Azure Updates: Open AI Service; Connected Learning; Network observability

The start of July was a quieter week for Microsoft’s US-based staff, but the company took the time to highlight various capabilities with a special emphasis on training.

Product marketing manager Natalie Mickey touted the benefits of Open AI Service with Microsoft Learn. Microsoft has issued five new learning modules about the service, while deploying developer experiences such as pre-trained models, documentation, customization, and simplified integrations. A colleague shared details about Connected Learning Experiences, which is adding three new tracks focused on Networking, Windows Server migration, and Microsoft Sentinel.

CVP Deepak Bansal looked into improving Kubernetes troubleshooting with the AKS Network Observability add-on. The new feature is intended to provide customers with enhanced visibility into container network traffic. The capability is a distributed monitoring system for both Linux and Windows hosted environments. It collects real-time data points using Host Networking Service, Virtual Filtering Platform, and eBPF in Linux. He wrote:

To set up network observability using Azure-managed Prometheus and Grafana approach, users can follow the Azure documentation. Once configured, they can access the Grafana interface to explore the predefined dashboards or create custom visualizations tailored to their specific requirements. The integration between Azure Monitor, Prometheus, and Grafana streamlines the process of visualizing network observability data, making it easier for users to gain valuable insights into their AKS cluster’s network performance.