With the vast amount of material around for Azure and the speed in which its capabilities evolve, it can be tricky to keep up. My aim is to filter some of this out and provide a monthly summary of news and updates for Data Platform and Analytics related Azure services.
Updates
Fastest GPUs in the Public Cloud - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/blog/azure-n-series-preview-availability/
Azure N-Series Virtual Machines, the fastest GPUs in the public cloud, are now available in preview. N-Series instances are enabled with NVIDIA’s cutting edge GPUs to allow you to run GPU-accelerated workloads and visualize them..
AAD authentication for SQL Database ad Data warehouse goes GA - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/updates/general-availability-azure-active-directory-authentication-for-azure-sql-database-and-azure-sql-data-warehouse-2/
You can now connect to SQL DB and DW using Azure Active Directory identities. Giving you the ability to sync and manage authentication from on-premises AD and single sign on.
Move VM to a new host - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/updates/use-azure-redeploy-functionality-to-transfer-virtual-machines-to-a-new-host/
Running slower than usual? Struggling to find insights as to why your VM isn’t behaving… MOVE IT!
Span VNets with VNet Peering - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/updates/public-preview-vnet-peering-for-azure-virtual-network/
You can now link Vets without the need of a gateway across the Azure backbone!
Useful training materials and references
Microsoft Virtual Academy - https://mva.microsoft.com/product-training/microsoft-azure#!lang=1033
Channel 9 - https://channel9.msdn.com/Series/Architecting-Microsoft-Azure-Solutions
Great Architecture Exam Prep - https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/keithmayer/2015/01/11/early-experts-study-guide-for-microsoft-specialist-certification-exam-70-534-architecting-microsoft-azure-solutions/
Azure Architect Reference - https://github.com/richorama/AzureArchitectureReference
Build Azure - http://buildazure.com/2015/06/09/microsoft-azure-architecture-blueprints-free-visio-symbols/
Code examples - https://github.com/Azure
Cloud Comparison sheet - https://endjincdn.blob.core.windows.net/assets/endjin-cloud-platform-comparison.pdf
Helpful Tools
These tools help me working with Azure day to day.
Resource Explorer - https://resources.azure.com/
Azure Powershell - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/documentation/articles/powershell-install-configure/
Azure Storage Explorer - http://storageexplorer.com/
