I see a big cloud !
Today is definitely a BIG day :)
you probably have seen it in the press, we launched today the IaaS for Windows Azure. It means that from now on, you can run your own Virtual Machine in Windows Azure. This unlock many scenarios and facilitate your move to the public cloud or should I say the hybrid cloud. This is what is described in this blog post from Bill Hiff: https://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2013/04/16/the-power-of-and.aspx
So here are some of the multiple benefits brought by the IaaS:
- You can run a persistent VM based on images provided by Microsoft or images that you build. You can read more on that here : https://blogs.technet.com/b/dcaro/archive/2013/01/09/you-the-vms-and-the-iaas.aspx
- You can create your own Virtual Networks that can be seamlessly integrated with your corporate network with a site to site VPN and using your own IP Address range. More on that here : https://morgansimonsen.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/how-to-connect-your-on-premise-network-to-windows-azure-using-windows-server-as-a-vpn-gateway-2/
- You can run your own Active Directory in Azure that you can integrate with your corporate authentication mechanism. More on that here : https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsazure/jj156090.aspx
- You can manage and monitor your Windows Azure workloads the same way you manage and monitor your existing VMs. More on that here : https://blogs.technet.com/b/dcaro/archive/2012/05/02/how-to-monitor-your-windows-azure-application-with-system-center-2012.aspx
- We have added the support for what I would call XXXL VM: 8 Cores and 56 GB of RAM ! We have more on that and on the prices here : https://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/
- And you now have templates of VM that have SQL 2012 and SharePoint 2013 pre-installed (or slipstreamed as we usually say).
If you haven’t already done so, you can register for a free three month trial of Windows Azure from this place : https://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/pricing/free-trial/
If you want to learn more on Windows Azure, I recommend that you take the overview course of the Windows Azure Virtual Machines: https://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/overview-of-windows-azure-virtual-machines-iaas
Happy testing of Windows Azure VM !