Melbourne AzureApril 2012

news by David McGhee, Windows Azure Technical Specialist

Platform Announcements

Platform1. Reduced Pricing on Windows Azure Storage and Compute 2. Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows 8 Consumer Preview3. TFS Beta Build Service on Windows Azure4. StreamInsight in Windows Azure: Austin February CTP5. Updated Windows Azure SDK & Windows Azure HPC Scheduler SDK 6. SQL Azure MP CTP is now available7. Microsoft

Codename "Data Hub" - An Online Service for Data Discovery, Distribution and Curation

Microsoft is building a new datacenter in DublinA new Data Center in West USA – BAY (Compute and Storage)

Recent

Microsoft Endpoint Protection for Windows Azure Customer Technology Preview

The Online Backup Service is a Windows-Azure-based service that will enable Windows Server 8 users to back up and recover files and folders (but not system state).

Windows Server 8: Microsoft Online Backup Service

Announcing a Build Service for Team Foundation Service

Refresh of Service Bus EAI & EDI Labs

Windows Azure Trust Center

Relentless on Security, Your Privacy Matters, Independently Verified, FAQs

NewsIn the news

“I want to share that I was very pleased with the level of detail in Microsoft’s RCA.”

“Microsoft decidedly suspended service management in order to stop or slow the spread of the issue. Microsoft made this decision with very good reason.”

“The actual leap day baug issue and resolution was identified, tested, and rolled out within 12 hours. That is pretty fast.”

“Microsoft took steps to prevent the outage from worsening. Had these steps not been taken, we might have seen a much bigger issue.”

“Microsoft understands that real-time communication must improve during an outage and are taking steps to improve.”

• Communication could have been better

• Lack of real-time transparency• Perception Microsoft was hiding the

severity of the outage• Windows Azure Service Dashboard

needs to be improved

by Kyle Hilgendorf from Gartner regarding Azure customer reactions

Summary of Windows Azure Service Disruption on Feb 29th, 2012

Microsoft Plans Q4 Debut for Dynamics ERP on the Azure Cloud

Gartner Partner Platform as a Service:

Definition, Taxonomy and Vendor Landscape, 2012

Microsoft! scoops! Yahoo!'s big! data! brain!

PartnersPartner

Joint solutions

New Offers

Reduced SQL Azure Pricing and New 100MB Database Option

Azure Circle Program (19 and growing)

CommVault Simpana 9 for Windows Azure - Joint solutions available now

Stealth Secure Sharepoint storage packs now available in 41 and 63TB

Free Techila to Azure Universities (get in before June)Programs

Discounted Windows Azure Storage Offers effective April 1st

PeopleService Bus/WF PM Regional Visits in April

Windows Azure Platform Product Marketing Manager (PMM) Sydney Job

• Bob Dimpsey (WF development director) • Todd Holmquist-Sutherland (Service Bus group manager).

Microsoft Silverlight 5 and Windows Azure Enterprise Integration

Vinoo – HPC and Hadoop Specialist on tour in Australia26th -30th!!

Tips and ResourcesTip/s of the week

Resources

Windows Azure Security Best Practices SeriesWindows Azure Basics Series Windows Azure @ Home – Protein Folding[Updated] Windows Azure Guidance area on Codeplex

Did you know:

MSDN Users get up to $3,700.00 in annual Windows Azure benefits?

Service Bus support in azure npm 0.5.2

Moving SQL Azure Servers Between Subscriptions

Tips & Tricks On Architecting Windows Azure For Costs

Standard Response to Request for Information – Security and Privacy

A Primer on Hadoop (from the Microsoft SQL Community perspective)

Building Azure Applications using Agile Methodologies and Continuous Integration

Tools Windows Azure PowerShell Cmdlets (v2.2.2)

CloudNetCare, a solution to test the performance of Web sites

Opstera - tracking its health, the underlying Cloud Platform and the 3rd party Cloud Services it is dependent on

Microsoft Translator Hub

ChronoZoom –

FetchClimate!:

•Azure Fluent Management including Sql Azure management 0.3

•Azure User Management Console – AUMC

•Cotega - Web based monitoring for SQL Azure and cloud hosted SQL Server

Microsoft Research

Australia CSV OneNimbus® 2SQL Limited Offer

Breeze Consulting Windows Azure Airlift 1 day training

Locate Windows Azure partners with Microsoft Pinpoint directory

Get your Travel Gear – Harvey Norman enabled once more with Windows Azure

Local

DevOps•Team Foundation Server on Windows Azure Cloud – Part 3 – Administer Security•How to use Diagnostics.wadcfg to configure Windows Azure diagnostics collection•Setting Up Diagnostics Monitoring In Windows AzureTeam Foundation Server on Windows Azure Cloud • Advanced (and flexible) Configuration for Windows Azure .NET

Applications(configure .Net applications running in Windows Azure in the same way you do with traditional On-Premise applications)

•Choosing What To Monitor In Windows Azure•Monitoring in Windows Azure•SCOM 2007 R2: MP to monitor SQL Azure

Hands on: Windows Azure Diagnostics [Mar 29]

•Applying Config Transformation app.config in Windows Azure Worker RoleProgrammatically finding Deployment Slot from code running in Windows Azure Automated Performance Counter Injection in Windows Azure Roles

Examples….

CompetitionHP Offers Developer Tools for New Cloud Platform - SaaS

Salesforce Aims to Obsolete the CMS with Site.com Launch

compose the entire site, including layout template and content, and host the site including the database on the Force.com platform, for a flat fee of $1,500 per month.

Amazon EC2 Recovers After Brief Downtime

Amazon cuts cloudy pricesRackspace snaps up SharePoint911

Amazon Giant Aims to Squash PaaS Competition with Elastic Beanstalk

RightScale: Hybrid clouds on the rise

Google going forward with Go language

Dell blows Clouds of love into the channel