#Azure Action – Weekly Newsletter – 25th March 2011

Local Overview

MYOB delays Azure cloud launch

“because of feedback received from beta testers…forced an extension in development times”

Aidmatrix and Bing Maps Use Windows Azure to Aid Japan Disaster Recovery Efforts

Readiness & Resources:

Reading:

• Windows Azure

Segmenting the Queue across Multiple Instances in Windows Azure

Deploying a Basic Ruby App in Windows Azure

Windows Azure and scaling: how? (.NET)

• SQL Azure

SQL Azure Use Case: Department Application Data Store

Simplified Import and Export of Data

Watch:

• WAD MTM Adapter - Microsoft Test Manager Diagnostic Data Adapters

Case Study:

• Windows Azure powers Majestic Wine

Tools:

• Azure Providers - Complete Session-State Provider that uses the Azure Table Storage

Guidance:

Walkthrough:

• Implementing the SCOM Azure Management Pack
• Complete Solution: Adding SSL Certificate with Windows Azure Application

Design:

• Azure Content Delivery Network CDN Best Practices

In the news:

General news:

• Government Cloud Computing on Forbes?

Microsoft:

• Microsoft Outlines Plans for Integration-as-a-Service on Windows Azure

• Does Windows Azure cloud have a chicken-and-egg problem?

• Microsoft readies its first Server application-virtualization beta

Windows Azure:

• New Invoicing Option Available for Windows Azure
• New plugin for Eclipse to take Java developers off the ground to Windows Azure
• Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows Phone 7

Events:

Local:

• Readify DevDays - 10th May Introduction to Windows Azure
• “Integration Roadshow” – 4th April in Sydney, 7th April in Melbourne

Webinar:

• MSDN Webcast: Hello World, My First Cloud Service

• Mon, Mar 28, 12:00pm PST

• Upcoming DataMarket WebCast

• Thu Mar 31, 2011 at 8:00 AM PST

Community:

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:

A tricky one this week. Is there a supported session state solution on Azure?  

"Microsoft does not support SQL Session State Management using SQL Azure databases for ASP.net applications."

https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2006191

"The TableStorageSessionStateProvider class is unsupported code and currently does not include any tidy up routines. If you use this provider, you must develop a mechanism to remove expired sessions from storage"

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff803373.aspx

Until such time as AppFabric Caching is available (a supported solution) you could build your own or try:

• Memcached Solution Accelerator

Also worth watching jumpstarts:

• Session 11: Scalability, Caching & Elasticity, Part 1
• Session 12: Scalability, Caching & Elasticity, Part 2, and Q&A