![CloudStack[d] September Newsletter](https://n4stack.io/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/CloudStackd-September-Newsletter.png)
MICROSOFT AZURE
MICROSOFT LAUNCHES AZURE DEVOPS
Microsoft’s well known Visual Studio Team Service (VSTS) has been rebranded to Azure DevOps, and the guy put forward by Microsoft to announce this slick name change… it just had to be Jamie Cool! The Director of Program Management announced the services ‘span the breadth of the development lifecycle to help developers ship software faster and with higher quality. They represent the most complete offering in the public cloud’.
The Azure DevOps portfolio spans across:
- Azure Pipelines – CI/CD that works with any language, platform, and cloud. Connect to GitHub or any Git repository and deploy continuously
- Azure Boards – Powerful work tracking with Kanban boards, backlogs, team dashboards, and custom reporting
- Azure Artifacts – Maven, npm, and NuGet package feeds from public and private sources
- Azure Repos – Unlimited cloud-hosted private Git repos for your project. Collaborative pull requests, advanced file management, and more
- Azure Test Plans – All in one planned and exploratory testing solution
Example of Developer using all Azure DevOps Services. Source: Microsoft
AZURE SQL DATABASE MANAGED INSTANCE NOW GENERALLY AVAILABLE
Earlier this year Microsoft made us aware of a new deployment model of Azure SQL Database which offered an option to lift and shift on-premises applications to cloud with minimal application and database changes – Azure SQL Database Managed Instance. This month Microsoft have announced the general availability of Managed Instance!
Managed Instance improves security and compliance, offers 99.99% uptime SLA and comes with PaaS benefits and management tools. You can find out more about the key features and capabilities here.
AZURE’S ENHANCED SECURITY NETWORKING
Recently Microsoft have been working hard to deliver networking services and enhancements to help you connect to the cloud and protect your workloads. We’re excited to let you know that Azure Firewall and Azure Virtual WAN are now generally available. This means built-in high availability, unrestricted cloud scalability and automated large-scale branch connectivity. These services are very welcome additions and probably long overdue.
MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES PREVIEW OF SQL SERVER 2019
We know, we know… this isn’t an Azure-specific piece of news but we’re so excited we had to touch on it! Microsoft have introduced the public preview of SQL Server 2019. The platform combines Apache Spark and Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) to create a single, integrated SQL Server solution.
If you’re still running critical applications on SQL Server 2008 have no fear! Your support may be due to run out in 2019 but Microsoft have offered a solution where you can bag yourself an additional 3 years Extended Support!
IN OTHER NEWS:
Azure Policy integration with Azure DevOps now available
Service Fabric now available on Azure Stack
Kubernetes on Azure Stack now in preview
Microsoft boosts Azure Stack capacity with Azure Data Box solutions
CycleCloud is now generally available
Microsoft announces Virtual Desktop on Azure
AMAZON WEB SERVICES
AWS ADDS NEW SHELL ACCESS OPTIONS TO EC2 INSTANCES
This month AWS announced the addition of Sessions Manager to AWS Systems Manager. This new option for shell-level access promises secure access, access control, auditability, interactivity, and programming and scripting. AWS Sessions Manager is available now – and an added bonus is that there’s no additional charge for the capability!
AWS BRINGS LAMBDA POWERED MACROS TO CLOUDFORMATION
Developers rejoice! With CloudFormation Macros you’re able to extend the native syntax of CloudFormation templates by utilising AWS Lambda (the same technology used with AWS’ Serverless Application Model functionality).
Using CloudFormation Macros. Source: AWS
To top it all off there’s no additional costs associated with Macros, so you only pay the standard AWS Lambda function charges.
ANNOUNCING PARALLEL QUERY FOR AMAZON AURORA
Amazon Aurora can now make use of its additional processing power by running your analytical queries in parallel across thousands of storage nodes. According to an AWS announcement on 20th Sept, the new parallel query offers speed benefits of around two orders of magnitude… pretty impressive eh?
AWS STORAGE GATEWAY NOW AVAILABLE AS A HARDWARE APPLIANCE
AWS Storage Gateway, the service that connects your on-premises software appliance with cloud-based storage, is now available pre-installed on a hardware appliance. Right now it’s only available to purchase in the US but keep your eyes peeled – we don’t think it will be long before the rest of us get our hands on it!
IN OTHER NEWS:
Izzi Fuller
Product Marketing Manager
Izzi has worked in marketing for the last five years and currently heads up the N4Stack marketing team. She spends her days buried in SEO, content writing, web editing, campaign strategy, analytics, and anything else that’s thrown her way.
In her spare time you’ll find Izzi with her two dogs, Gatsby and Dexter, lost in a book, or in a different country soaking up the sun and the sights. Find out more about Izzi here.