Build Azure Weekly provides your go-to source to keep up-to-date on all the latest Microsoft Azure news and updates. Included within Build Azure Weekly newsletter are blog articles, podcasts, videos, and more from Microsoft and the greater community over the past week. Be sure to subscribe to Build Azure Weekly to get the newsletter in your email every week and never miss a thing!

The Weeks Top Links

Here are the latest Azure Service Updates from the last week from Microsoft:

• Secure Everything with Azure Sphere Contest with Hackster, Microsoft, and Avnet via Chris Pietschmann
• RDP Security Tips: Stop Hackers, BlueKeep, and Exploits via Chris Pietschmann
• Microsoft’s LinkedIn unit commits to starting to move its services to Azure via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
• Microsoft Announces Massive $1 Billion Investment in OpenAI via Mehedi Hassan
• Azure Tips and Tricks Part 209 – Prebuilt Terraform Image to automate Infrastructure Deployment via Michael Crump
• Always-on, real-time threat protection with Azure Cosmos DB – part one via Parul Matah
• Remote Edit Files on Azure Linux VMs using VS Code via Thomas Maurer
• Azure publishes guidance for secure cloud adoption by governments via Stevan Vidich

Hackster.io (sponsor)

Hackster.io is the world’s largest network for hardware & software developers. They bring together innovators and hundreds of technology partners around the world. Hackster’s goal is to facilitate the creation of amazing solutions that make the world a smarter and healthier place that can support the livelihood of the generations of tomorrow. They host 18,000+ amazing IoT project guides from the Hackster community of 1,000,000+ members!

Right now, you can enter into the “Secure Everything with Azure Sphere” contest to building secure solutions using Microsoft Azure Sphere, and get one of 20,000 Azure Sphere Starter Kit from Avnet they are giving away for FREE!

Do you have an Internet of Things (IoT) project idea? Is it a new idea or one you’ve been working on? Either way, you can enter the contest for a chance to win part of the $37,000 worth of prizes being given away across the top 500+ IoT project submission. Among these prizes are Microsoft HoloLens 2, Microsoft Surface Laptop 2, and many Raspberry Pi 4 single board computers!

Go register as a contest participant, now!

Azure Service Updates

Here are the latest service updates from Microsoft over the last week:

• Cognitive Services Form Recognizer Name Changes
• New Analytics reports and Azure Boards app available for Slack
• Azure Blob lifecycle management is now available in all Azure regions
• The recommendation for storage access restriction has been retired
• VNet Gateway Standard and High Performance Resource GUID changes
• Azure Search is now integrated with the Azure Government cloud
• Azure Database for MySQL support for MySQL 8.0 is in preview
• Azure Mv2-series virtual machines (VMs) offering up to 6 TB of memory are now available for the US West 2 region
• Azure Monitor for containers—Prometheus integration is now in preview
• Azure Lab Services now has a new instance size available—Medium (nested virtualization)
• Azure Lab Services has removed the unlimited option from quota per user to help save on costs
• Azure Lab Services—Ability to reset passwords and support for Ubuntu Images has been added
• Linux support on Azure Functions Premium plan
• SQL Server CTP 3.2 big data cluster is now in preview
• Azure Database Migration Service—Integration with Azure Migrate v2
• PostgreSQL 11 is now generally available in Azure Database for PostgreSQL
• Azure Container Registry—Buildpacks support in Tasks is now in preview
• New developer pricing tier for integration service environment
• Azure IoT Edge 1.0.8 release is now available
• Guidance on CVE-2018-15664 for Azure IoT Edge

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)

• Accessing virtual machines behind Azure Firewall with Azure Bastion via Ashish Jain
• Azure Tips and Tricks Part 209 – Prebuilt Terraform Image to automate Infrastructure Deployment via Michael Crump
• Remote Edit Files on Azure Linux VMs using VS Code via Thomas Maurer

Command-Line and ARM Templates

• GCast 58: Creating and Deploying Azure Resources with ARM Templates via David Giard
• Installing PowerShell with one line as a .NET Core global tool via Scott Hanselman

Database and Big Data

• Azure AD and SQL Server Authentication via Armin Reiter
• Always-on, real-time threat protection with Azure Cosmos DB – part one via Parul Matah
• Always-on, real-time threat protection with Azure Cosmos DB – part two via Parul Matah
• Modeling and Querying data at scale using Azure Time Series Insights via Microsoft Developer

Internet of Things (IoT)

• Secure Everything with Azure Sphere Contest with Hackster, Microsoft, and Avnet via Chris Pietschmann
• IoT sensors and wearables revolutionize patient care via Sally Frank
• Develop and debug ARM64 IoT Edge modules in Visual Studio Code (preview) via Xin Shi

Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• Microsoft invests $1 billion in OpenAI to pursue holy grail of artificial intelligence via James Vincent

DevOps and Development

• Caching and faster artifacts in Azure Pipelines via Alex Mullans
• Develop and debug ARM64 IoT Edge modules in Visual Studio Code (preview) via Xin Shi
• Now available: Azure DevOps Server 2019 Update 1, Release Candidate 2 via Erin Dormier
• Bring your GitHub collaborators to Azure DevOps via Jimson Chalissery [MSFT]
• Digital transformation with legacy systems simplified via Nick Leimer
• Remote Edit Files on Azure Linux VMs using VS Code via Thomas Maurer

Containers (Docker, Kubernetes, etc) and Service Fabric

• Announcing Docker Enterprise 3.0 General Availability via David Hamdani

Blockchain and Smart Contracts

• Bringing a More Secure and Efficient Land Registry with Blockchain via Tatsiana Levdikova

Security, Identity, and Privacy

• Azure AD and SQL Server Authentication via Armin Reiter
• RDP Security Tips: Stop Hackers, BlueKeep, and Exploits via Chris Pietschmann

Azure Stack

• Expanding the Azure Stack partner ecosystem via Henry Jerez

Learning and Certification

• Exam and Certification Retirement Roundup, July 2019 via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)

Government

• Azure publishes guidance for secure cloud adoption by governments via Stevan Vidich

Other

• 7 Ways to Deal with Application Secrets in Azure via Mikhail Shilkov
• Securing an Application Service with Application Gateway v2 via Joe Carlyle
• Share packages publicly from Azure Artifacts – Public Preview via Elijah Batkoski
• Share packages publicly from Azure Artifacts – Public Preview via Elijah Batkoski
• Microsoft is rebranding the web-version of Office as ‘Office’ (minus the ‘Online’) via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
• Enabling Alerting for Azure Recovery Services Vault via Thomas Thornton
• Microsoft’s LinkedIn unit commits to starting to move its services to Azure via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
• LinkedIn Announces Multi-Year Migration to Azure via Mehedi Hassan
• Microsoft Announces Massive $1 Billion Investment in OpenAI via Mehedi Hassan
• Easing compliance for UK public and health sectors with new Azure Blueprints via Lily Kim
• What’s the difference between Azure Monitor and Azure Service Health? via Stephen Baron
• Azure solutions for financial services regulatory boundaries via David Auslander
• How to Expose Microsoft Flow thru Azure API Management via Sandro Pereira
• Microsoft invests $1 billion in OpenAI, which is going all-in on Azure via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
• Announcing the Azure Boards app for Slack via Karthik RG

Videos

Here are links to some of the videos that have been posted over the past week:

• Accelerating HPC Storage with the Azure FXT Edge Filer via Azure Friday (HD) – Channel 9
• Azure API for FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) via Azure Friday (HD) – Channel 9
• Azure API for FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) | Azure Friday via Channel 9
• Data Migration Assistant | Data Exposed via Channel 9
• Modeling and Querying data at scale using Azure Time Series Insights | Internet of Things Show via Channel 9

Podcast

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 289 – HashiCorp and Azure via The Azure Podcast
• Episode 135 – Speaking at Microsoft Ignite! with Anna Chu via Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast
• Episode 312 | Inspire Tidbits and Big Cloud Wins via Microsoft Cloud Show

Feedback

If you have any suggestions or general feedback on the Build Azure Weekly, then I’d love to hear it! Please contact me and send it on over! Or tweet it over to @BuildAzure.

Please feel free to reach out and let me know your feedback on the Build Azure Weekly series. I post this weekly post as a service to others and really want to make it the best it can be.

I’d also like to offer a special thanks to Hackster.io for sponsoring this weeks edition of Build Azure Weekly! The Build Azure community greatly appreciates your support and the amazing service you offer to the IoT community at large. Keep up the great work!

Thanks for subscribing to Build Azure Weekly!

Chris Pietschmann
Microsoft MVP – Azure
Founder, BuildAzure.com

About the Author