Azure Weekly Newsletter Issue #162
powered by endjin
Welcome to issue #162 of Azure Weekly!
The first thing I'll point out is if you are, or know of an AWS expert looking to transfer knowledge into the Azure platform, a helpful blog with plenty of linked resources has been posted: Azure for AWS Professionals. In this week's news referring to another tech giant, Microsoft has also highlighted its partnership with Citrix, giving us Six reasons you'll love Citrix Cloud and Microsoft Azure.
On the technical side, there are a few features that have reached GA this week: Application consistent backup for Linux VMs using Azure Backup, Building Go apps for Azure with the Go SDK, ExpressRoute monitoring with Network Performance Monitor NPM and Azure Redis Cache geo-replication.
There are a few other announcements: the long awaited ability to view Microsoft Azure Data Lake Storage in Storage Explorer and the new Log Alerts feature for Application Insights have both gone into public preview, and Azure Site Recovery now has the ability to setup Disaster Recovery (DR) for IaaS VMs using managed disks.
If your interests lie with databases, there have been a number of new features in CosmosDB over the past few months, which are nicely summarized by Scott Hanselman and Kirill Gavrylyuk in this Channel 9 video. Barry Luijbregts has also provided a nice comparison of Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Data Warehouse.
If you're intrigued by the Data Science hype and want to get your hands dirty within your organization, Jen Stirrup has written an interesting article: How do you know if your org is ready for Data Science? Starting your journey with Azure Databricks. In the related space of AI, there is a fascinating use-case implemented by Ordnance Survey and Microsoft, using Microsoft AI technologies to classify the type of roof a house has, with the goal of saving people money on their insurance premiums.
Finally, have you ever found some incorrect or out-of-date info in the Azure docs? Sam Cogan reminds us that we can help improve the Azure Documentation.
If you have any content you'd like to contribute to the newsletter, please tweet @AzureWeekly or ping an email to AzureWeekly@endjin.com.
Compute
Covering: Virtual Machines, Virtual Machine Scale Sets, Functions, Batch, Service Fabric, Cloud Services
- Josh Lane (@jplane) writes about Lambda Architecture in Azure
- On the Azure blog, Anurag Mehrotra announces that Application consistent backup for Linux VMs using Azure Backup is generally available
- On MSDN, Kurt Schenk provides a Walk-through of using SSH to connect Azure VM Jump Servers
- John Savill describes Checking the creation time of an Azure IaaS VM
- Craig Landis addresses the Stale screenshot in Azure VM Boot Diagnostics
- Johannes Goslar describes Azure Functions at University of Oxford
- Michael Crump (@mbcrump) posts Azure Tips and Tricks Part 94 - Customize an Azure Functions Endpoint in Seconds
- On TechNet, Sasindu Kavinda (@kaviliya123) describes Azure Functions Usage
- K. Scott Allen (@OdeToCode) talks about PDF Generation in Azure Functions V2
- Vincent-Philippe Lauzon explains How to get rid of /api in Azure Functions route
- On the Azure blog, Colby Tresness writes Understanding Serverless Cold Start
Networking
Covering: Virtual Network, Load Balancer, Application Gateway, VPN Gateway, Azure DNS, Content Delivery Network, Traffic Manager, ExpressRoute, Network Watcher, Azure DDos Protection,
- On the Azure blog, Abhave Sharma announces that ExpressRoute monitoring with Network Performance Monitor NPM is now generally available
- On MSDN, Cameron Gardiner talks about Setting Up Hana System Replication on Azure Hana Large Instances
Storage
Covering: Blob storage, Queue storage, File storage, Disk storage, Data Lake Store, StorSimple, Backup
- On the Azure blog, Jenny Jiang announces the Microsoft Azure Data Lake Storage in Storage Explorer – public preview
- Michael Crump (@mbcrump) writes Azure Tips and Tricks Part 95 - Access all files from an Azure Storage Blob Container
Web & Mobile
Covering: App Service, Web apps, Mobile apps, API apps, Content Delivery Network, Media Services, Azure Search
- On MSDN, Michael S. Hansen describes Sending Email from Web App using On-Prem SMTP Server and Storage Queue Relay and blogs about Web App with Vnet Only Access using App Gateway – PowerShell Automation
- Michael Crump (@mbcrump) posts Azure Tips and Tricks Part 93 - Part 4 - Searching an index with Azure Search with C#
Containers
Covering: Container Service, Container Instances, Container Registry, Web App for Containers
- On the Azure podcast, the Azure podcast team and guest Brendan Burns covers Episode 215 - Kubernetes Innovations
Databases
Covering: SQL Database, Azure Database for MySQL, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, SQL Data Warehouse, SQL Server Stretch Database, Azure Cosmos DB, Table storage, Redis Cache, Data Factory
- On the Azure blog, Ye Gu announces that Azure Redis Cache geo-replication is now generally available
- On Channel 9, Scott Hanselman (@shanselman) tells us What's New in Azure Cosmos DB with Kirill Gavrylyuk
- On the Daily Dot Net Tips blog, Abhijit Jana (@AbhijitJana) explains how to Add an Azure Cosmos DB trigger to an existing Azure Function app from Azure Cosmos DB Portal, covers Setting up global replication of your Azure Cosmos DB database using the Azure portal and discusses Setting up Failover Priorities for Azure Cosmos DB from Azure Portal
- On the MSSQL Tips site, John Miner describes Enabling alerts for Azure SQL database via PowerShell cmdlets
- Radu Vunvulea (@RaduVunvulea) writes What is an Azure SQL Logic Server
- On Stackify Blog, Barry Luijbregts compares Azure SQL Database vs. Azure SQL Data Warehouse: Definitions, Differences and When to Use
- On the Azure blog, Kuber Sharma explains how to Simplify cloud adoption with Azure SQL Data Warehouse and Datometry
- On MSDN, Allan Miller covers Azure Resource Manager ARM and Azure SQL Data Warehouse
- James Serra (@JamesSerra) provides an overview of the Azure Data Architecture Guide ADAG
Analytics
Covering: HDInsight, Stream Analytics, Data Lake Analytics, Azure Databricks, Power BI Embedded, Data Catalog
- Jen Stirrup writes How do you know if your org is ready for Data Science? Starting your journey with Azure Databricks
- On MSDN, Christian Wade (@_christianWade) describes Automation of Analysis Services with NuGet packages
- Devin Knight (@knight_devin) writes How I Used Pragmatic Works Training to Pass the Power BI 70-778 Certification and posts Power BI Custom Visuals Class Module 90 – Brick Chart MAQ Software
- On the MSSQL Tips site, Siddharth Mehta (@siddhumehta) discusses Distribution analysis on hierarchical data using a Hierarchy chart in Power BI Desktop and Nat Sundar covers Creating Custom Maps to Display Data with Power BI
AI + Machine Learning
Covering: Machine Learning, Bots, Computer Vision API, Face API, Bing Web Search API, Customised speech service, Custom Vision Service, Language Understanding Intelligent Service, Bing Custom Search
- On the Microsoft site, a Microsoft reporter (@MicrosoftUK) writes that Ordnance Survey used Microsoft AI to see roofs – and it could save you money
- On TechNet, the Cortana Intelligence And ML Blog Team writes ICYMI: Recent Microsoft AI Updates, Including in Custom Speech Recognition, Voice Output, and Video Indexing
- On MSDN, Jennifer Marsman points to some of the Microsoft Research Papers Behind the Cognitive Services
- Also on MSDN, Adel Ghabboun and Kunal Sinha write about LUIS & Speech API Integration
- Isaac Hutt talks about the Microsoft Customvision.ai workshop
- On Channel 9, Seth Juarez and Erika Menezes talk about Deep Learning for Music Generation - The Code on the AI Show
- On Code Project, Scott Clayton describes Detecting Spam with Azure Machine Learning
Internet of Things
Covering: IoT Hub, IoT Edge, Event Grid, Stream Analytics, Notification Hubs, Time Series Insights, Azure Location Based Services
- On the Azure blog, Yi Zhong writes Azure IoT SDKs released new Long-Term Support branch
- On MSDN, formulahendry (@formulahendry) explains how to Deploy Azure IoT Edge (preview) on a simulated device with Visual Studio Code
- On Channel 9, Olivier Bloch gives a Microsoft IoT Central intro walkthrough with Marcello Majonchi and shows us how to Connect real devices to Microsoft IoT Central with Davide Montanari on the Internet of Things Show
Enterprise Integration
Covering: Logic Apps, Service Bus, API Management, BizTalk Services
- On MSDN, Christian Wolf writes about Azure Service Bus billing, vs metrics, vs current monthly cost
- Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) writes about the Azure Stack Roadmap – Update 12 February 2018
Security + Identity
Covering: Security Center, Azure Active Directory for developers, Key Vault, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory B2C, Azure Active Directory Domain Services, Multi-Factor Authentication
- Simon Waight (@simonwaight) describes Azure AD B2C Custom Attributes: How to easily find their unique key value
- On MSDN, keydet (@devkeydet) describes Calling an Azure Active Directory secured Azure Function from PowerApps
- Also on MSDN, 'markga' describes How can you change your default Azure AD in your subscription
- On TechNet, Moti Bani shows how to create a List of Azure Active Directory Audit Activities
- Also on TechNet, Willem Kasdorp discusses Logging on to Azure for your everyday job
- Stanislav Zhelyazkov (@StanZhelyazkov) describes how to Change Owner of Azure Stack User Subscription
Developer Tools
Covering: Visual Studio Team Services, Azure DevTest Labs, HockeyApp, Developer tools and SDKs, Xamarin, Storage Explorer
- Also on the Azure blog, Josh Gavant writes Build Go apps for Azure with the Go SDK, now generally available
- On MSDN, Matthew Hicks talks about Azure Data Lake Command-line Quickstart using Azure Cloud Shell
- Also on MSDN, Roger Best covers some Scenarios using the Claim capabilities in DevTest Lab
- Larry Brader writes about the New reference architecture for Jenkins on Azure
- On Channel 9, James Montemagno talks about Translating Mobile Apps With The Multilingual App Toolkit with Cameron Lerum and Continuous Integration with App Center Build for Xamarin Apps with Matthias Wenz on the Xamarin Show
Monitoring + Management
Covering: Microsoft Azure portal, Azure Policy, Cost Management, Azure Monitor, Application Insights, Log Analytics, Site Recovery, Scheduler
- On the Azure blog, Poornima Natarajan explains how to Protect machines using managed disks between Azure regions using Azure Site Recovery
- Also on the Azure blog, Shankar Sivadasan and Vijay Nagarajan blog about the Preview of Log Alerts feature for Application Insights
- Patrick van Kleef explains How Application Insights recognizes returning users and efficiently send telemetry data to Azure
- On MSDN, Wu Shuai explains How to Make Deployment with Ansible Azure Modules
- On TechNet, Courtenay Bernier writes Windows update compliance – Querying Azure Log Analytics data using PowerShell
- On the Daily Dot Net Tips blog, Abhijit Jana (@AbhijitJana) blogs about Preventing Azure Resource Deletion or Unexpected Changes using Locks
Thought Leadership from endjin
- Unlocking Digital Transformation with Azure API Management - a training session from endjin, explaining what Digital Transformation is, and how to use Azure API Management to take your first steps. Three versions are available: 5 minute exec summary, 20 minute overview or 50 minute deep dive.
- How to plan your cloud transformation journey - an article explaining how you should use the various bits of thought leadership content from endjin to plan your cloud journey.
- API Maturity Matrix - a spreadsheet to help you assess your organization's ability to build, test, deploy, manage and monetize an API Platform.
- Azure Technology Selector - a flowchart which guides you through the process of chosing the best Azure service for your needs.
- Cloud Comparison Poster - a free poster, comparing the three major cloud platforms - Azure, AWS & Google Cloud Platform. For more information, see the accompanying blog series.
- Cloud Migration Process - a free poster, outlining our process for cloud adoption.
- Cloud Adoption: Risk & Mitigations - The Swiss Cheese Model - a free poster from endjin & Hymans Robertson outlining the risk and mitigations of adopting public cloud.
- Embracing Disruption: Financial Services & the Microsoft Cloud - a free ebooklet from endjin describing how companies in FS can take advantage of Azure.
Solutions from endjin
- Modern Data Platform Blueprint - our opinionated architecture over Azure Data Lake, which solves common security, ingestion, and data processing requirements.
- API Economy Platform Blueprint - our solution accelerator for building an API first architecure on Azure.
Useful Links
- The Developer's Guide to Microsoft Azure (2nd Edition) - ebook from Microsoft showcasing architectural approaches and common design patterns you face when building modern applications.
- Azure Virtual Datacenter - ebook from Microsoft highlighting an approach to isolation, security, and trust in the Microsoft cloud.
- Cyber Security Demystified - ebook from Microsoft describing how to keep your organisation safe.
- Microsoft's What is Azure poster - a visual overview of Azure's services and features.
- Microsoft Azure Essentials: Fundamentals of Azure - a free ebook from Microsoft Press, by Michael S. Collier and Robin E. Shahan.
- Data Science in the Cloud with Microsoft Azure Machine Learning and R - a free ebook on Azure Machine Learning, by Stephen F. Elston.
- Protecting Data in Microsoft Azure - a whitepaper that describes the various mechanism you can you can leverage for managing sensitive data in the Azure platform.
- A-Z of the Azure ecosystem - a slide deck outlining current Azure services.
- Azure Architecture Center - guidance from the Patterns & Practices team covering API Design, API implementation, Autoscaling, Background jobs, CDN, Caching, Data partitioning, Monitoring and diagnostics, Retry, Scalability and availability.
- Azure Architect's Reference - if you are an architect responsible for building an application on Azure, or are trying to figure out how you could migrate an application and need to dig deep into the workload, cost, security, capacity, availability, deployment and operational modelling this invaluable resource should be your first stop. An open source project, with contributions from several experienced architects, it gathers data from many different references into a single, useful guide that is constantly updated by the community.
- Azure Table Storage Design Guide - a guide from the storage team.
- Azure infrastructure services implementation guidelines - key design and implementation guidelines for deploying an IT workload in Azure infrastructure services.
- Azure Speed Test - a simple web tool that measures the latency between you and Azure Datacenters to suggest which might be fastest for you location.
- Azure Websites Cheatsheet - everything you need to know about configuring & managing Azure Websites on a single page.
- SQL Database Migration Wizard - a very useful tool for migrating existing SQL databases to SQL Azure; will fix some common conversion errors automatically.
- Azure SQL DTU Calculator - a tool to help you determine the number of DTUs for your existing SQL Server database(s) as well as a recommendation of the minimum performance level and service tier that you need before you migrate to Azure SQL Database.
- Microsoft Azure Symbol/Icon Set - a set of Visio and PowerPoint shapes for use in architecture diagrams / presentations.
- Service Bus Explorer - a free and open source tool for managing and exploring Azure Service Bus(including Event Hubs).
- Best practices for designing Azure Resource Manager Templates - guidance based on the whitepaper 'World Class ARM Templates Considerations and Proven Practices'.
- Microsoft Cloud Networking for Enterprise Architects - a downloadable guide to Azure networking, covering topics such as cloud migration and networking for PaaS and SaaS services
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