This series of blog posts includes the most important announcements and major updates regarding Azure infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and Azure Stack, officialized by Microsoft in the last two weeks.
Azure
Compute
Azure Dedicated Host: automatic VM placement and Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets available
You can simplify the deployment and increase the scalability of your Azure Dedicated Hosts environments with two new features now generally available:
- You can accelerate the deployment of Azure VMs in Dedicated Hosts by letting the platform select the host group to which the VM will be deployed.
- You can also use Virtual Machine Scale Sets in conjunction with Dedicated Hosts. This new capability allows IT organizations to use scale sets across multiple dedicated hosts part of a dedicated hosts group.
New datacenter region in Denmark
Microsoft has announced the most significant investment in its 30-year history in Denmark, introducing Denmark as the location for its next sustainable datacenter region and a comprehensive skilling commitment for an estimated 200,000 Danes by 2024. Powered by 100 percent renewable energy, the datacenter region will provide Danish customers of all sizes faster access to the Microsoft Cloud, world-class security and the ability to store data at rest in the country.
HBv2-series VMs for HPC are now available in UAE North
HBv2 VMs for supercomputing lass HPC are now generally available in the Azure UAE North region.
Storage
Azure Storage blob inventory (preview)
A lot of valuable data is stored in Azure Blob Storage. Customers frequently want to have an overview of their data for business and compliance reasons. The Azure Storage blob inventory feature provides an overview of your blob data within a storage account. Use the inventory report to understand your total data size, age, encryption status, and so on. Enable blob inventory reports by adding a policy to your storage account. Add, edit, or remove a policy by using the Azure portal. Once enabled, an inventory report is automatically created daily.
Azure Storage account recovery available via portal
Azure Storage uses a storage account to contain all of your Azure Storage data including: blobs, files, tables, queues, and disks. Accidentally deleting a storage account deletes all data in the account and previously could not be recovered. Microsoft is announcing that storage account recovery is available with some restrictions and this functionality is available via the Azure Portal.
For a storage account to be recoverable:
- A new storage account with the same name has not been recreated since deletion
- The storage account was deleted in the last 14 days
- It is not a classic storage account
- Azure Blob Storage NFS 3.0 preview supports general purpose v2 (GPV2) storage accounts with standard tier performance in the following regions: Australia East, Korea Central, and South Central US. In addition, the NFS 3.0 preview is expanded to support block blob with premium performance tier in all available regions.
Azure Blob Storage NFS 3.0 preview supports general purpose v2 (GPV2) storage accounts
Azure Blob Storage NFS 3.0 preview supports general purpose v2 (GPV2) storage accounts with standard tier performance in the following regions: Australia East, Korea Central, and South Central US. In addition, the NFS 3.0 preview is expanded to support block blob with premium performance tier in all available regions.
Azure Stack
Azure Stack Edge
Virtual Machine Support (public preview)
Azure Stack Edge hosts Azure virtual machines so you can run your VM based IoT, AI, and business applications on an Azure appliance at your location. The system includes deployment and management from the Azure portal, meaning you use the Azure Portal to deploy a VM Image and a VM to your Edge device at your location. Because Azure Stack Edge supports Azure VMs, you can build and test your VM image in Azure before deploying straight to the edge. For local control, ARM compatible APIs and templates can deploy and manage VMs, even when the device is disconnected from Azure.
Kubernetes system is available
Azure Stack Edge includes a managed Kubernetes environment so you can deploy your containerized apps to the edge using this industry standard technology. Just click a button in the Azure Portal and Azure Stack Edge will create a Kubernetes cluster and keep it running for you. Then deploy your Kubernetes apps from the cloud via IoT Edge or Arc enabled Kubernetes. Or use native kubectl tools for local deployment. This makes it simple to have an on-premises Kubernetes environment for your AI, IoT, and modern business applications.
Azure Stack HCI
The new Azure Stack HCI is now generally available
Azure Stack HCI is the new subscription service for hyperconverged infrastructure from Microsoft Azure. Azure Stack HCI brings together the familiarity and flexibility of on-premises virtualization with powerful new hybrid capabilities. With Azure Stack HCI, you can run virtual machines, containers, and select Azure services on-premises with management, billing, and support through the Azure cloud.
Azure Stack Hub
Event hubs is available
Event Hubs is a reliable and scalable event streaming engine that backs thousands of applications across every kind of industry in Microsoft Azure. Microsoft is announcing the general availability of Event Hubs on Azure Stack Hub. Event Event Hubs on Azure Stack Hub will allow you to realize cloud and on-premises scenarios that use streaming architectures.
