Azure Snippets w/c 21/10/2024
Summary of Azure snippets for the week commencing 21st October 2024, grouped by Azure service.
GA = Generally Available
Public/Private Preview = as stated
RET = Service retirement
Azure services with highlighted updates this week:
Azure Backup
GRS and Cross-Region Restore support for Azure VMs using Premium SSD v2 and Ultra Disk in Azure Backup (GA) : Definite improvement for DR resilience if you’re using Premium SSD v2 or Ultra disks with your VMs. GRS vaults and Cross-Region Restore are currently supported in the following regions for machines using Premium SSDv2 Disks: Southeast Asia, East Asia, North Europe, West Europe, East US, West US, and West US 3. Coming to other regions in later months (not sure this really counts as ‘Generally Available’ yet, if I’m being honest!).
Azure Snippets w/c 30/09/2024
Summary of Azure snippets for the week commencing 30th September 2024, grouped by Azure service. Almost back to normal posting cadence :-)
GA = Generally Available
Public/Private Preview = as stated
RET = Service retirement
Azure services with highlighted updates this week:
- Application Gateway
- Azure Backup
- Azure Cache for Redis
- Azure DB for PostgreSQL
- Azure Kubernetes Service
- Infrastructure as Code
- Network Security Groups
- Virtual Network Manager
Application Gateway
- Azure Application Gateway support for TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 will end by 31 August 2025 (RET) : All connections (frontend and backend) to Application Gateway must use Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2 or later, as support for TLS 1.0 and 1.1 on Azure Application Gateway will be discontinued starting 31st August 2025.
Azure Backup
- Azure Business Continuity Center (Public Preview) : Centralised management platform for backup and disaster recovery of Azure resources. Will be replacing the Backup Center, which I think we can probably safely regard as deprecated from this point forward. Supports resources in all regions and a variety of sources and scenarios. (No idea why the title of the page on Azure Updates says Generally Available when it’s clearly still in preview :-)
Azure Cache for Redis
- Smaller Enterprise tier cache instance for Azure Cache for Redis (GA) : Following the very pricy Large Enterprise instances, there’s now a more cost-effective smaller one. Runs on burstables and recommended for dev/test only, but very much cheaper than the other Enterprise tiers.
Azure DB for PostgreSQL
- Online migration from Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Single Server to Flexible Server (GA) : Now out of preview, minimal downtime migration for PostgreSQL Single Server instances.
Azure Kubernetes Service
- gRPC and frontend mTLS now available for Application Gateway for Containers (GA) : Application Gateway for Containers now supports gRPC and frontend mutual authentication (mTLS). With both frontend and backend mutual authentication, end-to-end mutual authentication is now possible. This fills what I considered a fairly significant gap in the functionality of App Gateway for Containers, and brings it more in line with other ingress/gateway solutions.
- Long-term support for Kubernetes version 1.27 and 1.30 in AKS (GA) : K8s v1.30 has now joined 1.27 on the AKS LTS list.
- Open Service Mesh add-on for AKS will be retired on September 30, 2027 (RET) : Istio is (currently) the only option for a ’native’ AKS service mesh add-on going forward.
- Virtual machines node pools support in AKS (Public Preview) : With virtual machines node pools, Azure Kubernetes Service directly manages the provisioning and bootstrapping of every single node. (For Virtual Machine Scale Sets node pools, AKS manages the model of the Virtual Machine Scale Sets and uses it to achieve consistency across all nodes in the node pool.) Virtual Machines node pools allow the capability to add multiple VM SKUs of a similar family (e.g. different D-series SKUs) to a single node pool.
- Latest AKS release (GA) : Some ongoing updates from the last release, plus 1.30 in LTS (see above), and AKS patch versions 1.28.13, 1.29.8, 1.30.4 are now available
Infrastructure as Code
- Transition from Helm Repositories to OCI Artifacts for Storing Helm Charts (RET) : Starting March 30th, 2025, Azure Container Registry will no longer support Helm v2. Therefore, the legacy “Helm repositories” functionality will also be retired. After this date, Azure Container Registry will only support storing Helm charts as Open Container Initiative (OCI) Artifacts. Get your migration sorted out where needed - any Helm charts not stored as OCI Artifacts in ACR will be deleted after 30th March 2025!
Network Security Groups
- Network security group flow logs in Azure Network Watcher will be retired (RET) : Flow logs to be retired on 30/9/27, but you won’t be able to create new ones from 30/6/25. Migration path is to virtual network flow logs, and a migration process is available.
Virtual Network Manager
- Azure Virtual Network Monitoring IP address management (Public Preview) : This feature (part of Virtual Network Manager) is designed to streamline and optimise your IP address management, providing you with greater control and efficiency. Tracking IP address use in VNets and subnets to avoid clashes can be tricky in Azure, and if you’re using services such as Private Endpoints which can dynamically assign IP addresses, it gets even harder - something like this could be helpful and maybe remove the need for manual tracking of IPs. Preview available in UK South but not UK West.
And finally, goodbye to Azure Orbital Ground Station, which is being retired on 18th December 2024. Not my usual focus, but I couldn’t let it pass without a note!
Application Gateway Migration - V1 SKU-V2 SKU - Notes
This post captures some of the key details I’ve noted while looking at migrating Application Gateways from the V1 SKU to V2:
- Migration Path
- Key config differences between V1 and V2, and between the standard and Private deployment models for V2
- Subnets
- Sizing, Pricing and Resilience
- Outline upgrade steps
Background
Application Gateways (AGs) are used to support load balancing, traffic management and certificate management for applications. Since the initial launch of the V1 SKU, an AG V2 SKU has been introduced with improved performance and additional features. Microsoft have announced that the Application Gateway V1 SKU will be retired on 28th April 2026; no new V1 deployments have been allowed since 28th August 2024. If you haven’t already, you should begin planning to upgrade your Application Gateways to the V2 SKU.
Azure Snippets w/c 16/09/2024
Summary of Azure snippets for the week commencing 16th September 2024, grouped by Azure service. Published slightly later than planned!
GA = Generally Available
Public/Private Preview = as stated :-)
Azure services with highlighted updates this week:
Azure Kubernetes Service
- Latest AKS release (GA) : The latest release has almost finished its rollout:
- AKS v1.27 is now deprecated - long-term support only
- New versions of KEDA addon deployed
Azure Storage
- Live Resize for Azure Premium SSD v2 and Ultra Disks (Public Preview) : Dynamically increase the storage capacity of your Premium SSD v2 and Ultra disks without causing any disruption to your applications. Still has some significant limitations and is only available in select regions at present.
Infrastructure as Code
- Terraform AzureRM provider 4.0 (GA) : This version includes new capabilities to improve the extensibility and flexibility of the provider: provider-defined functions and improved resource provider registration.
Azure Snippets w/c 09/09/2024
Summary of Azure snippets for the week commencing 9th September 2024, grouped by Azure service. Back to regular posting following holidays - though only a couple of updates this time around.
No monthly summary for August as there was only one other post before this one that wasn’t covered by July’s summary.
GA = Generally Available
Public/Private Preview = as stated :-)
Azure services with highlighted updates this week:
API Management
- Workspaces in Azure API Management (GA) : Workspaces enable organizations to manage APIs more productively, securely, and reliably using a federated approach. They function like ‘folders’ within an APIM instance, with access controlled via RBAC. A provisioning enhancement to the developer portal, which can maintain overarching policies, logs, etc. Blog post and documentation.
Azure Cache for Redis
- Larger Enterprise tier cache instances for Azure Cache for Redis (GA) : Large amounts of CPU and memory for the most demanding applications. Very powerful and significantly pricy!
Azure Snippets w/c 12/08/2024
Summary of Azure snippets for the week commencing 12th August 2024, grouped by Azure service.
GA = Generally Available
Public/Private Preview = as stated :-)
Azure services with highlighted updates this week:
Azure DB for PostgreSQL
- Terraform support for geo-restore in Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Flexible Server (GA) : You can now use Terraform to perform geo-restore for Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Flexible Server data.
Azure Kubernetes Service
- Azure CNI Powered by Cilium & Azure CNI Overlay support in AKS (Public Preview) : Public preview of Azure CNI Overlay dual-stack with Azure CNI powered by Cilium for Linux clusters in AKS is now available. This enhancement enables AKS clusters to support IPv4 and IPv6 network policies, providing greater flexibility and control over network traffic within your Kubernetes environments.
Azure Portal/Entra ID
- Enable multifactor authentication for your tenant by 15 October 2024 (GA) : This has been on the way for a little while - starting 15 October 2024, MS will require users to use multifactor authentication (MFA) to sign into the Azure portal, Microsoft Entra admin center, and Intune admin center. Applies to break-glass accounts as well - check the documentation for more info.
Azure Monthly Summary - July 2024
A summary of July’s (and the start of August’s) weekly Azure snippets, highlighting some of the developments and new features that particularly caught my eye.
This post draws from the following weekly snippets - visit the posts for more details:
Azure Container Storage
- Azure Container Storage for Ephemeral (Local NVMe/Temp SSD) and Azure Disk (GA) (Azure Snippets w/c 29/07/2024)
Azure Kubernetes Service
Azure Storage
- Convert to Azure Premium SSD v2 disks (Public Preview)(Azure Snippets w/c 22/07/2024)
- Customer Managed Planned Failover for Azure Storage (Public Preview) (Azure Snippets w/c 05/08/2024)
Compute
Sustainability
Azure Snippets w/c 05/08/2024
Summary of Azure snippets for the week commencing 5th August 2024, grouped by Azure service.
GA = Generally Available
Public/Private Preview = as stated :-)
Azure services with highlighted updates this week:
Azure Extended Zones
- Azure Extended Zones (Public Preview) : Extending Azure into a small-footprint deployment (for specific services) where latency or data residency for workloads is a primary concern. Looks like the first Extended Zone is in Los Angeles.
Azure Kubernetes Service
- Leveraging Azure Copilot for AKS : More and deeper integration to make cluster management simpler.
- The latest AKS release is now rolling out :
- AKS patch versions 1.30.3, 1.29.7, 1.28.12, 1.27.16, are now available (so check your cluster versions for any that now fall into ‘N - 3’ or lower).
- The AKS extension for Visual Studio Code now supports the ability to attach an ACR to your cluster, generate Kubernetes deployment files, generate Dockerfiles, and generate GitHub Actions
Azure Storage
- Customer Managed Planned Failover for Azure Storage (Public Preview) : Finally, the ability to failover storage endpoints while they’re still healthy is coming! Definitely a boon for DR testing, moving regions if there’s a problem with a different service, etc. Very limited set of regions supported at the moment.
Azure Snippets w/c 29/07/2024
Summary of Azure snippets for the week commencing 29th July 2024, grouped by Azure service.
GA = Generally Available
Public/Private Preview = as stated :-)
Azure services with highlighted updates this week:
Azure Backup
- VM Backup support for Premium SSD v2 disks (GA) : Several updates around Premium SSD v2 and Ultra disks, but VM Backup now supporting them both with the Enhanced backup policy is probably the biggest update from my point of view. Note that cross-region and file-level restores (from a mounted disk) are still not supported. Also (importantly) note that you can’t use geo-redundant (GRS) Recovery Services Vaults for enabling backup with Premium SSD v2 and Ultra disks.
- Vaulted Backup for Azure Blob Storage (GA) : Blob backups can now be stored in a Vault instead of just as snapshots in a Storage Account. Available in all public regions, but there are some limitations to be aware of.
Azure Container Storage
- Azure Container Storage for Ephemeral (Local NVMe/Temp SSD) and Azure Disk (GA) : ACS now ready for production workloads (ephemeral disks and Azure Disk-based ones, anyway). Lots of publicity for this one - Azure Blog post, AKS Engineering blog post, documentation.
Azure Kubernetes Service
- OS SKU in-place migration for AKS (GA) : The OS SKU in-place migration feature allows you to trigger a node image upgrade between one Linux SKU (i.e. Ubuntu) to another (i.e. Azure Linux) on an existing nodepool. No need to create new nodes, cordon and drain the existing ones, and then delete them - the upgrade can roll through the cluster without having to create new node pools.
Sustainability
- Azure Carbon Optimization (Public Preview) : Sustainability is still very much a hot topic with cloud workloads. Carbon optimization joins the emissions dashboard and emissions insights (another preview service) to allow you to get a full picture of your cloud deployment impact and where it could be improved.
Azure Snippets w/c 22/07/2024
Summary of Azure snippets for the week commencing 22nd July 2024, grouped by Azure service. The Azure Updates site is working again, in its new v2 version, though the RSS feed isn’t yet.
GA = Generally Available
Public/Private Preview = as stated :-)
Azure services with highlighted updates this week:
Azure DB for PostgreSQL
- Major version upgrade support for PostgreSQL 16 (GA) : Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Flexible Server now supports in-place major version upgrades to PostgreSQL 16. This update offers access to the latest PostgreSQL features with minimal downtime and a simplified upgrade process.
Azure Kubernetes Service
- The latest AKS release is now rolling out :
- AKS version 1.30 is now GA.
- AKS patch versions 1.30.2, 1.30.1, 1.29.6, 1.28.11, 1.27.15, are now available (so check your cluster versions for any that now fall into ‘N - 3’ or lower).
Azure Storage
- Convert to Azure Premium SSD v2 disks (Public Preview) : This feature allows you to migrate your existing Standard SSD, Standard HDD, or Premium SSD v1 disks to Pv2 disks in a few clicks with minimal downtime. This process avoids disk destruction, eliminates the need to use snapshots as a staging resource, and doesn’t require waiting for background data copying. Expands the conversion capability and could be very useful if your workloads can take advantage of Premium SSD v2 capabilities - you had to create a new v2 SSD disk from a snapshot previously.
Compute
- 6th generation Intel-based VMs – Dv6/Ev6 (Public Preview) : General Purpose and Memory-optimised variants, initially available in US West and US East. Claimed performance increase over v5 VMs as well as increased scalability. Also support Azure Boost for increased performance (as will all new VM series going forward).
Governance
- Azure Essentials | Azure Migrate and Modernize | Azure Innovate - Curated collections of resources to kick off and develop Azure projects. Quite a heavy focus on AI (unsurprisingly :-) but covers other areas as well. Useful starting points to go with resources like the Well-Architected and Cloud Adoption Frameworks.