Simulating Azure event hubs functionality end to end with Azure Data Explorer and generate data feature

To evaluate Azure Event Hubs functionality, typically we need to develop an application for data ingestion and another for data consumption

In my previous blog post, I outlined the process of discovering ingested data in Event Hubs using Azure Data Explorer. In this article, I will demonstrate how to ingest data into Event Hubs without writing a single line of code.

Our first step is to navigate to the Event Hubs instance and access the Generate data (preview) feature.

Multiple options are provided to ingest payload either from pre-canned datasets or custom payloads based on a given schema.

Once you click on the send button, the data will be ingested to our even hub instance.

Then, you can easily discover this data in your pre-configured Azure Data Explorer. I have detailed the steps involved in configuring Azure Data Explorer in my previous blog post.

This approach allows you to explore the functionality of Event Hubs without writing any code!

Visualizing ingested events in Azure Event Hub with Azure Data Explorer

In modern cloud-based solutions, event-driven architectures are very common. Microsoft Azure facilitates event processing through Azure Event Hubs, offering essential building blocks to implement scalable solutions capable of processing large volumes of events and data with low latency and high reliability.

Debugging or testing event-based solutions can be challenging due to the nature of their architecture. It requires implementing ingesting applications and consumers to verify the functionality of event-based solutions.

In this article, I will demonstrate how to leverage Azure Data Explorer to visualize ingested data without any delay. With this solution, there is no need to create any custom solutions to view the contents of our Event Hub instance.

First, we need to create our Azure Data Explorer cluster.

Next, we will create a database in Data Explorer.

To connect Data Explorer with Event Hubs, let's enable a managed account at the Data Explorer instance.

After enabling the managed account at the Data Explorer instance, we need to assign the required permissions to the Event Hub.

Now, let's configure Data Explorer for our Event Hub. Navigate to the Event Hub and select the "Analyze data" option.

Let's link our Data Explorer instance

Now that our configuration is complete, let's ingest some data and explore it in Data Explorer.

To explore our data, navigate to Data Explorer and go to the Query section. Then, select the table and run your query to explore the ingested data.

Ensure Azure resource compliance for critical workloads with Azure Security Center Policies

Security and compliance are paramount in a zero-trust cloud environment. Azure policy is one key control Azure employs to achieve zero-trust.

Azure Security Center monitors your resources against a set of policy initiatives, defined according to the Microsoft Cloud Security Benchmark.

By default, those policy initiatives are named ASC Default.

When navigating through a specific Azure Policy initiative, you can review the current compliance status.

We need to prioritize certain critical workloads, such as safeguarding sensitive information stored in an Azure SQL instance.

To check the compliance of a specific resource, such as our Azure SQL instance, there are various methods available. However, in this article, I'll focus on how to do it directly within Azure Policy.

Within the initiative compliance screen, you can easily navigate to non-compliant resources by clicking on the "Non-compliant resources" tab.

In this section you can see all the resources those are not compliant against the Microsoft cloud security center benchmark.

You can specify the name of your resource or use filters to narrow your search.

Once you locate your resource, you can proceed to the resource compliance page to view which policies it is not compliant with.

This serves as an excellent starting point to secure your resources and enhance your cloud security posture.