Experiencing Data Gaps issue in Azure Portal for Many Data Types – 07/08 – Resolved

by Contributed | Jul 8, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Final Update: Thursday, 08 July 2021 08:03 UTC

We’ve confirmed that all systems are back to normal with no customer impact as of 07/08, 06:30 UTC. Our logs show the incident started on 07/07, 22:45 UTC and that during the 07 hours and 45 minutes that it took to resolve the issue some of customers with workspace-enabled Application Insights resources in Central US may have experienced intermittent log data gaps and incorrect alert activation.

Root Cause: The failure was due to an issue with our dependent service
Incident Timeline: 07 Hours & 45 minutes – 07/07, 22:45 UTC through 07/08, 06:30 UTC

We understand that customers rely on Application Insights as a critical service and apologize for any impact this incident caused.

-Soumyajeet

Windows Package Manager can help you export and import a collection of software!

by Contributed | Jul 8, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Have you ever got your PC to the state where it has all the settings and software installed and configured that you need to use and it’s just in the right state for your daily tasks and then bam something happens, and you need to rebuild or start from scratch with a new PC?

Yip, I’ve been there and it’s always super annoying trying to get your PC back to the state you had it in before. Thankfully, a lot of things are getting better, and you have technology that can sync your settings that can then be pulled down again easily speeding up the rebuild of your PC to the way you like it. But what about the software you like to have installed with that specific version installed that does just what you want?

Well, this is where Windows Package Manager can come into play!

What is it?

Windows Package Manager is an open-source project that Microsoft announced at Build 2020 and version 1.0 was released at Build 2021. It can help you manage and install software onto your machines in an easy and consistent way.

It’s straightforward to get it installed on your machine and start installing software.

Exporting your software list

So how can it help with the initial problem, well the Windows Package Manager has an import and export features that allows you to export a list of software installed on your PC and then use that file to install the same software on another machine. And I might be a bit biased, but I really like this feature, so let me show you how it works.

Within Windows Package Manager installed on your machine open your favourite command shell, I like Windows Terminal.

Enter the command:

winget export -o nameoflist.json

This will export a list of software that is installed on your machine to a file location of your choosing. The file will be a JSON file.

Windows Package Manager export command

Windows Package Manager export list

As you can see from the output file picture above Windows Package Manager lists out each of the software that’s installed.

You do have another option when exporting the list. You can use this command:

winget export -o nameoffile.json –include-versions

Windows Package Manager export with versions

Windows Package Manager export list with versions

Now you can see from the output file the file contains the version of software you have as well, so if you have a need for a specific version to be installed and want to take a note of that you can.

Editing the output file

Now what happens if you want a specific version of a specific piece of software, but you don’t care about the versions of the other?

Well, you can edit the output file to suit your needs. As I said earlier it’s a JSON file so can be easily edited within something like Visual Studio Code.

Windows Package Manager modify export list

Hopefully, you can see from that short clip, that Intellisense within Visual Studio Code is helping to identify where my syntax is wrong, in this case by leaving trailing commas and accidentally deleting quotation marks I need.

Import onto another machine

Now that we have a list of software that we like to have installed, we can start to use this on other machines.

So transfer the JSON file you’ve created to another machine and make sure that you have Windows Package Manager installed.

Now you have the JSON file and Windows Package Manager setup it’s time to use that file to install the software you want, with the versions you prefer.

With the winget import command there are some switches that you can use when importing. You have –ignore-unavailable and –ignore-versions.

The –ignore-unavailable command will continue if any packages are unavailable and the –ignore-versions will ignore any specified versions in the import file and install the latest version instead.

Your needs and wants will depend on how you use those switches. For me I’m going to take my JSON file with listed software and versions and install as per that file with this command:

winget import –import-file installlistversion.json –ignore-unavailable

Windows Package Manager import command

After a few minutes, the software I want is now installed on that second machine!

Give it a try!

I’d love to hear how you are using this feature in your environment or if you have any feedback after using it!

Use custom Python version in Windows App Service

by Contributed | Jul 7, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

The article is written to share how to deploy and configure your custom version of Python in Windows App Service.

Before you continue reading the detailed steps of how to use custom version of Python, please notice:

Microsoft has deprecated the Python extensions for App Service on Windows as described in this article in favor of a direct deployment to App Service on Linux.

If your application can run on the following version of Python, you can use platform provided Python extensions, rather than deploy your own version of Python.

Step 1: Install preferred version of Python on your local machine

Download installation file from https://www.python.org/downloads/release
For example:
https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-388/

Run the python-3.8.8-amd64.exe in my local windows machine：

Make sure check to install pip

Select the target path to install python

Compress the whole Python388 folder to Python38.zip

Inside the zip file, it should contains all the following contents

Step 2: Upload your Python to Windows App Service

Go to your web app Kudu site https://<web-app-name>.scm.azurewebsites.net/DebugConsole
Under D:home, drag your Python38.zip file to the Kudu console.
It will automatically unzip it.

You can see the new “Python38” folder being generated.

Step 3: Add the custom Python binary into the PATH environment variable

Create an applicationhost.xdt file in D:homesite folder.

Sample applicationhost.xdt file contents:

	<?xml version="1.0"?> 
	<configuration xmlns:xdt= http://schemas.microsoft.com/XML-Document-Transform> 
	  <system.webServer> 
	    <runtime xdt:Transform="InsertIfMissing">
	      <environmentVariables xdt:Transform="InsertIfMissing">
	        <add name="PATH" value="%HOME%Python388;%PATH%" xdt:Locator="Match(name)" xdt:Transform="InsertIfMissing" />    
	      </environmentVariables>
	    </runtime> 
	  </system.webServer> 
</configuration>

Then Restart the Web App.Every time you Restart the web app, the platform will check your D:homesitesapplicationhost.xdt file, use it to transfer the D:localConfigapplicationhost.config.

The transform logs are all recorded in D:homeLogFilesTransform, you can check the timestamp and file name to get the latest log.

Check your D:localConfigapplicationhost.config file, should see Python path being added as the “PATH” environment variables.

In the Kudu Powershell console, use “python -V” to check Python version. You should be able to see the customer Python version.

Using Azure Percept to build an Aircraft Part Checker

by Contributed | Jul 7, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Idea

When not coding and building IoT project I spend time working on a personal project or building an aircraft, and to be more specific a South African designed Sling TSi.

The design of the aircraft is widely regarded in Light Aircraft circles as being one of the best 4-seat aircraft out there for the home builder and one of the main reasons I picked the design, now I know what you’re thinking have I opened the wrong blog post here what’s all this Airplane speak…

Well, there is an issue with the Factory shipping the kits around the world and that is that they struggle to get the trained staff due to Covid issues and thus kits are being shipped with incorrect parts or 2 left parts when there should be a left and a right for example. My idea is that I have this awesome Percept device I have been loaned from Microsoft to write some blog posts and have a play with and I got to thinking could I train it to recognize the parts and show the tagged name of the part so that an untrained shipping agent in the factory could us it to make sure the kits has all the correct parts?

Let have a play and see shall we…

Where do we start?

We start in the Azure Portal and more specifically the Azure Percept Studio where we can access the Vision Blade of the Percept Device. In here click the `ADD` button at the top to add a new Vision Project.

In the new blade you can fill in the boxes by giving the new Vision Model a name and a nice description (For when you or a college comes back in a few months and wonder what this is!), then you can make sure you have `Object Detection` selected and `Accurancy` and you can then click `Create` at the bottom of the page.

Image Capture

Next we move onto the Image capture that is then used to train the model with our first parts, so make sure you have the correct device selected and tick the `Automatic image capture` checkbox and the drop-down lists will appear where you can select the setting needed. As this is just the first images of the first component I want to capture to test everything is working I have set mine to be `1 Frame every 5 seconds` and `Target` to 25 this means that the Percept will take a photo every 5 seconds until it has taken 25 photo’s. These images will then all be loaded into the AI model ready to be tagged and trained.

Small issue is that you don’t really know when the images are being taken and when it has started… So if you click the `View Device Stream` just above the Automatic Image Capture you will see what the Percept-EYE can see and watch as the images are taken.

The alternative if you have enough hands is to NOT tick the `Automatic Image Capture` in which case the button bottom left will say `Take Photo` and this will take a single photo. However I find I need more hands than I have, but this would be good if the Percept is right next to you on your desk but not so good it’s on the factory floor.

Custom Vision

Now we have the images and yes I know there is not really any feedback with this method of training it would be nice if the Stream Video in the browser had a border that flashed up with a colour or something when an Image was captured so you knew what was happening but hey ho with work with what we have.

Now if you click the next button you can go to what looks like a pointless page but stick with us there is a reason for this, but click the `Open project in custom vision` link in the centre of the page, this will open the customer vision project and there will be a few agree boxes to check on the way but then you should have your project open.

As you can see there are 2 projects in my Custom Vision and the left one is the new one we just created with me holding one of the Aircraft Horizontal Stabilizer Ribs which goes on the front of the Horizontal Stabilizer. Click the project to open it and lets look at the images we managed to grab.

Wiki – Stabilizer (aeronautics)

Tagging the Images

You will look and at first (Like me!) wonder where all those images went but don’t panic they are just `Untagged` so on the left menu click the Untagged button to view them all.

Clean up the images

First I like to go through the images and remove all the either poor quality or clearly nothing to see here images, you can do this by hovering over the bottom right of the image, you will see a white tick appear for you to click. Once clicked it turns blue to show it’s selected repeat for all the images you want to remove. Once complete at the top of the page is a `Delete` button that will delete them all for you.

The next part is sadly rather laborious and boring so I hope you have a fresh cup of IoTLive as this can take a while.

So select the image and then using you mouse hover over the part you are interested in within the image and you hopefully should see a bounding box around it to select. Once selected you will see a Text Entry appear so that you can give it a Tag name, this name will be what is shown when the Percept views this part and decides to show the tag name on the screen as part of look what I found bounding box, so pick a good name. As I am tagging aircraft parts I am giving them the Aircraft Component reference from the drawings.

If you don’t get a bounding box on the part you want to select just Left mouse click and draw your own box.

As you move to the next image using the Arrow to the right of the modal box on the screen the next image will appear and it’s just a repeat of the process, however when you select the next area to tag the previous Tag names will appear so it’s quicker to just click along through the images.

When you have tagged all the images click the close `X` top right, you will see that you now don’t have any untagged images so select the `Tagged` button so that you can see them all again.

Now this is Important

You need a minimum of 15 images for each tag, in my case I only managed to capture 12 so I was a few short, so remember when I said before that the Azure Portal seemed to leave you hanging with that pointless page to select `Custom Vision` well this is where you need that.

Go back to that browser tab (You didn’t close it did you!) and then you can click the `Previous` button bottom left and again select another `Automatic Image Capture`. This seems tedious but it’s the quickest and easiest way I have found to grab all the images in the correct format and sizes etc and upload them into the Custom Vision Project.

So take another batch of images of that component and repeat the tagging process, 15 is the minimum number need for the training to take place ideally you want 30-40+ of each part/object from many directions in many lighting levels etc…

Training

Now you have more than 15 images hopefully closer to if not more than 40 images you can train your model, so there is a nice compelling big green `Train` button at the top of the screen. Give it a click and you will be asked what type of training I normally always select `Quick` and then go refresh that Cup<T> as this part takes a few minutes.

Once it’s trained you should see a nice page with lots of high percentages like below, but don’t be fooled it’s not really 100% accurate but we can test it and see how good it really is.

Testing

Like all good developers we like to test and this is no different, so at the top of the page click the `Quick Test` button.

Sadly you do need to grab an image that is not already used so in this case I just use my Mobile phone to take an image and then copy to my PC using the awesome `Your Phone` feature in Windows or if you still have the browser tab open with the `Webstream` from the Percept you can do a screen clip from that browser. Only downside is that the bounding boxes from you as a Person may be over the image hence me preferring to using my mobile phone.

As you can see when you give it an image it will show bounding boxes and the prediction rates for those boxes, you can use the slide to change the `Threshold` value so that you can hide the noise if there is any.

For a 2nd attempt with some noise in the background you can see that I had to move the slider all the way down and it was only 9.5% probability that it could identify the Rib, so this means the test has proven that more images are required and more training.

Iterate and Improve

The process is very simple to set-up and train a customer vision model with the Azure Percept, and as you can see with a component from the aircraft on the very first training run it was fairly good with the white background but poor with all the noise.

So I went on and spent some time training with even more photos and even added in the next RIB along in the build so there were 2 parts similar.

However now that you have a trained model that is improving when you take the images and your tagging them you will see at the top of the Tagging Dialog a slider for `Suggested Objects On` if you turn this on and give it a second or two it should find your object and bounding box it with a big blue `Confirm Suggested Objects` button to click. If this doesn’t work repeat the old way of selecting or drawing the bounding box until it has learned enough.

The advantage of using the suggested was is that you can creep the slider up and it’s a form of testing for the images and the Model as well, so you can see it improving over time.

When you have tags a lot more images and you are confident you have a good selection you can improve the trained model by giving it more resources and more time to learn. You do this by selecting `Advance Training` after clicking the Green train button, this will open the dialog some more and show you a slider where you can allocate the time you wish to train the model for and even have it send you an email when it’s done.

Final step

Now that we have a model that we have Trained, Tested and Iterated with to a point that we feel comfortable sending down to the Edge and using in Production we can go back to the Azure Portal and Percept Studio Page to finish things off.

The last Tab is for `Evaluate and Deploy` and it’s here that we send the model to the device so that it can be used without the connection to Azure, yes that’s right it can work away at the Edge even with a slow or non-existent connection.

Just select the Device and the Iteration of the Trained model you wish to use and then tap `Deploy` once that is done you can open the Web stream to the device and you will notice that there will be a message for a minute or two on the first load where it shows `Loading Model` after this it will show live tagged images when you hold the parts in front of the camera.

Results

You will see that when I am holding a Part in front of the Percept camera it is correctly identifying the part and the last 3 digits are it’s confidence that it’s found the correct part and as you can see with just 35 and 58 images of the two parts I trained it’s already very impressive, but for production you would want more images in different lighting levels etc.

Conclusion

Building this blog and training the models took a few hours but most of that was off doing something else while the training system worked away, if I’m honest I probably only spent maybe an hour actually working on it and have some very impressive results.

Also now you have a trained model it’s not restricted to the Percept devices, you can download the model and use it elsewhere like maybe a Xamarin/MAUI app on a mobile device so that engineers out in the field can have the Parts Checker with them the uses become endless. If you want to read more about this there is a fantastic guest Blog Post by Daniel Hindrikes and Jayme Singleton that’s well worth a look.

I do hope you enjoyed this long walk through all the set-ups to using the Percept Vision system and enjoy playing with you Vision Models, if you have any questions just reach out on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Happy Coding, I’m off back to building the Sling.

Cliff.

[Amplifying Black Voices] Lifting as you climb: The Art of Evolution

by Contributed | Jul 7, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Every day when I wake up, I feel gratitude because I am able to lift as I climb and inspire others. Growing up in the small rural community of Georgetown, South Carolina I learned that nothing in life comes easy and to get things done, hard work, integrity, and focus would be critical. I knew leaving my hometown to attend North Carolina A&T State University was the biggest opportunity for me to change the narrative for not only myself, but for my family. If not me, then who? This was my chance to show the world who I am and what I could be capable of.

While attending North Carolina A&T, a Historically Black College & University (HBCU), I was fortunate to be actively involved in student life and leadership starting my freshman and sophomore year. I was the official student ambassador, elected as the 8th Mister North Carolina A&T, representing over 11,000 students my senior year. During this year, I had the opportunity to meet with President Barack Obama and lead a community forum with Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. My HBCU equipped and exposed me to opportunities that prepared me for the real world and for my upcoming journey at Microsoft.

Leading up to graduation, I knew how important the next few months of my life would be. It seemed like every upcoming decision had major implications on how my career would begin. As I evaluated my potential employment opportunities, I started to look at the details of what mattered the most to me in terms of career and personal development.

Career: I knew I wanted to work for a company whose mission truly stuck with me, created a culture of diversity and inclusion, and would provide me with the support to make an impact outside of my day to day work.

Personal Development: I knew I wanted to be in an environment where I could continue to add to my skill set, learn from those around me and build my network to help mold me into a more valuable asset.

With these things in mind, I took my experiences and perspective to Microsoft. Empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. There was just something different about Microsoft’s mission statement that motivated me from the day I accepted my offer, this is where I belonged.

As a first-generation college graduate, earning a B.S. in Industrial & Systems Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University, and working at one of the top tech companies in the world for the past four years is the biggest and most significant accomplishment for me and my family.

I started my career the summer of 2017 with Microsoft as a Channel Operations Manager fresh out of college. I remember my first year at Microsoft supporting the Xbox One X launch. The feeling of being a part of something bigger than myself was gratifying and fulfilling. Working tirelessly with my team through tough challenges to release the final product was exhilarating and allowed me to work on a project that had global impact.

I always hoped that one day I would be able to break generational curses and pave the way to create opportunities for others behind me. I live by the motto “tough times never last, tough people do.” Despite your circumstances, with hard work and determination, you can achieve the impossible and exceed expectations. I feel the weight of the world everyday as a young Black male, but I have learned to always focus on the positive and persevere. I’m living proof that is possible to come from an under resourced and under privileged community and reach new heights.

Currently, I am in my 2^nd role as a Strategic Sourcing Manager II in Microsoft Devices supporting all hardware products.

Let’s lift each other up as we climb and realize our impact.

What’s new for admins in Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise – June 2021

by Contributed | Jul 7, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

We’ve rounded up the latest and greatest news on Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise and we’re excited to share it all with you! In this month’s blog, we discuss the General Availability (GA) of the new Inventory for Microsoft 365 Apps admin center, a new customer story from Microsoft partner and customer Avanade, the availability of a new Microsoft 365 licensing option, tricks and tips for onboarding devices in the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center, our latest Microsoft 365 Apps AMA session, and new Office Deployment Insider videos to help you get the most out of Microsoft 365 Apps capabilities.

General Availability of Inventory on Microsoft 365 Apps admin center

In a recent announcement, we shared the General Availability release of a new experience designed to provide IT admins with instant answers regarding the status of their organization’s Microsoft 365 Apps in the enterprise environment. With the new Inventory on Microsoft 365 Apps admin center, IT pros can quickly identify potential issues, determine how many devices are running the latest security updates, and more. Check out this blog written by one of the Microsoft 365 Apps Rangers, Martin Nothnagel, to learn all about the new capabilities!

Microsoft Customer Story: Avanade

Avanade, Microsoft Global Alliance SI Partner of the Year, recently shared a story of how shifting their Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise to the Monthly Enterprise channel is helping to keep employees up to date with every new feature that Microsoft releases and reducing help desk tickets for IT. Additionally, as an innovator in the Microsoft ecosystem, Avanade keeps their employees up-to-date with the latest features, which helps them build confidence and trust with their own customers as they modernize their IT environments to ensure remote and hybrid workers have the latest features to be productive. To learn more, read the full Avanade customer story here.

Microsoft 365 E3: Unattended License option availability

We’re excited to announce the availability of the Microsoft 365 E3: Unattended License! As a new license option for Office apps, the Unattended License allows the usage of Office apps with service accounts or other non-user accounts, which is common for automation process execution and can operate unattended.  IT admins deploying new or existing solutions that use this unattended license can choose to update Office apps via the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel or Monthly Enterprise Channel. Check out this blog to learn more about enabling automation for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise.

Tips and tricks for onboarding devices to the new Microsoft 365 Apps admin center

In this blog, the Microsoft 365 Apps Rangers share troubleshooting tips and tricks for what to do when devices don’t appear in the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center after the new Inventory feature has been enabled. They cover root causes as well as steps to take to help identify and resolve the issue. You asked, we answered!

Microsoft 365 Apps AMA featuring the Office Rangers

We had some great questions during our latest Microsoft 365 Apps AMA session, such as which Microsoft 365 subscriptions include Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise and the Teams Live Events feature for Microsoft Teams, when Outlook Spaces may be released via General Availability, and how to manage updates via update channels in Microsoft 365 Apps.

New videos on the Office Deployment Insider YouTube channel

Amesh Mansukhani, Principal Marketing Manager, is excited to introduce two new videos to the Office Deployment Insider YouTube channel where he gives in-depth, expert advice on the latest Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise features. Check them out below!

Introducing the new Monthly Enterprise Servicing Profile! In this video you will learn more on how Microsoft is developing a new way to use automation to service your Microsoft 365 Apps with insights and control Amesh as he introduces innovative tips, tricks, and insider best practices to make the most of your device updates.

Interested in using the newly available Servicing Profile in the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center, but don’t know how to get started? Join Amesh as he shares step-by-step guides to streamline the setup process, including tips and tricks to building a servicing profile that works for you.

Continue the conversation by joining us in the Microsoft 365 Tech Community! Whether you have product questions or just want to stay informed with the latest updates on new releases, tools, and blogs, Microsoft 365 Tech Community is your go-to resource to stay connected!

What’s new in Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise – June 2021

by Contributed | Jul 7, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

We’ve rounded up the latest and greatest news on Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise and we’re excited to share it all with you! In this month’s blog, we discuss the General Availability (GA) of the new Inventory for Microsoft 365 Apps admin center, a new customer story from Microsoft partner and customer Avanade, the availability of a new Microsoft 365 licensing option, tricks and tips for onboarding devices in the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center, our latest Microsoft 365 Apps AMA session, and new Office Deployment Insider videos to help you get the most out of Microsoft 365 Apps capabilities.

General Availability of Inventory on Microsoft 365 Apps admin center

In a recent announcement, we shared the General Availability release of a new experience designed to provide IT admins with instant answers regarding the status of their organization’s Microsoft 365 Apps in the enterprise environment. With the new Inventory on Microsoft 365 Apps admin center, IT pros can quickly identify potential issues, determine how many devices are running the latest security updates, and more. Check out this blog written by one of the Microsoft 365 Apps Rangers, Martin Nothnagel, to learn all about the new capabilities!

Microsoft Customer Story: Avanade

Avanade, Microsoft Global Alliance SI Partner of the Year, recently shared a story of how shifting their Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise to the Monthly Enterprise channel is helping to keep employees up to date with every new feature that Microsoft releases and reducing help desk tickets for IT. Additionally, as an innovator in the Microsoft ecosystem, Avanade keeps their employees up-to-date with the latest features, which helps them build confidence and trust with their own customers as they modernize their IT environments to ensure remote and hybrid workers have the latest features to be productive. To learn more, read the full Avanade customer story here.

Microsoft 365 E3: Unattended License option availability

We’re excited to announce the availability of the Microsoft 365 E3: Unattended License! As a new license option for Office apps, the Unattended License allows the usage of Office apps with service accounts or other non-user accounts, which is common for automation process execution and can operate unattended.  IT admins deploying new or existing solutions that use this unattended license can choose to update Office apps via the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel or Monthly Enterprise Channel. Check out this blog to learn more about enabling automation for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise.

Tips and tricks for onboarding devices to the new Microsoft 365 Apps admin center

In this blog, the Microsoft 365 Apps Rangers share troubleshooting tips and tricks for what to do when devices don’t appear in the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center after the new Inventory feature has been enabled. They cover root causes as well as steps to take to help identify and resolve the issue. You asked, we answered!

Microsoft 365 Apps AMA featuring the Office Rangers

We had some great questions during our latest Microsoft 365 Apps AMA session, such as which Microsoft 365 subscriptions include Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise and the Teams Live Events feature for Microsoft Teams, when Outlook Spaces may be released via General Availability, and how to manage updates via update channels in Microsoft 365 Apps.

New videos on the Office Deployment Insider YouTube channel

Amesh Mansukhani, Principal Marketing Manager, is excited to introduce two new videos to the Office Deployment Insider YouTube channel where he gives in-depth, expert advice on the latest Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise features. Check them out below!

Introducing the new Monthly Enterprise Servicing Profile! In this video you will learn more on how Microsoft is developing a new way to use automation to service your Microsoft 365 Apps with insights and control Amesh as he introduces innovative tips, tricks, and insider best practices to make the most of your device updates.

Interested in using the newly available Servicing Profile in the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center, but don’t know how to get started? Join Amesh as he shares step-by-step guides to streamline the setup process, including tips and tricks to building a servicing profile that works for you.

Continue the conversation by joining us in the Microsoft 365 Tech Community! Whether you have product questions or just want to stay informed with the latest updates on new releases, tools, and blogs, Microsoft 365 Tech Community is your go-to resource to stay connected!

Azure Percept Over-the-Air updates

by Contributed | Jul 7, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Why Update?

In the last Blog Post we looked at the unboxing and first setup of the Azure Percept system and got our very first AI model running. However out of the box my Percept DK showed that it was running an outdated version of the OS Software. This blog explains how you can check your device and then if needed set-up its device twin to automate the updating of your Azure Percept system(s).

The idea behind using Azure IoT Hub and device twins is so that we can automate the updates and carry them out remotely. After all the Azure Percept DK is designed to be an Edge device so you don’t want to have to schlep to the outer edges of your system/installation to plug in a USB cable now do you? No, we all know sitting at your warm comfy desk with a Cup<T> in hand is much nicer.

First Let’s Check if your device needs an Update!

Open you Azure Percept Studio in the Azure Portal and select devices on the left pane and then select your Azure Percept Device.

Now that you have your device selected you can check the `SW Version` and if you have the `Updates Available` icon and text next to it you can carry out an Update. Clicking the link will take you out to the Docs.Microsoft.Com page that explains how to carry out an update.

Of course you can follow the docs or continue with this blog as I have screen shots. ;) Also there are a few little Gotcha’s along the way and I point those out.

What version of the Update Do you Need?

There are 2 ways to check this the easiest as you are already there is to look at the `Model` just above the `Updates Available` link so in my case `APDK-101`

Or you can check the device’s twin, which is nice as you can see all the details about your device that it is reporting back to IoT Hub. To do this click the `Open Device in IoT Hub` at the top of the blade.

Click the Device Twin link at the top to open the Device Twin for this device.

Under the `Properties -> Reported -> Model` you can see the model of your device and also the SWVersion that is currently loaded onto the device.

Which version of the Software do we need?

Now that we know the version that is loaded onto our device and what version of the device we have on our system we can look to download the correct update file. Head out to the documentation page and scroll down until you see the list of available updates. In the left column find the model that matches your device model you found earlier and then from the download links column you need to download 2 files. The first is the OTA Manifest and the second is the OTA Update Package. You don’t need the USB version as we are using the Over The Air updates.

You can do USB updates but doing via OTA means that it's easier to update later as well...

Setup the Device Updates

Back on the IoT Hub for our devices on the left pane scroll down to the `Automatic Device Management` section and open the `Device Updates` blade.

The OTA Update Docs Page was a little wrong at the time I went through it myself as it said `Select the Updates` tab but first you need to sign up for the updates to work. Instead head to the Getting started tab and click the `Sign up for Device Update for IoT Hub` button.

It will ask you to create an account with a Resource Group etc but it’s all free (Well at the time of writing it is anyway…) the important parts here are that the ‘Location’ only has (At time of writing!) 3 global locations but more will be coming soon and also make sure you click the `Assign Device Update Administrator Role` as you will need this role later in the process. Remember to click the review and create at the bottom.

Go to the New Resource you created for your Device Update IoT Hub and go into the `Instances Blade` and then click `Create` at the top

When creating the instance give it a meaningful name and then from the drop down select the IoT Hub that you created earlier for your Percept device. So in my case the one I created was CAS-Percept-IOTHub, obviously don’t forget to click create at the bottom. This will then link the new Device Updates instance to the IoT Hub that has all your devices.

This process can take a while it was over 5 minutes for me (I had time to go make an IoTEA) but let it whirl away and eventually you will see the new instance appear in the list, however it may say under the `Provisioning State` `Accepted` and if you click refresh it may say `Creating` this means it’s still working so give it a bit longer. What you are looking for after clicking refresh is this state to say `Succeeded`.

Configure the IoT Hub

Now this bit had me for a moment as it’s not very well explained you need to select the new instance but not go into it instead tick the checkbox on the left of the Instance Name and then click `Configure IoT Hub` so that we can set-up the instance.

You will notice that when the blade opens the info box at the top changes a few times as things update, you need to check your happy with the details and then check the `I Agree to make these changes` and click Update at the bottom.

If you are using a Free tier of Azure IoT Hub, the allowed number of message routes are limited to 5. Device Update for IoT Hub needs to configure 4 message routes to work as expected.

Update Security

We have now created our Update Account as well as an Update Instance but we now need to do the security part by giving it the access control it needs. So on the left near the top of the screen select the `Access Control (IAM)` blade and then `Role Assignments`

Now click `Add` at the top of the pane and then from the drop down `Add Role Assignment` and in the new blade that appears you need to give a role, now the docs suggest it can be any of the following:

 Device Update Administrator
    Device Update Reader
    Device Update Content Administrator
    Device Update Content Reader
    Device Update Deployments Administrator
    Device Update Deployments Reader

And I will leave you to pick one but remember with Security its always best to assign the least privileges needed to achieve the task and no more. This means if the account is compromised the damage is limited. For me I selected the last option as it’s the most limiting and allows Read access only.

Now you need to assign this access to a User or Azure AD Group and in my case as this is a Demo Set-up I have assigned to myself, click save and hey presto you are now ready

Back to Device Updates and the Docs!

So now we have the Device Updates part set-up we can return to the IoT Hub and actually complete the device Update. This time when we go into the Device Updates blade we will not be presented with the `Getting started` pane this is all set-up and completed so we can now go to the `Updates` tab and click the `Import a new Update`

Remember the files we downloaded earlier now is the time we can use them so in the ‘Import a new update’ blade select the files in the appropriate boxes for Manifest and Update Files. We also need to create a Container that will hold these files within Azure so that the devices can download them so click the Storage Container as well to create a new one.

Click the ‘+ Storage Account’ at the top to create a new storage account and give it a meaningful name. I changed the ‘Account Kind’ to StroageV2 as well and set the location to the same region as my IoT Hub so it was all together, don’t forget to click Ok at the bottom for it to create.

You will when it’s created be taken back to the list of you storage accounts so select the one you just created from the list, and now you need to add a container to actually hold the files within the Storage Account.

Once it’s created and you are shown the list of containers in the new Storage Account you can select it and click select at the bottom of the page. Now you are returned to the `Import a new update` blade where you can now click the `Import Update` button at the bottom of the page.

You may be asked to add a Cross Origin Request (CORS) rule to access the selected storage container. Select Add rule and retry to proceed.

This Import again takes a good 3-5 minutes so that cup of tea might be empty so go stretch your legs and make a new one, it’s OK I’ll wait here for you…

You will know when it’s done as the Status will show `Succeeded` you will need to click the `Refresh` button a few times and then you can go into the `Ready to deploy` to check it’s there and ready.

Create an Update Group

Now it’s not at first obvious as you may like me only have one device in front of you but the Azure setup is designed for you to have 10’s if not 100’s of devices that need updating and hence the OTA system. This means that you may want to create groups so that you can update a specific set of devices within your infrastructure maybe for testing or failover protection etc if the Update fails for example.

It’s the creation of the Update groups that is next so lets get started…

Head over to your IoT Hub and select the `IoT Edge` blade and then your device (Yes you have to do it one by one here for the moment!) and then at the top of the next pane select the `Device Twin`

Adding a Device Twin Tag

Now you should be able to see your Device Twin list and you will need to add in a new Document Tag and you can read more about thoseHere

Tags - A section of the JSON document that the solution backend can read from and write to. Tags are not visible to device apps.

NOTE - The `tags` NEEDS to be lowercase for this to work...

You will need to add into this Property a key of `ADUGroup` and for the value the name you want to call your group so in my example it’s `CAS-Percept-Group-1` and as always don’t forget to click the save button at the top. I have done it more than once and wondered why it’s not working and it’s down to me not clicking save again…

Now we have the Device Twin Tags set we can go back to the `Device Updates` blade in the IoTHub and this time select the `Groups` tag at the top. This time you will see that you will have a device against the `Not Yet Grouped` showing that the Device Twin has been picked up by the system and your device is awaiting a group assignment. Click the `Add` Button so that we can add a group assignment.

On the new page drop down your list and you will see the Group Name you used in the Device Twin and this shows the power of the Twins system as you can add these Twin Tags when you enrol the devices using a service like DPS (Device Provisioning Service) and if the Group has already been created the device will add itself to that group ready for a group update when needed. Again don’t forget the `Create Group` button at the bottom of the page.

Deploying the Update

After creating the Group you will be returned to the Groups page and it will show that the device has been Assigned the group and also if the Update package you uploaded previously is newer that the package on the device it will show that there is an Update Available.

If you click the `Available Updates` link for the group it will take you through to the `Deployments page` so that you can deploy the Update. On this page you can either use the `Deploy Now` or schedule a deployment for a date and time of your choosing, maybe an overnight update so that production isn’t affected for example. Click the `Create Deployment` at the bottom of the page and your taken back to the Groups Pane after the Deployment has been created.

Monitoring the Deployment

It seems anti-climatic that the deployment has been created and it’s scheduled but has it happened, what’s happening how can you monitor it? Well if you click the `Deployments` tab at the top of the Pane you can then click your new listed deployment (It’s not obvious your supposed to click it…) and you will be shown a new pane with the details of the deployment for you to monitor. Here you can see that there is 1 in progress and once it’s complete it will show if it Succeeded or failed etc. It takes a while for the Update to actually happen as it needs to not only send the files to the device but the files are loaded besides the currently running OS and then it needs to switch them so now you have reached this point go and celebrate with a nice cup of IoTea and maybe that Chocolate biscuit you was saving.

Conclusion

This has been a long post much longer than the Docs but I like to show screenshots of what the pages look like and I hope you have seen that I pointed out some of the little gotchas along the way as well. Personally I think being able to use the OTA system to update devices through Azure IoT Hub is a game changer as no longer will a company need to dispatch a tech to a remote far off part of the system with a laptop to load the latest version of firmware from the Dev team it can be done by the team from the Office and instead take advantage of an already established secure connection of the device with the Cloud through Azure IoT Hub.

Maybe at some point someone will write an Azure Pipeline Deployment target so that the uploading of the Packages can be automated as well, now wouldn’t that be good?

I hope this has helped and if you have any questions you can comment here, or reach to me on Twitter or LinkedIn or obviously reach out to the Microsoft IoT team as they would love to hear your ideas and feedback.

Happy Coding

Cliff.

Optimize Windows PC protection and performance with intelligent insights

by Contributed | Jul 7, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Today there are more than 1.3 billion active monthly devices on Windows 10. To keep these devices updated with feature and quality updates at such scale, we apply machine learning using diagnostic data to generate insights into how an update deployment is going. These insights help us better understand the dependencies between different components in the diverse ecosystem of Windows devices and applications, and help us maintain our focus on compatibility, one of our top priorities for updating Windows devices.

Our goal is to keep all Windows devices running smoothly and without interruption. To support you as you configure and manage updates across your organization, we provide several services that bring our machine learning insights to you. Using these insights, Desktop Analytics, Update Compliance, Microsoft Managed Desktop, and the Windows Update for Business deployment service can help you better plan, prepare, and deploy updates across your organization. By knowing which devices to update first and having access to details on why some devices may or should get updates later, these services can help you efficiently keep devices up to date across your PC estate. They can also help ensure that your end users stay performant and protected.

We recognize many organizations have more complex needs and regulatory requirements when it comes to making sure that Windows devices are kept secure and reliable with the latest updates. The services listed above are now powered by Windows diagnostic data collected from devices using the Windows diagnostic data processor configuration. Now generally available, the Windows diagnostic data processor configuration further empowers you to manage your organization’s diagnostic data. It provides you familiar tools to support data subject rights, including managing, exporting, or deleting data stored securely in your Azure tenant. It also lets you benefit from our technology without compromise. To learn more, please see our guide for IT and privacy professionals and get started with configuring Windows diagnostic data in your organization.

Azure Percept Audio – Custom Keywords and Commands

by Contributed | Jul 7, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

In the latest in my series of blog posts on the Azure Percept Developer Kit and specifically around the Audio System on a Module (SoM), we look at how we can create and use Custom Keywords and Commands with the Audio SoM.

Previously

In the previous post – Azure Percept Audio – First Steps – We got started with the Azure Percept Audio System on a Module (SoM).

We deployed a sample Hospitality application and saw how we could issue commands to the Percept DK, how it would respond, and how the Sample Application would simulate the effects of the commands on screen.

In this post we’ll take the sample further by training our own Custom keyword and creating a Custom Command.

Custom Keywords

For the Azure Percept Audio, a Keyword is the word that the Percept DK“listens” for in order to begin listening for commands. Sometimes referred to as a “Wake-Word”, this word defaults to “Computer” in the Hospitality Sample.

We have access to some pre-trained keywords deployed along with the sample, allowing us to choose from;

Assistant

Abigail

Computer

Jayden

Which we can set by pressing the “change” link next to the “Custom Keyword” item below the toolbar area;

Hitting the Custom Keyword Change Link shows us the “Change custom keyword” flyout with the various options available to choose from.

Selecting another custom keyword and pressing the “Save” button at the bottom of the dialog will update the Percept DK, and we can then wake the device with the new Keyword.

Interestingly, I found that using the alternative keywords of Assistant and Abigail, allowed the Percept DK to wake faster than with the default of “Computer”, I’m not sure why this is to be fair, but it’s possibly due to the number of syllables in the word maybe?

Training our own Custom Keywords

In case none of the built in Wake Words are suitable, we can also train our own custom keywords to wake the device. We can do this directly from the Sample Application, allowing us to use a word of our own choosing;