Azure SQL Database Now Supports Backup Retention for 10 Years

 By Luke Jones - 

October 31, 2016 9:27 pm CET 

Microsoft announced that the backup retention of Azure SQL Database has been significantly increased. The service will also make automatic weekly backups of all databases.

Azure SQL Database now support up to 10 years of Backup Retention, says Microsoft. The announcement was made on the company’s official Azure blog. Principal Program Manager of Azure SQL Database, Alexander Noscov, said the change makes it easier for customers.

This ease of use means customers can enable long-term retention in a few clicks. With this new feature you can extend the retention period from 35 days to as much as 10 year. That’s quite a difference for sure. Azure SQL Database now also supports backups that are stored within the Azure Backup Service Vault.


To support data retention requirements, Azure SQL Database now backs up more often. Indeed, Microsoft says the service will create a full backup every week for each database.

In the blog post, Noscov explains how the backups work:

“Once you add the LTR policy to a database using Azure Portal or API, these weekly backups will be automatically copied to your own Azure Backup Service Vault. If your databases are encrypted with TDE, that’s no problem — the backups are automatically encrypted at rest.


The Services Vault will automatically delete your expired backups based on their timestamp, so there’s no need to manage the backup schedule or worry about the cleanup of the old files. The following diagram shows how to add LTR policy in the Portal.”
Azure SQL Database Temporal Tables

At the start of this month, Microsoft introduced Temporal Tables to Azure SQL Database. The service allows customers to track their data history easily. Some of the uses for these tables include:
Supporting data auditing in your applications
Analyzing trends or detect anomalies over time
Easily implementing slowly changing dimension pattern
Performing fine-grained row repairs in case of accidental data errors made by humans or applications

Microsoft Azure Government DoD Regions Preview Now Available

 

By Luke Jones -
October 28, 2016 4:37 pm CET 

After recently announcing significant growth in Azure Government, Microsoft has launched a preview for Department of Defense regions.

Microsoft has announced the Preview for Azure Government Department of Defense (DoD) regions. The release is an Impact Level 5-ready cloud infrastructure and platform. In its announcement, Microsoft points out that it is the only hyperscale cloud provider to offer such a high level support to the DoD. The company adds it expands its commitment to the Azure Government platform.

The company has doubled down on its Azure Government strategy this week during the 5th annual Government Cloud Forum. Microsoft announced the platform has grown three times in 2016. Operations Management Suite (OMS) and Government Marketplace were also made widely available.


Through this preview, Microsoft is giving customers early access to DoD regions. With the ability to explore the infrastructure, the company is hoping for customer feedback to improve the platform before full launch. In the blog post, Microsoft confirmed general availability will come early 2017.
Capabilities

Microsoft has previously detailed the capabilities of Azure Government DoD regions in a previous post:

Department of Defense-specific Office 365 and Azure. By the end of 2016, physically isolated versions of Azure Government and Office 365 US Government Defense specifically for the Department of Defense (DoD) will be available in two new dedicated regions. These regions will also connect to Department of Defense (DoD) networks via Microsoft Express Route.


DoD Information Impact Level 5. These versions of Office 365 and Azure are built from the ground up to meet DoD Impact Level 5 controls. DoD agencies and companies managing controlled information will be able to use this platform for Department of Defense National Security System data. Microsoft is on track to achieve a DoD Impact Level 5 Provisional Authorization for both Office 365 and Azure.

Two additional Azure Government regions in the South West and South Central United States. Today we’re announcing our intent to expand Azure Government from new regions in Arizona and Texas. Slated to be generally available in 2017, the new regions will add to our existing regions in Virginia and Iowa and are new additions beyond the Department of Defense regions mentioned above. Now, Microsoft has a total of six dedicated regions for government customers – significantly more than any other cloud provider. Combined with dedicated Government ExpressRoute options, Microsoft offers government agencies broad choice of where they host their data and where they connect directly to Microsoft’s infrastructure.

To access DoD regions, customers need to pass a pre-qualification process. Microsoft says this is to verify that the organization is secure and to check its intended use of the platform.

Skype for Business on Mac Now Generally Available

   

By Luke Jones -
October 27, 2016 7:01 pm CET 

Microsoft has moved Skype for Business from preview on Mac and made it available to everyone on download. The service moves to GA with a couple of major new features.

Microsoft originally rolled out Skype for Business to Apple’s Mac platform back in April as a preview release. At the time, Microsoft announced that the client would reach full availability during the third quarter. That timeframe came and went on September 30 with no release. A little later than planned, Microsoft has announced general availability.

Skype for Business on Mac is now available to all users of the platform. The service is now available for download and will likely be a welcome sight for users. That’s because they have not had a Microsoft solution for business contacts recently. Not a modern one at least, with Lync for Mac released way back in 2011.


The company has been updating Skype for Business on Mac with new features in preview. In July, the company rolled out an update that beefed up the feature set before launch. That has continued with this GA roll out with a couple of new capabilities added to the client.

New general release features

Present in a meeting from your mobile app—Now you can present content right from Android or iOS device. No more emailing files and links back and forth when you present from your phone or tablet. Now sharing a PowerPoint deck in a meeting is as easy as selecting the file from your favorite cloud drive and presenting right from your phone. On Android, you can also share a file stored on the device itself. With swipe gestures, you can easily transition between different slides. Once shared, the PowerPoint file also becomes available in the meeting’s content bin for other participants to download or present.


Video-based Screen Sharing for mobile devices—We’re also continuing to enhance the content viewing experience with Skype for Business on mobile devices by using Video-based Screen Sharing (VbSS) for content viewing on iOS and Android apps. The initial setup is much faster, the experience more reliable, while also consuming network bandwidth efficiently. It provides a seamless viewing experience, especially if you are sharing animated content such as CAD models. Learn more about VbSS and how it can enhance your meeting experience.

Apple iPhone 7 now available in 30 more countries

  

After a stupendous response from 28 countries in the first phase beginning from September 16, Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will now be available in additional 30 countries, starting from Saturday.

Today’s launch includes the following countries: Andorra, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Monaco, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will be launched in India on October 7. Apple also launched its new “Apple Watch Series 2”, “Apple Watch Edition” and updated Series 1 models in 20 additional countries on Saturday. The new “Apple Watch Series 2 Hermes” was also launched for the first time in 18 countries on Saturday.

Apple enthusiasts are known to swarm company stores and form long queues in the hours before any big launch and the scene at its stores in 28 countries in the first phase was no different on September 16. Coming in silver, gold, rose gold and the new black finish (jet black), iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB models, starting at Rs 60,000, in India.

iPhone 7 features breakthrough new camera systems, the best battery life ever in an iPhone and water and dust resistance. “Apple Watch Series 2”, the ultimate device for a healthy life, offers water resistance at 50 metre, GPS, two-times-brighter display, dual-core processor and watchOS 3.

Starting at $369, the ‘Apple Watch Series 2’ will be water resistant to 50 metres and the speaker will literally repel the water like a piston.

The device will have a dual core processor with GPU that is up to two times faster. Since Navratri — an auspicious time for shopping — begins on October 1 and with Diwali falling on October 30, this is a strategic time for Apple to register super iPhone 7 sales in India.

IANS