Azure Firewall, writes about General availability: Seamlessly upgrade your Application Gateway V2 WAF configuration to a policy and writes about General Availability: Routing Intent and Virtual WAN Integrated Firewall NVAs
- The Azure Updates Team talks about Microsoft Azure Payment HSM Service now supports two host IP network interfaces
- On the Azure blog, Kristin Gallagher explains how to Optimize performance and strengthen security with Policy Analytics for Azure Firewall
- Yuval Perry explains how to Protect Office365 and Windows365 with Azure Firewall
🔐 Security
- Leo Ramirez covers Getting started on your data security journey
- K Brewer blogs about Microsoft releases CMMC guidance to raise the security and identity baseline for Defense Industry
- Samuel Soto covers Hardening Windows Clients with Microsoft Intune and Defender for Endpoint
- Eyal Haik announces an update to Automatically disrupt adversary-in-the-middle AiTM attacks with XDR
📦 Storage
- The Azure Updates Team announce Public Preview: Azure NetApp Files Standard Network Features - Edit Volumes
- Nandita Chakraborti discusses Azure Storage updating some default security settings on new accounts - Aug 2023
- On the Redmond magazine site, Kurt Mackie (@kurmac) writes about Iffy Azure Storage Default Setting Getting Nixed in August
🔗 Web
- The Azure Updates Team announces App Service now supports Custom Error pages in public preview
- Mayunk Jain (@mayunkj) writes about Your ultimate guide to Azure app innovation at Microsoft Build 2023
- Toon Vanhoutte (@ToonVanhoutte) explains how to Validate payloads in Azure API Management
- Julia Muiruri describes Steps to Load a Power BI Report on your React Application.