Azure Update - 3rd October 2025

Azure Update - October 3rd

Key Concepts:

Azure Retirements (Functions, AVS, VMs, Service Connector, AKS Network Policy)
Azure Compute Gallery Soft Delete
Azure Traffic Manager IP Address Update
Blobfuse v2 Migration
Azure SQL Database Immutable Long-Term Retention
SQL on Fabric Support in VS Code
Azure Resource Manager Enhanced Metrics (Traffic, Latency)
Azure Machine Learning Data Labeling Deprecation
Microsoft Agent Framework (AutoGen, Semantic Kernel)
Grock 4 in AI Foundaries (Context Length, Tool Use, Reasoning, Content Safety)
Anthropic Claude 4.5 in GitHub Copilot
Sentinel Data Lake GA (Cost Reduction, KQL, ML, Graph, MCP Server, Security Store)

Compute

Azure Functions Linux Consumption Hosting Plan Retirement: The Linux consumption hosting plan for Azure Functions will be retired in 3 years. Users should migrate to the Flex Consumption plan, which offers improved scaling, networking, and control options.
Azure VMware Solution (AVS) AV36 Node Retirement: AV36 nodes are being retired in 3 years. Users must migrate to a newer node type before the retirement date.
NV4 VM Retirement: NV4 VMs, GPU-enabled SKUs for visualization, will be retired in one year. Users should migrate to newer SKUs like the V5 series. This was mentioned in the previous week's update as well.
Azure Container Apps Service Connector Retirement: The Azure Container Apps service connector will be retired at the end of March 2026. This only impacts users utilizing the SDK, Azure CLI, or other programmatic methods. Portal users are unaffected. There is no built-in replacement service at this time.
Azure Compute Gallery Soft Delete (Preview): A soft delete capability is now available in preview for the Azure Compute Gallery. This feature provides a 7-day grace period for recovering accidentally deleted images. It applies to private, direct shared, and community galleries and is offered at no additional cost.
AKS Network Policy Manager Retirement: The AKS network policy manager for Linux nodes is being retired. Users should migrate to the psyllium network policy capability.

Networking

Azure Traffic Manager Infrastructure Update: Azure Traffic Manager has undergone an infrastructure update to improve scalability and reliability. This update involves new IP addresses for health checks. Users who rely on the Azure Traffic Manager service tag in Azure Firewalls are unaffected. However, those who directly reference IP addresses must consult the updated IP list in the documentation.

Storage

Blobfuse v1 Retirement: Blobfuse v1 will be retired in one year. Users should migrate to v2. Blobfuse allows mounting blob containers or Data Lake Storage Gen2 file systems as virtual file systems on Linux, enabling interaction as if they were local files. The v2 version is where all future investment is focused.

Database

Azure SQL Database Long-Term Retention Immutability (Preview): Azure SQL Database long-term retention now offers an immutability capability in preview. This feature protects backups from malicious deletion by implementing a "write once, read many" (WORM) model. Attackers cannot remove backups before their defined retention period or legal hold. There is no additional cost for this feature.
Microsoft SQL Extension in VS Code Support for SQL on Fabric: The Microsoft SQL extension in VS Code now supports SQL on Fabric, enabling seamless interaction with SQL on Fabric instances, including Entra ID-based authentication (single sign-on).

Azure Resource Manager

Enhanced Metrics: Enhanced metrics are available for Azure Resource Manager in the portal, REST APIs, and SDKs. These metrics include traffic and latency data related to control plane interactions. Users can split these metrics by resource provider, resource type, region, method type, and operation type for detailed analysis.

AI + Machine Learning

Azure Machine Learning Data Labeling Deprecation: Azure Machine Learning data labeling is being deprecated. Users will need to migrate to a third-party provider, as there is no native replacement.
Microsoft Agent Framework (Preview): The Microsoft Agent Framework, built on AutoGen and Semantic Kernel, is now available in preview. It provides a unified framework for creating agents, including support for multi-agent patterns and integration with any API via OpenAPI.
Grock 4 in AI Foundaries: Grock 4 is now available in AI Foundaries. Key features include:
- 128,000 token context window.
- Native tool use abilities.
- First principles reasoning: Breaks down problems step-by-step, mimicking a scientist or detective.
- Azure AI Content Safety: Built-in safeguards across prompts and deployments.
- Global standard deployment type only.
- Builds on existing Grock for fast reasoning and non-reasoning models.
Anthropic Claude 4.5 in GitHub Copilot: Anthropic Claude 4.5 is now available in GitHub Copilot Pro, Plus, Business, and Enterprise SKUs, offering an alternative model for coding assistance.

Security

Sentinel Data Lake GA: The Sentinel Data Lake is now generally available (GA). This feature reduces the cost barrier for ingesting security signals into Sentinel by billing based on compressed data size, resulting in an estimated 6x cost reduction. It supports up to 12 years of storage and full KQL querying, including machine learning functions and Python-based analytics via Jupyter notebooks. The analytics tier is still used for advanced hunting, alerting, and incident management.
Microsoft Sentinel Graph (Preview): The Microsoft Sentinel Graph is in preview for Defender and Purview, facilitating the connection of dots between elements of an attack.
MCP Server (Preview): An MCP server is in preview, enabling AI applications to easily interact with Sentinel and retrieve security information using the MCP protocol.
Microsoft Security Store: The Microsoft Security Store is now available, providing a platform to easily find and purchase security solutions from Microsoft partners.

Conclusion

This Azure update covers a range of important changes, including retirements of older services and features, enhancements to existing services like Azure SQL Database and Azure Resource Manager, and new capabilities in AI and security with the introduction of Grock 4, the Microsoft Agent Framework, and the Sentinel Data Lake. Users should carefully review the retirement notices and plan migrations accordingly. The new features and enhancements offer opportunities to improve performance, security, and cost efficiency.