Introduction

In the world of cloud computing, cost optimization is a top priority. One way to achieve this in Microsoft Azure is by utilizing Azure Hybrid Benefits (AHB). This blog post will walk you through a PowerShell script that applies AHB to your Azure SQL Databases and SQL Managed Instances. AHB can be applied at database creation time and can be changed via the Azure Portal. However, there are use cases where many databases or instances may have been created without AHB as part of an at scale migration and there is a need to apply AHB to the entire environment. 

What are Azure Hybrid Benefits?

Azure Hybrid Benefit (AHB) allows you to exchange your existing licenses for discounted rates on Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance. You can save up to 30 percent or more on SQL Database and SQL Managed Instance by using your Software Assurance-enabled SQL Server licenses on Azure. With AHB, you only pay for the underlying Azure infrastructure costs by leveraging your existing SQL Server licenses. Keep in mind that AHB on Azure SQL Database are only applicable when using the provisioned compute tier of the vCore-based purchasing model. AHB does not apply to DTU-based purchasing models or the serverless compute tier.

Apply AHB at Scale

At a high level, this Powershell script will allow a user to pass subscription, resource group, and service type information. Then it will loop through any databases or instances that are missing Azure Hybrid benefits and apply AHB to those resources. 

Please ensure that before using this script to apply AHB that you or your organization has the appropriate SQL Licenses in place.

#login into azure
Connect-AzAccount

#prompt user to select their azure subscription
$subscription = Get-AzSubscription | Out-GridView -Title “Select an Azure Subscription” -PassThru

#set subscription context
Set-AzContext -Subscription $subscription.Id

#prompt the user for their resource group name using a GUI
$resourceGroup = Get-AzResourceGroup | Out-GridView -Title “Select a Resource Group” -PassThru

#prompt the user for the service type
$serviceTypes = (“Azure SQL Server”, “Azure SQL Managed Instance”)
$service = $serviceTypes | Out-GridView -Title “Select a Service” -PassThru

switch ($service) {
‘Azure SQL Server’ {
#run Azure Resource Graph query to find Azure SQL Server without azure hybrid benefit enabled in selected resource group
$ahbSQLDatabases = Search-AzGraph -Query “resources | where type =~ ‘microsoft.sql/servers/databases’
| where resourceGroup =~ ‘$($resourceGroup.ResourceGroupName)’
| where name != ‘master’
| where kind contains ‘vcore’
| where kind !contains ‘serverless’
| where not(properties.licenseType == ‘BasePrice’)
| project name, id”

foreach ($db in $ahbSQLDatabases) {

#split the server name out the resource ID
$serverName = $db.id.Split(“/”)[8]

Write-Host “Applying AHB Benefits to” $db.name “on” $serverName
#set azure hybrid benefit to base price and show no output
Set-AzSqlDatabase -LicenseType BasePrice -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup.ResourceGroupName -ServerName $serverName -DatabaseName $db.name > $null
}
}

‘Azure SQL Managed Instance’ {
#run Azure Resource Graph query to find MIs without azure hybrid benefit enabled in selected resource group
$ahbMIs = Search-AzGraph -Query “resources | where type =~ ‘Microsoft.Sql/managedInstances’
| where resourceGroup =~ ‘$($resourceGroup.ResourceGroupName)’
| where not(properties.licenseType == ‘BasePrice’)
| project name, id”

foreach ($instance in $ahbMIs) {
#display the azure sql managed instance name
Write-Host “Applying AHB Benefits to instance” $instance.name

#apply azure hybrid benefit to azure sql managed instance
Set-AzSqlInstance -LicenseType BasePrice -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup.ResourceGroupName -InstanceName $instance.name > $null
}
}
default {
Write-Host “Invalid selection”
}
}

Feedback and suggestions 

If you have feedback or suggestions for improving this data migration asset, please contact the Azure Databases SQL Customer Success Engineering Team. Thanks for your support!

Note: For additional information about migrating various source databases to Azure, see the Azure Database Migration Guide.

​Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More 

How Fortinet drove success in the Microsoft commercial marketplace.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with more than 7,000 employees, Fortinet develops and markets cybersecurity software, appliances, and services to empower its customers with intelligent, seamless protection. With 16 solutions available on Microsoft Azure Marketplace and 13 Co-sell Ready solutions, Fortinet uses the global reach of the marketplace to increase awareness of its offerings and gain new customers.

New and seasoned partners alike often ask, “How can we be successful in Microsoft AppSource or Azure Marketplace?” For Fortinet, a Microsoft partner since 2016 and 2020 Partner of the Year Award winner, success in the commercial marketplace has come from an iterative process with an emphasis on understanding the buyer journey, educating customers, and investing time and energy into constantly improving its approach.

“We knew we needed to find a strong partner to help us go-to-market via marketplace and meet the increase in customer demand for self-service cloud applications. Microsoft and Azure Marketplace came to mind first, and they delivered. Through deep collaboration, Azure Marketplace brought not only prospects and buyers, but also the data and analysis we needed to optimize our buyer’s journey and marketing spend,” said Frederick Harris, Fortinet Director of Cloud Self-Service Programs.

Fortinet published its award-winning FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall – Single VM solution on Azure Marketplace to reach IT professionals and cloud developers who need to secure their data and applications. FortiGate enables broad protection and automated management for consistent enforcement and visibility across hybrid cloud infrastructures. Fortinet collaborated with Microsoft, starting in April 2019, to deliver the Advanced Threat Protection Azure Marketplace campaign designed to increase pay-as-you-go (PAYG) revenue. Harris noted, “We were excited to partner with the commercial marketplace team on the campaign to build awareness, drive increased engagement via free Test Drives, and gain new customers.”

Continue reading here

**Explore all case studies or submit your own**

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Hello all –

I am hoping to get some help in understanding what I need to do in order to be able to execute a PowerShell script from a release pipeline that executes .sql files in my DevOps repository. We have created a deployment group which includes an agent being set up on our server. 

I am able to connect to the SQL Server via my PowerShell script, but I am not able to execute anything in my repository.

How do I reference a specific .sql file that I have stored in a repository? I would like to use it in my command that I am trying to use in my PowerShell script:

Invoke-SqlCmd -ServerInstance “MyServerInstance” -Database “MyDB”  -InputFile ???

I have tried using $System.DefaultWorkingDirectory but that just references a folder on the server. What do I need to put into the ??? placeholder?

Thank you in advance

​Hello all – I am hoping to get some help in understanding what I need to do in order to be able to execute a PowerShell script from a release pipeline that executes .sql files in my DevOps repository. We have created a deployment group which includes an agent being set up on our server.  I am able to connect to the SQL Server via my PowerShell script, but I am not able to execute anything in my repository. How do I reference a specific .sql file that I have stored in a repository? I would like to use it in my command that I am trying to use in my PowerShell script: Invoke-SqlCmd -ServerInstance “MyServerInstance” -Database “MyDB”  -InputFile ??? I have tried using $System.DefaultWorkingDirectory but that just references a folder on the server. What do I need to put into the ??? placeholder? Thank you in advance    Read More

​

Is it possible to record all Teams meeting and calls automatically? 

This is for my organization’s compliance policy. 

Unfortunately, even with Teams Premium I can’t find an option to enable automatic recording for all future meetings and calls. You can only set the feature for separate or recurring meetings once you schedule meetings.

​Is it possible to record all Teams meeting and calls automatically? This is for my organization’s compliance policy.  Unfortunately, even with Teams Premium I can’t find an option to enable automatic recording for all future meetings and calls. You can only set the feature for separate or recurring meetings once you schedule meetings.  Read More

​

As part of my job, I am required to assemble document packages and submit them to a governmental regulatory agency.  I am trying to develop a system to track the submissions and to save the relevant documentation, and I am wondering what approach is best.

The data I am tracking includes project names and numbers, names of people, milestone dates, contact information, review status, etc.  The submission packages are large and can include 20 or more individual files.  We receive communication back from the agency during the review and approval process, and these letters need to be saved and easy to locate.

I initially created a table in Excel to track the submissions and a network folder to sort the files.  This worked very well, but I suspect there is a more modern approach that would work better with our company’s systems.

My second attempt was to use MS Lists.  Lists allows me to display the data very nicely, but I find the ability to attach files to each entry is lacking.  As far as I’m aware, there is no way to create folders within a Lists entry.  Without being able to sort my files into subfolders, important communications are time consuming to find among all the submission files.

My most recent attempt has been to create a SharePoint document library.  This seems to work well enough.  I can create a folder and customize the columns to list the tracking data I’m concerned with.  Within the folder, I can create all the folders and subfolders I want.  My complaints with this approach are that it seems to lack the colour coding that conditional formatting in Excel and Lists allows, and it’s not very user friendly to create a new library entry or update an existing one (compared to Lists or Excel).

Does anyone have any recommendations?  Is there a better tool or approach I could be using?

​As part of my job, I am required to assemble document packages and submit them to a governmental regulatory agency.  I am trying to develop a system to track the submissions and to save the relevant documentation, and I am wondering what approach is best. The data I am tracking includes project names and numbers, names of people, milestone dates, contact information, review status, etc.  The submission packages are large and can include 20 or more individual files.  We receive communication back from the agency during the review and approval process, and these letters need to be saved and easy to locate. I initially created a table in Excel to track the submissions and a network folder to sort the files.  This worked very well, but I suspect there is a more modern approach that would work better with our company’s systems. My second attempt was to use MS Lists.  Lists allows me to display the data very nicely, but I find the ability to attach files to each entry is lacking.  As far as I’m aware, there is no way to create folders within a Lists entry.  Without being able to sort my files into subfolders, important communications are time consuming to find among all the submission files. My most recent attempt has been to create a SharePoint document library.  This seems to work well enough.  I can create a folder and customize the columns to list the tracking data I’m concerned with.  Within the folder, I can create all the folders and subfolders I want.  My complaints with this approach are that it seems to lack the colour coding that conditional formatting in Excel and Lists allows, and it’s not very user friendly to create a new library entry or update an existing one (compared to Lists or Excel). Does anyone have any recommendations?  Is there a better tool or approach I could be using?  Read More

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Hey, Microsoft 365 Insiders!

Great news! You can now enhance your Microsoft Teams experience with the new movable Presenter toolbar and one-click video optimization. Tailor your screensharing to fit your needs and elevate your virtual collaboration.

Read all about it in our latest blog: Freely move toolbar and optimize video in Microsoft Teams screensharing

Thanks,

Perry Sjogren

Microsoft 365 Insider Social Media Manager

Become a Microsoft 365 Insider and gain exclusive access to new features and help shape the future of Microsoft 365. Join Now: Windows | Mac | iOS | Android

​ 
Hey, Microsoft 365 Insiders!
 
Great news! You can now enhance your Microsoft Teams experience with the new movable Presenter toolbar and one-click video optimization. Tailor your screensharing to fit your needs and elevate your virtual collaboration.
 
Read all about it in our latest blog: Freely move toolbar and optimize video in Microsoft Teams screensharing
 
Thanks,
 
Perry Sjogren
Microsoft 365 Insider Social Media Manager
 
Become a Microsoft 365 Insider and gain exclusive access to new features and help shape the future of Microsoft 365. Join Now: Windows | Mac | iOS | Android  Read More

​

Hello,

I’ve been trying to trigger alarms every time an email with specific subject is Sent. I’m trying to Avoid new alerts when

-logs with similar subjects were already triggered

-multiple users reply or forward the email
I’m able to create an unique list, but my current output only shows the ‘subject_’ column due to distinct or summarize command. My goal is to merge this list with the OfficeActivity dataset to include all related columns. I’ve attempted using KQL for this purpose, but it’s resulting in duplicates once more: 

let RecentSentEvents = OfficeActivity

    | extend Subject_ = tostring(parse_json(Item).Subject)  // Extract subject

    | where Operation contains “Send”  // Filter for send operations

    | where tolower(Subject_) contains “X”  // With X subject

    | summarize Subject_; // In here, all the other colums disappear.

//Checking if previous alerts were triggered with similar subjects

let DeduplicatingAlerts = RecentSentEvents

    | join kind=leftanti SecurityAlert on $left.Subject_ == $right.DisplayName; 

//Adding (or bringing back) more columns from OfficeActivity to the results.

OfficeActivity

| extend EmailSubject = tostring(parse_json(Item).Subject) // Extract subject

| where Operation contains “Send”  // Filter for send operations

| where EmailSubject contains “X”

| join ???

Any tips will be much appreciated. Thanks!

​Hello, I’ve been trying to trigger alarms every time an email with specific subject is Sent. I’m trying to Avoid new alerts when-logs with similar subjects were already triggered-multiple users reply or forward the emailI’m able to create an unique list, but my current output only shows the ‘subject_’ column due to distinct or summarize command. My goal is to merge this list with the OfficeActivity dataset to include all related columns. I’ve attempted using KQL for this purpose, but it’s resulting in duplicates once more:  let RecentSentEvents = OfficeActivity    | extend Subject_ = tostring(parse_json(Item).Subject)  // Extract subject    | where Operation contains “Send”  // Filter for send operations    | where tolower(Subject_) contains “X”  // With X subject    | summarize Subject_; // In here, all the other colums disappear. //Checking if previous alerts were triggered with similar subjectslet DeduplicatingAlerts = RecentSentEvents    | join kind=leftanti SecurityAlert on $left.Subject_ == $right.DisplayName;  //Adding (or bringing back) more columns from OfficeActivity to the results.OfficeActivity| extend EmailSubject = tostring(parse_json(Item).Subject) // Extract subject| where Operation contains “Send”  // Filter for send operations| where EmailSubject contains “X”| join ??? Any tips will be much appreciated. Thanks!  Read More

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According to this link, msg / eml files are not yet supported by Copilot. Is this already on the roadmap?

Also the xls format is missing. Is this correct, because doc is listed?

Thanks

​According to this link, msg / eml files are not yet supported by Copilot. Is this already on the roadmap? Also the xls format is missing. Is this correct, because doc is listed? Thanks  Read More

​