Deprecated: strtr(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /chroot/home/a40b7614/774635bdc8.nxcli.io/html/wp-content/plugins/moosend-email-marketing/vendor/moosend/website-tracking/src/Utils/Encryption.php on line 8 Deprecated: urlencode(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /chroot/home/a40b7614/774635bdc8.nxcli.io/html/wp-content/plugins/moosend-email-marketing/vendor/moosend/website-tracking/src/Payload.php on line 202 Scott Duffy – Page 14 – SoftwareArchitect.ca

SoftwareArchitect.ca

Author: Scott Duffy

  • Azure World Newsletter – Issue 1.13

    Azure World Newsletter – Issue 1.13

    I hope that you and your family are continuing to do well. 2020 has been a dramatic year, no doubt. But don’t give up. Keep a positive mindset, keep learning, keep moving forward with dedication and determination.

    Let’s look at the last couple of weeks in the world of Microsoft Azure.

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    ONE.

    In a recent blog post, Microsoft introduced it’s new “Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework”. This provides customers with a set of best practices to help them build and deliver well-designed solutions using Microsoft Azure.

    Blog post:

    Introducing the Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework | Azure Blog and Updates

    If your job is to design solutions for the cloud, then it’s worth looking at how Microsoft looks at application design. It’s also good if you are looking to become an Architect or take the Azure Architect Expert certification.

    The blog post references the Azure Architecture Center which contains a lot of architect resources:

    Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework – Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework introduction

    And not only that, you can take a quiz to see how your company’s architecture measures up to the standard.

    Welcome to Microsoft Assessments 

    TWO.

    We haven’t talked much about Azure Stack because it’s not really “the cloud” technically. It’s the Azure Fabric technology running in your own data center.

    But Google, AWS, and Azure are both battling it out in the on-prem world. The cloud battle is coming right into your office data center!

    Google has Anthos which allows you to run Kubernetes clusters anywhere, even in your own environment. AWS has Outposts, which extends the AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools into almost any datacenter. And since 2017, Azure Stack has been available to extend the cloud metaphor to your own machines. 

    Azure Stack has a new product, code-named Fiji.

    As you might know, Azure Stack is software that you run on your own hardware. Well, Stack Fiji is Azure-provided hardware that you install in your datacenter. We’re talking about “racks of servers provided by Microsoft” that you run in your own environment.

    Being able to install Azure hardware in your own environment is a little scary and a little cool. Yes, we’ve had Data Box for a while, but that’s temporary. Stack Fiji, when available, will be an interesting step to the true Hybrid cloud.

    Article: Microsoft readies its AWS Outposts hybrid competitor: Azure Stack ‘Fiji’ 

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    AZURE PLATFORM UPDATES.

    Some updates to Azure over the past two weeks:

    • Lifecycle Management for Azure Data Lake
    • Azure Blob Storage “object replication” is available in more regions (preview feature)
    • Azure bandwidth pricing change as of Aug 1
    • Azure file share can be backed up right from the File share blade
    • Kubernetes resource view (in public preview)
    • Azure Monitor can now monitor itself
    • Azure Advisor has a new “quick fix” feature
    • Backup compression now available for Azure SQL Database and Managed Instance
    • Azure App Service now supports .NET Framework 4.8
    • Selective disk backup for Azure VM Backups
    • Azure Database for MySQL now supports customer-managed keys and double encryption with two different algorithms
    • Azure Database for PostgreSQL now supports customer-managed keys and double encryption with two different algorithms
    • Cloud Shell now can run on a virtual network and interact with VMs that only have a private IP address (in preview)

    Be sure and check out the Azure Updates page if any of these affect you.

    https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/

    COMING UP FOR ME.

    I can’t believe summer is going by so fast. Mid-August already. 

    I’ve just uploaded 12 new videos (1 hour, 20 minutes) to the AZ-104 course to cover new and updated topics for the Azure Administrator certification. Thank you to all students who’ve been asking questions in that course, as Jordi and I are working hard to ensure that it is the most-updated course available on the topic.

    https://www.udemy.com/course/70533-azure/?couponCode=IBMPCDAY

    I’ve also just uploaded 5 new videos (30 minutes) to the AZ-900 course to cover new and updated topics for the Azure Fundamentals certification. Kevin and I are also trying our best to make this course the best one available anywhere to prepare you for that exam.

    https://www.udemy.com/course/az900-azure/?couponCode=IBMPCDAY
    Use coupon code IBMPCDAY at checkout for the best deal I can offer on my courses.

    WHERE TO FIND ME.

    And that’s it for issue 1.13. Thanks for reading this far.

    What is your favorite platform to be on? Perhaps we can connect there.

    Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/getcloudskills/ 

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottjduffy/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getcloudskills.ca/

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/scottjduffy

    Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/user/scottduffy2/

    LinkedIn Learning: https://www.lynda.com/Scott-Duffy/1993589682-1.html

    Sign up for this bi-weekly newsletter

    See you in two weeks!

  • Check out my new course on Azure DP-200 Implementing an Azure Data Solution Exam

    Check out my new course on Azure DP-200 Implementing an Azure Data Solution Exam

    Here’s some brand new content from the SoftwareArchitect.ca YouTube channel that you might find interesting.

    This is the introduction video for my course, DP-200 Implementing an Azure Data Solution exam.

    This course goes through the requirements of the exam, one by one.

    The link to the course is:
    http://sjd.ca/dp200

    Check out my new course on Azure DP-200 Implementing an Azure Data Solution Exam

    Or you can see the video directly on YouTube.

  • Check out my new course on Azure DP-900 Data Fundamentals Exam

    Check out my new course on Azure DP-900 Data Fundamentals Exam

    Here’s some brand new content from the SoftwareArchitect.ca YouTube channel that you might find interesting.

    This is the first video of my new course on the Azure DP-900 exam.

    DP-900 is the new Data Fundamentals exam from Azure.

    Here’s the link to the course:
    http://sjd.ca/dp900

    Check out my new course on Azure DP-900 Data Fundamentals Exam

    Or you can see the video directly on YouTube.

  • Azure World Newsletter – Issue 1.12

    Azure World Newsletter – Issue 1.12

    The meteorologists are predicting several weeks of hot weather here where I am, in Toronto. Temperatures were hitting 34 C the other day, which is only 93 in those American degrees. So it’s nice to stay inside and work on some courses. The virus is also encouraging me to stay home. So home it is. 

    Let’s look at the last couple of weeks in the world of Microsoft Azure.

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    ONE.

    So I actually took the AZ-303 and AZ-304 exams last week. They are in beta, so it’s not something that I recommend people do. I now have to wait a couple of months for the results. 

    I recorded a video talking about my experience, here:

    I also recorded a video talking about AZ-304, but I am going to hold off on releasing it. I did not have a great experience with AZ-304, and it might take me a couple of more days to formulate my thoughts on that. 

    Today, dozens of people were reporting problems taking the online exams in the various Facebook groups that I’m in. I’ve heard about the Microsoft certification dashboard being “down” or extremely slow. This is not a good look.

    I’ll say one thing. When they start allowing people to take tests in testing centers again, I’ll probably be going back to doing it that way. At least there is somewhere on site responsible for the technology.

    TWO.

    Microsoft released it’s earnings last week too. I have been watching the Azure cloud growth since I first started teaching in the space 4 years ago. They announced Cloud revenue growth of 47%. This is the first time that number has dipped below 50%. So we’re seeing some slowing in the growth of the cloud space. 50% year over year growth is still fantastic. 

    Of course, we should have expected this slowdown. It’s not that other competitors are doing any better. It’s just that almost all large businesses are using a cloud strategy, and the gains we’re going to see are now the growth in those businesses.

    Amazon reports its earnings in the next day or two, and we’ll see how AWS is doing as a comparison.

    THREE.

    Azure has slowly been rolling out their data certifications, and I’ve been following them closely.

    For those that are just starting out in their career, or are new to the cloud, there is the DP-900 certification.

    DP-900 is Data Fundamentals (beta). This exam is intended for candidates beginning to work with data in the cloud. It covers topics such as core data concepts, relational data, non-relational data, transactional workloads, analytical workloads, and reporting fundamentals.

    I recently launched a course to help you prepare for DP-900. It’s also good for anyone who wants a short overview of data technology in the cloud. Use coupon code LAUNCH10 at checkout for that one.

    https://www.udemy.com/course/dp900-azure/?couponCode=LAUNCH10

    DP-200 is Implementing an Azure Data Solution. Candidates for this exam are Azure data engineers who work with data services in Azure. This exam goes deeper into the technologies of Azure data, including Cosmos DB, SQL Database, Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Factory, Azure Stream Analytics, Azure Databricks, and more.

    I also have a course on DP-200 if you are interested in taking your career with Azure Data further. Use coupon code JULYSUN at checkout for that one.
    https://www.udemy.com/course/dp200-azure/?couponCode=JULYSUN

    Sign up for this bi-weekly newsletter

    AZURE PLATFORM UPDATES.

    Some updates to Azure over the past two weeks:

    • Azure Storage now supports anonymous public access for blobs and containers, not just on the blob account type
    • Azure Blob “versioning” now available in more regions (public preview)
    • Azure Monitor for Containers now has recommended alerts
    • Azure Application Gateway now has a URL rewrite and wildcard listener feature (public preview)
    • You can now secure AKS Pods using Azure Policy (public preview)
    • Azure Monitor for SAP Solutions now available
    • Azure Disk Storage supports Shared Disks
    • Azure Disk Storage has performance tiers (private preview)
    • Azure Reservations for Azure Database for PostgreSQL-Hyperscale (Citus)

    Be sure and check out the Azure Updates page if any of these affect you.

    https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/

    COMING UP FOR ME.

    I’m finishing up my fifth course for LinkedIn Learning this week. And then it’s on to doing required updates for AZ-303 in the existing AZ-300 course.

    WHERE TO FIND ME.

    And that’s it for issue 1.12. Thanks for reading this far.

    What is your favorite platform to be on? Perhaps we can connect there.

    Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/getcloudskills/ 

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottjduffy/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getcloudskills.ca/

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/scottjduffy

    Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/user/scottduffy2/

    LinkedIn Learning: https://www.lynda.com/Scott-Duffy/1993589682-1.html

    Sign up for this bi-weekly newsletter

    See you in two weeks!

  • AZ-303 Azure Architect Technologies Beta Exam Review

    AZ-303 Azure Architect Technologies Beta Exam Review

    Here’s some brand new content from the SoftwareArchitect.ca YouTube channel that you might find interesting.

    In this video, I talk about my experience taking the AZ-303 exam. It’s in beta. I don’t recommend betas unless you’re prepared to wait for the results.

    Overall a good exam. No problems with Pearson VUE or with the content. Watch the video to find out what I thought of it.

    AZ-303 Azure Architect Technologies Beta Exam Review

    Or you can see the video directly on YouTube.

  • Azure World Newsletter – Issue 1.11

    Azure World Newsletter – Issue 1.11

    Hi there. I hope you are keeping well. Thank you so much for signing up for this unofficial Azure newsletter. Let’s look at what has been going on in the world of Azure over the past few weeks.

    Sign up for this bi-weekly newsletter

    ONE.

    AZ-303 and AZ-304 entered their beta period last week. Microsoft had put out some discount codes, and they were snapped up very quickly. Luckily, I was able to book both of the exams for later this month.

    Having this on the calendar not only motivates me to review the exam requirements but has already gotten me started on the required course revisions. I think for AZ-303, I will have to record the entire course over from start to finish. Azure has changed a lot since I originally recorded it, and a lot needs to be updated.

    Keep an eye out for announcements for when that will be generally available. I’m going to aim for an August release for both updated courses. It’ll be a lot of work. But a worthy goal.

    If you want to book AZ-303 as a beta exam, here’s the link for that:

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/az-303

    And the new AZ-304 beta exam is available here:

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/az-304

    But please keep in mind that Beta exams are different than regular exams. They are slightly longer, you don’t get the results right away, and there are fewer study resources available. But if you want to see the exam before anyone else, feel free!

    TWO.

    Docker and Microsoft released the first integration between Docker Desktop and Azure Container Instances. This allows you to use native Docker commands to run your applications as Azure ACI containers.

    You can use either “docker run” or “docker compose up” on your local machine to deploy a container image into Azure.

    ACI, as you know, is one of the quickest ways to create a container in Azure. They are not as difficult to manage as a Kubernetes cluster, and good for simpler workloads that don’t require redundancy. 

    There is also an ACI extension for Visual Studio Code that provides an integrated experience working with Azure containers.

    THREE.

    If you’re interested in Machine Learning at all, I partnered with Aderson Oliveira to bring a new Azure ML Studio course to Udemy.

    https://www.udemy.com/course/machine-learning-no-code-approach-using-azure-ml-studio/

    Use the link above to get a special launch price of US $9.99 or the local currency equivalent.

    This course is highly rated, at 4.5 stars. Aderson is an experienced college teacher here in Toronto. We’re excited to have you in the course if this is something you’re interested in. Use the link above to get the best price.

    Sign up for this bi-weekly newsletter

    AZURE PLATFORM UPDATES.

    So many updates to Azure over the past month, I can’t cover it all.

    • AKS supports confidential workloads through DCSv2 instances (private preview)
    • Azure DevTest Labs now have access to the Shared Image Gallery for custom VM images
    • Azure Load Balancer is now integrated into Azure Monitor for health monitoring
    • Azure Machine Learning Studio web experience is now GA
    • Neural Text to Speech added 15 new languages, for even more natural-sounding voices
    • Load Balancer will support using IP addresses in the backend pool (as Application Gateways does) (preview)
    • Azure Firewall Manager is now GA
    • Virtual Machine Scale Sets now supports the automatic rollout of updates to custom images
    • Azure Data Lake now supports immutable storage (in preview)
    • Azure Monitor for Key Vault (in preview)

    Nothing really jumps out as being the big announcement of the last couple of weeks, but there are some small changes in there that might be impactful for you.

    Be sure and check out the Azure Updates page if any of these affect you.

    https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/

    COMING UP FOR ME.

    As usual, I have a lot on the go. AZ-104 and AZ-204 updates have been made to the appropriate courses in Udemy. So if you’re studying for those, those courses are ready for you.

    I finished recording a DP-900 course for the Azure Data Fundamentals exam. It’s at the video editor right now and should be live in the next couple of weeks.

    And I’ve just started recording updates to the AZ-300 course for AZ-303. I started that today, so it might take me a couple of weeks to get through that. Look for those videos to be added to the course slowly.

    WHERE TO FIND ME.

    And that’s it for issue 1.11. Thanks for reading this far.

    What is your favorite platform to be on? Perhaps we can connect there.

    Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/getcloudskills/ 

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottjduffy/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getcloudskills.ca/

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/scottjduffy

    Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/user/scottduffy2/

    LinkedIn Learning: https://www.lynda.com/Scott-Duffy/1993589682-1.html

    Sign up for this bi-weekly newsletter

    See you in two weeks!

  • Pre-Independence Day Sale

    We have some holidays coming up this week. Wednesday July 1 is Canada Day here in Canada, while my American friends are celebrating their Independence Day on July 4.

    Even though we might have to stand a few more feet apart this year, I hope everyone can get to spend some time with close friends and family over the holiday. Be careful, be safe, but also, get your spirit nourished by smiling, laughing and enjoying time with people important to you.

    To celebrate early, I’m offering my Azure and TOGAF courses at a special price. Usually, Udemy restricts how low I can go with the price, but for some reason they’re letting me create US $9.99 coupons! Hey, that’s great for me and you, so why not take advantage of it!

    For 5 days only, you can get any of my courses for between US $9.99 to US $11.99 or your local currency equivalent. After 3 days, you’ll have to pick the discount codes from inside the course as usual.

    The coupon code JUNEHEAT is required for this special 3-day sale. Expires July 4, 2020. Be sure and verify this coupon is used at checkout. Usually, it’s better to “buy now” than to “add to cart” to ensure you get the best price when buying multiple courses.

    Azure Courses:

    Stay safe!

  • DP-900 Exam Review and My First Microsoft Online Exam Experience

    DP-900 Exam Review and My First Microsoft Online Exam Experience

    Here’s some brand new content from the SoftwareArchitect.ca YouTube channel that you might find interesting.

    I decided to sit the DP-900 beta today.

    For the first time for me, I took the exam at home! I was nervous. What if my home office wasn’t good enough for the exam proctors?

    Here’s a video review of the online testing experience, and a brief review of the DP-900 exam without giving anything away. DP-900 course on the way.

    DP-900 Exam Review and My First Microsoft Online Exam Experience

    Or you can see the video directly on YouTube.

  • Free Microsoft Azure Exam Voucher

    EDITED OCT 2020: I don’t see these events being offered any more. It’s probably over for 2020.

    Microsoft has been offering free training online for the AZ-900 exam. There have been many sessions, and as they get full, new ones are being added.

    Here’s the Microsoft website that lists them through May and June:

    https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/community/events/?query=fundamentals

    These are two half-day sessions. And at the end, you receive a free voucher to take ANY Azure exam.

    So if you’ve been studying for AZ-103, AZ-300, AZ-301 or AZ-203 and haven’t booked it yet, perhaps this can help. You can attend two days of official Microsoft training on the basics, and then take the exam you want for free.

  • May the Fourth Sale

    May the Fourth Sale

    I usually send these out closer to the end of the month.

    But I just had a look at the calendar. It’s May 3rd right now. May the 4th is tomorrow.

    <Cue the Star Wars-themed sale.>

    Now I’m still waiting to receive all of that cute Baby Yoda gear I ordered at the beginning of the year. I suppose that’s all delayed right now.

    But you don’t have to way to get the biggest discount on my courses. Everything I have for $9.99 or $10.99 each… right now.

    I just launched a brand new course on the Azure DP-200 exam, Implementing Azure Data, which is one of the exams required to get a shiny Azure Data Engineer badge!

    Or I also finally created the TOGAF® 9.2 Part 2 course, which is the second exam required to get fully TOGAF® Certified?

    I’m almost done upgrading my bestselling AZ-103 / AZ-104 Azure Administrator course for the latest beta exam requirements. I invite you to learn the latest on Microsoft Azure with me.

    All of my Azure and TOGAF courses are available for US$9.99 (or $10.99) using the coupon code STARWARS. If there’s a course of mine that you like, “apply coupon” and use the code STARWARS. Thanks. (This coupon expires on Friday, May 8.)

    And May the Fourth Be With You.

    (P.S. Hope you are safe, and doing well.)

    (P.S.S. Please don’t sue me Disney and Lucasfilm. Love your movies!)