CloudPro #5: Microsoft Dev Box Generally Available, KubeVirt v1.0 Released, How to be a 10x Developer, and 3 Months of AI in Charts
Hello,
"I don't need a hard disk in my computer if I can get to the server faster... carrying around these non-connected computers is byzantine by comparison."
- Steve Jobs
Apple’s visionary leader minced no words when he hailed the cloud in the WWDC Keynote in 1997, calling our attention to all the new ways the cloud would transform computation. Almost two and half decades later, the cloud surrounds every realm of our lives in profound ways indeed, more so if you’re a developer. If catching up on the big cloud trends is what you’re after, this newsletter is the only thing you’ll need.
Welcome to this week’s issue of the CloudPro newsletter. Our mission is to bring you the cutting-edge developments in Cloud and Cloud-Native Development, Cloud Architecture, CI/CD, DevSecOps, Cloud Security, and adjacent domains.
In today’s issue, we’ll talk about KubeVirt v1.0 announcement, Alibaba Cloud launching AI image generation model and ModelScopeGPT, Microsoft facing backlash over renaming Azure AD, and Mastering Kubernetes Fourth Edition.
We’ve also handpicked cloud resources, secret knowledge, and tutorials, including strategies for optimizing Azure VM performance. Explore four ways to connect to your AWS EC2 instance, how to be a 10x Developer, and 3 months of AI in 6 charts.
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Writer’s Credit: Special shout-out to Vidhu Jain for her valuable contribution to this week’s newsletter content!
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Editor-in-Chief, Packt
✨ Spotlight: Mastering Kubernetes, Fourth Edition
The fourth edition of the bestselling Mastering Kubernetes includes the most recent tools and code to enable you to learn the latest features of Kubernetes 1.25. This book contains a thorough exploration of complex concepts and best practices to help you master the skills of designing and deploying large-scale distributed systems on Kubernetes clusters.
You’ll learn how to run complex stateless and stateful microservices on Kubernetes, including advanced features such as horizontal pod autoscaling, rolling updates, resource quotas, and persistent storage backends. In addition, you’ll understand how to utilize serverless computing and service meshes. By the end of this Kubernetes book, you’ll have a strong understanding of, and hands-on experience with, a wide range of Kubernetes capabilities.
⚡ TechWave: Cloud News & Analysis
KubeVirt v1.0 Announced: A Major Milestone for Virtual Machine Management: KubeVirt has released version 1.0, marking a significant achievement for the project. KubeVirt allows virtual machines (VMs) to run within Kubernetes by extending the Kubernetes API. The update aligns with Kubernetes’ community practices, introducing SIGs for testing and reviewing responsibilities, and following Kubernetes' release cadence. The release includes various improvements, such as performance and scalability benchmarks, storage features, CPU hotplug support, and enhanced network connectivity.
Microsoft Dev Box - Cloud-Based Workstations for Developers Now Generally Available: Microsoft Dev Box is now generally available, offering dev-optimized, cloud-based workstations for developers. The journey began with the introduction of Azure DevTest Labs in 2016, and over time, the need for a turnkey solution led to the creation of Microsoft Dev Box. It combines the enterprise-ready management of Windows 365 and Microsoft Intune with developer-optimized capabilities. Dev Box addresses challenges such as deployment times, configuration errors, and storage limitations. It offers tailored configurations, fast access to project-based workstations, and compatibility with various tools.
Google Cloud Introduces Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus for Improved Database Performance: Google Cloud has announced a new edition of its fully managed database service for MySQL and PostgreSQL workloads. The Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus edition offers three major enhancements: accelerated read and write performance, near-zero downtime for planned maintenance, and improved data protection capabilities. With Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus, users can seemingly experience up to 3x higher read throughput, 2x reduction in write latency, and 35 days of log retention for point-in-time recovery. The new edition provides higher performance and availability options.
IBM Plans to Lower Cloud Service Costs Using Self-Developed AI Chips: IBM is considering the use of its own AI chips to reduce operational expenses for its cloud computing service, Watsonx. The company revealed that the AI chip, known as the Artificial Intelligence Unit, could help lower costs due to its power efficiency. IBM aims to capitalize on generative AI technologies and address the challenge of high expenses associated with its previous AI system, Watson. The chip, produced by Samsung, is intended for inference tasks, allowing IBM to have an immediate impact on the AI market.
Alibaba Cloud Launches AI Image Generation Model and ModelScopeGPT: Alibaba Cloud has introduced its latest AI image generation model, Tongyi Wanxiang, which allows users to generate detailed images in various styles by responding to text prompts. The model, available for beta testing in China, leverages advanced technologies in knowledge arrangement, visual AI, and natural language processing to produce high-quality and contextually relevant images. Additionally, Alibaba Cloud unveiled ModelScopeGPT, a framework that uses Large Language Models (LLMs) to connect domain-specific expert models for sophisticated AI tasks.
Microsoft Entra Expands into Security Service Edge, Renames Azure AD, Faces Backlash: Microsoft Entra introduces two new products, Microsoft Entra Internet Access and Microsoft Entra Private Access, to enhance secure access to apps and resources. Microsoft Entra Internet Access offers identity-centric Secure Web Gateway for internet and Microsoft 365 apps, while Microsoft Entra Private Access provides Zero Trust Network Access to private apps. These products, along with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, form Microsoft's Security Service Edge (SSE) solution. Additionally, Microsoft renamed Azure Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID to unify the product family, a move that has drawn flak from the community.
📚 Secret Knowledge: Learning Resources
How to Become a 10x Developer: 10x engineers are supposedly 10 times more productive than their regular peers. The internet is full of advice on how to become a 10x engineer. Most of them include tips on how to improve your expertise or mindset. The author of this article proposes that you can become a 10x developer by making 10 other people 10% more productive.
Strategies for Optimizing Azure VM Performance and Reducing Costs: This article provides practical strategies for optimizing Azure VM performance while minimizing costs. Explore the importance of understanding Azure's pricing model and service offerings to avoid excessive expenses. One key strategy is implementing scheduling mechanisms to start and stop Azure VMs when they are not actively being used, as VMs are billed based on resource usage. Read the article to understand the role of premium features in Azure pricing.
Unveiling the Power of AWS Elastic Beanstalk for Cloud Computing: Read the post to know more about AWS Elastic Beanstalk, a game-changing service in the world of Amazon Web Services (AWS). Elastic Beanstalk is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) solution that simplifies application deployment and management. It handles resource provisioning, load balancing, auto-scaling, and monitoring, allowing developers to focus on writing code. Explore the benefits of Elastic Beanstalk, including increased developer productivity, quick deployment, seamless integration with other AWS services, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.
Simplifying Cloud Data Migration with a Structured Approach: This article discusses the importance of a structured approach for efficient cloud data migration strategies. The author highlights the need to scale and innovate in the technology industry, with a particular focus on the impact of AI. Learn the significance of defining the "needs VS wants" and "as-is Vs to-be" to drive business initiatives during transformations. Read the article to learn about a Data Tagging Process as a method to simplify cloud data migration. This process involves categorizing data sources based on their relevance, allowing organizations to make informed decisions.
Strategies for Test Automation in Multi-Tenant SaaS Applications: The shift towards Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) models has highlighted the importance of effective testing methodologies, especially in multi-tenant SaaS applications. Explore key strategies for test automation in such applications and the need to understand multi-tenant architecture, identify tenant-specific test scenarios, implement data-driven testing, leverage virtualization and containerization, adopt Continuous Integration and Delivery (CI/CD) practices, consider performance and scalability testing, incorporate security testing, and monitor production data.
Three Months of AI in Six Charts: The past three months have felt like a whirlwind in the world of AI. And we’ve all been swept into it — no matter your industry or field of work. This article takes a deep dive at the last quarter through the prism of six important events that occurred in that short time. The following chart examines the rapidly growing capabilities of Generative AI models.
🔍 MasterClass: Tutorials & Guides
Simplifying Development for OpenShift with CRC and MinIO: OpenShift offers a solution for organizations that want to manage their own Kubernetes clusters on-premises. To enhance the development process, Red Hat CodeReady Containers (CRC) enables developers to test and develop on OpenShift using their local computers. Learn how to incorporate MinIO, a high-performance cloud-native object storage system, with OpenShift to achieve software-defined scalability and automation. MinIO can be deployed on top of OpenShift in multiple locations, allowing seamless data movement using site-to-site replication.
Four Ways to Connect to Your AWS EC2 Instance: This tutorial explores four different methods to connect to an AWS EC2 instance. The author discusses the direct SSH connection, SSH connection through a Bastion host for higher security, AWS Systems Manager Session Manager for simplified management, and the lesser-known EC2 Instance Connect (EIC) Endpoint. Each method is explained, including the necessary configurations and commands to establish the connection. Know the advantages and considerations of each approach, and explore multiple options for connecting to your EC2 instances.
Google Cloud’s Cloud Tasks Queue for Efficient Workflow Execution: Learn how to use Google Cloud’s Cloud Tasks queue, which is a valuable tool for optimizing workflow execution and managing increased workload. Learn how to utilize the Cloud Tasks queue to regulate the rate of workflow executions and make better use of workflow quotas. Instead of creating workflow executions directly, tasks are added to the queue, allowing for smoother execution and preventing quota-related failures. The Cloud Tasks queue acts as a buffer between parent and child workflows, ensuring efficient resource utilization.
AI-powered Text Summarization and Image Generation with SageMaker Endpoint Deployment on Lambda: This tutorial provides a step-by-step guide on how to deploy a SageMaker endpoint on AWS Lambda for AI-powered text summarization and image generation. The tutorial covers creating Lambda functions, creating an IAM role, updating the Lambda function code, configuring timeouts and CORS, and testing the functions. It also includes instructions for copying the stable diffusion endpoint name, editing the code with the endpoint name, and deploying and testing the code.
✨ HackHub: Trending Tools
Reflexion: This repo holds the code, demos, and logs for Reflexion: Language Agents with Verbal Reinforcement Learning.
GPT Researcher: GPT Researcher is an autonomous agent designed for comprehensive online research on a variety of tasks.
traefik/traefik: Traefik is a user-friendly reverse proxy and load balancer that seamlessly integrates with various infrastructure components, automating configuration for easy deployment of microservices.
alibaba/nacos: This platform provides seamless service discovery, configuration, and management for building cloud native applications.
nats-io/nats-server: This server provides robust performance for NATS.io, a cloud and edge native messaging system.
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Kind Regards,
Kartikey