One of the key features that was announced with the latest release of Azure Backup Server is Modern Backup Storage. Modern Backup Storage is a technology that leverages Windows Server 2016 native capabilities such as ReFS block cloning, deduplication and workload aware storage to optimize backup storage and time, and delivers nearly 50% disk storage savings and 3x faster backups. With Modern Backup Storage, Azure Backup Server goes a step further in enhancing enterprise backups by completely restructuring the way data is backed up and stored.
How does Modern Backup Storage work?
Add volumes to Modern Backup Storage and configure Workload Aware Storage
Begin backing up by creating Protection Group with Modern Backup Storage
With these simple steps, you can efficiently store your backups using Modern Backup Storage technology.
To Learn More about Professional Services, contact us at 800-208-3617
We are happy to announce our Azure SQL Data Sync Refresh! With Azure SQL Data Sync users can easily synchronize data bi-directionally between multiple Azure SQL databases and/or on-premises SQL Databases. This release includes several major improvements to the service including new Azure portal support, PowerShell and REST API support, and enhancements to security and privacy.
This update will be available for selected existing Data Sync customers starting June 1st. It will be available for all customers by June 15th. Please email us with your subscription ID if you’d like early access.
What’s new?
Data Sync on the new Azure portal
Data Sync is now available in the new Azure portal for select internal customers. This will be available for all customers in mid-June. You can now manage Data Sync in the same place you manage all your other Azure resources. Data Sync will be retired from the old portal after July 1, 2017.
PowerShell programmability and REST APIs (Available July 2017)
Previously in Data Sync, creating Sync groups and making changes had to be done manually through the UI. This could be a tedious, time consuming process, especially in complex Sync topologies with many member databases or Sync groups. Starting in July Data Sync will support PowerShell and REST APIs which developers can leverage to make these tasks faster and easier. This is also great for the many users who are comfortable with and prefer using PowerShell.
In the previous design, Data Sync used a central shared database for each region to manage the Sync operations. Now each user will have dedicated user owned Sync Databases. A Sync Database is a customer owned Azure SQL Database. By replacing the shared central databases with customer-specific databases, we provide better privacy and security. In addition, this provides the user flexibility to increase or decrease the performance tier of the Sync Database based on their needs.
Sync Database Requirements
Azure SQL Database of any service tier
Same region as the Hub Database of a Sync Group(s)
Same subscription as Sync Group(s)
One per region in which you have a Sync Group (Hub Database)
Enhanced monitoring and troubleshooting
We have made a few key improvements to monitoring and troubleshooting. Users can now monitor the sync status programmatically using PowerShell and RESTful APIs. In addition, we’ve improved several error messages, making them more clear and actionable.
Next steps
New users
If you would like to try Data Sync refer to this tutorial.
Existing users
Existing users will be migrated to the new service starting June 1, 2017. For more information on migration look at the blog post “Migrating to Azure SQL Data Sync 2.0.”
Looking for a technology partner to assist with a specific project? Call Managed Solution at 800-208-3617 or contact us to schedule a full analysis on the performance of your network.
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Protect Windows Server System State to cloud with Azure Backup!
One of the key endeavors of the cloud-first approach of Azure Backup is to empower enterprises to recover from security attacks, corruptions, disasters, or data loss situations quickly, securely, and reliably. Restoring servers efficiently in the wake of evolving IT threats involves going beyond recovering data alone from backups. Our customers have expressed varying degrees of complexity in how their operating systems and applications are configured. Restoring this dynamic configuration captured in the form of the Windows Server System State, in addition to data, with minimum infrastructure, forms a critical component of disaster recovery.
Today we are extending the data backup capabilities of the Azure Backup agent to enable customers to perform comprehensive, secure, and reliable Windows Server recoveries. We are excited to preview the support for backing up Windows Server System State directly to Azure with Azure Backup.
Azure Backup will now integrate with the Windows Server Backup feature that is available natively on every Windows Server and provide seamless and secure backups of your Windows Server System State directly to Azure without the need to provision any on-premises infrastructure.
Value proposition
Comprehensive Protection for Active Directory, File-Servers and IIS Web servers: Active Directory (AD) is the most critical database of any organization and therefore requires a backup strategy that allows for reliable recoveries during critical scenarios. System State of a domain-controller server captures the Active Directory and files that are required for domain-controller synchronization and allow for targeted Active Directory protection and restores.
On a File Server, System State captures important file-cluster configurations and policies that protect files from unauthorized access. Combined with file-folder backup, the backup of System State with Azure Backup agent provides the ability to comprehensively recover File Servers.
On an IIS Web Server, System state captures the IIS Metabase that contains crucial configuration information about the server, the site and even files and folders and therefore is the recommended option to restore Web Servers.
Cost-Effective Offsite for Disaster Recovery: System State for most Windows Servers is less than 50 GBs in size. For that size, at $5 a month and pay-as-you-go Azure storage, Azure Backup eliminates all infrastructure and licensing costs, and enables you to protect your Windows Server System State for reliable restores. No need to provision local hard-drives, or offsite storage, or employ additional tools or servers to manage system state backups and ensure their off-siting. Azure Backup takes care of off-siting System State on a specified schedule to Azure!
Secure Backups: The enhanced security features built into Azure Backup and data-resilience offered by Azure ensure that your critical system state backups remain secure from malicious attacks, corruptions, and deletions.
Flexible Restores: With Azure Backup’s Restore-as-a-Service, you can restore System State files from Azure without any egress charges. Additionally, you can apply System State to your Windows Servers at your convenience using the native Windows Server Backup utility.
Single management pane in Azure: All information related to System State backup jobs across all your Windows servers will be available in the Azure portal. You can also configure notifications directly from Azure to be notified in the event of a failed backup, so you can take corrective steps and ensure your servers are always prepared for disaster recovery!
Availability for Windows Server (Preview)
The support for backing up System State with Azure Backup agent is available in preview for all Windows Server versions from Windows Server 2016 all the way down to Windows Server 2008 R2!
Getting started
Follow the four simple steps below to start protecting your Windows Servers using Azure Backup!
Create an Azure Recovery Services Vault.
Download the latest version of the Azure Backup Agent from the Azure Portal.
Install and Register the Agent.
Start protecting Windows Server System State and other Files and Folders directly to Azure!
Network Assessment & Technology Roadmap
To Learn More about Professional Services, contact us at 800-208-3617
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Invite Users to access Dynamics 365 with the Azure Active Directory business-to-business (B2B)
You can invite other users to access your Dynamics 365 CRM (online) instance. Your Office 365 Global admin can do this through the Azure portal. Invited users can access your Dynamics 365 CRM (online) instance using their own login credentials once a Dynamics 365 license and a security role are assigned to them. You don’t need to create a new user ID and temporary password for these invited users in your own Office 365 tenant.
Invite a user
Users can be added into Dynamics 365 through the Azure Active Directory B2B user collaboration. Global Admins and limited admins can use the Azure portal to invite B2B collaboration users to the directory, to any security group or to any application. Admins can use one of the following methods to invite B2B users to their Dynamics 365 instance:
Invite users to your Dynamics 365 instance that has a security group.
A significant number of customers have reported ransomware (Win32.WannaCrypt) that was suspected to be introduced into their environment via email, this malware is using social engineering to target companies. Microsoft Anti-Malware products have been updated and detect the present version of this malware from definition version 1.243.290.0 onwards. The ransomware then propagates in the Customers environment exposing a windows vulnerability that was patched in March 2017 encrypting the contents of the hard drive
Remediation Steps:
Impacted customers should work through their disaster recovery plans to rebuild and/or patch their systems. Microsoft support will render assistance to infected customers in priority and based on business impact.
Install Security Update MS17-010, to PREVENT further spread of the malware.
Create the registry key to disable SMBv1 (used only if Security Update MS17-010 cannot be applied).
Updated Antivirus definitions should be applied (Microsoft Anti-Malware products detect the present version of this malware from definition version 1.243.290.0 onwards).
Microsoft Security Response Center Guidance is published here. Microsoft Security has made available the security fix for Microsoft Security Bulletin MS17-010 for Windows 2003 and Windows XP.
Update the SDK to remove reference to the Azure Access Control Service (ACS)
With the deprecation of the Azure Access Control Service (ACS), it is important to update the SDK authentication code to remove all references to the ACS. Effective from versions Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2016 Update 1 (v8.1.1) and Microsoft Dynamics 365 (v8.2), Microsoft removed Live ID support and ACS dependencies on the server-side. It is required to update the references in all client side components as well.
For more information about the impacted versions and a workaround, review this article on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Team blog.
Dynamics 365 Insider Preview Program
Microsoft will invite customers and business partners to join The Dynamics 365 Insider Program. This program is committed to:
providing a solid platform for open and honest feedback to the Research & Development team
a forum to experience new features and functionality firsthand
a window to road test new software updates
Quite a few changes will be implemented for this new preview program. The onboarding and participation experience are the biggest changes, including:
continuous preview enrollment via “one time” registration
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 Service Pack 1.1 (on-premises)
Update 0.1 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 Service Pack is now available and includes resolutions for some of the following issues:
The Outlook client fails initial configuration with single sign-on (SSO)
“Access Is Denied” error message occurs when you change an owner of a record through a lookup field
“Access Is Denied” error message occurs when you change an owner of a record through a lookup field.
Cancelling SLA Key performance indicators (KPI) does not cancel SLA timer.
The MSE 2017 Update 1.4 was just released in May 2017. New Features
Engagement Analytics with Power BI: the Power BI content pack for MSE was extended by a new Engagement Analytics report; adding to the Engagement Performance and Team Performance reports previously released. The report provides additional insights with metrics based on location, sentiment, tags, and authors.
Improved usability in Social Selling Assistance: the Social Selling Assistant experience received a first polishing pass. Some updates were made to the UI and the main navigation now contains a direct link to the Post view in Analytics, filtered for private messages, so users can get to their customers’ messages in a single click.
Improvements
Improved visibility of links, text and tooltips when using the dark theme.
Fixed an issue that prevented sending private messages to Facebook from within Microsoft Social Engagement.
For more information, review the following article post.
Supported email service configurations for server-side synchronization
Dynamics 365 customers with an email service included in their installation are faced with the decision of using server-side synchronization or the email router/Outlook synchronization. In both situations, there are multiple things to consider, including data encryption. This Technet article provides a table showing what’s supported by server-side synchronization for each type of installation. There are also scenarios included that aren’t supported by server-side synchronization.
Additional News
Microsoft to deliver Microsoft Cloud from datacenters in Africa
Few places in the world are as dynamic and diverse as Africa today. In this landscape, there is enormous opportunity for the cloud to accelerate innovation, support people across the continent who are working to transform their businesses, explore new entrepreneurship opportunities and help solve some of the world’s hardest problems. For these reasons, Microsoft is very excited to share our plans to deliver the Microsoft Cloud from datacenters in Africa.
Services include Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Dynamics 365 — from datacenters located in Johannesburg and Cape Town, with initial availability in 2018. This announcement brings Microsoft to 40 cloud regions around the world — more than any other cloud provider — and will help organizations and people from Cairo to Cape Town accelerate their journey to cloud computing.
For more information about this opportunity, take a look at this post on the Official Microsoft Blog.
Changes in the Dynamics 365 Portal trial strategy
As part of the Dynamics CRM 2016 SP1 release, Microsoft introduced the Portal Service for Dynamics CRM and launchedhttps://experience.dynamics.com, where customers can request a Managed Portal trial to use in their Dynamics tenant.
With the launch of the Dynamics 365 service, the whole trial strategy for Dynamics 365 service has been redefined. Portal trials are now bundled as part of Dynamics 365 trials along with other add-ons like field service and project service. Apart from giving an integrated trial experience, the bundled Portal trials get converted into Paid version automatically when you purchase your Dynamics 365 subscription. This functionality was not available with Managed Portal trials before.
Universal Resource Scheduling Solution for Dynamics 365 Update 1
This past fall, Microsoft introduced the Universal Resource Scheduling Solution in Dynamics 365. Regardless of what type of scheduling your organization is engaged in: Field Service scheduling, Project Service Scheduling, Case scheduling, Lead scheduling, custom scheduling, the Universal Resource Scheduling Solution helps you book your skilled resources to the right work, at the right time, independent of work stream.
Update 1 is now available with new features to enhance the scheduling solution, including:
Fulfilled and remaining duration: an out of the box way to track fulfillment of a requirement and filter out requirements which have been fully scheduled
Configurable Colors on Resource Summary Rows: option to add colors to the resource summary rows for the daily, weekly, and monthly schedule board views
Requirement Search: Users can now search for requirements in the requirements list on the schedule board.
For more information on the Universal Resource Scheduling Solution update, review this post on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Team blog. Additional update information can be found here.
Sample apps for Project Service Automation T&E entry
Source code samples are now available for two mobile apps which can be used with the Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation solution. One app is for project team members to enter their time entries and the other app is for them to enter their expenses. Review this blog post for more details on the apps and where to access the download.
Training Corner
Training Sites & eLearning
Get the most up to date training and eLearning information for Dynamics 365 from the Help Center. The highly anticipated Training & Adoption Kit for Dynamics 365 is also available for download which includes user guides, quick reference cards, eBooks for end users and admins. Feel free to modify the content and distribute to your customers.
Want to know what new features are available for both online and on-prem customers? Then check out What’s new in Dynamics 365 Help and Training.
Roll Back Upgrade via Restore Feature
Did you know the Backup/Restore feature in Dynamics 365 can be used to roll back an upgrade? Once upgraded, customers can select a backup from the previous version and restore to it. This will effectively roll the instance back to the previous version.
Invite Users to access Dynamics 365 with Azure business-to-business (B2B)
Customers can invite other users to access their Dynamics 365 CRM (online) instance through their Azure portal. Invited users can access the Dynamics 365 CRM (online) instance using their own login credentials once an Office 365 Global admin has assigned them a Dynamics 365 license and a security role. For more details on how to invite a user, review this article.
Introducing the Data Export Service for Dynamics 365
The Microsoft Dynamics 365-Data Export Service is a free add-on service made available on Microsoft AppSource that synchronizes Microsoft Dynamics 365 (online) data to a Microsoft Azure SQL Database store in a customer-owned Microsoft Azure subscription. The Data Export Service synchronizes the entire Dynamics 365 data initially and thereafter synchronizes delta changes on a continuous basis as they occur in the Microsoft Dynamics 365 (online) system. This helps enable several analytics and reporting scenarios on top of Dynamics 365 data with Azure services, such as Power BI or Machine Learning and opens up new possibilities for customers and partners to build custom solutions. For use cases and to learn how to set up the service, take a look at this article.
Analyze your Dynamics 365 business processes with Power BI
The new Process Analyzer Content Pack for Power BI is now available for Dynamics 365 version 8.2 and higher. This content pack links directly to the Dynamics 365 database, creating interactive data visualizations that help provide insights into business process flows. Track service performance with metrics like volume in processes with average duration in stage (broken down by stage), the process stage funnel, volume over stage completion date, and velocity through stages (with duration and days since completed). Users can create personalized business-process analytics that are most relevant to them and explore the information using the Power BI portal.
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The rise of cyberthreats means that the people once assigned to setting up computers and email servers must now treat security as top priority
In the Appalachian mountain town of West Jefferson, N.C., on an otherwise typical Monday afternoon in September 2014, country radio station WKSK was kicked off the air by international hackers.
Just as the station rolled into its afternoon news broadcast, a staple for locals in this hamlet of about 1,300, a warning message popped up on the screen of the program director’s Windows PC. His computer was locked and its files—including much of the music and advertisements the station aired—were being encrypted. The attackers demanded $600 in ransom. If station officials waited, the price would double.
The station’s part-time IT person, Marty Norris, was cruising in his truck when he got the call that something was amiss. He rushed to the station. “I immediately pulled the plug on his computer,” says Mr. Norris.
In a quick huddle, the possibility of paying the ransom was raised, but the idea didn’t get far. “We’re a little bit stubborn in the mountains,” says General Manager Jan Caddell. “It’s kind of like being held up. We thought if we paid, they’d just ask for more.”
Despite all the money we’ve spent—Gartner estimates $81.6 billion on cybersecurity in 2016—things are, on the whole, getting worse, says Chris Bronk, associate director of the Center for Information Security Research and Education at the University of Houston. “Some individual companies are doing better,” adds Dr. Bronk. “But as an entire society, we’re not doing better yet.”
Ever greater profits from cyberattacks mean cybercriminals have professionalized to the point where they are effectively criminal corporations, says Matthew Gardiner, a cybersecurity strategist for Mimecast, which manages businesses’ email in the cloud. Instead of hackers fumbling their way through complicated financial transactions, or money whizzes fumbling their way through malware design, there is true division of labor. As in any other industry, specialization begets efficiency.
Large (legitimate) corporations have the resources to hire talent to protect their digital assets, but for small- and medium-size businesses, it’s harder. There’s no shortage of good advice on how to perform basic security hygiene, but who’s there to implement it? The solution is resource management, with a focus on cybersecurity. Dr. Bronk lays it out like this:
1. Retrain IT staff on security—or replace them. In today’s world of ever-multiplying threats and dependence on connected assets, all IT staff must now be cybersecurity staff first. “The good news is that you don’t need that dedicated person to run your email server anymore—they can run security,” says Dr. Bronk.
2. Push everything to the cloud. It used to be the job of IT personnel was to build and maintain the tools employees need. Now, pretty much anything can be done better with a cloud-based service.“I mean, even the CIA uses Amazon’s web services,” says Dr. Bronk. “If there’s a best of breed, why not use it? If you want a safe car, go buy a Volvo.”
Marty Norris tests program back up at WKSK in West Jefferson, N.C. Photo: Andy McMillan for The Wall Street Journal
3. New IT investment will need baked-in security. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates jobs in IT security are one of the fastest-growing categories in tech, up 33% in the past four years alone. That’s probably due to companies simply catching up on investing in cybersecurity after years of under-investment, says Mr. Gardiner.
Diana Kelley, global executive security adviser at IBM Security, a division ofInternational Business Machines Corp. , compares the current state of network security to graphical user interfaces in their earliest days, when they weren’t particularly intuitive. Collectively designers and engineers learned to prioritize and improve them. “Security can be like that, too,” she adds. “We can think about it upfront and weave it into the process in a much more effective way.”
WannaCry is a good example of how increasing cybersecurity can be relatively simple—thwarting it was as simple as keeping Windows up-to-date. On the other hand, it used a sophisticated exploit lifted from a hack of National Security Agency tools that allowed it to spread directly from one computer to another, infecting systems in companies that might have been prepared for other kinds of attacks. These kinds of systemic
President and general manager Jan Caddell, program director Nathan Roland and IT staffer Marty Norris monitor things at radio station WKSK in West Jefferson, N.C., on Friday. Photo: Andy McMillan for The Wall Street Journal
As for West Jefferson’s own WKSK, the station was lucky. Mr. Norris, its IT consultant, had backed up the computers. He was able to wipe the slate clean and get everyone back on the air in a few hours. It’s a good illustration of how prioritizing even the most basic cybersecurity practices can be a life-saver.
Since then, he has implemented offline backups of the station’s computers, just in case. He’s also become a keen student of the kind of attacks, such as WannaCry, that can affect small organizations. As soon as he read that it could hit older systems, he rushed to protect them at his day job—as the IT person for the local school district.
Appeared in the May 22, 2017, print edition as 'All IT Jobs Are Security Jobs Now.'
Looking for a technology partner to assist with a specific project? Call Managed Solution at 800-208-3617 or contact us to schedule a full analysis on the performance of your network.
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British Airways: Thousands disrupted as flights axed amid IT crash
Serious problems with British Airways' IT systems have led to thousands of passengers having their plans disrupted, after all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick were cancelled.
Passengers described "chaotic" scenes at the airports, with some criticising BA for a lack of information.
The airline has apologised, and told passengers not to come to the airport.
BA chief executive Alex Cruz said: "We believe the root cause was a power supply issue."
In a video statement released via Twitter, he added: "I am really sorry we don't have better news as yet, but I can assure you our teams are working as hard as they can to resolve these issues."
Mr Cruz said there was no evidence the computer problems were the result of a cyber attack.
The airline hoped to be able to operate some long haul inbound flights on Saturday, landing in London on Sunday, Mr Cruz added.
The GMB union has suggested the failure could have been avoided, had the airline not outsourced its IT work.
BA denied the claim, saying: "We would never compromise the integrity and security of our IT systems".
All passengers affected by the failure - which coincides with the first weekend of the half-term holiday for many in the UK - will be offered the option of rescheduling or a refund.
The airline, which had previously said flights would be cancelled until 18:00 BST, has now cancelled all flights for Saturday and asked passengers not to come to Gatwick or Heathrow airports.
Other airlines flying in and out of the two airports are unaffected.
Architect and TV presenter George Clarke was stuck in Heathrow. He told the BBC it was one of the "most turbulent, badly organised days, that I've ever experienced in Britain".
"The lack of communication all day was woeful. There wasn't a single Tannoy announcement all day in the terminal, not a single member of staff came up to us," he said.
"The only time I found out my flight was cancelled was from the BBC News website."
Image copyright@ANNAONTHEWEB
Piles of checked luggage could be seen on the floor in the Heathrow
Some passengers have reported having to leave Heathrow without their luggage
The problems have affected BA call centres, the website and the mobile app.
Aviation expert Julian Bray said: "It's frozen the whole system so no British Airways plane can actually take off, they can't move the baggage, they can't issue passenger credentials, in fact they can't do anything at all.
"This is a very serious problem, they should have been able to switch to an alternative system - surely British Airways should be able to do this."
Malcolm Ginsberg, editor in chief at Business Travel News, expects the disruption to last for "three or four days".
BA aircraft landing at Heathrow are unable to park as outbound aircraft cannot vacate the gates, which has resulted in passengers being stuck on aircraft.
Journalist Martyn Kent said he had been sitting on a plane at Heathrow for 90 minutes. He said the captain told passengers the IT problems were "catastrophic".
'Catastrophic'
Mick Rix, GMB's national officer for aviation said: "This could have all been avoided.
"BA in 2016 made hundreds of dedicated and loyal IT staff redundant and outsourced the work to India... many viewed the company's actions as just plain greedy."
BA staff in Heathrow's Terminal 5 were resorting to using white boards, according to passenger Gareth Wharton.
Delays have been reported in Rome, Prague, Milan, Stockholm and Malaga due to the system failure.
Philip Bloom said he had been waiting on board a Heathrow-bound flight at Belfast for two hours.
He added: "We haven't been told very much just that there is a worldwide computer system failure.
"We were told that we couldn't even get on other flights because they are unable to see what flights we can be moved to."
Analysis - By Richard Westcott, BBC transport correspondent
Image copyright@THEBOYGWith a lack of technology, staff were using whiteboards in Heathrow
As ever, it is a lack of information that is really making BA passengers angry… we're still awaiting an explanation from the airline and a timescale for how long the problems might last.
The GMB union says this meltdown could have been avoided if BA had not made hundreds of IT staff redundant and outsourced their jobs to India at the end of last year.
Yes, the union has a big axe to grind, but people will want to know if the airline made its IT systems more vulnerable by scaling back computer support to save money - although BA has just flatly denied it to me.
IT problems ripple through an airline. If planes cannot take off, they cannot leave gaps at the gate for others to land.
If flights are delayed by more than around five hours, the airline must swap crews because shift lengths are strictly limited for safety reasons.
Telling customers to stay away is a drastic measure, but it is the only chance BA has of clearing the backlog of flights.
Image copyrightTWITTER
The BBC's Phillip Norton was at Rome international airport, waiting to fly to London.
He said BA staff were unable to say how long delays would be, telling him "all flights are grounded around the world".
Alma Saffari was in Marseille waiting to get her flight back to Heathrow.
She said: "When we finally boarded the captain came out and told us their computer systems were down worldwide.
"Eventually after sitting on the tarmac for one and a half hours we disembarked the plane.
"Now we are sitting in the departure area outside the gate."
Ms Saffari, who is with her 13-month-old baby, said she had been given a voucher for food and drink.
EU flight delay rights
Image copyright@TIMREIDCEPassengers have experienced large queues and disruption at Heathrow Terminal 5, British Airways' main London terminal
If your flight departed the European Union or was with a European airline, you might have rights under EU law to claim if the delay or cancellation was within the airline's control
Short-haul flights: 250 euros for delays of more than three hours
Medium-haul flights: 400 euros for delays of more than three hours
Long-haul flights: 300 euros for delays of between three and four hours; and 600 euros for delays of more than four hours
If your flight's delayed for two or more hours the airline must offer food and drink, access to phone calls and emails, and accommodation if you're delayed overnight - including transfers between the airport and the hotel
Looking for a technology partner to assist with a specific project? Call Managed Solution at 800-208-3617 or contact us to schedule a full analysis on the performance of your network.
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Manage your business needs with new enhancements in Azure Autoscale
Automatically scaling out or scaling in applications to handle the demands of your business is an essential element of the cloud strategy. Azure’s Autoscale service empowers you to automatically scale your compute and App Service workloads based on user-defined rules regarding metric conditions, time/date schedules, or both. Azure Autoscale is available for Classic Cloud Services, Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS) and App Services. Today we are excited to announce a host of improvements to Autoscale, including faster auto scaling, simplified configuration, the ability to scale by a custom metric using Application Insights, and more troubleshooting information available in the Activity Log.
Faster Autoscale
Classic Cloud Services: The Classic Virtual Machine infrastructure that powers Classic Cloud Services now supports more reliable, host-level metrics via the Azure Monitor metric pipeline. Because of this, an Autoscale setting can now be set to have as low as a five-minute time window to activate (previously we recommended a time window of no less than 30 minutes). With this, you can now do faster and more reliable auto scaling. If you have a Classic Cloud Service Autoscale setting where you wish to take advantage of the improved scaling, please update it with a shorter time window (as low as five minutes).
VMSS and App Services: The Autoscale engine for VMSS and App Services can also now trigger scale actions faster. The new engine is tuned to check for your metric based rules every minute, thereby enabling the ability to scale your instances as early as 1 minute after a metric value crosses the threshold set in an Autoscale setting. To take advantage of the faster Autoscale, please update your existing autoscale setting. All new Autoscale settings created or updated on VMSS or App Services after May 10th will automatically use the new engine.
Simplified management experience in the portal
Based on your feedback, we made it easier to discover and manage Autoscale settings in the portal. Autoscale settings can now be accessed directly from within the Azure Monitor blade, use a completely re-vamped configuration blade, and enable you to easily see the full template in JSON or scale action history for that setting. Learn more about how to get started with Autoscale today.
Figure 1. the new tab within Azure Monitor for accessing and managing Autoscale settings.
Figure 2. the simplified Autoscale blade with options to view scale action history, view the JSON object and edit notifications.
Autoscale using custom metrics
One of our top customer asks was to be able to Autoscale based on a custom, user-defined metric, and we’ve now enabled it using Application Insights. This new capability is available now and enables you to scale Classic Cloud Service, VMSS or App Service workloads by any Azure Monitor based metric or custom and application metrics collected by Application Insights, Azure’s application performance management service. Here is a sample of an Autoscale setting that allows you to scale your Web API app based on a custom metric ingested to Application Insights. This ability to Autoscale via Application Insights based metrics is now available in public preview, please try this out and share your feedback.
Figure 3. the ability to select Application Insights as a source of metrics and the ability to select a standard or user-defined metric by which scaling will occur.
Improved Autoscale troubleshooting
The Autoscale engine logs an event in Activity Log every time it triggers a scale action, however, the target resource that is being scaled out or in can take the time to complete the scale action. It is important to know when the scale action completes or reports as failed so that you can take automated actions on the resource. To support this, the Autoscale engine now generates a scale action result event when the underlying target service completes the action or reports it as failed. This scale result event is also logged in the Activity Log and includes valuable information about why your Autoscale event failed. We’ve also introduced a new Autoscale Activity Log category so that you can easily filter to view only Autoscale-related events. You can leverage the new Activity Log Alerts to receive notifications or take automated actions via webhooks and Azure Automation, Logic Apps or Functions. This feature is now enabled for Cloud Services, VMSS and App Services.
Figure 4. A view of Activity Logs filtered by Autoscale events, listing the Autoscale trigger action and result event.
Wrapping Up
These new capabilities in Azure Autoscale enable you to efficiently leverage the compute power of Azure to scale your applications to best suit your growing business needs. We are eager to hear your feedback to inform our future work on Autoscale. Please try these new features and let us know what you think. Also be sure you’re getting the most out of this feature by checking out our Autoscale best practices, and most common autoscale patterns.
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