NEWS

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Microsoft Azure platform overview

Windows Azure platform

The Windows Azure platform is a set of cloud computing services that can be used together or independently that enable:



  • - Developers use existing skills and familiar tools to develop cloud applications

  • - ISVs and System Integrators rapidly reach market and pay as you go

  • - IT Managers gain access to a new set of resources without adding complexity

  • - Businesses of all sizes to quickly respond as business needs change


Windows Azure provides developers with on-demand compute and storage to host, scale, and manage Web applications on the Internet through Microsoft data centers. Azure goes beyond what other providers, such as Rackspace's Mosso or Amazon's EC2, offer. First, it will be available with a complete suite of tools and technologies for building your next big cloud application. Second, the Azure platform's goal is to support all developers and their choice of IDE, language, and technology; meaning that you can use your favorite tool for all kinds of development as well as Python, PHP, Ruby, Eclipse and so on. It supports popular standards and protocols including SOAP, REST, and XML. Using the Windows Azure tools, developers can build, debug, and deploy to Windows Azure directly from their existing development environment.
Windows Azure Platform products overview
Read More..

"Azure" is project name from Microsoft for Cloud Computing. They are going to introduce this from the upcoming version of .NET Framework 4.0. It might make a dramatic changes in the existing Web applications.

Through Cloud computing Microsoft targets for platform independency in their applications.
That is Each web can communicate to any other servers directly.

Advantages for ASP.NET applications:
Following are the advantages of ASP.NET applications by implementing Cloud computing.

1) Cost cutting - Both the small & large scall organizations can implement this.
2) More storage for Data.
3) Mobilitiy of Data - Data can be moved to any kind of servers(e.g Data can easily moved to Unix based machine from Windows).
4) More advantages on BCP(Disaster recoverty etc) plans

By the implementation of Cloud computing, the Web application will give the same level of performance even the traffic to the site is at the peak.

Disadvantages:

Following jobs will be very hectic by the implementation of Azure.

1) Implementation of session
2) Implementation of authentication
3) System Integration.
4) Migration of existing application.

Some of the

key features

of Windows Azure platform are:

Windows Azure provides a scalable and highly available virtualized hosting environment on which you can develop and deploy .NET applications. The environment includes machines and load balancers, so that you can create your own scalable applications.
It provides a storage service that includes support for blobs, tables and queues, which means that you can concentrate your development efforts on your core business logic.
It is bundled with lot more other new tools and technologies to leverage your applications with .NET Services, SQL Services, Live Services and so on.
How many times a year have you seen Microsoft’s sites down? Who doesn’t want to host their apps within Microsoft’s Data Centers which pretty much ensures reliability and low downtime?
Scalability? We will talk about it a bit later.

Downloads



  1. Windows Azure SDK CTP
  2. Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio October 2008 CTP
  3. For more information or related downloads: http://www.azure.com/

Some more downloads might be required depending on what you have got installed in your machine, so the best way to get all working is reading the release notes and find the pre-requisites for your PC. After you have installed these as instructed you will be good go with application development on Azure. You will find new items in the New Project dialog box as Blank Cloud Service, Web and Worker Cloud Service etc. in Visual Studio. Obviously - like any other CTPs - Azure SDK may crash your Visual Studio or PC several times during development, so use them at your own risk.

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