Meet AWS Kinesis

AWS,

Kinesis

In an earlier AWS post here at the blog – I reviewed the core services of AWS with you. This post hits one of the “strays”. While we do not consider Kinesis a core service, it is one you can expect to see pop its head up in the various AWS Certifications.

If the service is brought up generically – it references the AWS capability of collecting, processing, and analyzing video and data streams in real time. But in your exam environment, there is a very good chance they are going to be more precise and granular with the exact variation of Kinesis you must identify. Here they are:

  • Amazon Kinesis Video Streams – your cameras can stream video securely to AWS Kinesis using the appropriate Kinesis SDK. AWS then stores, encrypts and indexes the video for your eventual analysis. A Kinesis API permits the easy retrieval of video fragments you might need.

  • Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose – allows the acceptance of data streams (at a high rate). Kinesis then stores the data in S3 or Redshift or another AWS storage vehicle. The data can then be accessed for analysis directly from AWS.

  • Amazon Kinesis Data Streams – takes in and stores data streams for your business analysis tools.

  • Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics – you capture the data using Data Firehouse or Data Streams. AWS then runs standard SQL against the data and sends the results to your business analytics tools.

What are the benefits of Amazon Kinesis? First of all – speed! Data analysis can be performed in nearly real-time from the including streams. Second, AWS handles the complex text of stream management applications for you. Finally, AWS provides a fully scalable solution, permitting even hundreds of thousands of simultaneous sources.

So there you have it! While you will not face many Kinesis questions in your AWS exams, you will certainly face some! Thank you for reading.
Pearson Education (InformIT)

70-742 Additional Notes – On-Prem AD Integration with Azure

Microsoft Windows Server, ,

Azure

Want to integrate your on-prem Active Directory with Azure? Azure AD Connect makes this simple. Azure AD Connect is the answer (for now!) The techniques for doing this have changed many times over the years – this document provides the options and comparisons for you:

AD to Azure Integration Options

This connectivity provides the following:

  • Users can use a single identity to access on-premises applications and cloud services such as Office 365
  • Single tool to provide an easy deployment experience for synchronization and sign-in
  • Provides the newest capabilities for your scenarios; Azure AD Connect replaces older versions of identity integration tools such as DirSync and Azure AD Sync; see the link above

Azure AD Connect consists of the following three components:

  • Synchronization – this component is responsible for creating users, groups, and other objects; it is also responsible for making sure identity information for your on-premises users and groups is matching the cloud
  • AD FS – federation is an optional part of Azure AD Connect and can be used to configure a hybrid environment using an on-premises AD FS infrastructure; this can be used by organizations to address complex deployments, such as domain join SSO, enforcement of AD sign-in policy, and smart card or 3rd party MFA
  • Health Monitoring – Azure AD Connect Health can provide robust monitoring and provide a central location in the Azure portal to view this activity

Before installing this feature, you need to go through these hardware and software requirements carefully in order to ensure success. Note that there is an Express Setup option and this is only going to work if you have met all of these prerequisites. Note also that AD Federation Services in your on-prem is not necessarily a requirement.

Installation Requirements

Finally, here is a link to the Express Settings step-by-step:

Express Settings