This Week I Learned - Week #243

This Week I Learned -

The second edition of The Developer’s Guide to Microsoft Azure is out now

* Azure SQLDB is already architected to have a primary instance and two secondary instances (replicas), all participating into synchronous database replication with quorum voting, zero data loss and automatic failover.

* Azure already has ZRS (Zone Replicated Storage), but is limited to block blob and does not fit in the actual AZ design and implementation. For this reason, it is going under redesign, and once available, will support page Blobs, Tables, Queues and Files.

* SQL Server 2012 is licensed per core, which is considered the equivalent to virtual cores in Azure virtual machine instances. The minimum number of cores that can be assigned to a virtual machine instance is four. This means that Extra Small (A0), Small (A1), Medium (A2), Large (A3) and A6 instances must all be assigned four SQL Server core licences. Extra Large (A4) and A7 instances would need to be assigned eight SQL Server core licences - Azure Licensing FAQ

* The Firefox web browser is looking to alert visitors whenever they visit a website that is known to have suffered a data breach. The in-browser warnings, which are currently being piloted, will rely on data provided by Have I Been Pwned? (HIBP), a website that tracks data breaches and tells users if their personal details have been exposed - ESET Blog

Self-promotion is a delicate art because if you overdo it, you come across as a braggart, and if you underplay, you don’t get the accolades.

How to make the most of the five popular social media platforms

* As of now, Railways bears 43 per cent of the cost of train fare and incurs a loss of about Rs30,000 crore a year in subsidising passenger fares out of which Rs1,600 crore is for concessional fares. Railways recovers only 57% of the expenses incurred for passenger transportation through sale of tickets of all classes - Mint

* Billed as the world's biggest metro rail project in public private partnership, Hyderabad Metro project was taken up in 2012 at a cost of Rs 14,132 crore. Delays have pushed up the cost by over 30 per cent from over Rs 14,100 crore to an estimated Rs 18,800 crore as per industry sources.

Otis won its largest single contract in Indian elevator industry's history. The elevator and escalator company will provide 670 units to the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project.

* The exact location (with latitude, longitude) of the Hyderabad Metro stations are not yet listed on Google Maps or on the official site. For the time being, there are roundabout ways to find the location

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