Between ITOpsTalks: All Things Hybrid and the upcoming Microsoft Ignite, the news just keeps on coming. Here's what the team is covering this week: Soft delete for Azure file shares is now on by default for new storage accounts, Create and run jobs in your Azure IoT Central application, Public Preview of Power BI embedded generation 2, Connecting Azure to the International Space Station with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and as always our Microsoft Learn Module of the week.
General availability: Soft delete for Azure file shares is now on by default for new storage accounts
Soft delete acts like a recycle bin for Azure file shares, meaning that deleted shares remain recoverable for their entire retention period for 7 days by default for storage accounts created after January 31st.
You will be charged for soft deleted data on the snapshot meter. If you have automated the creation of new storage accounts and the creation/deletion of new file shares within them, you must modify your scripts to explicitly disable soft delete after the creation of a new storage account. Soft delete will remain disabled by default for existing storage accounts.
More information can be found here: Preventing accidental deletion of Azure file shares
Azure Edge Computing on the International Space Station
Microsoft announced thier partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to connect Azure directly to space using HPE’s upcoming launch of its Spaceborne Computer-2 delivering edge computing and artificial intelligence capabilities together for the first time on the International Space Station.
Microsoft Research and Azure Space engineering teams are currently evaluating the potential of HPE’s space, state-of-the-art processing in conjunction with hyperscale Azure, alongside the development of advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning models to support new insights and research advancements, including:
- Weather modeling of dust storms to enable future modeling for Mars missions.
- Plant and hydroponics analysis to support food growth and life sciences in space.
- Medical imaging using an ultrasound on the ISS to support astronaut healthcare.
On February 20, HPE’s Spaceborne Computer-2 is scheduled to launch into orbit for the International Space Station bringing Azure AI and machine learning to new space missions, emphasizing the true power of hyperscale computing in support of edge scenarios.
More information can be found here: Connecting Azure to the International Space Station with Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Microsoft announces Power BI Embedded Generation 2 public preview
Microsoft has announced the 2nd generation of Power BI Embedded, referred to as Embedded Gen 2, is available for Azure subscribers to use during the preview period. All of the Power BI Embedded Gen 1 capabilities such as pausing and resuming the capacity, are preserved in Gen 2 and the price per SKU remains the same, however the Gen 2 capacity resource provides the following updates and improved experience:
- Enhanced performance- Better performance on any capacity size, anytime. Operations will always perform at top speed and won't slow down when the load on the capacity approaches the capacity limits.
- Greater scale – No limits on refresh concurrency, fewer memory restrictions and complete separation between report interaction and scheduled refreshes
Lower entry level for paginated reports and AI workloads – You can start with an A1 SKU and grow as you need. - Scaling a resource instantly - From scaling a Gen 1 resource in minutes, to scaling a Gen 2 resource in seconds.
Scaling without downtime – You can scale an Embedded Gen 2 resource without experiencing any downtime. - Improved metrics – Coming in a few weeks to simplify monitoring and metrics-based automation. Instead of various Gen 1 metrics, there will be one CPU utilization metric in Gen 2. In addition, a built-in reporting tool will allow you to perform utilization analysis, budget planning and chargebacks.
The Power BI team have created detailed documentation to help navigate the public preview that they’ll continue to update throughout the process. You can learn much more about Power BI Embedded Gen 2 and how it works in the following docs:
- Power BI Embedded Generation 2 (preview)
- Create Power BI Embedded capacity
- Embed paginated reports for your customers
Create and run a job in your Azure IoT Central application
Scheduling in the updated jobs wizard now lets you configure a recurring monthly job in addition to hourly and daily recurring jobs:
Azure IoT Central can now manage your connected devices at scale through jobs. Jobs allow for bulk updates to device and cloud properties and run commands.
This article shows you how to get started with using jobs in your own application: Create and run jobs in your Azure IoT Central application
Community Events
- Microsoft Ignite - Registration is now available for the upcoming event. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.
- Azure admin jump start - Live, demo-heavy deep dives into scenarios detailing core Azure services, workloads, security, and governance.
MS Learn Module of the Week
Discover the role of Python in space exploration
The goal of this learning path is not to learn Python, the goal is to understand how Python plays a role in the innovative solutions that NASA creates. Through the lens of space discovery, this learning path could ignite a passion to persistently learn, discover, and create so that you too can one day help us all understand a little more about the world beyond our Earth.
This 3 hour learning path can be completed here: Discover the role of Python in space exploration
Let us know in the comments below if there are any news items you would like to see covered in the next show. Be sure to catch the next AzUpdate episode and join us in the live chat.