Category Archives: Azure Management

Azure Management services: what’s new in January 2024

This month, Microsoft has introduced a series of significant updates for Azure management services. This is part of a series of monthly articles aimed at providing an in-depth and detailed analysis of the most relevant innovations. The goal is to keep users always informed about the ongoing evolutions of Azure, providing the essential information to explore these developments further.

The following diagram shows the different areas related to management, which are covered in this series of articles:

Figures 1 – Overview of Management Services in Azure

Monitor

Azure Monitor

Support for Azure Monitor VM Insights Dependency Agent for VM Linux RHEL 8.6

The Dependency Agent of Azure Monitor VM Insights is now supported for Linux Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8.6 VMs. This means that the Dependency Agent can be used to monitor network connections and processes of Linux RHEL 8.6 virtual machines and visualize the dependencies between them in the VM Insights Map function.

Integration of Azure Advisor with Azure Monitor Log Analytics Workspace

Azure Advisor is a cloud tool designed to help users follow best practices in optimizing their workloads in Azure. This solution analyzes resource configurations and telemetry data to provide targeted recommendations to improve four key areas: cost efficiency, performance, reliability, and security of Azure resources. Moreover, to support more effective management of Azure Monitor costs, Microsoft has implemented specific cost optimization recommendations and integrated Azure Advisor into the Log Analytics Workspace management interface.

Dedicated clusters in Azure Monitor logs now support different commitment levels

Microsoft has extended the capabilities of dedicated clusters in Azure Monitor Logs, now supporting any level of commitment, starting from a minimum of 100 GB per day. This new feature offers greater flexibility and customization for users who require specific solutions for their monitoring and logging needs. With this expansion, customers have the option to choose the service level that best fits their needs, ensuring more efficient and tailored data management.

Configure

Update management

Azure Update Manager on Azure Arc-enabled servers: new billing rules

From February 2024, Azure Update Manager will start generating consumption for Azure Arc-enabled servers. Azure Update Manager, formerly known as Azure Automation Update Management, has been available since September 2023. Customers who started using the service from that date will not be subject to costs until February 1, 2024.

Starting February 1, 2024, customers using Azure Update Manager on Azure Arc-enabled servers will be billed daily, with a specific rate per server per day, equivalent to about $5 USD per server per month.

An Azure Arc-enabled server is considered managed by Azure Update Manager on days when it meets both of the following conditions:

it has a connection status with Arc at any time of the day; an update operation is performed on it (patch on demand or via scheduled job, evaluation on demand or via periodic assessment) or it is associated with a schedule.

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Azure Cost Management

Updates related to Microsoft Cost Management

Microsoft is constantly seeking new methodologies to improve Microsoft Cost Management, the solution to provide greater visibility into where costs are accumulating in the cloud, identify and prevent incorrect spending patterns, and optimize costs.This article reports some of the latest improvements and updates regarding this solution.

Azure Arc

Preview of the Azure Arc extension for Visual Studio Code

Microsoft has announced the public preview of the Azure Arc extension for Visual Studio Code. This extension allows developers to easily manage Azure Arc resources and services directly from Visual Studio Code. With this integration, developers can expect greater efficiency and simplified workflows, as they will have the ability to access and manage Azure Arc resources without leaving the Visual Studio Code development environment.

Secure

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

New features, bug fixes, and deprecated features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud

The development of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is constantly evolving, with continuous improvements being introduced. To stay updated on the latest developments, Microsoft updates this page, which provides information on new features, bug fixes, and deprecated features. Specifically, this month’s main news includes:

introduction of agentless container posture for GCP in Defender for Containers and Defender CSPM;
public preview of agentless malware scanning for servers;
integration of Defender for Cloud with Microsoft Defender XDR;
DevOps security annotations for Pull Requests enabled by default for Azure DevOps connectors.

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Azure Site Recovery

Support for Azure VMs with Premium SSD v2

Azure Site Recovery now supports Azure VMs equipped with Premium SSD v2. This feature is available as a private preview in selected Azure regions. Premium SSD v2 disks represent Azure’s most advanced block storage solution, ideal for high I/O intensity enterprise workloads, offering sub-millisecond latencies, high IOPS, and throughput. This addition responds to a frequent customer request to be able to use Azure Site Recovery with Azure VMs on Premium SSD v2. Thanks to this feature, customers can ensure greater data security and operational continuity of applications and workloads, even in case of planned or unplanned interruptions.

Migrate

Azure Migrate

New releases and features of Azure Migrate

Azure Migrate is the service in Azure that includes a broad portfolio of tools that can be used, through a guided user experience, to effectively address the most common migration scenarios. To stay updated on the latest developments of the solution, you can consult this page, which provides information on new releases and new features.

Azure Evaluation

For those who wish to explore and personally evaluate the services offered by Azure, a unique opportunity is available: by accessing this page, you can test various features and services for free. This will allow you to better understand how Azure can adapt and improve your IT operations, while ensuring security and innovation.

Azure Management services: what’s new in December 2023

This month, Microsoft introduced a series of significant updates to the Azure management services. Through this series of monthly articles, the aim is to offer an overview of the most relevant news. The goal is to keep you constantly informed about these developments, providing you with the essential information to further explore these topics.

The following diagram shows the different areas related to management, which are covered in this series of articles:

Figures 1 – Overview of Management Services in Azure

Configure

Azure Automation

Retirement of Azure Automation Services – August 31, 2024

Microsoft has announced that on August 31, 2024, two services in Azure Automation will be retired: the Update Management service and the Change Tracking and Inventory service, both using the Log Analytics agent.

Retirement of the Azure Automation Update Management service: This service, currently used for update management and system maintenance, will no longer be available after August 31, 2024. Users are encouraged to migrate to alternative solutions offered by Azure to maintain effectiveness in managing their system updates.
Retirement of the Change Tracking and Inventory service with Log Analytics Agent: Similarly, the Change Tracking and Inventory service, which utilizes the Log Analytics agent in Azure Automation, will end its operations on the same date. Customers are invited to explore and adopt other solutions provided by Azure to effectively manage change tracking and inventory management of IT resources.

Microsoft urges its users to take timely action to ensure a smooth transition to the new proposed solutions, thus ensuring continuity and efficiency in managing their IT infrastructures.

Govern

Azure Cost Management

Updates related to Microsoft Cost Management

Microsoft is constantly looking for innovative ways to enhance Microsoft Cost Management, their solution designed to provide greater transparency on cloud costs, identify and prevent inefficient spending patterns, and optimize overall costs. During 2023, numerous improvements and significant updates have been implemented to this solution. These updates aim to make Microsoft Cost Management even more effective in providing its users with the information and tools necessary to manage cloud expenses more efficiently and consciously.

Secure

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

New features, bug fixes, and deprecated features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud

The development of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is constantly evolving, and improvements are introduced on an ongoing basis. To stay up-to-date on the most recent developments, Microsoft updates this page, which provides information on new features, bug fixes, and deprecated features. Specifically, this month’s main news includes:

Defender for Servers at the resource level: it is now possible to manage Defender for Servers on specific resources within one’s subscription, allowing full control over the protection strategy. This capability allows for configuring specific resources with custom settings different from those configured at the subscription level.
Retirement of the classic multi-cloud connectors: the experience of the classic multi-cloud connectors has been retired, and data is no longer transmitted to connectors created through that mechanism. The new native multi-cloud connectors, available for AWS and GCP since March 2022 without additional costs, completely replace the value of these classic connectors.
Release of the coverage workbook: this tool allows monitoring which Defender for Cloud plans are active on which parts of the environment, helping to ensure complete protection of environments and subscriptions.
Vulnerability assessment for Container Images in Azure Government and Azure managed by 21Vianet: vulnerability assessment for Linux container images in Azure is now also available in Azure Government and Azure managed by 21Vianet.
Support for Windows in the Container Vulnerability Assessment (preview): support for Windows images has been released in public preview as part of the vulnerability assessment for Azure and Azure Kubernetes Services container registries.
Agentless container security posture for AWS in Defender for Containers and Defender CSPM (preview): the new agentless capabilities of container security posture are now available for AWS.
Support for PostgreSQL Flexible Server in the Defender plan for open-source relational databases: Microsoft has announced support for PostgreSQL Flexible Server in the Microsoft Defender plan for open-source relational databases.

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Azure Backup

Crash Consistent Multi-Disk VM Restore Points

Microsoft recently announced the introduction of support for the ‘Crash Consistent’ multi-disk mode in virtual machine (VM) restore points. This feature provides an agentless solution that captures and preserves both the VM configuration and write- and timing-consistent snapshots for all managed disks connected to the VM. The captured state is equivalent to that of the data present in the VM in the event of a power outage or system crash. This innovation aims to significantly improve reliability and data management in Azure infrastructures.

Azure Site Recovery

New Update Rollup

Update Rollup 70 has been released for Azure Site Recovery. This update brings significant improvements in terms of functionality and service stability, consolidating Azure Site Recovery’s position as a reliable solution for disaster recovery. The related details and the procedure to follow for installation can be found in the specific KB.

Migrate

Azure Migrate

‘As on-premises’ in Azure Migrate SQL Discovery and Assessment (preview)

Azure Migrate has introduced the new ‘As on-premises’ sizing policy for SQL instance assessments. This feature allows for quick and accurate analysis of SQL instances identified by the Azure Migrate appliance. The ‘As on-premises’ policy is based on the source SQL instance configuration to provide appropriate sizing recommendations for the target Azure SQL service. Additionally, if performance data is available, an assessment can be carried out based on these performances to obtain customized SKU recommendations for the source workload on Azure. In cases where performance data is not available for some specific instances, the ‘As on-premises’ sizing is employed to ensure precise and reliable target sizing.

New releases and features of Azure Migrate

Azure Evaluation

Microsoft Copilot for Azure: how Artificial Intelligence is transforming Azure infrastructure design and management

In an era marked by relentless technological evolution, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a revolutionary force in the cloud computing landscape. At the heart of this transformation is Microsoft, which has recently unveiled Microsoft Copilot for Azure. This innovative solution marks the beginning of a new era in the design, management, and optimization of Azure infrastructure and services. This article provides an overview of Microsoft Copilot for Azure, a true ally for businesses, designed to fully exploit the potential of the cloud through advanced features and AI-guided intuitiveness.

Premise: Copilot’s experience in Microsoft’s Cloud

Microsoft Copilot is a cutting-edge solution in the field of AI-based assistants. It stands out for the use of sophisticated language model algorithms (LLMs) and its perfect integration with Microsoft’s Cloud. This revolutionary tool aims to enhance productivity by facilitating access to critical data and ensuring high standards in security and privacy. Its core is an intuitive conversational interface that simplifies interaction with data and automation, making application creation simpler and more intuitive.

Copilot adapts to different needs: from basic usage that requires minimal effort and customization, to highly customized solutions that require substantial investment in development and data integration.

Figure 1 – Copilot’s Experience in Microsoft’s Cloud

The main ways to take advantage of Microsoft Copilot are:

Adopting Copilot: Microsoft offers various Copilot assistants to increase productivity and creativity. Integrated into various Microsoft products and platforms, Copilot transforms the digital workspace into a more interactive and efficient environment. Among these, Copilot for Azure stands out, which will be examined in detail in this article.
Extending Copilot: Developers have the opportunity to incorporate external data, simplifying user operations and reducing the need to change contexts. This not only improves productivity but also fosters greater collaboration. Through Copilot, it’s easy to integrate these data into common Microsoft products used daily. For example, both companies and ISVs have the ability to develop plugins to insert their own APIs and business data directly into Copilot. By adding these plugins, connectors, or extensions for messages, users can maximize the use of AI capabilities offered by Copilot.
Building your own Copilot: Beyond adoption and extension, it’s possible to create a customized Copilot for a unique conversational experience, using Azure OpenAI, Cognitive Search, Microsoft Copilot Studio, and other Microsoft Cloud technologies. A customized Copilot can integrate business data, access external data in real-time via APIs, and integrate into business applications.

Microsoft Copilot for Azure: the assistant revolutionizing the design, management, and optimization of Azure infrastructure and services via AI

Microsoft Copilot for Azure is an innovative AI-based tool designed to maximize the potential of Azure. Using LLMs (Large Language Models), Azure’s control plane, and detailed analysis of the Azure environment, Copilot makes work more effective and productive.

This assistant helps users navigate Azure’s numerous offerings, which include hundreds of services and thousands of resource types. It combines data and insights to increase productivity, minimize costs, and provide specific insights. Its ability to interpret natural language greatly simplifies managing Azure, responding to questions and providing personalized information about the user’s Azure environment.

Available directly through the Azure portal, Microsoft Copilot for Azure facilitates user interaction, responding to questions, generating queries, and performing tasks. Moreover, Copilot for Azure provides personalized, high-quality recommendations, respecting the organization’s policies and privacy.

The following paragraphs report the main features for which Microsoft Copilot for Azure can be used.

Performing tasks with improved efficiency

Copilot for Azure is designed to manage a wide range of basic operations that constitute the daily routine in managing Azure environments. These operations, essential for the maintenance and efficiency of architectures in Azure, can often be repetitive and time-consuming. However, with Copilot, it’s possible to manage these basic operations, saving valuable time and reducing the likelihood of human errors.

Interpreting and assessing the Azure environment:

Obtain information about resources through Azure Resource Graph queries.
Understand events and the health status of services.
Analyze, estimate, and optimize costs.

Working smarter with Azure services:

Deploy virtual machines effectively.
Build infrastructures and deploy workloads.
Obtain information about Azure Monitor metrics and logs.
Work more productively using Azure Stack HCI.
Secure and protect storage accounts.

Writing and optimizing code:

Generate Azure CLI scripts.
Discover performance recommendations.
Create API Management policies.
Generate YAML files for Kubernetes.
Resolve app issues more quickly with App Service.

Obtaining specific and detailed information and advice

Within the Azure portal, Copilot emerges as a useful tool for delving into a wide range of Azure concepts, services, or offerings. Its ability to provide answers is based on constantly updated documentation, ensuring users get up-to-date advice and valuable help in solving problems. This not only improves efficiency but also ensures that decisions are based on the most recent and relevant information.

Navigating the portal with greater ease

Navigating the Azure portal, often perceived as complex due to the vastness of services offered, is made simple and intuitive with Copilot’s assistance. Instead of manually searching among the numerous services, users can simply ask Copilot to guide them. Copilot not only responds by opening the requested service but also offers suggestions on service names and provides detailed explanations, making the navigation process smoother.

Simplified management of portal settings

Another notable aspect is Copilot’s ability to simplify the management of Azure portal settings. Users can now confirm or change settings directly through Copilot, without the need to access the control panel. For example, it’s possible to select and customize Azure themes directly through Copilot, making interaction with the portal not only more efficient but also more personalized.

Limitations as of December 2023

As of December 2023, Microsoft Copilot for Azure is in preview and has the following limitations:

Each user has a limit of ten questions per conversation and a maximum of five conversations per day.
Responses that include lists are limited to the first five items.
For some requests and queries, using the name of a resource may not be sufficient; it may be necessary to provide the Azure resource ID.
Available only in English.

Conclusions

Microsoft Copilot for Azure represents a revolutionary turn in cloud computing, leveraging artificial intelligence to significantly transform the management and optimization of Azure architectures. This tool elevates productivity and security, simplifying daily operations, providing detailed analysis, and assisting users in managing the Azure environment. Although we are still at the dawn of this technology, Copilot for Azure represents a significant advancement. This tool not only provides an intuitive and efficient user experience but also lays the groundwork for a future where artificial intelligence and cloud computing will be increasingly interconnected and synergistic.

Azure Management services: what’s new in November 2023

November has brought a series of significant updates in the Azure management services landscape. In this monthly recap, the most relevant innovations are highlighted, thus allowing for a specific deep dive into the new functionalities and optimizations introduced.

The following diagram shows the different areas related to management, which are covered in this series of articles:

Figures 1 – Overview of Management Services in Azure

Monitor

Azure Monitor

Azure Monitor System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) Managed Instance

Azure Monitor SCOM Managed Instance brings the capabilities of SCOM monitoring and configurable health models to Azure Monitor. As an integrated feature in Azure Monitor, SCOM Managed Instance provides a cloud-based alternative for SCOM customers, ensuring continuity of monitoring for both cloud and on-premises environments. SCOM Managed Instance is now available to everyone and since its preview, it has added multiple features, such as the integration of SCOM alerts with Azure Monitor alerts, the ability to send integrated alerts to IT service management tools, the capability to view service health from the Azure portal, and an improved onboarding experience.

Azure Monitor Agent integrated with Connection Monitor

Azure Monitor Agent, integrated with Connection Monitor, offers an effective solution for network connectivity monitoring. This integration simplifies the management of monitoring agents by consolidating multiple functions into a single agent. It enables the collection of network connectivity and performance data for both Azure and on-premises environments enabled with Azure Arc. New features include improved support for Azure Arc on-premises endpoints and simpler management of monitoring extensions. Additionally, there are plans to expand support for additional Azure resources and enhance performance metrics.

Azure Monitor Log Storage up to 12 Years

More than a year ago, Azure Monitor Logs launched a log storage solution that allows logs to be retained for up to seven years at a reduced cost. This feature has been valuable for many customers with regulations requiring long-term data retention. Since the introduction of this storage capability, there has been a steady increase in the number of customers utilizing log storage and in the duration of data retention. There has also been demand from many customers for longer storage periods beyond the supported seven years. Examples include tax authorities and healthcare regulations in some countries, which require data retention for 10-12 years. After extensive technical discussions and evaluations, Microsoft has extended the supported retention period, and Azure Monitor Logs now supports up to 12 years of data retention.

Adding dynamic values in custom alert fields

Microsoft recently introduced a new feature for Azure Monitor alerts, which now allows the addition of dynamic values in custom fields. This feature is particularly useful for customizing alarm notifications, allowing users to include values dynamically extracted from the alert payload or a combination of both. This update significantly improves the flexibility and effectiveness of alarm notifications, allowing for more customization in actions triggered by action groups, such as webhook actions, Azure function, or logic app. This new capability enhances the precision and relevance of alarm notifications, improving the management and monitoring of infrastructure and applications on Azure.

OpenTelemetry deployment for ASP.NET Core Applications

Microsoft announced the general availability of Azure Monitor’s OpenTelemetry deployment for ASP.NET Core applications. Part of the Azure Monitor ecosystem, this offering is designed for native cloud application monitoring, enabling customers to observe failures, bottlenecks, and usage patterns to more quickly resolve incidents and reduce downtime. The OpenTelemetry deployment of Azure Monitor includes a thin wrapper for easy implementation with a single line of code, along with specific Azure features for an optimized experience on the platform. This deployment is open and extensible, allowing data to be sent to multiple destinations and extended with a rich set of OpenTelemetry instrumentation libraries that collect data from a wide range of frameworks and environments.

Latency Metrics for Azure Disks and Performance Metrics for Temporary Disks on Azure Virtual Machines (preview)

Microsoft recently announced the introduction of the capability to monitor latency across OS, data, and temporary disks using the SCSI protocol, with support for the NVMe protocol coming soon. This improvement is particularly important for high-performance applications such as SAP Hana and OLTP databases, where latency plays a crucial role in read and write operations. It is now possible to track latency operations on OS, data, and temporary disks using Azure Monitor metrics. Additionally, temporary disks, which are by nature non-persistent and typically found in Virtual Machine (VM) families marked with a ‘d’ in their name, are now accessible for performance monitoring on Azure Monitor. It is now easy to monitor queue depth, IOPS, and throughput for these temporary disks, even though their storage does not persist beyond the lifecycle of the associated VM.

Azure Monitor Agent and JSON Log Collection (preview)

Azure Monitor Agent (AMA) now supports the collection of logs in JSON format for ingestion into Log Analytics. This new feature is designed to enable customers to collect their JSON-formatted logs generated in their services or applications and insert them into a Log Analytics workspace table for analysis. The AMA agent is required to use custom JSON logs.

Integration of Azure Monitor alerts with Event Grid for Azure Key Vault System Events (preview)

Microsoft recently announced a new feature in public preview: the integration of Azure Monitor Alerts with Event Grid for Azure Key Vault system events. This integration represents a significant step in the evolution of event and alert management services in Azure. Azure Monitor alerts are essential for detecting and addressing issues before users become aware, proactively notifying when Azure Monitor data indicates there might be a problem with the infrastructure or application. The integration with Event Grid enables efficient communication of events that indicate changes in the system state. This approach is common in decoupled architectures, such as those using microservices. With Azure Monitor alerts as a destination in Event Grid event subscriptions, it is possible to receive critical event notifications through action groups such as SMS, email, push notifications, and more. This feature, currently available only for Azure Key Vault system events, combines Event Grid’s low-latency event delivery with the flexibility and direct-to-customer notifications of Azure Monitor alerts.

Configure

Azure Automation

Azure Automation now supports PowerShell 7.2

Azure Automation has announced the general availability of PowerShell 7.2 runbooks. Users can now create runbooks in the long-term supported version of PowerShell, using the Azure Automation extension for Visual Studio Code, enhanced by GitHub Copilot, and run them on a secure and reliable platform.

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Azure Advisor

Enhancing the reliability of Azure Disks with the introduction of Zone Redundant Storage

Microsoft has announced the general availability of a new Azure Advisor recommendation that enhances the reliability of Azure disks through the use of Zone Redundant Storage (ZRS). Disks with ZRS offer synchronous data replication across three Availability Zones within a region, significantly increasing resilience. By adopting this recommendation, users can now design their solutions using ZRS disks, ensuring that their disks can withstand a zonal outage. This update brings a notable improvement in the resilience of solutions, preventing downtime and interruptions.

Azure Cost Management

Exporting costs via the FOCUS Schema (preview)

The FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS) is an innovative initiative aimed at establishing a common, provider- and service-agnostic format for billing data. This format allows organizations to better understand cost and usage patterns and optimize spending and performance across multiple cloud offerings, software as a service (SaaS), and even on-premises solutions. Microsoft Cost Management is introducing support for exporting cost and usage data aligned with the FOCUS schema as part of a limited preview ahead of the upcoming major release of FOCUS.

Updates related to Microsoft Cost Management

Microsoft is continually seeking new methods to enhance Microsoft Cost Management, the solution for providing greater visibility into where costs are accumulating in the cloud, identifying and preventing incorrect spending patterns, and optimizing costs. This article details some of the latest improvements and updates regarding this solution.

Azure Arc

VMware vSphere rnabled by Azure Arc

VMware vSphere enabled by Azure Arc helps users simplify the management of their hybrid IT environment spread across VMware vSphere and Azure. Customers can begin by connecting Azure Arc to resources in VMware vSphere deployments, thus facilitating the large-scale installation of agents and enabling Azure’s management, monitoring, and security solutions on on-premises systems.

Self-Service capabilities of System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) in Azure with Azure Arc

The self-service capabilities of System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) are now generally available in Azure through Azure Arc. Once connected with Azure Arc, customers can manage and control their SCVMM environments on Azure and perform self-service operations on virtual machines (VMs) directly from the Azure portal. This provides customers with a consistent management experience across Azure for both cloud and hybrid environments.

New features for SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc

The enhancements to SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc provide additional management capabilities for SQL Server systems operating outside of Azure:

Monitoring for SQL Server Enabled by Azure Arc (preview). The monitoring for SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc, now in preview, will allow customers to gain visibility across their entire SQL Server infrastructure, both in on-premises data centers and in the cloud. This enhances the performance of databases and allows for quicker diagnosis of issues.
Improved High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HA/DR) Management for SQL Server Enabled by Azure Arc (Preview). With Azure Arc, customers can now improve operational continuity and the availability of SQL Server by viewing and managing Always On availability groups, failover cluster instances, and backups directly from the Azure portal.
Extended Security Updates for SQL Server Enabled by Azure Arc. These updates, which provide critical security updates for up to three years after the end of extended support, are now available as a service through Azure Arc.

Secure

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

New features, bug fixes, and deprecated features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud

The development of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is constantly evolving, with continuous improvements being introduced. To stay updated on the latest developments, Microsoft updatesthis page, which provides information on new features, bug fixes, and deprecated features. Specifically, this month’s main news includes:

DevOps Security Insights for GitHub, Azure DevOps, and GitLab. Users will gain deep visibility into the security posture of their applications on GitHub, Azure DevOps, and GitLab within Defender for Cloud. In addition to advanced security for GitHub and Azure DevOps, with the preview of GitLab Ultimate integration, Defender for Cloud now supports the three main development platforms.
Integration with Microsoft Entra Permissions Management. Users will get a centralized view of the Permissions Creep Index, implement access controls based on the principle of least privilege for cloud resources, and proactively analyze attack paths by linking access permissions to other potential vulnerabilities on Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud.
Enhanced Container Security in Multicloud Environments. Users will be able to anticipate risks in containerized applications and prioritize misconfigurations and exposures in their Kubernetes deployments with the expansion of contextual graph-based capabilities of the Defender Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) to Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) and Google Kubernetes Engine (NGO) clusters.
Proactive Attack Path Analysis and Faster Risk Mitigation. Users can efficiently remediate critical risks with a risk-based attack path analysis engine to identify and prioritize the resolution of more complex risks, such as cross-cloud attack paths.
Improved Security Posture for APIs. With the general availability of the Defender for APIs plan in Defender for Cloud, administrators will be able to gain visibility into critical business APIs, prioritize the remediation of vulnerabilities, and rapidly detect active real-time threats for APIs published in Azure API Management. New preview capabilities aimed at sensitive data classification supported by Microsoft Purview and curated attack paths will further assist security administrators in protecting data from API risks.
Microsoft Security Copilot. Users will be able to gain efficiency in discovering and resolving risks with the power of AI-generated guidance.

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Azure Backup

Azure Backup for AKS

Microsoft has announced the general availability of Azure Backup for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). This native Azure solution provides simple and secure protection for containerized applications deployed on AKS, enabling customers to protect their mission-critical workloads.

Customer-Managed Key Encryption for Backup Vaults (Preview)

Microsoft Azure has introduced the capability to use customer-managed encryption keys (CMKs) for backing up data security. This feature, supported for Recovery Services Vaults, has been extended to Backup Vaults. It is now possible to use CMKs when creating a new backup vault or updating the encryption settings of an existing vault to use CMKs.

Migrate

New releases and features of Azure Migrate

Azure Evaluation

Azure Management services: what’s new in October 2023

This month, Microsoft has introduced a series of significant updates to the Azure management services. Through this series of monthly articles, I aim to provide an overview of the most relevant new features. The goal is to keep you constantly informed about these developments, giving you the essential information to further explore these topics.

The following diagram shows the different areas related to management, which are covered in this series of articles:

Figure 1 – Overview of Management Services in Azure

Monitor

Azure Monitor

VM insights: migration to Azure Monitor agent by August 31, 2024

On August 31, 2024, VM insights based on the Log Analytics agent will be retired. It is recommended to migrate to the Azure Monitor agent for VM insights, which offers several improvements, including:

Enhanced security and performance.
Data collection rules to help reduce costs.
A simplified management experience, facilitating troubleshooting.

Integrated Azure Monitor alerts for Azure Site Recovery (preview)

Microsoft recently announced the preview availability of integrated Azure Monitor alerts for Azure Site Recovery. This new feature allows Azure users to more effectively monitor the status and performance of their disaster recovery environments. The integrated alerts enable rapid detection of potential issues, ensuring more efficient and proactive management of resources in emergency recovery situations. With this integration, users can configure custom alerts based on specific performance and status parameters, improving resilience and operational readiness for their systems. This feature is particularly useful for organizations requiring high standards of operational continuity and data integrity.

Govern

Azure Policy

Protection of critical infrastructures from large-scale accidental deletions with Policies

Microsoft has introduced “DenyAction” in Azure Policy. This new feature allows blocking requests based on actions taken on the resource, rather than just its configuration or properties. In practice, with Deny Action, it is possible to protect infrastructures by preventing unwanted deletion calls. While in the past Azure Policy only offered the “deny” function, which blocked requests based on specific resource configurations, now with the addition of Deny Action, the blocking capability has been extended to actions included in the request.

Azure Cost Management

Updates related to Microsoft Cost Management

Microsoft is constantly seeking new methodologies to improve Microsoft Cost Management, the solution to provide greater visibility into where costs are accumulating in the cloud, identify and prevent incorrect spending patterns, and optimize costs. This article reports some of the latest improvements and updates regarding this solution.

Azure Arc

Azure Arc-enabled SCVMM (preview)

With the recent introduction of “Azure Arc-enabled System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM)”, it is now possible to manage SCVMM VMs more efficiently directly from Azure. This innovative solution facilitates the discovery, integration, and management of VMs. Microsoft is expanding the capabilities for SCVMM enabled in Azure Arc. Thanks to this update, Azure Arc-enabled SCVMM VMs receive full support for Azure management services. This includes protection offered by Microsoft Defender for Cloud, monitoring via Azure Monitor, and updates provided by Azure Update Manager. These new features offer customers a simpler and more effective management experience of their System Center-managed assets, all through Azure.

Secure

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

New features, bug fixes, and deprecated features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Public preview availability of recommendations for managing DevOps security posture;
Release of the CIS Azure Foundations Benchmark v2.0.0 in the Regulatory Compliance dashboard.

Protect

Azure Backup

Backup Vaults with MUA (Multi-User Authorization)

Azure Backup has announced the availability of backup vaults with MUA (Multi-User Authorization). These vaults offer an integrated backup solution that protects business data through a series of advanced access features. With this release, the backup administrator, who is usually the owner of the Backup vault, needs to obtain the collaborator role on the protected resource to perform certain operations. This requires an action by the owner of the protection resource to approve and grant the requested access. Additionally, it is possible to use Azure Active Directory Privileged Identity Management to manage just-in-time access on the protected resource.

Enhanced Soft Delete

Azure has announced the availability of the “Enhanced Soft Delete” feature for Azure Backup. This feature offers additional protection against data loss, ensuring that backup data remains available for recovery, even if the backup source is deleted. The Enhanced Soft Delete feature protects against accidental deletions and malicious activities. This adds an extra layer of security and resilience to backup data.

Regional Disaster Recovery for Azure Backup for AKS (preview)

Azure Backup for AKS allows customers to protect their containerized workloads along with application data deployed on AKS clusters. The solution enables scheduled backups of AKS clusters and their restoration in various scenarios. Customers also want to use their AKS backups to recover applications in the event of a regional disaster, following industry best practices for the 3-2-1 backup strategy. With this in mind, the Azure Backup service is announcing the private preview of the regional disaster recovery capability of AKS Backup. Using this feature, it is possible to recover the AKS cluster from backups in a secondary region, such as an Azure paired region, in the event of a regional disaster.

Migrate

Azure Migrate

New releases and features of Azure Migrate

Azure Evaluation

Azure Management services: what's new in September 2023

In September there were several news that Microsoft announced regarding Azure management services. This article lists the main announcements, accompanied by the necessary references to be able to conduct further studies on.

The following diagram shows the different areas related to management, which are covered in this series of articles:

Figure 1 – Management services in Azure overview

Monitor

Azure Monitor

Azure Monitor VM Insights now available with Azure Monitor Agent

Azure has announced the availability of “Azure Monitor VM Insights” through the use of the Azure Monitor Agent. This service offers a quick and easy way to monitor customer workloads on Azure virtual machines and scale sets, as well as on Azure Arc-enabled servers operating in an on-premises and/or multi-cloud environment.

The new version of the agent offers various benefits, including cost savings, simplified management and improved security and performance. If you were previously using VM Insights using Log Analytics Agent (now deprecated), Microsoft suggests consulting theirs migration guide to switch to the Azure Monitor Agent.

Historical view for Azure Monitor alerts (preview)

Monitoring resources and alerts in Azure is now easier and more intuitive with the new historical preview view of Azure Monitor. This view offers a clear overview of triggered alerts, allowing users to quickly identify problems

OpenTelemetry-based distribution via Node.js from Python

Azure Monitor now offers OpenTelemetry-based distribution for Node.js and Python, allowing developers to easily integrate with Azure Monitor and collect telemetry data. This new feature ensures that developers can effectively monitor their applications, obtaining performance information, on errors and other key metrics.

Configure

Update management

Azure Update Manager: updated and enhanced update management

Azure Update Manager offers a SaaS solution to manage and govern software updates on Windows and Linux machines in Azure environments, on-premises e multi cloud. This is an evolution of the Azure Automation update management solution with new features. Azure Update Manager has been redesigned to provide new capabilities without relying on the Log Analytics agent or Azure Monitor agent. It relies on the Microsoft Azure VM agent to manage update flows on Azure VMs and on the Azure Connected Machine agent to manage Azure Arc-enabled servers.

Govern

Azure Cost Management

Export Cost Management data to firewall-protected storage accounts

You can now export Cost Management data to firewall-protected Azure storage accounts. Users can use the Exports API or the Azure portal to create recurring tasks to automatically export cost data to CSV format. This can be scheduled on a daily basis, weekly or monthly, and the exported data can be used for creating dashboards or integrating with financial systems.

Updates related toMicrosoft Cost Management

Microsoft is constantly looking for new methodologies to improve Microsoft Cost Management, the solution to provide greater visibility into where costs are accumulating in the cloud, identify and prevent incorrect spending patterns and optimize costs . Inthis article some of the latest improvements and updates regarding this solution are reported.

Secure

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Malware scanning in Defender for Storage

Defender for Storage introduces malware scanning functionality, overcoming traditional malware protection challenges and providing an ideal solution for highly regulated industries. This function, available as an add-on, represents a significant enhancement of Microsoft Defender for Storage security solutions. With malware scanning you get the following benefits.

Protection, in near real time, without agent: ability to intercept advanced malware such as polymorphic and metamorphic ones.
Cost Optimization: thanks to flexible pricing, you can control costs based on the amount of data examined and with resource-level granularity.
Enablement at scale: without the need for maintenance, supports automated responses at scale and offers several options for activation via tools and platforms such as Azure policy, Bicep, ARM, Terraform, REST API and the Azure portal.
Application versatility: based on feedback from beta users over the last two years, Malware scanning has proven useful in a variety of scenarios, as web applications, content protection, compliance, integrations with third parties, collaborative platforms, data streams and datasets for machine learning (ML).

GitHub Advanced Security per Azure DevOps

It is now possible to view GitHub Advanced Security for Azure DevOps alerts (GHAzDO) related to CodeQL, secrets and dependencies, directly in Defender for Cloud. The results will appear in the DevOps section and Recommendations. To see these results, you need to integrate your GHAzDO-enabled repositories into Defender for Cloud.

New features, bug fixes and deprecated features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Microsoft Defender for Cloud development is constantly evolving and improvements are being made on an ongoing basis. To stay up to date on the latest developments, Microsoft updates this page, this provides information about new features, bug fixes and deprecated features. To find out about the main innovations that characterized Defender for Cloud in the summer 2023, outlining how these innovations can represent added value for companies, you can consult this article.

Protect

Azure Backup

Cross Region Restore (CRR) for Recovery Services Agent (MARS)

Following the General Availability of Cross Region Recovery for VM backups, SQL and SAP HANA and to strengthen the resilience pillar, Microsoft has announced Cross Region Recovery support for the Recovery Services Agent (MARS) using Azure Backup.

Azure customers leverage Recovery Services Agent to back up their files/folders and system state to an Azure Recovery Services Vault. Backup data in the primary region can also be geo-replicated to a secondary region paired with Azure to ensure durability. Previously, data replicated in the secondary region was available for recovery in the secondary region only if Azure declared a disaster in the primary region. With the introduction of this new support, Customers can enable recovery of Recovery Services Agent backups in the secondary region at any time.

This capability can be leveraged in the following scenarios:

when the primary region is available to test restores from backup data in the secondary region for audit/compliance purposes;
when the primary region is not available, customers can trigger recovery of data backed up in the secondary region even if the primary Azure region is partially unavailable or completely unavailable without any waiting time.

Saving the Azure Backup Recovery Services Agent passphrase (MARS) in Azure Key Vault (preview)

Data security is a priority for Microsoft, and with the new preview feature that allows you to save the Recovery Services Agent encryption passphrase directly in Azure Key Vault, users can now enjoy an even greater level of security. This integration makes the Recovery Services Agent installation smoother and more secure, eliminating the need for custom scripts.

Azure Files Backup in China regions

Azure Files Backup is now generally available in China regions. This feature allows users to back up their files to Azure securely and reliably.

Migrate

Azure Migrate

New Azure Migrate releases and features

Azure Migrate is the service in Azure that includes a large portfolio of tools that you can use, through a guided experience, to address effectively the most common migration scenarios. To stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the solution, please consult this page, that provides information about new releases and features.

Evaluation of Azure

To test for free and evaluate the services provided by Azure you can access this page.

Learn about foolproof strategies to optimize costs on Azure

The peculiarities and undeniable advantages of cloud computing can, in certain situations, hide pitfalls if not handled with due attention. Wise cost management is one of the crucial aspects of cloud governance. In this article, will be explored and outlined the principles and techniques that can be used to optimize and minimize expenses relating to the resources implemented in the Azure environment.

The issue of optimizing costs related to the cloud is a topic that is attracting increasingly greater interest among numerous customers. So that, for the seventh year in a row, emerges as the leading initiative in the cloud industry, as reported in Flexera's annual report 2023.

Figure 1 – Initiatives reported in the Flexera report of 2023

Principles to better manage costs

For effective management of costs associated with Azure, It is essential to adopt the principles outlined in the following paragraphs.

Design

A well-structured design process, which includes a meticulous analysis of business needs, it is essential to customize the adoption of cloud solutions. It therefore becomes crucial to outline the infrastructure to be implemented and how it will be used, through a design plan that aims to optimize the efficiency of the resources allocated in the Azure environment.

Visibility

It is vital to equip yourself with tools that offer a global view and allow you to receive notifications regarding Azure costs, thus facilitating constant and proactive monitoring of expenses.

Responsibility

Assigning cloud resource costs to the respective organizational units within the company is a smart practice. This ensures that managers are fully aware of the expenses attributable to their team, promoting an in-depth understanding of Azure spending at an organizational level. For this purpose, It is advisable to structure Azure resources in such a way as to facilitate the identification and attribution of costs.

Optimization

It is advisable to undertake periodic reviews of Azure resources with the intention of minimizing expenses where possible. Making use of available information, you can easily identify underutilized resources, eliminate waste and capitalize on cost saving opportunities.

Iteration

It is essential that IT staff are continuously engaged in the iterative processes of optimizing the costs of Azure resources. This represents a key element for responsible and effective management of the cloud environment.

Techniques to optimize costs

Regardless of the specific tools and solutions used, to refine cost management in Azure, you can adhere to the following strategies:

Turn off unused resources, given that the pricing of the various Azure services is based on the actual use of the resources. For those resources that do not require uninterrupted operation and that allow, without any loss of configurations or data, a deactivation or suspension, it is possible to implement an automation system. This system, regulated by a predefined schedule, facilitates the optimization of use and, consequentially, more economical management of the resources themselves.
Adequately size resources, consolidating workloads and proactively intervening on underutilized resources, allows us to avoid waste and guarantee a more efficient and targeted use of available capacities.
For resources used continuously in the Azure environment, evaluate the option of Reservations can prove to be an advantageous strategy. Azure Reservations offer the opportunity to benefit from a significant cost reduction, which can reach up to 72% compared to pay-as-you-go rates. This benefit can be obtained by committing to pay for the use of Azure resources for a period of one or three years. This payment can be made in advance or on a monthly basis, at no additional cost. The purchase of Reservations can be made directly from the Azure portal and is available to customers with the following subscription types: Enterprise Agreement, Pay-As-You-Go and Cloud Solution Provider (CSP).
To further mitigate costs associated with Azure, it is appropriate to consider the implementation of’Azure Hybrid Benefit. This advantage allows you to achieve significant savings, as Microsoft only allows you to bear the costs relating to the Azure infrastructure, while the licenses for Windows Server or SQL Server are covered by a Software Assurance contract or an existing subscription.

The Azure Hybrid Benefit can also be extended to Azure SQL Database, to SQL Servers installed on Azure virtual machines and SQL Managed Instances. These benefits facilitate the transition to cloud solutions, bidding up to 180 days of dual use right, and help leverage pre-existing investments in terms of SQL Server licenses. To learn more about how to use the Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server, please consult the FAQs present in this document. It is important to note that this benefit is also applicable to RedHat and SUSE Linux subscriptions, further expanding the opportunities for savings and cost optimization.

The Azure Hybrid Benefit can be combined with Azure Reserved VM Instances, creating an opportunity for significant savings that can reach 80% of the total, especially when you opt for an Azure Reserved Instance purchase for the duration of 3 years. This synergy not only makes the investment cheaper, but also maximizes operational efficiency.

Considering the integration of new technologies and the application of architectural optimizations is crucial. This process involves the selection of the most appropriate Azure service for the specific needs of the application in question, ensuring not only optimal technological alignment, but also more efficient cost management.
Allocate and de-allocate resources dynamically is critical to meeting fluctuating performance needs. This approach is known as “autoscaling”, a process that facilitates the flexible allocation of resources to meet specific performance needs at any time. As the workload intensifies, an application may require additional resources to maintain desired performance levels and meet SLAs (Service Level Agreement). On the contrary, when demand reduces and additional resources are no longer essential, these can be de-allocated to minimize costs. Autoscaling capitalizes on the elasticity of cloud environments, allowing not only more effective cost management, but also reducing the administrative burden, as resources can be managed more smoothly and with less manual intervention.
For test and development environments, it is advisable to consider the use of Dev/Test subscriptions, which offer the opportunity to access significant discounts on Azure fees. These subscriptions can be activated under an Enterprise Agreement, thus facilitating more advantageous cost management and more agile and economical experimentation during the development and testing phases.

Conclusions

The adoption of a methodological approach in managing cloud costs, together with the use of appropriate strategies, represents a fundamental pillar for successfully navigating the complex challenge of cloud economic management. Drawing from the principles and techniques outlined in this article, users can not only optimize expenses, but also make the most of their investment in the cloud, ensuring a balance between costs and benefits.

Azure Management services: what's new in August 2023

Microsoft constantly releases news about Azure management services. By publishing this summary, you want an overview of the most significant innovations introduced in the last month. This allows you to stay up-to-date on these topics and have the necessary references to conduct further investigations.

The following diagram shows the different areas related to management, which are covered in this series of articles:

Monitor

Azure Monitor

Azure Monitor container insights offers new cost optimization settings

Container insights expands the public preview of cost optimization settings, now enabling a third dimension for adjusting container insights data collection settings, with one configuration per table. Customers can now individually select which data tables to include in their Log Analytics workspace.
Per-table configurations can be enabled through ARM, CLI and Azure Portal.

Configure

Azure Advisor

Improve VM resiliency with Availability Zone recommendations

One of the recommended practices to achieve high resilience, according to the guidelines of the Well Architected Framework (WAF), is the distribution in different zones of the workloads. By adopting this recommendation, now available in Azure Advisor, you can design your solutions to use VM “zonal”, thus ensuring the isolation of virtual machines from potential failures in other areas.

Govern

Azure Cost Management

New cost optimization opportunities using the new workbook template in Azure Advisor
The Azure Cost Optimization Workbook serves as a centralized hub for some of the most used tools that can help the customer achieve their utilization and efficiency goals. It offers a number of recommendations, including Azure Advisor cost recommendations, the identification of idle resources and the management of virtual machines that are not deallocated correctly. Furthermore, provides insights into using the Azure Hybrid benefit options for Windows, Linux e database SQL.

Exporting data to a firewall-protected storage account

Azure Cost Management now supports exporting data to a firewall-protected storage account, ensuring a high level of security. The export can be scheduled on a daily basis, weekly or monthly and the exported data can be used for dashboard creation or for integration with financial systems.

Secure

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

New features, bug fixes and deprecated features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Defender for Container: agentless discovery for Kubernetes;
Preview release of GCP support in Defender CSPM;
new security alerts in Defender for Servers Plan 2: detection of potential attacks that abuse Azure VM extensions;
business model and pricing updates for Defender for Cloud plans.

Protect

Azure Backup

Cross Subscription Restore for Azure Virtual Machines

Microsoft introduced the ability to restore Azure VMs to another subscription within the same tenant as the subscription where the source VM exists, provided you have the necessary permissions. By default, the recovery occurs in the same subscription where the source virtual machine exists. This feature is only allowed if you have Cross Subscription Restore enabled for the Recovery Services vault. Cross Subscription Restore allows you to restore by creating a VM or restoring disks. You can use Cross Zonal Restore and/or Cross Region Restore in conjunction with this restore option.

Azure Backup introduces Cross Region Recovery for PostgreSQL (preview)

Azure Backup has launched a new preview feature: Cross Region restore for PostgreSQL backups. This feature takes advantage of Geo-Redundant storage with Read access, allowing you to keep data in two different regions. The innovation lies in the fact that now not only can backups be accessed when a problem occurs in an Azure region, but you can do it at any time, ensuring greater flexibility and security. This option is particularly useful for those who want to test the readiness of their backups or for those looking for greater data resilience. Currently, this feature is available for PostgreSQL in select regions, enriching the offer of Azure Backup in terms of data accessibility.

Azure Site Recovery

DR for shared disks (preview)

Microsoft released private preview of Azure Shared Disk DR for workloads running Windows Server Failover Clusters (WSFC) on Azure virtual machines. It is therefore possible to protect, monitor and recover WSFC clusters as a single unit throughout its lifecycle, while generating cluster-consistent recovery points.

Salient features:

private preview will support the protection of Windows Server failover clusters. Some applications using this architecture are SQL FCI, SAP ASCS, Scale-out File Servers, etc.
- OS supported: Windows Server 2016 and later;
- number of nodes: up to 4 nodes per cluster;
- shared disks: any number of shared disks can be attached to the cluster;
the failover operation supports failover of the entire cluster at the same time;
once a failover has been performed, you will need to re-enable replication for reverse direction protection.

New Update Rollup

For Azure Site Recovery was released theUpdate Rollup 68 that solves several issues and introduces some improvements. The details and the procedure to follow for the installation can be found in the specific KB.

Support in the presence of a higher level of “churn” on the data

Azure Site Recovery now supports scenarios with increased data rotation. This enhancement gives customers the ability to handle scenarios with a high volume of data changes, ensuring greater resiliency and reliability for their critical applications.

Migrate

Azure Migrate

New Azure Migrate releases and features

Azure Database Migration

Azure portal experience for Azure Database Migration Service (preview)

You can now use DMS to perform migrations from both the Azure portal and the ADS extension. The Azure portal experience allows you to perform tasks such as creating a new database migration service from within the Azure portal, initiating the migration from SQL Server on-premises to various Azure targets and accessing an integration runtime configuration page. The Azure portal experience also offers a list of prerequisites, documentation and links to tutorials, customized according to the selected target.

Evaluation of Azure

To test for free and evaluate the services provided by Azure you can access this page.

Revolutionize cloud cost management with AI: discover the new Microsoft Cost Management co-pilot!

In the digital age, cloud computing has become an essential component for many companies, offering flexibility, scalability and agility. However, with the ever more widespread adoption of the cloud, the management of associated costs has become an increasingly complex challenge and companies are looking for innovative solutions to optimize their expenses in the cloud. In this context, Microsoft introduced “Copilot” in Cost Management, a new feature based on artificial intelligence, designed to help businesses navigate this complex landscape. This article shows the main features of this integration, that promises to revolutionize the way businesses manage and optimize their spending on cloud resources.

A clear view of costs with Microsoft Cost Management

Microsoft Cost Management, available directly from the Azure portal, offers a detailed view of operating costs, allowing businesses to better understand how their funds are being spent. This tool provides detailed information about your expenses, highlighting any anomalies and spending patterns. Furthermore, allows you to set budgets, share costs among different teams and identify opportunities for optimization.

AI at the service of cost management

With the introduction of AI in Microsoft Cost Management, users can now ask questions in natural language to quickly get the information they need. For example,, to understand a recent invoice, it is possible to request a detailed breakdown of expenses. The AI will provide an overview of the different spending categories and their impact on the total.

As well as providing an overview of costs, the AI offers suggestions on how to analyze expenses further. Users can compare monthly bills, examine specific expenses or investigate any anomalies. The AI also provides detailed information on any changes in costs and suggests corrective actions.

The AI integrated into Microsoft Cost Management interprets user intentions and retrieves the necessary data from various sources. This information is then presented to an advanced language model which generates a response. It is important to note that the retrieved data is not used to train the model, but only to provide the context needed to generate a relevant response.

Future perspectives

The capabilities of AI in Microsoft Cost Management are constantly evolving. In the future, users will be able to take advantage of simulations and modeling “what-if” to make informed decisions. For example,, will be able to explore how storage costs will vary as the business grows or evaluate the impact of moving resources from one region to another.

Figure 1 – Example of simulation and modeling “what-if”

Benefits

The introduction of AI in Microsoft Cost Management allows to obtain the following benefits:

Greater visibility and cost control: with greater visibility and understanding of cloud resource costs, organizations can make more informed decisions and better manage their budgets.
Operational efficiency: using AI to analyze and interpret data reduces the time and effort needed to gain valuable insights. Furthermore, users can ask specific questions in natural language and receive detailed answers, customized to their needs.

Figure 2 – Examples of questions

Optimization: with AI-driven tips and recommendations, organizations can identify and implement optimization opportunities to further reduce costs.

Conclusion

The integration of Copilot into Microsoft Cost Management represents a significant step forward in cloud cost management. With the help of artificial intelligence, businesses now have a powerful tool to optimize their spending and ensure they operate at peak efficiency. With the constant evolution of artificial intelligence, further and interesting innovations are expected in the field of cloud cost management and beyond.

Azure Management services: what's new in July 2023

Microsoft is constantly announcing news regarding Azure management services and as usual this monthly summary is released. The aim is to provide an overview of the main news of the month, in order to stay up to date on these topics and have the necessary references to conduct further exploration.

The following diagram shows the different areas related to management, which are covered in this series of articles:

Monitor

Azure Monitor

Azure Monitor Agent Health experience (peview)

The Azure Monitor Agent (AMA) is responsible for collecting monitoring data from the guest operating system of the virtual machines, both in Azure and hybrid environments, which are then transmitted to Azure Monitor. Thanks to the Azure Monitor Agent Health experience, it is now possible to easily monitor the health of agents on a large scale, both on Azure, both locally (on-premise) or on other cloud infrastructures.

Improved table-level RBAC checking in Azure Monitor Logs

Azure Monitor Logs offers advanced role-based access management capabilities (RBAC) to enable secure management of sensitive logs in complex environments. Table-level access allows you to allow only a specific group of people to read the data, limiting access to only a selected set of tables. This new method works by assigning permissions to the sub-resource of the table, enabling granular RBAC even for custom log tables and ensuring the use of well-known standard Azure RBAC tools.

Events from Azure Event Hubs to Azure Monitor Logs

Azure Event Hubs provide a simple and powerful way to bring data into your Azure Monitor environment. Thanks to new feature, you can now send events directly from an Event Hub into the Log Analytics workspace. Azure Event Hubs is a big data streaming platform that allows you to collect events from different sources, ready to be processed by various Azure services and other external platforms. This ability to ingest data is particularly beneficial for those who already use queue messaging mechanisms and have an interest in moving the data into a Log Analytics workspace, in Sentinel, or to route them to multiple destinations.

Support for Azure Monitor Sandboxing Pod in Container insights

Container Insights now supports container tracking “Pod Sandboxing”. The concept of Pod Sandboxing represents an effective strategy to protect yourself from situations of “Container Breakout”, where a user, both malicious and legitimate, manages to break through container isolation to access the filesystem, to processes, to network interfaces and other resources on the host machine. In the past, isolation could be achieved through the use of node pools, but this approach generated significant operational overhead and required additional resources, increasing overall costs. Thanks to the adoption of Pod Sandboxing, this issue is addressed through kernel-level workload isolation, providing a more efficient and secure solution.

The Azure Monitor agent supports VM Insights in the Government Cloud (preview)

As part of the public preview, Azure Monitor Agent now supports VM Insights within Azure Government Cloud.

Configure

Update management

Hotpatch available on Windows Server VMs on Azure with Desktop Experience install mode

Hotpatch is now available for Windows Server Azure Edition VMs with Desktop Experience install mode, using the newly released image. Hotpatch is a feature that allows you to patch and install operating system security updates on Windows Server Azure Edition virtual machines on Azure without the need to reboot.
It was previously available for Server Core install mode, but now, Windows Server Azure Edition VMs installed with Desktop Experience installation mode no longer need to reboot every month for security updates, by providing:

less impact on workload with fewer reboots;
faster deployment of updates as packages are smaller, they install faster and have easier patch orchestration with Azure Update Manager;
greater protection, since Hotpatch update packages are limited to Windows security updates that install faster without reboots.

Govern

Azure Cost Management

Updates related toMicrosoft Cost Management

Azure Arc

Deployment of ESU-derived updates on Azure Arc-enabled servers

On the occasion of Inspire, Microsoft has announced Extended Security Updates (ESU) enable Azure Arc. With Azure Arc, organizations will be able to purchase and distribute Extended Security Updates seamlessly (ESU) in on-premises or multicloud environments, direct from the Azure Portal. As well as providing centralized management of security patches, Azure Arc-enabled ESUs offer greater flexibility with a pay-as-you-go subscription model, compared to the classic ESU offered through the Volume Licensing Center which are purchased annually. For more information, please refer to’dedicated article.

Secure

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

New features, bug fixes and deprecated features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud

managing automatic updates of Defender for Endpoint for Linux;
Agentless scanning of virtual machine secrets in Defender for P2 Servers and DCSPM;
new security warning in Defender for Servers plan 2: detection of potential attacks that leverage Azure VM GPU driver extensions;
support for disabling detections of specific vulnerabilities;
availability of Data Aware Security Posture.

Protect

Azure Backup

Restore points of virtual machines consistent with crashes (preview)

Microsoft has announced support, in public preview, of crash consistent mode (on multiple disks) for VM recovery points. This is a workaround (without agent) to store virtual machine configuration and snapshots, consistent in writing order, at a specific time for all managed disks attached to the virtual machine.

Migrate

Azure Migrate

Updating Windows servers in end of support phase (EOS)

Azure Migrate provides a preview of the feature that allows you to upgrade legacy Windows Server systems without disruption. During the Azure migration process, the ability to upgrade legacy servers is introduced, minimizing efforts, downtime and associated risks. This is accomplished by creating a copy of the server in the Azure environment and later upgrading there. Thanks to this approach, the impact on the original server is minimized, ensuring a safe and efficient transition. For more details and in-depth information, I invite you to refer to’dedicated article.

New Azure Migrate releases and features

Evaluation of Azure

To test for free and evaluate the services provided by Azure you can access this page.