Azure NetApp Files: allow the same file path for volumes in different availability zones
With this enhancement, Azure NetApp Files now allows the use of the same volume mount path for two or more volumes in the same region if they are each in a different availability zone. This is great for highly available architectures using cross-zone replication that would benefit from using the same mount path for both the source and target volumes. Having a common mount path for the source and target volumes eases automation and reduces manual effort during the failover of disaster recovery events which could lead to reduced recovery time objectives and improved application and data availability. This enhancement can also be used with regular volumes not participating in cross-zone replication. This could be useful for scenarios involving host-based replication or for test/dev environments that need to have consistent mount paths. This volume enhancement applies to SMB, NFS, and dual-protocol volumes.
Azure Update: Azure updates | Microsoft Azure
Documentation: Manage availability zone volume placement for Azure NetApp Files | Microsoft Learn
Storage account default maximum request rate limit increase to 40,000 requests per second
The default maximum request rate for general-purpose v2 and Blob storage accounts has been increased from 20,000 to 40,000 requests per second in almost all regions.
This applies to all existing and new storage accounts.
Azure Update: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates?id=470595
Documentation: Scalability and performance targets for standard storage accounts – Azure Storage | Microsoft Learn
Inbound private endpoint API Management
Standard v2 was announced in general availability on April 1st, 2024. Customers can now configure an inbound private endpoint (preview) for your API Management Standard v2 instance to allow clients in your private network to securely access the API Management gateway over Azure Private Link.
The private endpoint uses an IP address from an Azure virtual network in which it’s hosted. Network traffic between a client on your private network and API Management traverses over the virtual network and a Private Link on the Microsoft backbone network, eliminating exposure from the public internet. Further, you can configure custom DNS settings or an Azure DNS private zone to map the API Management hostname to the endpoint’s private IP address.
Azure Blog: Inbound private endpoint for Standard v2 tier of Azure API Management | Microsoft Community Hub
Request Form: Azure API Management Standard v2 – inbound private endpoint preview
Network isolated cluster in AKS
Today you can control an AKS cluster’s egress traffic using Azure Firewall. While this configuration is intended to isolate the cluster to protect sensitive business or customer data, it adds an additional layer of management complexity and cost.
AKS now provides the option to use network isolated clusters to simplify the process of restricting network access and reduce the risk of unintentional exposure of the cluster’s public endpoints to prevent security breaches.
Azure Update: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates?id=466980
Documentation: Network isolated AKS clusters – Azure Kubernetes Service | Microsoft Learn
High-availability health status monitoring for Azure Database for PostgreSQL
Announcement of the release of new network monitoring metrics in Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Flexible Server. With these enhancements, you can now gain deeper insights into network activities at the virtual machine level, helping you effectively identify and address network-related issues more quickly. These new metrics—including TCP Connection Backlog and Postmaster Process CPU Usage—provide actionable data that enhances the stability and reliability of your services. By enabling these features, you can be better equipped to prevent potential service outages and improve overall performance. We encourage you to enable these metrics and start monitoring today to help ensure your applications run smoothly and efficiently.
Azure Update: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates?id=470447
Documentation: Monitoring and metrics – Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Flexible Server | Microsoft Learn
Resume from Action in Logic Apps
We’re thrilled to announce that the Resume from Action feature in Azure Logic Apps is now generally available (GA)! This milestone builds on the momentum from its public preview, bringing enhanced reliability and debugging capabilities to your workflows. With GA, we’re introducing a brand-new API that further enriches the feature’s usability and automation potential.
Azure Blog: Announcing General Availability of Resume from Action in Logic Apps | Microsoft Community Hub
New built-in roles for Azure Chaos Studio
Azure Chaos Studio Experiment Contributor, Chaos Studio Operator, and Chaos Studio Reader are new Azure built-in roles users can utilize to manage access to Chaos Studio within their organizations
Chaos Studio Experiment Contributor: Can create, run, and see details for experiments, onboard targets, and manage capabilities.
Chaos Studio Operator: Can run and see details for experiments but cannot create experiments or manage targets and capabilities.
Chaos Studio Reader: Can view targets, capabilities, experiments, and experiment details.
Azure News: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates?id=469969
Documentation: Azure Chaos Studio documentation – tutorials, API reference | Microsoft Learn
Document Intelligence v4.0 API
Document Intelligence v4.0 API with enhanced support for RAG including document structure, tables and figures in a markdown output, an improved OCR model with searchable PDF output and new and improved field extraction models for prebuilt and custom document types.
Azure Blog: Announcing the General Availability of Document Intelligence v4.0 API | Microsoft Community Hub
API Documentation: What’s new in Document Intelligence – Azure AI services | Microsoft Learn
