Do you find it difficult to keep up-to-date on the frequent updates and changes in the Microsoft Azure cloud? If so, Build Azure Weekly is the solution you’ve been looking for! Build Azure Weekly is a weekly newsletter that includes all the latest Microsoft Azure Service Updates from the week in addition to links to many other blog articles, podcasts and videos from all over the Internet.
If you want to receive the newsletter in your email every week, then you’ll absolutely want to Subscribe!
Azure SQL Database Managed Instance
The addition of Managed Instance pricing to Azure SQL Database brings with it the option to choose between DTU and vCore based pricing / hosting for your Azure SQL Databases. The existing Single Database and Elastic Pool pricing based on DTUs (Database Throughput Units) is still available, but you now have the choice to use Managed Instances based on vCPUs (Virtual CPUs / CPU Cores) as well!
The new Azure SQL Database Managed instances offer the following benefits to the service:
- Optimize flexibility and performance with two new service tiers
- Choosing between DTU and vCore-based performance levels
- Save up to 30% on vCore-based options with Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server
You can read more from the official announcement here: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/a-flexible-new-way-to-purchase-azure-sql-database/
The Weeks Top Links
Here are some of the most notable links from the week:
- Nested VMs in Azure with one click? You must be crazy… by Dan Patrick
- Announcing HTTP/2 support in Azure App Service by Oded Dvoskin
- GDPR offers one more reason to focus on your disaster recovery strategy by Vishal Mehrotra
- How to pick the stamp or scale unit where your App Service will run by Benjamin Perkins
Azure Service Updates
Here’s a list of the Microsoft Azure Service Updates from over the past week:
- Optimize performance by upgrading SQL Data Warehouse
- Support for operationalizing Azure Databricks notebooks
- Define a data volume cap in Log Analytics
- PHP minor version update for May 2018 in App Service
- Azure DevTest Labs available in Azure Government
- Native support for geospatial functions in Stream Analytics
- JavaScript UDFs in Azure Stream Analytics
- General availability: Stream Analytics tools for Visual Studio
- Stream Analytics offers streaming dashboards in Power BI
- Public preview: Integration of Stream Analytics with Azure Monitor
- Stream Analytics available in new regions
- Anomaly detection in Stream Analytics
- Egress to Azure Functions from Azure Stream Analytics
- Stream Analytics supports compression input format
- JavaScript user-defined aggregates in Azure Stream Analytics
- CI/CD in Azure Stream Analytics
- Substream support in Azure Stream Analytics
- Upload/download Azure dashboards
- Enhanced portal capabilities for Azure SQL Data Warehouse
- Azure Stream Analytics on IoT Edge
- Alerts created in the Operations Management Suite portal can extend into Azure
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Blog Articles
Here’s a collection of some of the most note worthy blog articles posted over the past week:
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
- New Disaster Recovery tutorials for Wingtip Tickets sample SaaS application by Ayo Olubeko
- Nested VMs in Azure with one click? You must be crazy… by Dan Patrick
- Announcing larger, higher scale storage accounts by Dinesh Murthy
- Linux Custom Script – Docker Sandbox by Vincent-Philippe Lauzon
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- Announcing HTTP/2 support in Azure App Service by Oded Dvoskin
- Using EV SSL with Azure Web App by mksunitha
- How to pick the stamp or scale unit where your App Service will run by Benjamin Perkins
- Changing an existing Native Application to a Web App/API to get existing keys by Frank Hu
- Azure Tips and Tricks 112 – Quick and Dirty User Authentication with Azure Web Apps and MVC5 by Michael Crump
- Offline media import for Azure by Dean Paron
- March 2018 App Service update by Byron Tardif
- Azure App service: Using Custom domain with Azure Traffic Manager by B Surabhi
Serverless and Functions as a Service (FaaS)
- ?
Software as a Service (SaaS)
- ?
Command-Line / ARM Templates
- Ramping up on Powershell & CLI by Danny Kolke
Database / Big Data
- Rubikloud leverages Azure SQL Data Warehouse to disrupt retail market with accessible AI by Kuber Sharma
- Enhanced capabilities to monitor, manage, and integrate SQL Data Warehouse in the Azure Portal by Kevin Ngo
- Lesson Learned #40: Could it be possible to use Intellisense with an Azure Active Directory user in SQL Server Management Studio? by Jose M Jurado
- Simple Trick to Stay on top of your Azure Data Lake: Create Alerts using Log Analytics by Jose Lara
- Seamlessly upgrade Azure SQL Data Warehouse for greater performance and scalability by Kevin Ngo
- How to configure Azure SQL Database Geo-DR with Azure Key Vault by Alice Kupcik
- I want to enable Geo-DR and fail-over, but don’t want to update the connection string by Shubha Vijayasarathy
- Three common analytics use cases with Microsoft Azure Databricks by Anu Kohli
- Azure Tips and Tricks Part 113 – Prevent secrets from getting out with .NET Core by Michael Crump
- Very Large Database Migration to Azure – Recommendations & Guidance to Partners by Cameron
- Fast and easy development with Azure Database for MySQL and PostgreSQL by James Ashley
Internet of Things (IoT)
- IoT-enabled smart cities require cloud foundation, broad participation by Erika Basham
- Azure IoT Toolkit extension for Visual Studio Code is now open sourced! by michaeljqzq
- Azure Tips and Tricks Part 114 – Send JSON to Azure IoT Hub with C# by Michael Crump
- Why the OPC UA Standard – and What’s Next? by Colin Masson
- Getting Started with IoT and Microsoft Azure by Lee Stott
- Considering Software as an IoT Device by Howard Edidin
Machine Learning / Artificial Intelligence
Development and DevOps
- SonarQube Integration with VSTS by Sana Noorani
- Continuous integration and deployment using Data Factory by Gaurav Malhotra
- Build and deployment automation of a model-driven PowerApp using VSTS by keydet
- Support HTTPS in Azure Marketplace image for Jenkins by Wu Shuai
Containers / Service Fabric
- Part 2: Azure Virtual Machine Scale Set and Windows Containers–Networking Tips by Julien Oudot
- How to secure web communications in a Service Fabric cluster in Azure by Luis Guerrero
- Docker Blog Series Part 7– Deploy Azure Web App On Containers by Monu Bambroo
- Building Microservices with AKS and VSTS — Part 3 by Andreas Helland
Security / Privacy
- GDPR offers one more reason to focus on your disaster recovery strategy by Vishal Mehrotra
- Securing Azure resources with Privileged Identity Management by AnujChaudhary
- ASP.NET Core SAML Authentication with Azure AD by Christos Matskas
- Achieving GDPR compliance in the cloud with Microsoft Azure by Ari Schorr
- Physical Data Center Security by Omar Amin
Learning / Certification
- Unlock Active Job Postings with Your Microsoft Certification by Selina Winter
- Episode 5: IT IQ Series – Are teachers in danger of app-overload? by Microsoft Australia Education
- Nominating MVPs; growing the tech community via the MVP Program by Jen Stirrup
Azure Government
- App Service Environment is now available in Azure Government by Gerardo Saca
Events
- A years’ worth of cloud, AI and partner innovation. Welcome to NAB 2018! by Sudheer Sirivara
- From Microsoft Azure to everyone attending NAB Show 2018 — Welcome! by Tad Brockway
Other
- Improving healthcare, costs, and consistency with data via Microsoft Cloud Perspectives Blog Team
- Microservices – Isolated Data & State by chilberto
- Live Streaming with Azure Media Services – Part 1 by Giuseppe Guerrasio
Videos
Here are links to some of the videos that have been posted over the past week:
- Common design patterns with Azure Cosmos DB via Azure Friday
- Using Azure Data Lake to analyze IoT Data | Internet of Things Show via Channel 9
- Azure Active Directory B2C Authentication For Mobile with Matthew Soucoup | The Xamarin Show via Channel 9
- Common design patterns with Azure Cosmos DB | Azure Friday via Channel 9
- How to use the Azure Cognitive Services Translator Text Api by Andrea Angella
- Build a Customized Site Search Instance using Bing Custom Search API | AI Show via Channel 9
- Use Bing AI to tap into the world of knowledge | AI Show via Channel 9
- Episode 13: Five Things About Web Performance | Five Things via Channel 9
- Azure IoT Edge extension for Visual Studio Code | Internet of Things Show via Channel 9
- Azure Security Center via Azure Friday
- Metaparticle – A standard library for cloud-native applications on Kubernetes via Azure Friday
Audio / Podcasts
To complete the collection of different mediums to allow you to consume your Azure news / info in any way you want, here’s a list of the podcasts released this week:
- Episode 224 – The AI Platform via The Azure Podcast
- Episode 58 – SharePoint Conference 2018 with Bill Baer via Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast
- Episode 246 | Can you hear me? A deep dive into voice and chat in the Microsoft Cloud via Microsoft Cloud Show
- Episode 223 – Azure Storage Options via The Azure Podcast
General Cloud / Related
Here’s some noteworthy links about Cloud computing and other related topics that aren’t necessarily specific to Microsoft Azure:
- A marketplace solution for IoT development through decentralized smart contract ledger by Yash Mehta
- Inside the world of Star Trek’s Visual and Practical Effects with Dan Curry via Hanselminutes
- Docker Registry API to be standardized in OCI by Stephen Day
- Open Compute Iron Is All About Acceleration by Timothy Prickett Morgan
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