Month: October 2024
Unable to Access Old Microsoft 365 Account – How Can I Delete It Without Authenticator App?
Hello,
I’m having an issue with my old Microsoft 365 account. Unfortunately, my Authenticator app no longer works, so I can’t log into that old account. Despite multiple attempts, the support hotline and email inquiries have gone unanswered.
As a result, I’ve created a new Microsoft account for my company with a new domain name. However, I’m now paying for the Business Standard plan twice—once for the old account and once for the new one.
Additionally, since I can’t access my old account anymore, I’m having trouble using my laptop properly. The icons no longer appear in their original shape and color—all of them have the same form and color now, which is making it difficult to work efficiently.
I’d like to know how I can delete my old account and resolve this issue, since I no longer have access to the Authenticator app.
Has anyone else experienced this issue? How can I solve it??
Many tahnks in advance
Best regards from Germany
Lukas
Hello, I’m having an issue with my old Microsoft 365 account. Unfortunately, my Authenticator app no longer works, so I can’t log into that old account. Despite multiple attempts, the support hotline and email inquiries have gone unanswered. As a result, I’ve created a new Microsoft account for my company with a new domain name. However, I’m now paying for the Business Standard plan twice—once for the old account and once for the new one. Additionally, since I can’t access my old account anymore, I’m having trouble using my laptop properly. The icons no longer appear in their original shape and color—all of them have the same form and color now, which is making it difficult to work efficiently. I’d like to know how I can delete my old account and resolve this issue, since I no longer have access to the Authenticator app. Has anyone else experienced this issue? How can I solve it?? Many tahnks in advanceBest regards from Germany Lukas Read More
New Blog | How to use Log Analytics log data exported to Storage Accounts
By Simone Oor
Introduction
Exporting your logs from Sentinel or Log Analytics to Azure storage account blobs gives you low-cost long-term retention, as well as benefits such as immutability for legal hold, and geographical redundancy.
But in the event of an incident, or perhaps a legal case, you may need the data archived away in those storage account blobs to help the investigation.
Team during investigation
How do you go about retrieving and analyzing that data? This blog will answer exactly that question. Hint, it does involve an Azure Data Explorer cluster. I will also briefly explain how data ends up in those blobs in the first place.
Read the full post here: How to use Log Analytics log data exported to Storage Accounts
By Simone Oor
Introduction
Exporting your logs from Sentinel or Log Analytics to Azure storage account blobs gives you low-cost long-term retention, as well as benefits such as immutability for legal hold, and geographical redundancy.
But in the event of an incident, or perhaps a legal case, you may need the data archived away in those storage account blobs to help the investigation.
Team during investigation
How do you go about retrieving and analyzing that data? This blog will answer exactly that question. Hint, it does involve an Azure Data Explorer cluster. I will also briefly explain how data ends up in those blobs in the first place.
Read the full post here: How to use Log Analytics log data exported to Storage Accounts Read More
Logic Apps Aviators Newsletter – October 2024
In this issue:
Ace Aviator of the Month
Customer Corner
News from our product group
News from our community
Ace Aviator of the Month
October’s Ace Aviator: Prashant Singh
What is your role and title? What are your responsibilities associated with your position?
As a Cloud Solution Architect at HPE, I specialize in crafting optimized, scalable, secure, and innovative solutions that meet diverse business needs. With expertise spanning Azure Infrastructure (IACs), Azure Data and Integration Services (AIS), Azure Security, Cognitive Services and Copilot I ensure solutions are not only cutting-edge but also cost-efficient and resilient.
Additionally, I work extensively on Hybrid and Multi-Cloud architectures, enabling seamless integration and automation using Azure ARC, ARM, Terraform and Ansible.
I collaborate closely with stakeholders and work with my awesome team to translate business objectives to reality to ensure smooth delivery.
Can you provide some insights into your day-to-day activities and what a typical day in your role looks like?
My day starts with reviewing project updates and prioritizing/planning tasks for the day.
This role demands skillful orchestration and collaboration between multiple clients, stakeholders and team members to understand project progress, impediments and the way forward.
Additionally, I spend considerable time creating POCs for new projects, ideas, or something new from the community and truly speaking it’s the most rewarding and fun portion of the day 😊
What motivates and inspires you to be an active member of the Aviators/Microsoft community?
I feel it’s the best time to be a technology enthusiast as we are witnessing the paradigm shift in how technology interacts with humans, where it’s hard to differentiate between human and machine skills.
The role of AI, LLM’s, Vision, Blockchain and new specialized SaaS & PaaS services are empowering us to create impossible possibilities.
And the best way to stay updated/relevant is through these communities where we learn from the pioneers.
“We feed each other in Heaven” – From one of my favorite stories – Allegory of the Long Spoons.
I strongly believe that we learn and grow together.
Looking back, what advice do you wish you would have been told earlier on that you would give to individuals looking to become involved in STEM/technology?
Try not to memorize things rather have a practical approach to learning from experience and get into the details of concepts.
Explore the 3-legged 5 Whys approach to make your work more meaningful and interesting
https://leancommunity.org/three-legged-5-whys/
What has helped you grow professionally?
I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by remarkable individuals who continuously inspire me to strive for excellence.
Also, my family and friends play an essential role in helping me grow and become a better version.
Imagine you had a magic wand that could create a feature in Logic Apps. What would this feature be and why?
One feature that immediately comes to my mind is a concept from BizTalk – “Dynamic Send Ports” – It allowed us to configure the complete endpoint details at runtime.
Ex – Today, if we configure a SQL Connector, we need to specify the connection details (ex. SQL Connection String) beforehand and at runtime we can only pass things like Stored proc or query details.
Loosely coupling connection details in the connector will allow more flexibility to developers.
Customer Corner:
Olimpia IT leverages Microsoft Azure to make people’s day-to-day lives easier
Discover this customer success story about Olimpia IT transforming its professional services in Colombia with Azure App Service and Azure Logic Apps. By leveraging these Microsoft technologies, Olimpia IT enhanced operational efficiency, streamlined processes, and improved service delivery for clients. Read more about how Azure Logic Apps played a crucial role in their digital transformation journey and empowered Olimpia IT to achieve greater business agility and success.
News from our product group:
Recap of Logic Apps Community Day 2024
Missed Logic Apps Community Day or want to relive the event? We’ve got you covered with a recap of each presentation in a playlist on demand.
Document Ingestion for Gen AI Applications using Logic Apps from 1000+ data sources!
We are excited to share the public preview of two new actions in Azure Logic Apps—Parse Document and Chunk text. With these additions, building ingestion workflows for AI applications to “Chat with your Data” is now possible in just six simple steps, entirely out of the box and without writing a single line of code! Read more in this post.
Unlock the Future of API Compliance with AI and Azure API Center
Discover how you can revolutionize your API compliance process using Azure API Center, Logic Apps, GitHub, and cutting-edge AI technology. Learn how our innovative approach analyzes your API design governance, generates insightful compliance reports, and seamlessly notifies developers with actionable feedback.
Azure API Management Turns 10: Celebrating a Decade of Customer-Driven Innovation and Success
This September marks a truly special occasion: Azure API Management turns 10! Since our launch in 2014, we’ve been on an incredible journey, transforming how businesses connect, scale and secure their digital ecosystems. Read more about milestones and the future here.
Built-in Oracle DB – using JKS keystore to support certification validation
The Oracle DB instance hosted on AWS must have SSL enabled and be equipped with a valid certificate. For this purpose, a JKS keystore can be utilized, which accommodates both private
key certificate entries and trusted certificate entries, encompassing those that are self-signed. Read more on the steps in this post.
Increasing business value by integrating SOAP legacy assets with Azure logic Apps and Azure APIM
Learn how to integrate SOAP Services with Azure Logic Apps and Azure API Management in this post.
News from our community:
Friday Fact: Missing Environment Variables Can Break Your Logic App Standard Workflows
Post by Luís Rigueira
Discover how missing environment variables can disrupt your Logic App Standard workflows in this insightful Friday Fact by Luis.
How to Upgrade Azure Functions to .NET 8 (Isolated Worker Model): A Guide for Junior Devs
Post by Ryan Langford
Ready to upgrade your Azure Functions to the .NET 8 isolated worker model? Check out this comprehensive guide for junior devs from Ryan.
Logic App Standard deploy issue: Error 403 – Forbidden
Post by Sandro Pereira
Learn about a common deployment issue with Logic App Standard that results in a 403 Forbidden error and how to troubleshoot it in this informative article by Sandro.
Dynamics 365 Business Central: triggering an Azure DevOps pipeline when a tenant upgrade occurs.
Post by Stefano Demiliani
Explore how to trigger an Azure DevOps pipeline in response to tenant upgrades in Dynamics 365 Business Central with this detailed article by Stefano.
BizTalk Server Logic App Adapter Login Error: The remote name could not be resolved
Post by Sandro Pereira
Find out how to troubleshoot the “The remote name could not be resolved” login error with the BizTalk Server Logic App adapter in this helpful article by Sandro.
Migrate your Existing MuleSoft Integrations to Azure
Video Series by Derek Marley and Tim Bieber
Watch this three-part episode video series from Derek and Tim as they dive into migrating services from MuleSoft integrations to Azure, exploring strategies and best practices for a seamless transition.
Friday Fact: You can use the BizTalk Server Logic App adapter to call a Logic App Standard Workflow
Post by Sandro Pereira
Learn how to leverage the BizTalk Server Logic App adapter to call a Logic App Standard workflow in this Friday Fact by Sandro.
What is Azure Integration Services?
Post by Tim Brichau
Discover the key components and benefits of Azure Integration Services in this comprehensive overview by Tim.
Use the Power Platform to control Azure DevOps Pull Requests
Post by Leo Visser
Learn how to create a Power App for managing pull request approvals effectively in this practical guide by Leo.
APIM Policy to Ensure Mandatory Headers and Validate Against Approved Values in HTTP Request
Post by Prashant Singh
Explore how to implement an API Management policy to enforce mandatory headers and validate them against approved values in HTTP requests in this informative article by Prashant.
Azure APIM Caching Policy | Cache-lookup Policy | HTTP GET | Non-Cache HTTP POST
Post by Sri Gunnala
Whether you’re using complex search queries or large request payloads, Sri has you covered on how to optimize your APIs with caching for POST in this blog post.
Friday Fact: You Can Unlock Consumption Connectors in Logic App Standard for Visual Studio Code
Post by Sandro Pereira
Discover how to unlock consumption connectors in Logic App Standard using Visual Studio Code in this enlightening Friday Fact by Sandro.
Post by Sandro Pereira
Learn how to troubleshoot the “access to the path is denied” error in Logic App Standard related to system private corelib in this helpful article by Sandro.
Introduction to AI Automation with Azure OpenAI Assistants
Post by Konstantinos Passadis
Explore how to integrate Azure AI assistants with Logic Apps to enhance automation and streamline processes in this insightful article by the Konstantinos.
Post by Sandro Pereira
Discover how to resolve the “could not find a part of the path” error in Logic App Standard related to system private corelib in this informative article by Sandro.
Launch of Microsoft Integration User Group Belgium
Post by Microsoft Integration User Group Belgium
Exciting announcement: there is a new community group for Microsoft integration enthusiasts led by Jordy Maes, Robert Maes, Michel P., Hannes Peeters, Tom Peeters, and Toon Vanhoutte. Whether you’re a seasoned expert or just starting out, consider joining MIUG.BE!
Friday Fact: Now You Can Pin Actions on the Globally Available (GA) Designer!
Post by Sandro Pereira
Learn how to pin actions in the globally available GA designer for enhanced workflow management, allowing you to keep a specific action of your choice easily accessible, in this Friday Fact by Sandro Pereira.
Getting Started with Azure Service Bus Topics and Subscriptions in Azure Logic Apps
Video by Stephen W. Thomas
In this video, Stephen explains how to set up an Azure Service Bus Topic and Subscription and how to use them to route messages to Azure Logic Apps.
FinOps On Azure: Cost Management Best Practices for Azure Integration Solutions
Podcast by Michael Stephenson and Sandro Pereira
In this podcast episode, Michael and Sandro discuss insights on optimizing and cutting costs while building robust integration solution on Microsoft Azure.
Azure Logic Apps workflows: restrict access by IP ranges.
Post by Stefano Demiliani
Wanting to restrict access to a set of IP addresses? Stefano has you covered in this post exploring how to restrict access to workflows.
Logic Apps Secure SQL Connection String in Azure Key Vault
Post by Prashant Singh
Discover how to enhance security by using Azure Key Vault to protect SQL connection strings in Logic Apps in this informative article by Prashant.
Learn the Basics of Reading and Writing to a Service Bus Queue in Logic Apps
Video by Stephen W. Thomas
Wanting to restrict access to a set of IP addresses? Stefano has you covered in this post exploring how to restrict access to workflows.
Videos by Sandro Pereira
Watch Sandro’s presentation and interview from Integrate about migrating your BizTalk Server solution to Azure Integration Services.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Automated task creation in Premium plan
Hi,
I’m wondering if it’s possible to automatically create a Planner Premium task from a Teams post. I’ve spent a day trying to bottom this out, and I’ve had no luck. I tried using PowerAutomate with the Dataverse connector, but it seems like adding a new row to the Project Tasks table in Dataverse is not a supported way to create new tasks. If this is supported, is there documentation on how to do this?
This is a very simple process in Basic plans – doesn’t make sense that it’s so hard to do this in a product I’m paying for!
Hi, I’m wondering if it’s possible to automatically create a Planner Premium task from a Teams post. I’ve spent a day trying to bottom this out, and I’ve had no luck. I tried using PowerAutomate with the Dataverse connector, but it seems like adding a new row to the Project Tasks table in Dataverse is not a supported way to create new tasks. If this is supported, is there documentation on how to do this? This is a very simple process in Basic plans – doesn’t make sense that it’s so hard to do this in a product I’m paying for! Read More
Whats happens when Office Retail user signs in with Microsoft 365 account
Hi all, i have a situation where users are being migrated, so E3 some F3 but wanted to know what happens when user who is using Office 2016 Retail signs in to their Office with Microsoft 365 account that doesn’t have Microsoft apps enabled or available. Does Office Retail continue to work as normal, is anything blocked or restricted? Anything to be mindful of?
Thanks
Hi all, i have a situation where users are being migrated, so E3 some F3 but wanted to know what happens when user who is using Office 2016 Retail signs in to their Office with Microsoft 365 account that doesn’t have Microsoft apps enabled or available. Does Office Retail continue to work as normal, is anything blocked or restricted? Anything to be mindful of? Thanks Read More
Word will not print, all other apps print fine
When i print with word (office 365), the printer does not print and i can see the file in the print spooler for a few seconds then dissapears. All other apps can print fine, Edge, excel, chrome, etc. no problem, only with word.
So far, i’ve repaired and uninstalled/reinstalled office 365 and i have erased the normal.dotm file without success.
I’ve also noticed that printing to “microsoft print to PDF” does create a PDF file but the file is unreadable by any pdf viewer.
I suspect something wrong with word but where?
Thanks.
Stephane
When i print with word (office 365), the printer does not print and i can see the file in the print spooler for a few seconds then dissapears. All other apps can print fine, Edge, excel, chrome, etc. no problem, only with word. So far, i’ve repaired and uninstalled/reinstalled office 365 and i have erased the normal.dotm file without success. I’ve also noticed that printing to “microsoft print to PDF” does create a PDF file but the file is unreadable by any pdf viewer. I suspect something wrong with word but where? Thanks. Stephane Read More
Deploying Open Source Software on Azure: New Guides for AKS and VMs
“Tech companies born with an open-source mentality get it. It’s our ability to work together that makes our dreams believable, and ultimately achievable; we must learn to build on the ideas of others.”—Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft.
For well over a decade Azure has invested in integrating open source deeply into its services and ecosystems, and this continues to accelerate.
To accelerate this integration further and respond to user needs, the customer experience team has developed end-to-end guides for deploying open source software on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and Azure virtual machines (VMs). The guides span an initial selection of projects: PostgreSQL, Valkey, Karpenter-based NAP, Flyte, KAITO, and Inspektor Gadget to empower Stateful, AI, and other common workloads.
Why did we make these guides?
Deploying and managing open source software on a cloud platform can come with its challenges. To address this, these guides are designed to help you get some of the most critical and heavily adopted open source projects onto Azure using good practice guidelines as quickly as possible.
These guides provide clear, step-by-step instructions, troubleshooting tips, and optimization strategies. To make things even easier, some of these best practice guides can be automatically deployed from Portal, so that you can quickly get started or improve your learning experience.
Best Practice Deployments across Workloads
The guides cover established projects such as, PostgreSQL, Valkey (Redis fork), and WordPress and highlight new and exciting projects like KAITO and Flyte to enable open source AI application development. We also provide guidance on implementing critical capabilities like Karpenter-based AKS Node autoprovisioning scaling capability and Inspektor Gadget to gather real-time kernel-level insights using eBPF.
Below is a brief overview of each guide available today. In addition to basic installation steps, the guides detail best practice recommendations on networking and security. Additionally, if deployed on Kubernetes, you will also find recommendations on cluster architecture. These guides walk you through the entire process, from initial setup to advanced configurations, ensuring that even those with limited cloud experience can successfully deploy their applications with best practices enabled by default.
Stateful Workloads
PostgreSQL is a staple of modern cloud native application development. Run PostgreSQL on Kubernetes with the same high availability and multi-region redundancy offered by managed or VM deployments. Deploy a highly available PostgreSQL database on AKS.
A high-performance key value datastore like Valkey supports a variety of workloads such as caching, message queue, or a primary database. Deploy a Valkey Cluster on AKS.
AI Workloads
The AI toolchain operator (KAITO) automatically provisions the necessary GPU nodes and sets up the associated inference server as an endpoint server to your AI models on your AKS clusters. Deploy an AI model on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) with the AI toolchain operator (preview).
Quickly build and test complex workflows to train small models, scale GPU-accelerated deep learning, or improve statistical summarization with Flyte. Deploy data and machine learning pipelines with Flyte on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).
General Workloads
Deploy a website or blog built on the LEMP stack with WordPress in one click. Deploy a LEMP stack using WordPress on a VM.
Newly built on the open source Kubernetes autoscaler, Karpenter, Node autoprovisioning (NAP) for AKS optimizes compute resources for better application availability and efficiency. Node autoprovisioning (preview) – Azure Kubernetes Service | Microsoft Learn.
Efficiently debug and inspect infrastructure in real time using Inspektor Gadget which is a tool and framework for data collection on Kubernetes clusters and Linux hosts, using eBPF. Capture real-time system insights from an AKS cluster – Azure | Microsoft Learn.
What’s Next?
Azure is committed to helping our customers build and run workloads on the opens source solutions that they depend on. We at Azure will continue to expand our library of best practice deployment guides to ensure that developers can deploy OSS across Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and Azure Virtual Machines (VMs). And there is more to come!
You can expect to see more from us across a variety of open source projects like Apache Kafka, Apache Airflow, and more.
Deploy open source technologies on Azure
Kubernetes AI Toolchain Operator (KAITO) – Deploy an AI model on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) with the AI toolchain operator (preview) – Azure Kubernetes Service | Microsoft Learn
Karpenter-based NAP- Node autoprovisioning (preview) – Azure Kubernetes Service | Microsoft Learn
WordPress on LEMP Stack – Deploy a LEMP stack using WordPress on a VM – Azure Virtual Machines | Microsoft Learn
Inspektor Gadget – Capture real-time system insights from an AKS cluster – Azure | Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Unique, Filter, Spill, Multiple Unique Identifiers
Hello All – I am running into an issue where I have 200 #’s that I am required to filter by their unique Names. Each of those names come with unique identifiers that are categorized into 4 categories of which category 1 has 5 values, category 2 has 10 values, 3 has 20, and so on. I have been able to figure out a formula, that combines Unique(Filter(Identifier2,Sheet2!NameColumn=Sheet1!Name)*(Sheet2!Identifier1=Sheet1!Identifier1). This formula is to identify unique identifier 2.
Issue being, when I get multiple unique values, I have to go in and manually alter to the next identifier, with some being upwards of 30. Is there another way to this process? Example pasted below.
Hello All – I am running into an issue where I have 200 #’s that I am required to filter by their unique Names. Each of those names come with unique identifiers that are categorized into 4 categories of which category 1 has 5 values, category 2 has 10 values, 3 has 20, and so on. I have been able to figure out a formula, that combines Unique(Filter(Identifier2,Sheet2!NameColumn=Sheet1!Name)*(Sheet2!Identifier1=Sheet1!Identifier1). This formula is to identify unique identifier 2. Issue being, when I get multiple unique values, I have to go in and manually alter to the next identifier, with some being upwards of 30. Is there another way to this process? Example pasted below. Read More
Microsoft Azure Security Technologies Blueprint Survey Opportunity
Greetings!
Microsoft is updating a certification for Microsoft Azure Security Technologies, and we need your input through our exam blueprinting survey.
The blueprint determines how many questions each skill in the exam will be assigned. Please complete the online survey by October 21st, 2024. Please also feel free to forward the survey to any colleagues you consider subject matter experts for this certification.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Rohan Mahadevan at rmahadevan@microsoft.com or John Sowles at josowles@microsoft.com.
Microsoft Azure Security Technologies blueprint survey link:
https://microsoftlearning.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4TMBgScVhsKHRoa
Greetings!Microsoft is updating a certification for Microsoft Azure Security Technologies, and we need your input through our exam blueprinting survey. The blueprint determines how many questions each skill in the exam will be assigned. Please complete the online survey by October 21st, 2024. Please also feel free to forward the survey to any colleagues you consider subject matter experts for this certification. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Rohan Mahadevan at rmahadevan@microsoft.com or John Sowles at josowles@microsoft.com.Microsoft Azure Security Technologies blueprint survey link:https://microsoftlearning.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4TMBgScVhsKHRoa Read More
Cannot edit page even with the administrator account.
Hello! I don’t know if this is a usual problem but, from the last three months i can’t edit the main sharepoint page for PWA. When I try to click on “edit page” the pages just “blink” and nothing happens… have you ever heard about something like that?
Thanks a lot.
Ps. I’m an Adm account with full control.
Hello! I don’t know if this is a usual problem but, from the last three months i can’t edit the main sharepoint page for PWA. When I try to click on “edit page” the pages just “blink” and nothing happens… have you ever heard about something like that? Thanks a lot. Ps. I’m an Adm account with full control. Read More
AKS Standard vs. AKS Automatic: A Comprehensive Comparison
When scaling your company’s cloud-native applications, selecting the right Kubernetes service can significantly impact on your development speed, infrastructure management, and long-term scalability. Azure Kubernetes Service (Standard) has been the go-to option for Azure-based Kubernetes deployments, offering extensive customization and flexibility. However, with the introduction of AKS Automatic (currently in preview), Azure aims to streamline and automate many aspects of cluster management, reducing operational overhead for faster-growing teams.
Let’s dive deep into the technical comparison between AKS Standard and AKS Automatic, focusing on their key features, levels of customization, and operational requirements.
Understanding Azure Kubernetes Service: The Standard AKS
Manual Configurations and Advanced Control
AKS is a fully managed Kubernetes service that offers deep control over all cluster components. It is ideal for teams that need to customize their infrastructure to meet specific business requirements.
Node Pool Management: In AKS Standard, node pools are manually configured. You can customize VM sizes, node counts, and even create specialized node pools (e.g., GPU-based or spot instances) to optimize costs.
Networking: AKS Standard offers flexibility in network configuration, allowing you to set up custom VNETs, choose between Kubenet or Azure CNI for pod networking, and apply network policies like Calico for controlling traffic between pods.
Security: AKS Standard supports custom Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), Pod Security Policies, and integration with Azure Key Vault for secure secrets management. You have full control over security configurations.
Cluster Upgrades: In AKS Standard, Kubernetes upgrades process is automated once started. Additionally, you can configure automatic upgrades for both control planes and node pools, giving you flexibility in applying new features or bug fixes without manual intervention.
Monitoring and Logging: AKS Standard provides robust integration options with Azure Monitor, Prometheus, and Grafana for real-time monitoring. You can also set up custom logging solutions using Azure Log Analytics or external tools like the ELK stack.
Customization and Flexibility
With AKS Standard, you can tailor almost every aspect of your Kubernetes deployment. This flexibility makes it perfect for complex or highly regulated environments where specific configurations for security, networking, and workloads are required.
Operational Overhead
The downside to AKS Standard is the higher operational overhead. The deep customization options and manual management of nodes, networking, and security require significant Kubernetes expertise. As a result, AKS Standard is best suited for companies with dedicated DevOps teams or advanced knowledge of Kubernetes.
Introducing AKS Automatic: Kubernetes Simplified
AKS Automatic is a new managed Kubernetes service, currently in preview, designed to remove much of the operational complexity involved with setting up and maintaining a Kubernetes cluster. While it offers less customization than AKS Standard, it automates many critical functions, making it ideal for teams seeking ease of use and faster deployment times.
Automated Cluster Management
AKS Automatic takes care of much of the operational overhead that AKS Standard demands:
Node Pool Management: Node scaling is fully automated based on workload requirements. You don’t need to worry about manual node configurations.
Networking: AKS Automatic comes with pre-configured networking, optimized for production workloads, simplifying VNET and subnet configurations. Azure handles much of the complexity around pod networking.
Security: AKS Automatic implements security best practices by default, including managed identities and automated RBAC settings. While there’s less flexibility in customizing security, the built-in configurations ensure a production-ready and secure environment.
Cluster Upgrades: Kubernetes upgrades are handled automatically through predefined upgrade channels, ensuring your clusters are always up-to-date with minimal downtime or manual intervention.
Built-In Monitoring and Logging
A standout feature of AKS Automatic is the built-in monitoring, logging, and visualization capabilities:
Managed Prometheus and Managed Grafana are integrated by default, offering a fully managed, out-of-the-box monitoring experience when created via the CLI or Portal.
Container Insights is also enabled by default when created via the CLI or Portal, providing a seamless way to visualize the health and performance of your clusters without additional setup.
Lower Operational Overhead
By automating much of the cluster management, AKS Automatic reduces the need for Kubernetes expertise. This makes it ideal for companies looking to focus more on application development rather than the intricacies of infrastructure management.
Preview Status – Not Production-Ready
It’s important to note that AKS Automatic is currently in preview and not recommended for production workloads yet. Companies should consider this limitation when planning their deployments.
Detailed Feature Comparison: AKS Standard vs. AKS Automatic
Feature
AKS Standard
AKS Automatic
Cluster Management
Manual management of nodes, upgrades, and security settings.
Automated management, including scaling, updates, and security configurations.
Node Pool Management
Custom VM sizes, manual scaling, multiple node pools (including spot instances).
Automated scaling and management of node pools based on workload requirements.
Networking
Custom VNETs, Kubenet or Azure CNI, network policies (e.g., Calico).
Preconfigured networking optimized for production workloads.
Security Configuration
Custom RBAC, Pod Security Policies, Azure Policy integration, custom certificates, integration with Azure Key Vault.
Automated security best practices, including managed identities and preconfigured security settings.
Upgrades
Manual control over Kubernetes version upgrades and node pool updates.
Automated upgrades through pre-selected channels (rapid, stable, patch).
Monitoring, Logging & Visualization
Integration with Azure Monitor, Prometheus, Grafana; custom logging with Azure Log Analytics or external tools.
Includes managed Prometheus, managed Grafana, and Container Insights by default.
Cluster Authentication & Authorization
Customizable options including Entra ID integration, Kubernetes RBAC, and Azure Policy.
Preconfigured authentication via Entra ID and managed identities; built-in RBAC.
Customization
High: Full control over all aspects of cluster configuration, including storage, networking, security, and deployment pipelines.
Moderate: Some customization possible, but optimized for ease of use and production-readiness.
Operational Overhead
Higher: Requires Kubernetes expertise for manual management and configuration.
Lower: Designed for ease of use with minimal manual intervention, suitable for teams with less Kubernetes experience.
Scaling Granularity
Manual or auto-scaling with Cluster Auto-scaler, including specific node pool scaling.
Fully automated scaling with less granular control.
Deployment Flexibility
Supports Helm, Kustomize, GitOps, and custom CI/CD pipelines.
Streamlined deployment processes with optimized defaults.
Compliance and Governance
Custom integration with Azure Policy, regulatory compliance configurations.
Built-in compliance with Azure’s best practices, less customizability.
Disaster Recovery
Manual setup of backup and disaster recovery strategies (e.g., Velero), Node Auto-Repair, Availability Zones
Same of AKS Standard
Multi-Region Support
Manual configuration for multi-region deployments. Does not provide automatic failover across regions.
Same as AKS Standard.
Cost Optimization
Full control over cost through precise resource allocation and custom scaling rules.
Automated resource management, potentially higher costs due to less granular control.
Preview Status
Fully mature and ready for production workloads.
In preview, not recommended for production workloads.
Best For
Teams with strong DevOps skills, requiring full control and custom setups.
Companies focusing on rapid development with minimal infrastructure management.
See here for the official feature comparison between the AKS Standard and AKS Automatic
Conclusion: Choosing the Right Service for Your Company
Your choice between AKS Standard and AKS Automatic depends on your company’s technical expertise and business goals:
AKS Standard is ideal for companies with an experienced DevOps team that requires full control over their Kubernetes environment. Its deep customization makes it perfect for complex deployments, advanced workloads, or highly regulated industries.
AKS Automatic is best suited for companies that prioritize operational efficiency and developer productivity over granular control. It’s perfect for teams looking to focus on application development without worrying about the complexities of infrastructure management. However, as AKS Automatic is still in preview, it should be considered carefully for production workloads.
Both services offer compelling advantages, and the right choice depends on your current infrastructure capabilities and your long-term goals for growth and scalability.
For more details, you can refer to the official documentation for AKS Standard and AKS Automatic.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Diagrams of existing landing zone setup
Hello
Is there anything that can help me draw out what i currently have under Azure?
HelloIs there anything that can help me draw out what i currently have under Azure? Read More
Reduce costs with lower auto-pause delay for serverless compute in Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Database serverless automatically scales compute based on workload demand and bills for compute used per second. In the General Purpose tier, serverless also provides an option to automatically pause the database during idle usage periods when only storage related costs are billed. When workload activity returns, the database is automatically resumed.
Customers choosing to enable auto-pausing can specify the auto-pause delay as part of the serverless configuration. The auto-pause delay is the length of time the database must be idle before auto-pausing. The lower the auto-pause delay and the more frequently auto-pausing occurs, the greater the potential compute cost savings.
We are pleased to announce the minimum configurable auto-pause delay has decreased from 1 hour to 15 minutes providing even greater price optimization opportunities for serverless databases. The auto-pause delay can be configured for new or existing databases using the Azure portal or via APIs including PowerShell and Azure CLI. For more information, please see Azure SQL Database serverless.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Enhancing Observability with Inspektor Gadget
Thorough observability is essential to a pain free cloud experience. Azure provides many general-purpose observability tools, but you may want to create custom tooling . Inspektor Gadget is an open-source framework that makes customizable data collection easy. Microsoft recently contributed new features to Inspektor Gadget that further enhance its modular framework, making it even easier to meet your specific systems inspection needs. Of course, we also made it easy for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) users to use.
Inspektor Gadget, a CNCF sandbox project, leverages eBPF. This is a powerful technology that allows developers to run sandboxed programs directly within the operating system kernel. Originally designed for network packet filtering, eBPF has evolved to support a wide range of use cases, including networking, observability, tracing, and security. eBPF provides flexibility, performance and safety features that Inspektor Gadget leverages to provide a suite of observability and troubleshooting tools (called gadgets) and a framework for data collection.
Microsoft has now added support for image-based gadgets using OCI to Inspektor Gadget. OCI (Open Container Initiative) is a project under the Linux Foundation that aims to create open standards for container image formats and runtimes. OCI images follow a consistent format, support packaging any artifacts (not just container apps), and can be managed by industry-standard tools (registries). With the addition of support of OCI images, Inspektor Gadget now allows for creating and managing Gadgets outside of the core development process enabling an ecosystem of Gadget developers and users.
While Inspektor Gadget exists on all AKS nodes, the work is not limited to AKS. Inspektor Gadget is an open-source project and leverages existing standards to enhance interoperability. If you want to explore how you can benefit from this work in other environments, we recommend the post on the Inspektor Gadget blog: Empowering Observability: The Advent of Image-Based Gadgets | Inspektor Gadget (inspektor-gadget.io).
The addition of support for OCI images to Inspektor Gadget enhances its utility as a framework for observability of your Kubernetes nodes and Linux hosts. Microsoft is continuing to invest in this work, plans include expanded support for OpenTelemetry tracing and integration with the Headlamp Kubernetes UI. That said, it is open source, come and join us.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Sharepoint List item – Person or Group stopped working
Hello,
I have a sharepoint list that contains multiple columns. Two of which are person/group types.
One has stopped working. It no longer finds any users. But is a required field, so has stopped us from being able to create new items.
When I look at the settings, it all looks correct.
Any suggestions?
Amber
Hello, I have a sharepoint list that contains multiple columns. Two of which are person/group types.One has stopped working. It no longer finds any users. But is a required field, so has stopped us from being able to create new items. When I look at the settings, it all looks correct. Any suggestions?Amber Read More
No Windows Recall available
I obtained the Thinkpad T14s Gen 6 Copilot+PC since August. I am running the latest version of Windows
Edition Windows 11 Pro
Version 24H2
Installed on 8/30/2024
OS build 26100.1882
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.23.0
However, the Recall feature never shows up, and the Recall & Screenshots seting is missing in Setting as well. How shall I enable the Recall feature?
I obtained the Thinkpad T14s Gen 6 Copilot+PC since August. I am running the latest version of Windows Edition Windows 11 ProVersion 24H2Installed on 8/30/2024OS build 26100.1882Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.23.0 However, the Recall feature never shows up, and the Recall & Screenshots seting is missing in Setting as well. How shall I enable the Recall feature? Read More
Filter, Sort and Print Lists
We are a service organization that has many divisions. Each division has a word document with a list resources. Many of the resources overlap. In an effort to reduce the many, many Word documents, we would like to create a list in SharePoint. The list would include the name of the resource, the area of help like “General”, “Crisis”, “Counseling”, the name of the division who is responsible for the resource, and other fields like email, website, phone numbers, etc.
Our hope is to have one list with resources from our entire organization. We would like folks searching the list to filter by the type of resource, city and the like. Then with filtered results, we would like to print a branded report so that we may give or send to a citizen that may wish to seek these service options.
Any suggestions?
We are a service organization that has many divisions. Each division has a word document with a list resources. Many of the resources overlap. In an effort to reduce the many, many Word documents, we would like to create a list in SharePoint. The list would include the name of the resource, the area of help like “General”, “Crisis”, “Counseling”, the name of the division who is responsible for the resource, and other fields like email, website, phone numbers, etc.Our hope is to have one list with resources from our entire organization. We would like folks searching the list to filter by the type of resource, city and the like. Then with filtered results, we would like to print a branded report so that we may give or send to a citizen that may wish to seek these service options. Any suggestions? Read More
Connect Excel Query to Sharepoint List
Hi All,
I have an Excel connected with a Query to a Sharepoint list. Is it possible to make it so that if I modify the Excel, the List is modified, and vice versa? This is of course without Power Automate.
Thanks,
Francisco
Hi All, I have an Excel connected with a Query to a Sharepoint list. Is it possible to make it so that if I modify the Excel, the List is modified, and vice versa? This is of course without Power Automate. Thanks, Francisco Read More
How can I modify the lengh of the lines in a LEGEND?
I would like to reduce the length of the lines shown in the legend of a plot in MATLAB.I would like to reduce the length of the lines shown in the legend of a plot in MATLAB. I would like to reduce the length of the lines shown in the legend of a plot in MATLAB. change, specify, dwhhgwait, shrink MATLAB Answers — New Questions
Vertical 3D to Horizontal
I have scatter in 3D, as shown it is vertically, how to make it horizontally
sorry for my broken english
ThanksI have scatter in 3D, as shown it is vertically, how to make it horizontally
sorry for my broken english
Thanks I have scatter in 3D, as shown it is vertically, how to make it horizontally
sorry for my broken english
Thanks image processing, 3d plots MATLAB Answers — New Questions
