8 min read
Synapse Serverless varchar(8000): Fixing Strings for Spark and Power BI
Why Synapse serverless SQL infers strings as varchar(8000), why Spark-created lake tables behave differently, and where Power BI string contracts belong.
Serverless
57 articles
1 min read
Azure Container Apps: Serverless Deployment for AI Workloads
AI applications often have variable load patterns with periods of high demand followed by quiet periods. Container Apps scales to zero during idle times…
1 min read
Azure Functions with AI: Building Serverless AI Applications
Configure appropriate timeout settings for AI operations and implement retry logic for transient failures. Consider using premium plans for…
1 min read
Azure Functions with AI: Serverless Inference Patterns
Use consumption-based billing to pay only for actual inference time. Implement caching for repeated queries and batch similar requests to amortize cold…
1 min read
Real-Time AI Inference with Azure Container Apps: Dynamic Scaling Patterns
Use spot instances for non-critical workloads, implement request batching for throughput optimization, and configure appropriate scale-to-zero policies.…
1 min read
Serverless Ai: Building Modern AI Systems
Understanding serverless ai is essential for production AI systems. Here's what you need to know.
1 min read
Event-Driven AI: Building Reactive Intelligent Systems
Event-driven AI enables responsive, intelligent systems. Start with simple event handlers and evolve to complex orchestration as needed.
1 min read
Serverless Fine-Tuning in Azure AI: Customizing Models Without Infrastructure
Serverless fine-tuning removes the infrastructure barrier to custom model development. Start experimenting with your domain-specific use cases today.
1 min read
Serverless Model Serving: Pay-Per-Request ML Inference
Serverless model serving eliminates infrastructure management while providing cost-effective, scalable ML inference. This guide covers implementing…
3 min read
Step-by-Step Guide for Implementing a Serverless AI Solution Using Azure Functions and Azure Cognitive Services
A comprehensive guide to building serverless AI solutions using Azure Functions and Azure Cognitive Services.
1 min read
Jobs in Azure Container Apps: Event-Driven Batch Processing
Jobs in Container Apps provide flexible batch processing capabilities. Tomorrow, I will cover Dapr 1.11 updates.
1 min read
Azure Container Apps Updates: Serverless Containers at Scale
Container Apps provides a powerful, serverless container platform. Tomorrow, I will cover Jobs in Container Apps in more detail.
8 min read
Redis Caching Patterns in .NET 7 Isolated Azure Functions
Cache-aside, write-through, write-behind and refresh-ahead with Azure Cache for Redis in .NET 7 isolated Azure Functions, and when each one is the wrong choice.
1 min read
The Serverless Benefits Realized in 2022
The promise of serverless has largely been fulfilled: Pay only for what you use No server management Automatic scaling Faster time to market Most…
1 min read
Azure Container Apps for Production Workloads
Container Apps sits between App Service and AKS: Simpler than AKS : No cluster management, no node pools More flexible than App Service : Any container, any…
1 min read
Azure Functions with .NET 7: Isolated Worker Process Model
The isolated worker process model separates your function code from the Azure Functions host: Version independence : Use any .NET version, including .NET 7…
1 min read
Azure SQL Bindings for Azure Functions
Azure SQL bindings simplify serverless database applications significantly.
1 min read
Azure Functions Node.js 18: New Runtime Features
Create a new Function App with Node.js 18: Update your configuration: Azure Functions v4 introduces a new programming model: Use the built in fetch without…
1 min read
Azure Static Web Apps: New Features at Build 2022
Build 2022 brings several enhancements: Stable APIs using Azure Functions Enterprise edge support Improved authentication options Split environment…
1 min read
Azure Container Apps GA: Serverless Containers Made Simple
Unlike AKS where you manage the cluster, Container Apps abstracts away the infrastructure. You focus on your containers while Azure handles scaling, load…
1 min read
Synapse Serverless SQL Performance: Optimization Strategies
Serverless SQL charges based on data processed. Optimization reduces both cost and query time.
8 min read
Azure Container Apps Preview in Bicep: Revisions, Scaling and Dapr
A closer look at the Azure Container Apps preview API: how revisions, KEDA scale rules and per-app Dapr components behave, and where the preview falls short.
1 min read
The Serverless Evolution: Where We Landed in 2021
Serverless in 2021 proved it's not just for simple APIs. Complex, stateful, event-driven applications are running successfully in production. The technology…
1 min read
Azure Container Apps Preview: Serverless Containers Made Simple
Azure Container Apps provides a sweet spot between serverless functions and full Kubernetes - the power of containers without the operational complexity of…
1 min read
Azure Functions with .NET 6: In-Process and Isolated Worker Models
In-Process: Functions run in the same process as the Functions host Isolated Worker: Functions run in a separate worker process
2 min read
Azure Synapse Serverless SQL Pools for Big Data Analytics
Synapse Serverless SQL Pool is the query engine that turned Azure Data Lake into an ad-hoc analytics platform—you write T-SQL, point it at files in ADLS…
2 min read
Serverless Kubernetes with AKS Virtual Nodes
Virtual nodes in AKS enable pods to run on Azure Container Instances rather than on VM-based node pool nodes—useful for burst workloads that spike…
1 min read
Azure SQL Database Serverless: Auto-Scaling and Auto-Pause for Variable Workloads
Serverless is perfect for dev/test environments, infrequently used applications, and workloads with predictable quiet periods. For consistent…
1 min read
Scheduling Tasks with Azure Functions Timer Triggers
Create a scheduled function: Common CRON patterns: Implement patterns for tasks that may exceed timeout: Ensure single instance execution: Configure…
2 min read
Building Reliable Queue-Triggered Azure Functions
Queue-triggered Azure Functions are the pattern I recommend most often for decoupling work that doesn't need to happen synchronously. The model is simple…
2 min read
Azure Functions Premium Plan - When and Why
The Azure Functions Premium plan is the hosting option I reach for as soon as two of these three conditions are true: the function needs to connect to a…
1 min read
Consumption vs Premium Azure Functions - Making the Right Choice
Feature Consumption Premium Scaling 0 to 200 instances 1 to 100 instances Cold starts Yes No (pre warmed) Max timeout 10 min (default 5) 60 min (default 30)…
1 min read
Azure Container Apps Concepts and Architecture
Azure Container Apps combines the simplicity of serverless with the power of containers. With built in Dapr integration, KEDA scaling, and revision…
2 min read
Azure Durable Entities - Stateful Actors in Serverless
Durable Entities are addressable units of state that process operations one at a time. Think of them as lightweight actors - each entity has a unique…
1 min read
Azure Durable Functions Orchestration Patterns
The magic happens through the Durable Task Framework, which handles state persistence, checkpointing, and replay automatically.
2 min read
Azure Cosmos DB Serverless - Pay Per Request Database
We had a Cosmos DB Serverless conversation at the end of 2020 and I'm returning to it because the experience of using it in actual development over two…
2 min read
Azure Container Instances for Serverless Container Workloads
ACI is the container service I reach for when I need a container running in under two minutes and I don't want to explain what a node pool is. Per-second…
7 min read
Azure Static Web Apps Preview Auth: Roles, Invites and Limits
How auth really works in the Azure Static Web Apps preview: five managed providers, invitation-based roles, routes.json rules and hard limits.
8 min read
Azure Logic Apps Preview: What the Redesigned Runtime Changes
The new Logic App (Preview) resource runs workflows on the Azure Functions runtime: what changes, what's missing, and how I'd pilot it before GA.
7 min read
Cosmos DB Serverless vs Provisioned: Working Out the Break-Even
How to work out whether Azure Cosmos DB serverless (preview) beats 400 RU/s of provisioned throughput, with the break-even maths and a way to measure it.
6 min read
Azure Functions on .NET 5: A First Look at the Isolated Worker Preview
What the .NET 5 isolated worker preview for Azure Functions looks like in January 2021, what it costs you today, and when to stay on .NET Core 3.1.
1 min read
Azure Cosmos DB Serverless: Pay-Per-Request NoSQL
Cosmos DB Serverless: NoSQL without the commitment.
1 min read
Azure Functions Custom Handlers: Any Language
Functions has supported "any language" via the worker model for a while, but custom handlers are the cleaner option when your runtime isn't on the supported…
2 min read
Azure Logic Apps: Enterprise Integration Patterns
Logic Apps is the first thing I build in when a client says "we need to integrate with Salesforce, then push to SAP, then notify the team in Teams."…
1 min read
Azure Functions Dependency Injection: Clean Architecture
The first Azure Function project I shipped used static everything. Static config, static SQL helpers, static logger. It worked—until I tried to write a unit…
1 min read
Azure Functions Premium Plan: Enterprise Serverless
Cold starts on Consumption plan kill credibility. I've watched a perfectly good HTTP-triggered function get blamed for "the API being slow" because the…
1 min read
Azure Functions HTTP APIs: Building Serverless Backends
Static Web Apps with the integrated Functions backend is the deployment story I keep recommending for small SaaS dashboards and internal tools. Static…
1 min read
Azure Functions Input/Output Bindings: Declarative Data Access
Bindings let you focus on business logic, not plumbing.
1 min read
Azure Event Grid: Event-Driven Architecture Made Simple
Event Grid enables reactive, event-driven architectures at scale.
1 min read
Azure Durable Functions: Orchestration Patterns
Function chaining, fan-out/fan-in, human interaction, and eternal orchestrations — Durable Functions exposes a small set of patterns that cover most…
1 min read
Azure Synapse Serverless SQL (Preview): Query Your Data Lake
A second Synapse-preview note, on what I think is the genuinely new idea in the platform: serverless SQL. Point T-SQL at parquet, CSV, or JSON in your data…
1 min read
Azure Functions with Python: Getting Started
.NET on Functions is the default story Microsoft tells, but in practice the serverless workload that lands on my desk most often is a Python data scientist…
1 min read
Azure Container Instances: Serverless Containers
For "I need to run this container for an hour to crunch some data," ACI is the right answer roughly nine times out of ten. AKS is overkill, App Service for…
7 min read
Durable Entities as Inventory Counters: Signals, Calls and Limits
Using Durable Functions 2.x entities to hold per-SKU stock counts: when to signal and when to call, how reads work, and where an entity is the wrong tool.
7 min read
Durable Functions Orchestrators: Replay, Determinism and Compensation
How Durable Functions orchestrators replay from history, the determinism rules that follow, and how to build retries and compensation into a C# workflow.
8 min read
Azure Event Grid as Reactive Glue: Delivery, Retries and Dead-Letters
When to pick Event Grid over Service Bus or Event Hubs, and how to publish, handle, filter and dead-letter events so failed deliveries aren't silently lost.
7 min read
Azure Functions v3 on .NET Core 3.1: The Setup I Actually Use
A practical Azure Functions v3 and .NET Core 3.1 setup: pinned packages, dependency injection, Polly retries, deployment, and the plan limits that bite.