On this episode of The Cloud Pod, the team discusses the new Amazon Linux 2023, Google Bard,  new features of Google Chronicle Security Operations, GPT-4 from Azure Open AI, and Oracle’s Kubernetes platform comparison. They also talk about cloud-native architecture as a way to adapt applications for a pivot to the cloud.

A big thanks to this week’s sponsor, Foghorn Consulting, which provides full-stack cloud solutions with a focus on strategy, planning and execution for enterprises seeking to take advantage of the transformative capabilities of AWS, Google Cloud and Azure.

This week’s highlights

• 🚨 AWS: Amazon announces General Availability of Amazon Linux 2023.
• 🚨 GCP: New capabilities available on Google Chronicle Security Operations
• 🚨 Azure: Azure announces preview of GPT-4 in Azure Open AI Service.
• 🚨 Oracle: Oracle compares its Kubernetes platform with that of Hyperscalers. 

Top Quotes

• 💡 “The goal of Cloud Native architecture is to develop scalable resilient ports of applications that you can easily deploy and manage in a modern Cloud environment”
• 💡 “You maximize the benefits of the platform you’re on and you minimize the weaknesses of it when you design for that platform”
• 💡 “There’s nothing that prevents you from going to the cloud if you’re not cloud-native, I just think you don’t get the advantages of the cloud native and what the cloud brings to you”

AWS: Amazon announces General Availability of Amazon Linux 2023.

• 👤 Amazon Linux 2023, a Cloud-Optimized Linux Distribution with Long-Term Support
• ️🕵️ This third generation of Amazon Linux Distributions includes security policies to apply the common industry guidelines.

GCP: New capabilities available on Google Chronicle Security Operations.

• 0️⃣ Chronicle Security Operations Feature Roundup
• These New features enable a speedy response to threats.

Azure: Azure announces preview of GPT-4 in Azure Open AI Service.

• 0️⃣ Introducing GPT-4 in Azure OpenAI Service
• As billing starts on the 1st of April, customers can begin harnessing Open AI’s most advanced model.

Oracle: Oracle compares its Kubernetes platform with that of Hyperscalers.

• 0️⃣ Kubernetes cloud cost comparison: Who provides the best value?
• They highlight both serverless and managed K8 services and compare some specific services offered by both.

The Cloud Journey Series; Cloud Native Architecture.

• Cloud-Native architecture is an approach to building and running applications that use Cloud computing principles and technologies.
• Some benefits are scalability, reduced time to market, better utilization of resources, integrated management and monitoring as well as efficiency with large or small-scale work.
• While it is possible to move to the cloud without being cloud-native, the benefits may be reduced and there are no provisions for the typical challenges in the cloud space.

Other Headlines Mentioned:

• Amazon to lay off 9,000 more workers, including at AWS, as cost-cutting effort continues
• Amazon Takes Its Time Delivering Second Round of Job Cuts
• AWS Chatbot Now Integrates With Microsoft Teams
• Try Bard and share your feedback
• AWS announces new AWS Direct Connect location in Muscat, Oman
• Application Auto Scaling now supports resource tagging
• AWS now allows you to bring your Windows 11 licenses to Amazon WorkSpaces
• Amazon VPC Reachability Analyzer now supports 3 additional AWS networking services
• Amazon Corretto 20 is now generally available
• Amazon EMR now supports Amazon EC2 C7g (Graviton3) instances
• Amazon Connect launches support for multiple SAML 2.0 identity providers
• AWS Backup now supports VMware vSphere 8 and multiple virtual NICs
• AWS Database Migration Service now generates an AWS Glue Data Catalog when migrating to Amazon S3
• AWS Migration Hub Strategy Recommendations adds support for binary analysis
• AWS Database Migration Service now supports S3 data validation
• Amazon CloudWatch Logs adds support for new Amazon VPC Flow Logs metadata
• AWS CodeBuild now supports a small GPU machine type
• Amazon GuardDuty RDS Protection for Amazon Aurora is now generally available
• Amazon Kendra releases Microsoft SharePoint Cloud Connector
• Amazon EC2 C6in, M6in, M6idn, R6in, and R6idn metal instances are now available
• AWS Clean Rooms Now Generally Available — Collaborate with Your Partners without Sharing Raw Data
• Google Cloud targets multiplayer game developers with GKE Autopilot
• Pub/Sub schema evolution is now GA
• Introducing time-bound Session Length defaults to improve your security posture
• Announcement: Azure Active Directory backed authentication for JMS 2.0 API on Azure Service Bus
• General Availability: ASP. NET web app migration to Azure App Service using PowerShell Scripts
• Generally available: Encryption scopes on hierarchical namespace enabled storage accounts
• Azure Maps is now HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliant
• Public preview: Listener TLS certificates management available in the Azure portal
• Public Preview: PgBouncer monitoring metrics for Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Flexible Server 
• Preview: JSON support for Active Geo-Replication on Azure Cache for Redis
• Azure SQL—General availability updates for mid-March 2023
• General Availability: Performance workbooks for Azure PostgreSQL – Flexible Server
• Azure Load Testing support for JMeter 5.5
• Now available: Azure Kubernetes Service Edge Essentials
• Azure Machine Learning – Generally availability updates for March 2023
• Generally available: Azure Monitor integration with Azure Container Apps
• Generally available: Azure SQL Database offline migrations in Azure SQL Migration extension
• Public preview: Azure Database for MySQL connector for Power Apps, Logic Apps
• Azure Red Hat OpenShift version 4.11 now available
• Generally Available: Durable Functions support of managed identity for Azure Storage
• Public preview: Data API builder instantly creates modern REST and GraphQL endpoints for modern databases
• Public Preview: Collect Syslog from AKS nodes using Azure Monitor container insights
• Public Preview: Performance Plus for Azure Disk Storage
• Azure Red Hat OpenShift March Updates
• Generally available: Azure Ultra Disk Storage in Brazil Southeast, South Africa North and UAE North
• Azure SQL—Public preview updates for mid-March 2023
• Public Preview: Change data capture for Azure Cosmos DB analytical store
• Generally available: ContainerLogV2 Schema in Azure Monitor container insights
• Generally available: Metric charts support for split-by operations on multiple dimensions
• Generally available: Azure Firewall Basic
• Public Preview – Backup for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
• Public preview: Database connections support in Azure Static Web Apps
• Public preview: Azure Static Web Apps support for A Record
• General Availability: Support for pg_hint_plan and server extensions in Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Flexible Server
• General Availability of Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server on Azure VMware Solution
• Azure Machine Learning – Public Preview updates for March 2023
• Azure Machine Learning – March 2023 Region Expansion Announcement 
• Public Preview: Selective Disk Backup and Restore in Enhanced Policy for Azure VM Backup
• Generally available: Azure Digital Twins Data history supports Graph updates
• Kubernetes at scale just got easier with new Oracle Container Engine for Kubernetes enhancements
• OKE virtual nodes deliver a serverless Kubernetes experience
• Kubernetes cluster add-on lifecycle management
• First principles: Making Kubernetes serverless with OCI Virtual Nodes
• Breakthrough computational analysis of grate discharge flow performed by Ansys Rocky DEM-SPH on OCI bare metal GPU shape

After show: Mark Zuckerberg will be laying off 10,000 Facebook employees.

• 0️⃣ Update on Meta’s Year of Efficiency.
• This comes with a manifesto highlighting his key points for making Meta a formidable tech company.