Information
Microsoft Dev Field Preview Now Out there

Microsoft this week announced a public preview of Microsoft Dev Field, which lets builders create provisioned workspaces for particular initiatives.
These Dev Field workspaces get the entire assets that are wanted for a specific improvement mission, together with “any developer IDE, SDK, or device that runs on Home windows.” The Dev Field service is aimed toward Home windows desktop app builders, however it additionally helps cross-platform improvement on Android, iOS, Linux and macOS, which may happen utilizing the “Home windows Subsystem for Linux and Home windows Subsystem for Android” elements.
Again throughout the Could Microsoft Construct occasion for builders, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had described the brand new Dev Field service as a Home windows-based improvement surroundings for constructing apps for the PC, cell and embedded gadgets.
Based mostly on Home windows 365 Service
Dev Packing containers get remotely accessed by builders. They run in a distant desktop session and are accessed through “a browser or by a distant desktop app,” in response to Microsoft’s “Quickstart” guide on creating a Dev Box. The Dev Field scheme relies on Home windows 365, which is Microsoft’s desktop-as-a-service providing.
Using Home windows 365 provides IT execs administration hooks for Dev Packing containers by Microsoft Intune or Microsoft Endpoint Supervisor. IT execs can set conditional entry insurance policies for Dev Packing containers. They will management patching and usually oversee administration and compliance features.
This is how the announcement described the position of IT departments in enabling Dev Packing containers:
Developer flexibility and productiveness cannot come on the expense of safety or compliance. Microsoft Dev Field builds on Home windows 365, making it simple for IT directors to handle dev packing containers along with bodily gadgets and Cloud PCs by Microsoft Intune and Microsoft Endpoint Supervisor. IT admins can set conditional entry insurance policies to make sure customers solely entry dev packing containers from compliant gadgets whereas retaining dev packing containers updated utilizing expedited high quality updates to deploy zero-day patches throughout the group and shortly isolate compromised gadgets. Endpoint Supervisor’s deep gadget analytics make it simple to audit utility well being, gadget utilization, and different vital metrics, giving builders the boldness to concentrate on their code figuring out they don’t seem to be exposing the group to any pointless threat.
Dev Packing containers are conceived as eradicating the wait builders could face earlier than IT departments configure {hardware} for his or her specific initiatives. The {hardware} choices for a Dev Field embody “deciding on from 4 vCPU / 16GB to 32 vCPU / 128GB SKUs to scale to any measurement utility.”
It seems that builders are accountable for spinning up Dev Packing containers, as soon as they’re enabled by IT departments utilizing the Azure Portal, as described in this document. The creation of a Dev Field can take 30 to 90 minutes and “will mechanically begin upon creation,” in accordance the Dev Field creation doc.
This is Microsoft’s illustration of how the IT and dev groups would use the Dev Field service:
Billing and Free Preview
When the Dev Field service will get commercially launched, Microsoft is planning to invoice organizations based mostly on their use of compute and storage assets.
IT division get some controls over when Dev Packing containers are operating. For example, it is doable to automate when Dev Packing containers get began and stopped every day. Microsoft is planning so as to add a “hibernation” possibility “in a number of weeks” that may allow the stopping of Dev Packing containers for a interval of time.
Through the preview interval, Microsoft is providing “the first 15 hours of the dev field 8vCPU and 32 GB Reminiscence SKU without cost each month, together with the primary 365 hours of the dev field Storage SSD 512 GB SKU,” in accordance to the announcement.
https://redmondmag.com/articles/2022/08/17/microsoft-dev-box-preview-now-available.aspx