Cale and Sujit discuss their current projects in Azure as 2024 comes to a close. They also cover a ton of AKS updates.

Semantic Kernel makes it easier for developers to build Azure Open AI applications that can also include SLMs like Phi-4.

Azure has many options to use File Shares and Volumes, and we walk through the process of figuring out which one is right for your needs.

Media file: https://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode511.mp3

YouTube: https://youtu.be/dLfCJ6btKng

Resources:

Semantic Kernel - https://github.com/microsoft/semantic-kernel

• Journey with SK on OpenAI and AzureOpenAI
• Ollama (running SLM local) - https://github.com/ollama/ollama
• Ollamazure (running SLM that looks like Azure OpenAI) - https://github.com/sinedied/ollamazure
• PhiSilica - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ai/apis/phi-silica

File Shares: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-introduction

Other updates:

Lots of AKS updates!

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/concepts-network-isolated

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/azure-kubernetes/availability-performance/container-image-pull-performance

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/imds-restriction

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/use-windows-gpu

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/?id=471295

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/tutorial-restore-aks-backups-across-regions

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/app-routing-nginx-configuration?tabs=azurecli#control-the-default-nginx-ingress-controller-configuration-preview

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/automated-deployments

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/aks-extension-ghcopilot-plugins

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/containers/container-insights-logs-schema#kubernetes-metadata-and-logs-filtering

The team meets with Stephane Erbrech to talk about Azure Kubernetes Fleet and learns why it is necessary and also why it isn't the same thing as Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).

Media file: https://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode510.mp3

YouTube: https://youtu.be/h9rJNihhZPM

Resources:

The OSS bits powering Fleet Manager dataplane: https://github.com/Azure/fleet

The service doc: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/azure/kubernetes-fleet/

Other updates:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cynthiakreng_nbafoundation-nbaallstar-nbafpitch-activity-7269908869684830209-MJlS

In this episode of the Azure Podcast, co-hosts, Sujit D'Mello, Evan Basalik, Russell Young, Cynthia Kreng, and Cale Teeter welcome special guest Thiago Almeida from the Azure Functions team. They dive into the details of the new Azure Functions Flex Consumption Plan, discussing its features, benefits, and how it fits into the broader landscape of Azure's compute options. Thiago shares insights on the programming model, pricing, and the improvements in cold start times, as well as the integration with networking features. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in serverless computing and Azure Functions.

Media file: https://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode509.mp3

YouTube: https://youtu.be/WMdzxYy_tQ4

Resources:

Ignite news from Functions https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/appsonazureblog/azure-functions-ignite-2024-update/4298757

Flex Consumption GA announcement https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/appsonazureblog/azure-functions-flex-consumption-is-now-generally-available/4298778

Azure Functions cold start improvements https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/appsonazureblog/our-latest-work-to-improve-azure-functions-cold-starts/4164500