Azure Weekly Issue 424: 25th June 2023

A mixed bag this week. There are a number of interesting AI related articles: Introducing Azure OpenAI Service On Your Data in Public Preview and a potential time saver Azure OpenAI GPT model to review Pull Requests for Azure DevOps and some early guidance on how to prepare for Microsoft 365 Copilot.

An interesting addition: Introducing Snakemake for Azure Batch, which is a Python based workflow management system for reproducible and scalable data analysis. In what seems to be a big announcement by the Logic Apps Team: Introducing .NET Framework Custom Code for Azure Logic Apps Standard - Preview, which seems to be aimed at orgs looking to migrate off BizTalk.

Ed Freeman (@edfreeman_) shares the first in a series deep diving into Microsoft Fabric via an end-to-demo. Part 1 covers Lakehouse & Medallion Architecture and Ian Griffiths (Technical Fellow at endjin) makes an appearance on the Adventures in .NET podcast (also available on Spotify) to talk about new C# features and how they can make a big impact on computational processing and your cloud spend. It's well worth an hour of your time if you're interested in writing high performance code.

Finally, I published a little tool I've been working on for the last few years. dotnet-adr is a cross platform .NET Global Tool for creating and managing Architectural Decision Records (ADR), which are simple Markdown based text documents used to record the context, assumptions, options, rationale, decision, and consequences of technical decisions. We find ADRs to be an invaluable approach for building cloud, data, analytics and AI solutions as there are often multiple ways to achieve your goals, but you need to consider many tradeoffs, including performance targets, price-points, and feature sets. As the context or constraints often change due to the fast innovation of cloud platforms, it's become increasingly important to record these descisions in a way they can be easily re-evalutated to understand if any of the context which drove a particular decision path has changed.

In this push to get the tool to v1.0 I've added getting started, background, and extensibility documentation, updated the available ADR templates, and provided links to a number of real world ADR examples from our OSS projects. I hope you find the tool as useful as we do. Please raise an issue if you have any problems.

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

• Andy Beatman talks about Introducing Azure OpenAI Service On Your Data in Public Preview
• Vinod Soni covers Azure OpenAI GPT model to review Pull Requests for Azure DevOps
• Zachary Cavanell describes How to get ready for Microsoft 365 Copilot and Yana Terukhova describes How to prepare for Microsoft 365 Copilot
• Tobias Zimmergren and Jussi Roine talk about Prompt engineering techniques with ChatGPT and Azure OpenAI in the Ctrl+Alt+Azure Podcast.
• Jeffrey Palermo (@jeffreypalermo) talk to Greg Leonardo about Responsible AI in Episode 250 of the Azure DevOps Podcast.
• John Aziz talks about Deploying a Large Language Model GPT-2 on Azure Using Power Automate: Step-by-Step Guide
• Lee Stott (@lee_stott) covers Exploring the Power of AI Builder: Empowering Students and Educators
• Someleze Diko covers Power Platform AI Features for Makers and Developers
• Gina Lee blogs about Future of Retail: Introducing AI-powered Product Recognition in Azure Cognitive Services for Vision
• Karim Sidaoui discusses Exploring Responsible Data Analytics - Empowering Students for a Data-Driven Future
• Geert van Teylingen explains how to Distributed ML Training for Lane Detection, powered by NVIDIA and Azure NetApp Files
• Valentina Alto discusses Chat with your own data with Azure OpenAI
• Raj Balakrishnan walks through Bring your own data to Azure OpenAI chat models

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, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Fabric

• Ed Freeman (@edfreeman_) shares the first in a series deep diving into Microsoft Fabric via an end-to-demo. Part 1 covers Lakehouse & Medallion Architecture
• Vincent-Philippe Lauzon writes about Generally Available: Cosmos DB to Azure Data Explorer Synapse Link
• The Azure Updates Team announces the General availability: Introducing DropMappedField transformation for data mappings in Azure Data Explorer
• Adithya Kumaranchath covers Copy data between Azure Data Services at scale with Microsoft Fabric
• Alex Lin discusses Master Stream Analytics with the Physical Job Diagram
• Pratim Dasgupta walks through Bring your Mainframe DB2 z/OS data to Microsoft Fabric

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

• Venkat Malladi discusses Introducing Snakemake for Azure Batch
• Thiago Almeida highlights the Azure Functions Newsletter – June 2023
• Maulik Shah blogs about Impact of CentOS 8 End of Life on Azure Guest Patching Customers
• Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) covers Tweet a Random Blog Post From RSS Feed Using Azure Functions
• Jame Maguire explains How To: Reference and Set a Database Connection String Using Entity Framework Core for Deployed Azure Functions.
• Sandro Pereira (@sandro_asp) describes Azure Function: JSON Schema Validation new release v3.0

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 Public Preview: Network Observability add-on on AKS
• David Giard (@DavidGiard) highlights Transactable Containers Labs, Lab 1, part 2: Deploying the Containers
• Vinicius Apolinario (@vrapolinario) covers Docker Desktop and Windows – whats the best option for you and covers Gain full observability into Windows containers on Azure Kubernetes Service using Datadog
• Hariharan Subramanian writes about Open at Microsoft – Bridge to Kubernetes announcement

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

• Chunhua Gu writes about General availability of SSIS Projects for VS 2022
• Rie Merritt describes The Right Tools for Optimizing Azure SQL Managed Instance Performance
• Zoran Rilak discusses Securing your data ecosystem in Azure SQL Managed Instance
• Also on Tech Community blog, Jose M Jurado (@jmjuradodiaz) describes Lesson Learned 374: Execution of class com.microsoft.aad.adal4j.AcquireTokenCallable failed., and 375: Playing with Hikari Connection Pooling Logging, and 376: Resolving 'Msg 15151' error when modifying SQL Login in Azure Active Directory, and 377:Running Multiple Instances of SqlBulkCopy in Parallel from PowerShell, and 378: What does mean Pool Blocking Period, and 379: ADALNativeWrapper.ADALGetAccessToken error using AAD - Password Authentication and 380:Unable to load adalsql.dll AuthenticationXYZ.Error code:0x2

Developer Tools

Covering: App Configuration, Azure Lab Services, CLIs, Developer tool integrations, SDKs, Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio Online

• On .NET Rocks, Carl & Richard talk about Azure Developer CLI with Savannah Ostrowski.
• On the Visual Studio blog, Jessie Houghton describes how to Create a Pull Request in Visual Studio
• Leslie Richardson highlights the Visual Studio Toolbox: Accelerate your builds of SDK-style .NET projects
• Anthony Bartolo (@WirelessLife) writes about Step-by-Step: How to Setup Copilot Chat in VS Code
• Erin Stellato (@erinstellato) discusses SQL Server Management Studio SSMS 19.1 and Recent Changes, Part 3

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, Dan Hellem writes about New Boards Hub Update, Sprint 223
• Dhanashri Chavan explains how to What's New with GitHub for ISVs: June 2023 Edition
• Lauren Dunlap covers Customer Story University of Washington advances cybersecurity education with Azure Lab Services
• Steven Ma highlights the Terraform on Azure June Update

Hybrid + Multicloud

Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack

• Matthew Quickenden blogs about Arc SQL Extension - Best Practices Assessment
• Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) covers Azure Stack HCI – The Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure

Identity

Covering: Azure Active Directory (AD), Azure Active Directory B2C, Azure Active Directory Domain Services

• Damien Bowden (@damien_bod) explains how to Reset passwords in ASP.NET Core using delegated permissions and Microsoft Graph
• Kurt Mackie (@kurmac) blogs about Microsoft Advises App Developers About 'nOAuth' Attack Route and talks about Microsoft Releases Private Preview of Azure Quantum Elements with Copilot AI Capabilities
• Pamela Dingle covers The False Identifier Anti-pattern
• Werner Rall walks through Unlocking Insights from Azure Activity Logs with Power BI
• Eric Lawrence talks about Browser SSO / Automatic Signin
• Irina Nechaeva explains how to Live series 6/27 & 7/20: Microsoft Entra Tech Accelerator

Integration

Covering: Azure API for FHIR, Event Grid, Logic Apps, Service Bus

• Harold Campos blogs about Azure Logic Apps Mission Critical Series: We Speak: IBM DB2 and writes about New Azure Integration Services Blog
• Kent Weare discusses Announcement: Introducing .NET Framework Custom Code for Azure Logic Apps Standard - Preview, shares .NET Troubleshooting Strategies and discusses Azure Logic Apps Community Day - On Demand Resources
• On BizTalk Gurus, Sandro Pereira (@sandro_asp) covers Logic App Standard local run error: Failed to find func host start task, describes BizTalk Visual Studio Compile Error: The operation could not be completed. The parameter is incorrect. and talks about Logic App Standard error calling Transform using Data Mapper XSLT action: undefined. undefined
• On the Serverless360 blog, Sandro Pereira (@sandro_asp)shares more Logic App Best Practices, Tips, and Tricks: 32 Specifying JSON Schema required elements, and 33 Specifying JSON Schema restrictions, and 34 How to validate JSON messages and 35 Generate a Unique Identifier

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 Sphere Team announce the General Availability: Azure Sphere version 23.05 is now generally available

Learning

Covering: Microsoft Certifications, Azure Certifications, Microsoft Learning Paths, Certification Pathway Information

• Arafat Tehsin talks about Break out of your comfort zone, and start learning new skills
• Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) highlights the Ask me anything AMA Microsoft Azure training, certifications, and cloud computing career
• On the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast, Ben & Scott talk about The Internet is breaking down again

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

• Ilana Waitser covers Machine learning in Azure Monitor Logs
• Roosevelt Abandy talks about Mastering Azure Portal Admin: A Comprehensive Guide for Effective Cloud Management
• The Intune Support Team covers Support Tip: Retrieving Intune apps reporting data from Microsoft Graph Beta API
• Ramya Chitrakar discusses Whats new in Microsoft Intune: 2306 June edition

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

• Jay Lansdaal blogs about Block Migrations added to Azure Storage Migration Program

Mobile

Covering: App Service (Mobile), Mobile apps, Notification Hubs, Visual Studio App Centre, Xamarin

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

• Amy Colyer covers Azure Landing Zone Accelerator for AVS - Using a Central Hub in Azure
• Geert van Teylingen explains how to Automated NFS volume failover using automounter with Azure NetApp Files
• Gustavo Modena writes about General Availability of Structured Logs and Single Click Upgrade/Downgrade in Azure Firewall
• Mark Brimble (@BrimbleMark) describes Azure IP Address Hell

Security

Covering: Azure DDoS Protection, Azure Information Protection, Azure Sentinel, Key Vault, Security Center

• Giulio Astori blogs about Introducing the Azure Workbook for Defender CSPM Visualization: Enhance Your Cloud Security Posture

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 Generally available: Azure Premium SSD v2 Disk Storage in Southeast Asia, UK South, South Central US and West US 3
• Andrew Redman covers Configuring Azure Blob Trigger Identity Based Connection

Web

Covering: API apps, API Management, App Service (Web), Azure Cognitive Search, Azure SignalR Service, Azure Spring Cloud, Web apps

Azure Virtual Desktop

Covering: Azure Virtual Desktop