#Azure Action – Weekly Newsletter – 4th February 2011
Local Overview
- Brisbane city council picks Azure - the first {public} Australian public sector customer
- Local Microsoft SDC team and partners launched a second QLD Government Windows Azure site to help with managing offers of assistance in the cyclone aftermath.
Readiness & Resources
Reading:
- Windows Azure
- AzureSamples.com is a new web site designed to help you discover Windows Azure samples more readily
- Setting Up Performance Counters In Your Azure Web and Worker Roles
- How Azure Storage Handles Updating BLOBs
- SQL Azure
Watch:
Case Study
- Austrailan ISV Kelly Street Digital moves from Amazon to Azure and saves $4,200 a month.
- Customer Spotlight: T-Mobile USA and Xerox Adopt the Windows Azure Platform in the Development of Key Applications
Tools:
- SQL Azure TCO Calculator - compare the cost of SQL Azure databases to other alternatives
- Web based Windows Azure storage Management tool (watch for password caching):*thanks to Tom Hollander for link
Introduction
Guidance:
Walkthrough:
Design
In the news:
General news:
“The entire complex will initially cover some 646,000 square feet, according to IBM, which is collaborating with a Chinese company to build it.
David Chappell – What is PaaS?
"give a PaaS platform an app, and it runs that app.” – doesn’t it?
“pure IaaS is largely the domain of the technical folks“
Microsoft
Windows Azure
Windows Azure Extra Small Instances Now Available As Public Beta
Windows Azure Platform Training Kit and Course, January 2011 Update
Events:
Local:
- Cloud Computing Forum – Run by Orion VM (Sheng Yeo) First Friday in March – details coming soon
Webinar:
Community:
Like Azure?
Become a fan: www.facebook.com/windowsazure (Azure Facebook Toolkit)
Want answers? See the forums
Recorded but not yet publishe: CloudCast - an audio series featuring myself, Rab Thynne, Tom Hollander and Michael Rosic
Coming in March: Azure Meetups!
January/February community web cast boot camps
- 02/07: MSDN Webcast: Azure Boot Camp: Connecting with AppFabric
- 02/14: MSDN Webcast: Azure Boot Camp: Cloud Computing Scenarios
Questions
This week a few basic questions answered on the Windows Azure App Fabric Access Control Service (ACS)?
Q: What are the key components of the ACS?
- A Management Portal - a user interface that you can use to create and manage
- A Management Service - a programmatic interface to allow consumer to interact with ACS resources
- A Token-Exchange Endpoint - issues security tokens
- SDK - Tools and Samples to manage access to ACS
Q: I prefer to learn by watching. What videos are there?
A: Some examples here:
- Video: What is the Access Control Service? (V1)
- Video: What’s Windows Azure AppFabric Access Control Service (ACS) v2?
- Video: What Windows Azure AppFabric Access Control Service (ACS) v2 Can Do For Me?
- Video: Windows Azure AppFabric Access Control Service (ACS) v2 Key Components and Architecture
- Video (~3 min): Windows Azure AppFabric ACS v2 Prerequisites
- Webcast: Securing Web Resources Using Windows Azure AppFabric Access Control
Q: I'm keen to get started. Where can I learn how to implement an Access Controlled Service?
Q: Can I use the ACS with existing on-premise applications?
A: Yes. For example Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Q: How does ACS deal with the issue of threat management?
A: Read Windows Azure AppFabric Access Control Service (ACS) v2 – Threats & Countermeasures
Q: How much does ACS cost?
A: As of late last year the cost per 100,000 transactions was roughly 2 USD. See pricing
Q: What's coming in ACS 2.0?
A: In addition to authentication by other security providers,. each of the key components of ACS have been upgraded and setup and interactions made easier.
More questions? Go to the Windows Azure AppFabric CTP Forum