#Azure Action - Weekly Newsletter - 1st April 2011

Local Overview

Curtin University Controls Costs, Streamlines IT, and Improves Education with Cloud Platform

Readiness & Resources:

Reading:

• Windows Azure

Creating your own identity provider for Windows Azure AppFabric Access Control

Windows Azure diagnostics via xml config

Silverlight in the Azure cloud - Part 1

Image Upload and Silverlight Deep Zoom Viewing with Azure

• SQL Azure

How to Connect to SQL Azure Using ADO.net

Watch:

• SQL Azure "Big Data"

Case Study:

• Office of Naval Research

Tools:

• Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows Phone 7
• ComponentArt releases Digital Dashboards built on DataMarket

Guidance:

Walkthrough:

• Scott Klien - Using OData Protocol with Windows Phone 7

Design:

• Windows Azure VM version and SDK compatibility matrix

In the news:

General news:

• IT Must Create Products, Not Just Cut Costs
• Cloud Computing Economics: 40-80% Savings in the Cloud?

Microsoft:

• Microsoft tops cloud service table
• Opening the Window to PC Management in the Cloud
• System Center 'Concero' the Latest Management Blast
• Microsoft skills up IT pros for jobs in the cloud

Windows Azure:

• New Invoicing Option Available for Windows Azure Benefits
• Updated AppFabric Labs - with Silverlight portal

Events:

Local:

• Readify DevDays - 10th May Introduction to Windows Azure
• Integration Roadshow 7th April in Melbourne

Global:

• Watch Countdown to MIX

Community:

Mailing list for OzAzure

Like Azure?

• Become a fan: www.facebook.com/windowsazure (Azure Facebook Toolkit)
• Want answers? See the forums
• Add yourself to my Azure Australia Twitter list
• Watch CloudCast
• Coming soon: Azure Meetups!

Questions:

This week I'm picking simply a scenario based question:

What the best way to test and debug a local application?

"If your app is simply a website, then you don't need to run the compute emulator to run it. I would setup the site so that it runs on IIS on a specific port, then debug the website project, not the cloud project.

There is a bit more to it than just that however. If you're using development storage then you'll need to start that yourself as it won't automatically be started when you debug the website. If you have a RoleEntryPoint class then you need to be aware that none of that code will be called. Also if you make use of anything in RoleEnvironment (like settings) you'll need to put a wrapper around those items so that they'll still work when not running under the emulation environment (RoleEnvironment.IsAvailable is very useful for detecting this). A setup like this is very useful during development because when you make small changes to CSS of JavaScript you don't need to restart the compute emulator to see your changes"