Windows Azure Platform

The Windows Azure Platform has rapidly established itself as one of the most sophisticated cloud computing platforms available. With Microsoft working to continually update their product and keep it at the cutting edge, the future looks bright—if you have the skills to harness it. In particular, new features such as remote desktop access, dynamic content caching and secure content delivery using SSL make the latest version of Azure a more powerful solution than ever before. It’s widely agreed that cloud computing has produced a paradigm shift in traditional architectural concepts by providing new ways to both store and process data. The basic concepts of the cloud are now well understood throughout the industry. What is much less well understood, and the primary focus of this book, is how the the Windows Azure technology can be applied in real-world scenarios and made to work for you. This book answers those questions, demonstrating how all the features of Windows Azure—both old and new—can be put to work. By the time you’re done reading, you will be comfortable building high-quality end-to-end Windows Azure services of your own. The book, like the Azure platform itself, is divided into three key parts—Windows Azure, SQL Azure, and Windows Azure AppFabric. Each of these plays a unique role in the functioning of your cloud service. It is the goal of this book to show you how to use these components, both separately and together, to build flawless cloud applications as well as hybrid architectures that fit in alongside your business' existing systems. Pro Windows Azure Platform, Second Edition is a down-to-earth, code-centric book that shows precisely how the all the components of Windows Azure are employed, and demonstrates the techniques and best practices you'll need to put them to work.

Without established design patterns to guide them, developers have had to build distributed systems from scratch, and most of these systems are very unique indeed. Today, the increasing use of containers has paved the way for core distributed system patterns and reusable containerized components. This practical guide presents a collection of repeatable, generic patterns to help make the development of reliable distributed systems far more approachable and efficient. Author Brendan Burns—Director of Engineering at Microsoft Azure—demonstrates how you can adapt existing software design patterns for designing and building reliable distributed applications. Systems engineers and application developers will learn how these long-established patterns provide a common language and framework for dramatically increasing the quality of your system. Understand how patterns and reusable components enable the rapid development of reliable distributed systems Use the side-car, adapter, and ambassador patterns to split your application into a group of containers on a single machine Explore loosely coupled multi-node distributed patterns for replication, scaling, and communication between the components Learn distributed system patterns for large-scale batch data processing covering work-queues, event-based processing, and coordinated workflows

Leverage the power of the Azure Services Platform for cloud computing With the Azure Services Platform, processing and storing data moves from individual corporate servers and Web sites to larger, more reliable, and more secure data centers. Roger Jennings, author of more than 30 books on Microsoft technologies, shows you how to leverage the power of Azure and its related services for cloud computing. The book begins with a look at the differences between cloud computing and application hosting and examines the various issues that .NET developers and IT managers face in moving from on-premise to cloud-based applications, including security, privacy, regulatory compliance, backup and recovery, asset cataloging, and other common technical issues. The author then drills down, showing basic programming for individual Azure components, including storage, SQL Data Services, and .NET Services. He then moves on to cover more advanced programming challenges. Explains the benefits of using the Azure Services Platform for cloud computing Shows how to program with Windows Azure components, including Azure Table and Blob storage, .NET Services and SQL Azure Addresses advanced programming challenges of creating useful projects that combine cloud storage with Web applications or services Companion Web site features complete, finished applications that can be uploaded to jump start a Windows Azure project Roger Jennings clears away the clouds and gets you started using the Azure Services Platform.

Learn the nuts and bolts of cloud computing with Windows Azure, Microsoft's new Internet services platform. Written by a key member of the product development team, this book shows you how to build, deploy, host, and manage applications using Windows Azure's programming model and essential storage services. Chapters in Programming Windows Azure are organized to reflect the platform's buffet of services. The book's first half focuses on how to write and host application code on Windows Azure, while the second half explains all of the options you have for storing and accessing data on the platform with high scalability and reliability. Lots of code samples and screenshots are available to help you along the way. Learn how to build applications using the Windows Azure toolset Discover how Windows Azure works under the hood, and learn the how and the why behind several features Choose to write application code in .NET or other languages such as C/C++, PHP, or Ruby Understand the various options for managing your service Get up to speed on Azure's storage services, including blobs, queues, and tables Build a secure backup system, and learn about cloud application security, cryptography, and performance

We’re thrilled to share another free ebook with you: Introducing Microsoft Azure HDInsight, by Avkash Chauhan, Valentine Fontama, Michele Hart, Wee Hyong Tok, and Buck Woody. Here are the download links: Download the PDF (6.37 MB; 130 pages) from http://aka.ms/IntroHDInsight/PDF Download the EPUB (8.46 MB) from http://aka.ms/IntroHDInsight/EPUB Download the MOBI (12.8 MB) from http://aka.ms/IntroHDInsight/MOBI Download the code samples (6.83 KB) from http://aka.ms/IntroHDInsight/CompContent Get a head start evaluating Windows Azure - with technical insights from a Microsoft MVP Mitch Tulloch. This guide introduces the latest features and capabilities, with scenario-based advice on how the platform can meet the needs of your business. Get the high-level overview you need to begin preparing your deployment now. Topics include: Understanding Windows Azure Windows Azure Compute Services Windows Azure Network Services Windows Azure Data Services Windows Azure App Services Getting Started with Windows Azure

Discover high-value Azure security insights, tips, and operational optimizations This book presents comprehensive Azure Security Center techniques for safeguarding cloud and hybrid environments. Leading Microsoft security and cloud experts Yuri Diogenes and Dr. Thomas Shinder show how to apply Azure Security Center’s full spectrum of features and capabilities to address protection, detection, and response in key operational scenarios. You’ll learn how to secure any Azure workload, and optimize virtually all facets of modern security, from policies and identity to incident response and risk management. Whatever your role in Azure security, you’ll learn how to save hours, days, or even weeks by solving problems in most efficient, reliable ways possible. Two of Microsoft’s leading cloud security experts show how to: • Assess the impact of cloud and hybrid environments on security, compliance, operations, data protection, and risk management • Master a new security paradigm for a world without traditional perimeters • Gain visibility and control to secure compute, network, storage, and application workloads • Incorporate Azure Security Center into your security operations center • Integrate Azure Security Center with Azure AD Identity Protection Center and third-party solutions • Adapt Azure Security Center’s built-in policies and definitions for your organization • Perform security assessments and implement Azure Security Center recommendations • Use incident response features to detect, investigate, and address threats • Create high-fidelity fusion alerts to focus attention on your most urgent security issues • Implement application whitelisting and just-in-time VM access • Monitor user behavior and access, and investigate compromised or misused credentials • Customize and perform operating system security baseline assessments • Leverage integrated threat intelligence to identify known bad actors

Microsoft Azure Essentials from Microsoft Press is a series of free ebooks designed to help you advance your technical skills with Microsoft Azure. The first ebook in the series, Microsoft Azure Essentials: Fundamentals of Azure, introduces developers and IT professionals to the wide range of capabilities in Azure. The authors - both Microsoft MVPs in Azure - present both conceptual and how-to content for key areas, including: Azure Websites and Azure Cloud Services Azure Virtual Machines Azure Storage Azure Virtual Networks Databases Azure Active Directory Management tools Business scenarios Watch Microsoft Press’s blog and Twitter (@MicrosoftPress) to learn about other free ebooks in the “Microsoft Azure Essentials” series.

About The Book: How can a company's applications be scalable and have high availability? To achieve this, along with developing the applications, you must also have an infrastructure that can support them. For example, you may need to add servers or increase the capacities of existing ones, have redundant hardware, add logic to the application to handle distributed computing, and add logic for failovers. You have to do this even if an application is in high demand for only short periods of time. Life becomes even more complicated (and expensive) when you start to consider issues such as network latency and security boundaries. The cloud offers a solution to this dilemma. The cloud is made up of interconnected servers located in various data centers. However, you see what appears to be a centralized location that someone else hosts and manages. By shifting the responsibility of maintaining an infrastructure to someone else, you're free to concentrate on what matters most: the application. If the cloud has data centers in different geographical areas, you can move your content closer to the people who are using it most. If an application is heavily used in Asia, have an instance running in a data center located there. This kind of flexibility may not be available to you if you have to own all the hardware. Another advantage to the cloud is that it's a pay as you go proposition. If you don't need it, you don't have to pay for it. When demand is high, you can scale up, and when demand is low, you can scale back. Yes, by moving applications to the cloud, you're giving up some control and autonomy, but you're also going to benefit from reduced costs, increased flexibility, and scalable computation and storage. The Windows Azure Architecture Guide shows you how to do this.

Your roadmap to Microsoft Azure Azure is Microsoft’s flagship cloud computing platform. With over 600 services available to over 44 geographic regions, it would take a library of books to cover the entire Azure ecosystem. Microsoft Azure For Dummies offers a shortcut to getting familiar with Azure’s core product offerings used by the majority of its subscribers. It’s a perfect choice for those looking to gain a quick, basic understanding of this ever-evolving public cloud platform. Written by a Microsoft MVP and Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect, Microsoft Azure For Dummies covers building virtual networks, configuring cloud-based virtual machines, launching and scaling web applications, migrating on-premises services to Azure, and keeping your Azure resources secure and compliant. Migrate your applications and services to Azure with confidence Manage virtual machines smarter than you've done on premises Deploy web applications that scale dynamically to save you money and effort Apply Microsoft's latest security technologies to ensure compliance to maintain data privacy With more and more businesses making the leap to run their applications and services on Microsoft Azure, basic understanding of the technology is becoming essential. Microsoft Azure For Dummies offers a fast and easy first step into the Microsoft public cloud.

The must-have reference for Azure newcomers As Microsoft's Azure platform takes a larger stake in the cloud computing world, more tech pros need to know the ins-and-outs of this fast-growing platform. Microsoft Azure For Dummies is the essential guide for users who are new to the platform. Take your first steps into the world of Azure as you learn all about the core services—straight from a Microsoft expert. This book covers the Azure essentials you need to know, including building a virtual network on Azure, launching and scaling applications, migrating existing services, and keeping everything secure. In classic Dummies style, you’ll learn the fundamentals of Azure’s core services and—when you’re ready—how to move into more advanced services. Discover the basics of cloud computing with Microsoft Azure and learn what services you can access with Azure Build your cloud network with Azure and migrate an existing network to the platform Scale applications seamlessly and make sure your security is air-tight Updated to included expanded information on data resources, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and collaboration, Microsoft Azure For Dummies, 2nd Edition answers the call for an entry-level, comprehensive guide that provides a simple-to-understand primer on core Azure services. It’s an invaluable resource for IT managers and others arriving at the platform for the first time.