Category: News

This comprehensive guide provides insights on migrating databases from Azure Database for MariaDB to Azure Database for MySQL using MyDumper/MyLoader utilities for logical backup and restore. With Azure Database for MariaDB’s retirement on the horizon, there is a pressing need for businesses to transition seamlessly to Azure Database for MySQL. MariaDB has its roots in open-source and shares many similarities with MySQL, making it an ideal candidate for such migration tasks. The blog highlights critical preparatory steps and tools necessary to carry out the migration to ensure minimal downtime and data integrity.

The guide meticulously maps out the four main phases of migration: capturing a logical backup of the Azure Database for MariaDB using MyDumper, restoring this backup to Azure Database for MySQL with MyLoader, configuring replication, and finally performing a cutover from MariaDB to MySQL. Additionally, nuances like configuring SSL for secure data transfers and ensuring connectivity between platforms are touched upon, which are paramount for successful data transitions. Migrations can be executed in offline or online modes, depending on the organization’s operational requirements, with safeguards suggested to ensure smooth data integrity and functionality post-migration.

For those seeking detailed information on variances between the two database systems, links to relevant MariaDB documentation are provided. Continuous monitoring, testing, and performance validation are stressed as essential processes to ensure the migrated environments meet business needs efficiently.

News: Migrating from Azure Database for MariaDB to Azure Database for MySQL Using MyDumper/MyLoader
Documentation: Azure Database for MySQL Documentation

Microsoft has been making significant strides in fortifying its security measures over the past year, marked by its Secure by Design initiative. In response to a landscape rife with cyber threats—where a staggering 600 million identity attacks occur daily—Microsoft launched its Secure Future Initiative (SFI) in November 2023. This ambitious endeavor aims to transform how Microsoft develops, tests, and operates its products to meet the pinnacle of security standards, ultimately benefiting its customer base as well as the global digital ecosystem. The initiative aligns with global calls, like those from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the UK’s Government Cyber Security Strategy, to prioritize security at every step of digital product development.

A key advancement in this initiative is the implementation of phishing-resistant multifactor authentication, becoming mandatory across several Microsoft platforms, such as the Azure portal and Microsoft Intune admin center. This move is part of a broader shift toward eliminating passwords by defaulting to passkey and enhancing user experiences via authentication innovations. Additionally, Microsoft has launched initiatives like adopting memory-safe programming languages and optimizing Windows 11’s security framework to minimize exploitation vulnerabilities.

Microsoft has also focused on improving systems’ resilience and patch application rates to counter cyberattacks, rolling out streamlined update processes such as the Hotpatch system, which reduces downtime. Its adherence to Vulnerability Disclosure Policies (VDPs), along with issuing CVEs promptly when necessary, underscores its commitment to transparency and community collaboration in vulnerability management. These strategic practices collectively facilitate a more secure digital environment for users globally.

Learn more about Microsoft’s efforts and updates by following the SFI journey, which reflects Microsoft’s bid to educate and empower consumers and businesses on best practices in cybersecurity.

News: Microsoft’s Secure by Design journey: One year of success
Documentation: Preconfigured security settings in Microsoft Entra ID

In an exciting development for enterprise AI, Microsoft has unveiled the next-generation o3 and o4-mini models through their Azure AI Foundry and GitHub, both available under their Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. Building upon the capabilities of their predecessors, these models are designed to push the boundaries of AI reasoning with notable improvements in quality, safety, and performance. Among the key advancements are support for multiple APIs, the addition of reasoning summaries in output to improve transparency, and enhanced vision analysis capabilities, expanding the models’ multimodal functionalities. This ensures these tools can process and generate insights from both text and visual data effectively.

News: o3 and o4-mini: Unlock enterprise agent workflows with next-level reasoning AI with Azure AI Foundry and GitHub
Documentation: Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service

Great news for developers and businesses using Azure! Microsoft has announced a public preview for rule-based routing in Azure Container Apps. This new feature promises to bring enhanced flexibility and modularity, simplifying the architecture for those working with microservice applications. Whether you’re implementing A/B testing or blue-green deployments, the rule-based routing feature will make the process much smoother by enabling more dynamic configurations.

For anyone deeply involved in cloud operations or software development, this update is a significant leap forward. By enabling more refined routing options, it not only helps streamline development workflows but also ensures that changes and updates can be conducted with minimal disruption. This can be particularly beneficial for organizations looking to optimize their service delivery and user experience.

News: Public Preview: Rule-based routing in Azure Container Apps
Documentation: Azure Container Apps Documentation

Exciting news for developers utilizing Azure’s suite of services. Azure SQL Trigger for Azure Functions is now generally available under the consumption plan. This means you can build application logic in Azure Function Apps that can efficiently scale from zero upwards, leveraging data directly from the Azure SQL Database. The consumption plan is particularly beneficial as it allows applications to scale dynamically based on demand – a perfect fit for businesses needing flexible resource management without the hassle of manual intervention.

This release promises to improve real-time data processing capabilities and streamline workflows by integrating directly with SQL-triggered events. This enhancement is an excellent opportunity for developers aiming to create responsive and scalable serverless applications. Moving forward, we’re keen to see how this will influence application design patterns and efficiencies for users investing in Azure’s cloud ecosystem.

News: Azure SQL Trigger Announcement
Documentation: Azure Functions SQL Trigger Documentation

Exciting developments in the Microsoft Azure ecosystem as the Durable Functions extension version 3 is now generally available. This latest major version promises a suite of improvements aimed at boosting cost efficiency and performance. Users can now take advantage of improved cost-effectiveness when using Azure Storage v2 accounts, which is excellent news for those looking to optimize their operations financially. Moreover, there has been a significant upgrade to the latest Azure Storage SDKs, ensuring that systems can benefit from the latest .NET Framework enhancements.

These updates are designed to enhance scalability, performance, and cost management, making Durable Functions more attractive and efficient for developers using serverless computing. Azure continues to refine its offerings to provide better tools and resources for optimizing application lifecycle management. With these advancements, Microsoft reaffirms its commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions to the cloud computing community.

News: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates?id=489031
Documentation: Durable Functions Documentation

The BULK INSERT statement is now generally available in the Fabric Data Warehouse. This enhancement significantly simplifies the process of ingesting data into tables, particularly when dealing with parquet or CSV formats. Stored in Azure Data Lake or Azure Blob storage, this functionality offers a seamless, efficient, and reliable way to import data. While the BULK INSERT statement shares similarities with the COPY INTO statement, it uniquely provides users with a straightforward command tailored for effective data management and migration.

News: BULK INSERT statement is generally available!
Documentation: BULK INSERT Statement Documentation

Azure Blob Storage has added another powerful tool to its arsenal with the general availability of Access Control Lists (ACLs) for local users utilizing SFTP. This enhancement is an exciting development for administrators, simplifying the process of managing fine-grained access control to blobs and directories within Azure Blob Storage. With the implementation of ACLs, administrators will now have more detailed control over user permissions, improving both security and usability. It streamlines operations, ensuring the right people have the right access at the right time.

For those interested in learning more about how to leverage ACLs for their Azure Blob Storage solutions or curious about the specific documentation detailing these changes, further information is available through the links provided below. This feature promises greater efficiency and control for businesses relying on Azure’s robust storage solutions, potentially transforming how access permissions are managed in cloud environments.

News: Launched: Generally Available: ACLs for Azure Blob Storage SFTP local users
Documentation: Azure Blob Storage SFTP Documentation

Azure has announced the private preview of its next-generation Confidential Virtual Machines with the unveiling of the DCesv6 and ECesv6 series. These series are powered by the 5th Gen Intel® Xeon® processors, codenamed Emerald Rapids, and integrated with Intel® Trust Domain Extensions (Intel® TDX). Aimed at enhancing data security for organizations, these new VMs promise to provide improved data confidentiality and integrity, which are critical for secure computing environments.

Intel® Trust Domain Extensions (Intel® TDX) play a crucial role in this development, offering an extensive level of security by enabling the isolation of secure environments even within a virtualized setting. This significant technological advancement by Microsoft Azure ensures that sensitive data remains isolated and protected during processing, an encouraging development for organizations seeking enhanced security measures. These advancements are expected to resonate well with enterprises that have workloads requiring robust data protection.

News: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates?id=489745
Documentation: Microsoft Documentation

The introduction of database compatibility level 170 is a significant update now applicable to Azure SQL Database and SQL Database in Microsoft Fabric. This level is crucial because compatibility levels align with specific SQL versions, influencing how queries are processed. As per Microsoft’s latest announcements, compatibility level 170 will be the default for new databases created without explicitly setting the compatibility level. This change embodies Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to improve performance with features like intelligent query processing, enabling better query execution with minimal implementation effort.

This adjustment won’t affect existing databases unless manually updated by the database owner, ensuring full control over compatibility upgrades. Therefore, it’s recommended for users to adopt the latest compatibility for optimal benefits while database configurations should specify COMPATIBILITY_LEVEL to maintain consistent application behavior across different server versions. To check your current database compatibility, querying the ‘compatibility_level’ in the sys.databases system catalog view is a handy method. Notably, restoring from a backup won’t change the compatibility level, preserving historical settings.

News: Database compatibility level 170 in Azure SQL Database and SQL database in Microsoft Fabric
Documentation: Intelligent query processing in SQL databases