Azure Weekly
Issue #518 - 8th June 2025
A good blend of articles this week. First up in AI: The Supercomputer that runs ChatGPT, Sora & DeepSeek on Azure, and Technical Deep Dive and Q&A on Foundry Local - LLMs on device, a Ctrl+Alt+Azure podcast episode about The Dawn of Agent IDs in Entra ID, and an example of using Foundation Models and Retrieval-Augmented Generation in Dermatology.
In Data & Analytics: Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.5 (Preview) (while also saying you should start to think about migrating to Microsoft Fabric), and a useful guide to Teaching Python with GitHub Codespaces (Dev Containers FTW!).
Other articles of interest: Azure Availability Sets vs. Availability Zones: Which Should You Use? Host Remote MCP Servers on App Service: Updated samples now with new languages and auth support, and What's new in FinOps toolkit – May 2025.
Finally, following MS Build two weeks ago, here are a few more round-ups of the conference: All the news from Microsoft Build 2025 on the MS IT Pro podcast all the Azure news you don't want to miss from Microsoft Build from Alysa Taylor and Greg Suttie's Takeaways from this years conference.
⚙️ AI + Machine Learning
- The Azure Updates Team announces: Required role assignment for private endpoint approvals in AzureML workspaces and/or AI Foundry hubs with managed network (GA)
- Angela Kunanbaeva writes about Intelligent Email Automation with Azure AI Agent Service
- Asma Ben Abacha covers Foundation Models and Retrieval-Augmented Generation in Dermatology (Image Search Series Part 3)
- Lee Stott writes about Navigating the Future of AI with LLMs, SLMs, and Azure AI Foundry
- Naomi Moneypenny announces that DeepSeek-R1-0528 is now available on Azure AI Foundry
- Zachary Cavanell discuss The Supercomputer that runs ChatGPT, Sora & DeepSeek on Azure
- Lee Stott describes an event: Technical Deep Dive and Q&A on Foundry Local - LLMs on device
- Yohan Lasorsa runs through Using DeepSeek-R1 on Azure with JavaScript
🔎 Analytics
- On Microsoft Fabric Blog, Arshad Ali announces the Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.5 (Preview)
- Aaron Merrill announces Secure Mirrored Azure Databricks Data in Fabric with OneLake security
- Kim Manis announces that the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference Comes to Atlanta
- Meagan Longoria (@mmarie) covers Invoking Another Pipeline in Microsoft Fabric
- Chunhua Gu announces that Azure Data Factory is generally available in Mexico Central
- On SQL Server Central, Koen Verbeeck (@Ko_Ver) describes how to Parameterize Connections in Microsoft Fabric Data Factory using Variable Libraries
- Christian Henrik Reich provides an Introduction to 3D programming on Microsoft Fabric
- Preethi Sabbineni covers Azure Fabric Resource Deployment with PowerShell and REST APIs
🖥️ Compute
- The Azure Updates Team announces Azure Site Recovery Support for Virtual Machines with Premium SSD v2 disks (Public Preview)
- Margaret Farmer explains How to Connect Remotely to A Virtual Machine in Microsoft Azure and provides some Tips & Tricks for Provisioning Virtual Machines on Azure
- "Taylor Tech" writes What Should Nonprofits Know Before Deploying Virtual Machines in Azure
🚢 Containers
- The Azure Updates Team announces NFS Azure Files volume mount support in Azure Container Apps (GA)
- On the Kubernetes Blog, Agata Skorupka writes - Start Sidecar First: How To Avoid Snags
- Luke Murray (@lukemurraynz) highlights Azure Container Apps Configure Planned Maintenance Windows
🗄️ Databases
- The Azure Updates Team announces: Long-term backup retention for Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Flexible Server (GA), Azure Database for PostgreSQL support for pgcron extension in PG 17 (GA), and In-place major version upgrade to PostgreSQL 17 on Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server (Public Preview), and High availability with SSD v2 for Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server (Public Preview), and Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server now supports high availability with dedicated Azure Standard Load Balancer (Public Preview), and Upsert and Script activity in data factory in Microsoft Fabric for Azure Database for PostgreSQL (GA), and Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Azure Data Factory managed identity (GA)
- Perry Skountrianos announces the Public Preview of mssql-python
- Helen Zeng talks about GraphRAG and PostgreSQL integration in docker with Cypher query and AI agents
- Jose M Jurado (@jmjuradodiaz) discusses Troubleshooting TLS and Cipher Suites with Python connecting to Azure SQL DB
- Kenelle Moore walks through How Azures Point-in-Time Restore Keeps Nonprofit Data Safe
- On SQL Server Central, Michelle Gutzait blogs about DMV Comparison for SQL Server 2019 vs Azure SQL Database
- Ramkumar Chandrasekaran describes Model Context Protocol MCP Server for Azure Database for MySQL
- Jose M Jurado (@jmjuradodiaz) blogs about Query Performance Regression with Multiple Execution Plans in Azure SQL
- Alex Rosa talks about Scaling PostgreSQL Connections in Azure: A Deep Dive into Multi-PgBouncer Architectures
🛠️ Developer Tools
- On the Visual Studio blog, Javier De la Garza describes Extension Manager updates in Visual Studio
- On Hacker Noon, Pratik Pathak writes: Ditch the Bloat and Install These 20 Essential VS Code Extensions
- Oscar Garcia Ozkary (@ozkary) explains how to Restore VS Code After Windows Updates Remove It
🔩 DevOps
- On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Angel Wong announces that Restricting PAT Creation in Azure DevOps Is Now in Preview
- Laura Jiang discusses GitHub Secret Protection and GitHub Code Security for Azure DevOps
- Kevin Chant (@kevchant) runs through how to Automatically check Power BI reports are using the right template with Azure DevOps and describes Another way to check Power BI reports are using the right template with Azure DevOps
⚙️ Hybrid + Multicloud
- Kirsten Megahan announces that Azure VMware Solution is now available in Korea Central
- Mays Algebary describes Network Redundancy Between AVS, On-Premises, and Virtual Networks in a Multi-Region Design
🎭 Identity
- Tobias Zimmergren & Jussi Roine (@CtrlAltAzure) discuss The Dawn of Agent IDs in Entra ID
- Kenelle Moore writes about Privileged Identity Management + Just-in-Time Access: Grant Access Only When Its Needed and Efficiently Removing Inactive Guest Users in M365/Azure
- Nitika Gupta (@_nitika_gupta) blogs about Putting the Identity in Identity Threat Detection and Response with Microsoft Entra ID and covers Understanding and Mitigating Golden SAML Attacks
🔌 Integration
- Ankur Agarwal announces the Public Preview of Teams Phone extensibility powered by Azure Communication Services
- Richard Henke describes moving Toward a more effective, augmented contact center with Bucher + Suter and Microsoft AppSource
- Sean Keegan provides a Customer Support Chat Demo with Azure Communication Services and Azure OpenAI
- Wagner Silveira (@WSilveiraNZ) provides the Logic Apps Aviators Newsletter - June 25
📚 Learning
- Nancy Tandy explains how to Get help preparing for your Microsoft Certification exam with Course videos
- Pamela Fox walks through Teaching Python with GitHub Codespaces
⚖️ Management and Governance
- On the Azure blog, Sameer Doultani covers the Microsoft Cost Management updates - May 2025
- Kenelle Moore writes about What Nonprofits Need to Know About Cloud Storage Redundancy
- Margaret Farmer talks about Monitoring What Matters with Azure Monitor
- Michael Flanakin explains What's new in FinOps toolkit – May 2025
- Sarah Lean (@TechieLass) explains How to configure Azure Monitor Diagnostic settings in the Azure Portal
- On Microsoft Fabric Blog, Yael Biss writes about Best Practices for Success with Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Policies in Microsoft Fabric
- Bruno Borges announces Azure Command Launcher for Java
- Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) blogs about Azure Availability Sets vs. Availability Zones: Which Should You Use?
- Tiffiany Law talks about Understanding Subdomains in Azure for Nonprofits
🎬 Media
- Kalen Shaw describes Unlocking Cost Savings for Nonprofits: An Overview of Azure Reserved Instances
🚌 Migration
- The Azure Updates Team announces Azure Storage Mover support for SMB source to Azure Blob target (GA) and Azure Migrate enhances resiliency by supporting ZRS Disks Migration (Public Preview)
- Jeremy Li announces Announcement of migrating to Azure Linux 3.0 for Azure CLI
- Maria F. walks through Understanding the Total Cost of Ownership in Azure
- "Taylor Tech" asks: What's the Difference Between SaaS and Deploying a Solution in Azure?
- Kenelle Moore covers Understanding the Difference Between Azure and M365 for Nonprofits: It's Okay to Be Confused
🌐 Networking
- Riya Achkarpohre provides A Comprehensive Guide to Azure Firewall
- Supriya S. discusses Mastering Azure at Scale: Why AVNM Is a Game-Changer for Network Management
- Kalen Shaw walks through Understanding DNS: A Nonprofit's Guide to Website Security and Accessibility
🔐 Security
- Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) describes an Ultimate Health Check for Microsoft Sentinel: Boost Security & Savings
- Derick Naef announces the Firmware Analysis Public Preview
- Giulio Astori covers Performing Advanced Risk Hunting in Defender for Cloud
- Matt Egen describes Automating Microsoft Sentinel: Part 2 - Automate the mundane away
- Shobhit Sahay talks about Integrating Microsoft Defender for Identity Signals with Entra Recommendations
- Innocent Wafula covers Using parameterized functions with KQL-based custom plugins in Microsoft Security Copilot
📦 Storage
- "Taylor Tech" describes Azure Storage Options - A Guide to Choosing the right storage option
🔗 Web
- Tiffiany Law provides A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding and Purchasing SSL Certificates in Azure and explains How to Purchase a Domain in Azure
- Jordan Selig blogs about how to Host Remote MCP Servers on App Service: Updated samples now with new languages and auth support
- Liang Fang explains How to add custom logging in Azure WebJobs Storage Extensions SDK in dotnet isolated function app
⚙️ Azure Virtual Desktop
- Femi Adebayo announces that Multiple personal desktop assignment is now generally available
- Kenelle Moore talks about Azure Virtual Desktop vs. Azure Virtual Machines: What's the Difference for Nonprofits