Welcome to this new season of our networking, and now security, webinar series! We’re hoping that this show will be helpful in delivering valuable content for anyone who’s looking at starting to consume information about the Azure cloud, or developing their cloud connectivity deeper with Azure.

A Microsoft Network Academy (#MNA) session is taking place every 4 weeks, on Fridays, this fall. It is open to customers, partners and Microsoft employees who want to learn more about Azure Networking, including ExpressRoute, Virtual Networking, and security — such as how to plan and design their connectivity to the Microsoft cloud, as well as the various security elements surrounding Azure.

MNA will typically be delivered in two formats, depending on the episodes, partner-focused sessions, and deep dive sessions. In both formats, there will be an open Q&A session at the end, where customers can “ask the experts”. Content and partner speakers will vary for each session, but the general agenda is as follows:

Partner-focused sessions

• Azure Networking fundamentals (10 minutes)
• Deep dive topic of the week (15-20 minutes)
• Partner spotlight of the week (15-20 minutes)
• Q&A

Deep dive sessions

• Introduction (5 minutes)
• Deep dive topic of the week (35-45 minutes)
• Q&A (10 minutes)

We will post the agenda in advance on this blog, and to our interested viewers, you can join a distribution list by sending an email to gbb-anf@microsoft.com with the subject-line “Join Microsoft Networking Academy List”. We will email you a reminder and the agenda in advance for the upcoming sessions.

We are kicking off this new season on Friday, September 22^nd, 2017.

Join the Skype Meeting and make sure you don’t miss out on future sessions by adding this the series to your Outlook calendar. You can also download ICS (that’s a recurring event – don’t miss out on them, and if you can’t make it, decks and recordings will be posted below).

Here are a few links for your convenience:

• Session recordings for Microsoft Networking Academy will be posted on Channel 9
• Previous sessions are already posted on Channel 9’s Azure Networking Fridays channel
• ExpressRoute Check list
• Previous seasons decks and recordings:
  • Fall 2016 sessions
  • Early winter 2017 sessions
  • Later winter 2017 sessions (rebranded Microsoft Networking Academy)

Episode #11 : September 22^nd – What’s new in Azure Networking and Security since this summer

• Quick introduction and announcements (new team member!)
• What’s new with Azure Networking
  • Azure Container Networking
  • New Portal Experiences
• Ask the experts Q&A!
• Here is a link to the deck and the link to the video recording on Channel 9.

Episode #12 : October 20^th – Ignite review, OMS and A10!

• Intro and announcement
• Ignite 2017 review
• Operations Management Suite – Network Performance Monitor
• A10 presentation on vThunder Network Virtual Appliance – 30 Gbps… in an NVA!
• Ask the experts Q&A !
• Here is a link to the deck and the link to the video recording on Channel 9.

Episode #13 : November 17^th – Agenda to be confirmed

• Quick introduction
• ExpressRoute Service Updates
  • Merging of Azure Public and Microsoft peering
  • Route Filters
  • Approval process for using ExpressRoute with Office 365
• Partner Spotlight with Zscaler!
• Links to the deck and video recording on Channel 9 will be posted here.

Episode #14 : December 15^th – Agenda to be confirmed

• Agenda to be confirmed.
• Links to the deck and video recording on Channel 9 will be posted here

We’re open for feedback !

Feel free to send us your feedback, comments, and suggestions at GBB-ANF@microsoft.com.

Call to action

Feel free to join the Azure Tech Community for questions and discussions around Azure networking and Azure all up!

-Your Friendly Azure Networking and Security Black Belt Team.