Windows Azure Tribes

Windows Azure Tools 1.4 Release

pbutlerm — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 01:25:00 GMT

The 1.4 version of the Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio includes several new features:

Multiple Service Configurations
Profiling a WAZ application when it runs in Windows Azure
Package Validation
MVC 3 Web Role Support

MSDN Link: New in Version 1.4 (August 2011) Release of the Windows Azure Tools for Visual Studio

File Download: Windows Azure Tools for Visual Studio 1.4 Download

Windows Azure Platform Training Kit 2011 August Update

pbutlerm — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 17:42:00 GMT

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=8396

August 2011 Update

The August 2011 update of the training kit includes the following updates:

[New Hands-On Lab] Introduction to Windows Azure Marketplace for Applications
[Updated] Labs and Demos to leverage the August 2011 release of the Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio 2010
[Updated] Windows Azure Deployment to use the latest version of the Azure Management Cmdlets
[Updated] Exploring Windows Azure Storage to support deleting snapshots
Applied several minor fixes in content

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=8396

Tips on Windows Automation

pbutlerm — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 06:56:00 GMT

On one of the discussions on Slashdot.org regarding Windows Automation there was some quite useful comments that I had to collect for my own selfish purposes:

By: thalakan (14668) on Friday May 06, @07:42PM

PowerShell. The only tool that knows how to talk to all the different frameworks in Windows is PowerShell. No other tool can talk to .NET, COM, WMI, native APIs (via P/Invoke), and external studio based tools. If you can't do the automation you want using something in one of the above frameworks, you've got bigger problems than finding a good automation tool.

Other tools:

System update readiness tool: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947821/en-us [Microsoft.com]
WMI diagnostic utility: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=d7ba3cd6-18d1-4d05-b11e-4c64192ae97d&displaylang=en [Microsoft.com]
gplogview: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/confirmation.aspx?familyId=BCFB1955-CA1D-4F00-9CFF-6F541BAD4563 [microsoft.com]
Windows SDK (including debugging tools for windows): http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=35AEDA01-421D-4BA5-B44B-543DC8C33A20 [microsoft.com]
ollydbg: http://www.ollydbg.de/ [ollydbg.de]
sysinternals suite: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb842062 [microsoft.com]
Windows Management Framework: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968929 [microsoft.com]
WDK: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=36a2630f-5d56-43b5-b996-7633f2ec14ff [microsoft.com]
WAIK: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=696DD665-9F76-4177-A811-39C26D3B3B34&displaylang=en [microsoft.com]
Windows 7 SP1 WAIK supplement: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=0AEE2B4B-494B-4ADC-B174-33BC62F02C5D [microsoft.com]

Other comments:

By bertok (226922) writes: on Friday May 06, @08:11PM

Essentially, for newer versions of Exchange and SharePoint, PowerShell is the only scripting option, and is excellent. For older versions, you don't have a lot of options, but you can probably call COM APIs using PowerShell as well, but the effort is a lot higher. The APIs exposed by Exchange (e.g.: MAPI) are hideous. SharePoint can be managed via direct SQL database queries from anything, with some care.

For Windows servers in general, stick to PowerShell. It's by far the best shell/scripting language by a wide margin. There's a learning curve, but it's absolutely worth it. To get set up to an equivalent level to Bash+SSH:

- Install PS2 + WinRM2 on pre-2008 R2 servers. It's not installed by default, and 2008 comes with PS1. There's a hotfix that updates PowerShell and all associated components to v2 on XP, 2003, Vista, and 2008.
- Enable unsigned scripts to run. Preventing .ps1 script files from running by default is a *** workaround for not having an execute bit, and is totally useless. Just turn it off.
- Enable WinRM. This is the equivalent of SSH, but has to be enabled on both servers (which is obvious), and the clients (for no discernible reason).
- Enable CredSSP. This improves WinRM by allowing delegated credentials to be used remotely. Unlike SSH, WinRM is an RPC protocol, and due to limitations of Windows authentication, the remote server cannot use network resources with the client's credentials (one hop security). The workaround is credentials delegation. This requires a server-side setting, and two client-side settings.
- Install plugins. There are about a dozen that ship with Windows 2008 R2, a plugin for Exchange 2007 and 2010, and a plugin for SharePoint. To set up the AD plugin on pre-2008 R2 domains, there's a module that has to be deployed, it's basically a web service that the PS plugin uses. The SQL plugin is an optional download that is particularly handy for SharePoint.

That seems like a lot, but can be done in seconds from the command-line, and even better, can be done completely automatically using Group Policy. For new server deployments, I ask for my servers to be created under an AD container, and I just set those options up in a common policy configured on that container, and then everything just works.

The equivalent of a remote SSH session in: Enter-PSSession 'computername'

However, it gets better: You can create and store sessions in variables by creating them using New-PSSession. You can pipe objects into remote sessions and invoke commands on them, or arrays of them. In other words, a single line of code lets you invoke commands in bulk across farms of servers.

For example, as a Citrix XenApp admin, I often have to update machine policy across a farm. This is just two lines with PowerShell:

$xaservers = Get-XAServer | Select -ExpandProperty ServerName
Invoke-Command -CN $xaservers { gpupdate }

That will query the list of XenApp servers, extract the server names into an array, and invoke "gpupdate" in parallel across all of them using a temporary secure shell session.

There might be equivalent capabilities on Linux, but nothing on the Windows platform comes close to what you can do with PowerShell.

Free Inbound Traffic for all Windows Azure Customers starting July 1st, 2011

pbutlerm — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Most Excellent news! Starting July 1st 2011, Azure inbound traffic to our customers is Free!

Quoting the Windows Azure Blog Post: “…For billing periods that begin on or after July 1, 2011, all inbound data transfers for both peak and off-peak times will be free.”

Link: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2011/06/22/announcing-free-ingress-for-all-windows-azure-customers-starting-july-1st-2011.aspx

For detailed information on the pricing go to: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/offers/popup/popup.aspx?lang=en&locale=en-us&offer=MS-AZR-0003P (look at the Data Transfer section at the bottom of the page).

Enjoy!

Developing and Debugging Azure Management API CmdLets

pbutlerm — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 05:27:00 GMT

The Azure Management API Cmdlets enable you to use PowerShell Cmdlets to manage your Azure projects. You can access this project from the following link: http://wappowershell.codeplex.com/

Working with the Azure Management API Cmdlets

1. Follow the instructions to install the Cmdlets

2. Installing a certificate is needed for executing the Cmdlets:

For creating the certificate follow this instructions: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/avkashchauhan/archive/2010/12/30/handling-issue-csmanage-cannot-establish-secure-connection-to-management-core-windows-net.aspx

Viewing Certificates: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/View-or-manage-your-certificates

Lessons Learned

Install the certificate your are going to be using as the Azure Management API certificate in the computer you are using for Execution/development. If this is not done you will get errors like this one: Windows Azure PowerShell CMDLET returns "The HTTP request was forbidden with client authentication scheme 'Anonymous'" error message. Link: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/avkashchauhan/archive/2011/06/13/what-to-do-when-windows-azure-powershell-cmdlet-returns-quot-the-http-request-was-forbidden-with-client-authentication-scheme-anonymous-quot-error-message.aspx

Developing and Debugging Recommendations

1. Closing the PowerShell Windows for Compiling

The PowerShell shell windows will lock the build and rebuild of the project because it using the Azure Management Cmdlets compiled libraries. You need to close any PowerShell window you may have open before Building the Azure Cmdlets project and for un-installation of the Cmdlets.

2. Streamline Testing

Create a text file with the variables and values, open a PowerShell window and copy and paste the variables. The variables will be available for the entire life of the window. Example:

$RolName = "WebRole1_IN_0"
$RolName2= "WebRole1_IN_1"
$Slot = "Production"
$ServiceName = "Mydemo"
$SubId = "6cad9315-45a8-3e4r4e-8bdc-3e3rfdeerrrf"
$Cert = "C:\certs\AzureManagementAPICertificate.cer"

Reboot-RoleInstance -RoleInstanceName $RolName -Slot $Slot -SubscriptionId $SubId -Certificate $Cert -ServiceName $ServiceName

ReImage-RoleInstance -RoleInstanceName $RolName2 -Slot $Slot -SubscriptionId $SubId -Certificate $Cert -ServiceName $ServiceName

Visual studio Azure Management Cmdlets debugging Steps:

Open the Azure Management Cmdlets Solution in Visual Studio
Close all open PowerShell windows
Open a CMD Windows and Run the Cmdlets Uninstall script:
1. Find location “C:\AzureServiceManagementCmdlets\setup\dependency_checker\scripts\tasks”
2. Run the script “uninstallPSSnapIn.bat”
Recompile the project in Visual studio
(as needed) Put your breakpoints
On the CMD Window Run the Cmdlets installation script: installPSSnapIn.cmd
1. Find location “C:\AzureServiceManagementCmdlets\setup\dependency_checker\scripts\tasks”
2. Run the script “installPSSnapIn.cmd”
Open a PowerShell Window. Run the following commands in the PowerShell window
1. Add-PSSnapin AzureManagementToolsSnapIn
2. Get-Command -PSSnapin AzureManagementToolsSnapIn
Go back to Visual studio and Attach the Debugger to the PowerShell
1. Tools Tab –> Attach to Process… –> Attach to the PowerShelll process.
Go back to the the PowerShell Window
1. Setup the variables you may need:
2. Run the CmdLet you want to debug >> The execution will stop on the BreakPoint in Visual Studio
  1. For Example: Reboot-RoleInstance -RoleInstanceName $RolName -Slot $Slot -SubscriptionId $SubId -Certificate $Cert -ServiceName $ServiceName

Running the Commands:

Happy Development and Debugging! Thanks to David Aiken for the PowerShell tips and tricks.

Azure and HPC Server: You can now run MPI Workloads in Azure

pbutlerm — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:21:00 GMT

Exciting news on the Azure HPC space. With the new release of the HPC Pack 2008 R2 Service Pack 2 (SP2) you can now run MPI Workloads in Azure (in addition to Batch and Parametric sweeps)

Post: http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowshpc/archive/2011/06/29/hpc-pack-2008-r2-service-pack-2-sp2-is-now-available.aspx

The second service pack to the HPC Pack 2008 R2 software is now available!

This update includes a number of great new features, including

Enhanced Azure capabilities, such as adding Azure VM nodes to your cluster, creating Azure node configuration scripts, and supporting Remote Desktop connections
Ability to run MPI-based applications in Azure
Job scheduling support through a REST interface and an IIS-hosted web portal
A new job scheduling policy that uses 'resource pools' to ensure compute access to different user groups
SOA improvements, such as in-process broker support for increased speed, and a new common data staging feature
and all the 'normal' service pack stability improvements

For more information on those, and other, new features available in Service Pack 2 please see our documentation on TechNet.

The single SP2 installer applies to both Express and Enterprise installations, as well as the standalone 'Client Utilities' and 'MS-MPI' packages. You can download it from the Microsoft Download Center.

An important note is that this service pack can not be uninstalled by itself. Uninstalling the service pack will also uninstall the HPC Pack itself, so you'll need to take a full backup (including the SQL databases) before installation if you want to be able to 'roll back.'

If you do not have an HPC Pack 2008 R2 cluster, you can download a free Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 evaluation version. Before you install, you can try out the new Installation Preparation Wizard which can help analyze your environment for common issues and provide some best practice guidance to help ensure an easy HPC cluster setup.

Let us know your thoughts over on our Windows HPC discussion forums.

Windows Azure Toolkits for iOS, Android and Windows Phone

pbutlerm — Tue, 10 May 2011 16:11:00 GMT

We have made available Windows Azure toolkits for mobile development for iOS, Android and Windows Phone:

Link to announcement: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2011/05/09/microsoft-announces-windows-azure-toolkits-for-ios-android-and-windows-phone.aspx

Screencasts are available for developers seeking additional information:

Links to access the free toolkits are below:

iOS:

Windows Phone 7:

http://watoolkitwp7.codeplex.com

Windows Azure Platform Offer Comparison Table

pbutlerm — Mon, 02 May 2011 20:39:00 GMT

Great table that provides a comparison of the Windows Azure Offers:

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/offers/popup/popup.aspx?lang=en&locale=en-US&offer=COMPARE_PUBLIC

Windows HPC with Burst to Windows Azure: Application Models and Data Considerations

pbutlerm — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:51:00 GMT

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=ACDE41C6-153A-4181-912E-78024FCC86DA&displaylang=en

Windows® HPC Server 2008 R2 SP1 enables administrators to increase the power of the on-premises cluster by adding computational resources in Windows Azure. With the Windows Azure “burst” scenario, various types of HPC applications can be deployed to Windows Azure nodes and run on these nodes in the same way they run in on-premises nodes.

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=ACDE41C6-153A-4181-912E-78024FCC86DA&displaylang=en

Windows Azure Platform Training Kit 2011 April Update

pbutlerm — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:30:00 GMT

Windows Azure Platform Training Kit includes a comprehensive set of technical content to help you learn how to use Windows Azure, SQL Azure, and the Windows Azure AppFabric.

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=413E88F8-5966-4A83-B309-53B7B77EDF78&displaylang=en

The Windows Azure Platform Training Kit includes a comprehensive set of technical content including hands-on labs, presentations, and demos that are designed to help you learn how to use the Windows Azure platform, including: Windows Azure, SQL Azure and the Windows Azure AppFabric.
The April 2011 update of the Windows Azure Platform Training Kit has been updated for Windows Azure SDK 1.4, Visual Studio 2010 SP1, includes three new HOLs, and updated HOLs and demos for the new Windows Azure AppFabric portal.
Some of the specific changes with the April update of the training kit includes:

[New] Authenticating Users in a Windows Phone 7 App via ACS, OData Services and Windows Azure lab
[New] Windows Azure Traffic Manager lab
[New] Introduction to SQL Azure Reporting Services lab
[Updated] Connecting Apps with Windows Azure Connect lab updated for Connect refresh
[Updated] Windows Azure CDN lab updated for CDN refresh
[Updated] Introduction to the AppFabric ACS 2.0 lab updated to the production release of ACS 2.0
[Updated] Use ACS to Federate with Multiple Business Identity Providers lab updated to the production release of ACS 2.0
[Updated] Introduction to Service Bus lab updated to latest AppFabric portal experience
[Updated] Eventing on the Service Bus lab updated to latest AppFabric portal experience
[Updated] Service Remoting lab updated to latest AppFabric portal experience
[Updated] Rafiki demo updated to latest AppFabric portal experience
[Updated] Service Bus demos updated to latest AppFabric portal

Release: April Update
Version: 2.9

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=413E88F8-5966-4A83-B309-53B7B77EDF78&displaylang=en

Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows Phone 7

pbutlerm — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:21:00 GMT

Link: http://watoolkitwp7.codeplex.com/

Hello,

I am pleased to announce the Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows Phone 7. The toolkit is designed to make it easier for you to build mobile applications that leverage cloud services running in Windows Azure. The toolkit includes Visual Studio project templates for Windows Phone 7 and Windows Azure, class libraries optimized for use on the phone, sample applications, and documentation.

Windows Azure

Windows Azure is a cloud-computing platform that lets you run applications and store data in the cloud. Instead of having to worry about building out the underlying infrastructure and managing the operating system, you can simply build your application and deploy it to Windows Azure. Windows Azure provides developers with on-demand compute, storage, networking, and content delivery capabilities.

For more information about Windows Azure, visit the Windows Azure website. For developer focused training material, download the Windows Azure Platform Training Kit or view the online Windows Azure Platform Training Course.

Getting started: If you’re looking to try out the Windows Azure Platform free for 30-days—without using a credit card—try the Windows Azure Pass with promo code “CloudCover”. For more details, see Try Out Windows Azure with a Free Pass.

Content

Requirements

You must have the following items to run the project template and the sample solution included in this toolkit:

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional (or higher) or both Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2010 Express and Microsoft Visual Studio
2010 Express for Windows Phone
Windows Phone Developer Tools
Internet Information Services 7 (IIS7)
Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 (November Release)

Link: http://watoolkitwp7.codeplex.com/

Enjoy,

Patrick

Azure Content Delivery Network CDN Best Practices

pbutlerm — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 06:04:00 GMT

Jason Sherron has a great post regarding Windows Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN) Best practices:

Link: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2011/03/18/best-practices-for-the-windows-azure-content-delivery-network.aspx

Enjoy,

Patrick

How-to: Implementing the SCOM Azure Management Pack

pbutlerm — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 03:07:00 GMT

Hello,

My good friend Walter Myers has published some great blog posts regarding how to properly implement the Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) 2007 to monitor Windows Azure Applications:

Setting Up Performance Counters in your Web and Worker Role
- http://blogs.msdn.com/b/walterm/archive/2011/02/01/setting-up-performance-counters-in-your-web-and-worker-roles.aspx
Adding Azure Application Monitoring to SCOM 2007
- http://blogs.msdn.com/b/walterm/archive/2011/02/14/adding-azure-application-monitoring-to-scom-2007-r2.aspx
Configuring Azure Diagnostics Performance Counters Monitoring in SCOM 2007
- http://blogs.msdn.com/b/walterm/archive/2011/03/18/configuring-azure-diagnostics-performance-counter-monitoring-in-scom-2007-r2.aspx

Enjoy,

Patrick

Windows Azure Guest OS Releases and SDK Compatibility Matrix

pbutlerm — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:16:00 GMT

Link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee924680.aspx

The following guest operating systems have been released on Windows Azure:

Windows Guest OS Family 2 which is substantially compatible with Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Guest OS Family 1 which is substantially compatible with Windows Server 2008 SP2

The included link shows which guest operating system releases are compatible with which versions of the Windows Azure SDK.

Note: To ensure that your service works as expected, you must deploy it to a release of the Windows Azure guest operating system that is compatible with the version of the Windows Azure SDK with which you developed it.

Link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee924680.aspx

Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Training Kit Released

pbutlerm — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:10:00 GMT

For all the .NET developers working on Azure, here is the latest .NET 4.0 Training Kit.

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=752CB725-969B-4732-A383-ED5740F02E93&displaylang=en

Today we released the March 2011 version of the Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Training Kit and Training Course. The Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Training Course includes videos and hands-on-labs designed to help you learn how to utilize the Visual Studio 2010 features and a variety of framework technologies including: C# 4.0, Visual Basic 10, F#, ASP.NET 4, Parallel computing, WCF, Windows Workflow, WPF, Silverlight and Windows Azure. The kit now contains 50 labs, 22 demos, 16 presentations and 12 videos.

New content in this release includes:

- Silverlight 4:

o Hands-on Lab - Migrating a Windows Forms Application to Silverlight

o Hands-on Lab - Migrating an ASP.NET Web Forms Application to Silverlight

o Hands-on Lab - Working with Panels, XAML and Controls

o Hands-on Lab - Silverlight Data Binding

o Hands-on Lab - Migrating Existing Applications to Out-of-Browser

o Hands-on Lab - Great UX with Blend

o Hands-on Lab - Web Services and Silverlight

o Hands-on Lab - Using WCF RIA Services

o Hands-on Lab - Deep Dive into Out of Browser

o Hands-on Lab - Using the MVVM Pattern in Silverlight Applications

- Windows Azure:

o Hands-on Lab – Introduction to Windows Azure

o Hands-on Lab – Debugging Applications in Windows Azure

o Demo Script – Hello Windows Azure

o Demo Script – Deploying Windows Azure Services

o Presentation – Windows Azure Platform Overview

o Video – What is Windows Azure?

All content has been tested to work with Visual Studio 2010 SP1. The setup scripts for all hands-on labs and demo scripts have also been updated so that the content can easily be used on a machine running Windows 7 SP1.

Enjoy,

Patrick

How-to Index of Windows Azure

pbutlerm — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:07:00 GMT

This is the list of Windows Azure Platform How-to that appear on the windows Azure SDK 1.4

How to: Build a Windows Azure Application
How to Configure Virtual Machine Sizes
How to Configure Connection Strings
How to Configure Operating System Versions
How to Configure Local Storage Resources
How to Create a Certificate for a Role
How to Create a Remote Desktop Protocol File
How to Define Environment Variables Before a Role Starts
How to Define Input Endpoints for a Role
How to Define Internal Endpoints for a Role
How to Define Startup Tasks for a Role
How to Encrypt a Password
How to Restrict Communication Between Roles
How to Retrieve Role Instance Data
How to Use the RoleEnvironment.Changing Event
How to Use the RoleEnvironment.Changed Event

How to: Use the Windows Azure SDK Tools to Package and Deploy an Application
How to Prepare the Windows Azure Compute Emulator
How to Configure the Compute Emulator to Emulate Windows Azure
How to Package an Application by Using the CSPack Command-Line Tool
How to Run an Application in the Compute Emulator by Using the CSRun Command-Line Tool
How to Initialize the Storage Emulator by Using the DSInit Command-Line Tool
How to Change the Configuration of a Running Service
How to Attach a Debugger to New Role Instances
How to View Trace Information in the Compute Emulator
How to Configure SQL Server for the Storage Emulator

How to: Configure a Web Application
How to Configure a Web Role for Multiple Web Sites
How to Configure the Virtual Directory Location
How to Configure a Windows Azure Port
How to Configure the Site Entry in the Service Definition File
How to Configure IIS Components in Windows Azure
How to Configure a Service to Use a Legacy Web Role

How to: Manage Windows Azure VM Roles
How to Create the Base VHD for a VM Role in Windows Azure
How to Install the Windows Azure Integration Components
How to Enable Windows Azure Connect for a VM Role
How to Develop an Adapter for a VM Role in Windows Azure
How to Prepare the Server Image for Uploading to Windows Azure
How to Upload a VHD to Windows Azure
How to Create and Deploy the VM Role Service Model
How to Use Certificates With a VM Role in Windows Azure
How to Change a Server Image for a VM Role by Using a Differencing VHD
How to Change the Configuration of a VM role
How to Manage the Lifecycle of VM Role Instances in Windows Azure

How to: Administering Windows Azure Hosted Services
How to Setup a Windows Azure Subscription
How to Setup Multiple Administrator Accounts

How to: Deploy a Windows Azure Application
How to Package your Service
How to Deploy a Service
How to Create a Hosted Service
How to Create a Storage Account
How to Configure the Service Topology

How to: Upgrade a Service
How to Perform In-Place Upgrades
How to Swap a Service's VIPs

How to: Manage Upgrades to the Windows Azure Guest OS
How to Determine the Current Guest OS of your Service
How to Upgrade the Guest OS in the Management Portal
How to Upgrade the Guest OS in the Service Configuration File

How to: Manage Management Certificates
How to Create a Management Certificate
How to Add a Management Certificate to a Windows Azure Subscription

How to: Manage Service Certificates
How to Add a New Certificate to the Certificate Store
How to Associate a Certificate with a Service
How to Update a Certificate in the Certificate Store
How to Configure an HTTPS Endpoint in Windows Azure
How to Control Access to Certificates on a Virtual Machine

How to: Use Storage Services
How to Create a Storage Account
How to Read Configuration Settings for the Storage Client Library and Handle Changed Settings

How to: Configure Windows Azure Connect
How to Activate Windows Azure Roles for Windows Azure Connect
How to Install Local Endpoints with Windows Azure Connect
How to Create and Configure a Group of Endpoints in Windows Azure Connect

How to: Manage CDN on Windows Azure
How to Enable CDN for Windows Azure
How to Map CDN Content to a Custom Domain
How to Remove Content from the CDN
How to Manage Expiration of Blob Content
How to Manage Expiration of Hosted Service Content

Security Resources for Windows Azure

pbutlerm — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT

Link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff934690.aspx

The following lists of papers, articles, blogs, videos, and webcasts provide a multitude of resources for learning how to handle security when developing applications for the Windows Azure platform.

Security for Windows Azure

Single Sign-On from Active Directory to a Windows Azure Application

This paper contains step-by-step instructions for using Windows Identity Foundation, Windows Azure, and Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) 2.0 for achieving single sign-on (SSO) across web applications that are deployed both on premises and in the cloud. Previous knowledge of these products is not required for completing the proof of concept (POC) configuration. This document is meant to be an introductory document, and it ties together examples from each component into a single, end-to-end example.

Windows Azure Security Notes

This document from the Patterns and Practices team and developed with help from customers, field engineers, product teams, and industry experts provides solutions for securing common application scenarios on Windows Azure based on common principles, patterns, and practices.

Windows Azure Security Overview

This paper provides a comprehensive look at the security available with Windows Azure. Written by Charlie Kaufman and Ramanathan Venkatapathy, the paper examines the security functionality available from the perspectives of the customer and Microsoft operations, discusses the people and processes that help make Windows Azure more secure, and provides a brief discussion about compliance.

Security Best Practices for Developing Windows Azure Applications

This paper focuses on the security challenges and recommended approaches to design and develop more secure applications for Microsoft’s Windows Azure platform authored by Microsoft Security Engineering Center (MSEC) and Microsoft’s Online Services Security & Compliance (OSSC) team along with Windows Azure product group.

Cloud Security - Crypto Services and Data Security in Windows Azure

This MSDN Magazine article introduces some of the basic concepts of cryptography and related security within the Windows Azure platform. The article also reviews some of the cryptography services and providers in Windows Azure and discusses the security implications for any transition to Windows Azure.

Securing Microsoft's Cloud Infrastructure

This paper by the Online Services Security and Compliance (OSSC) team shows how the coordinated and strategic application of people, processes, technologies, and experience results in continuous improvements to the security of the Microsoft cloud environment.

J.D. Meier’s blog posts on Windows Azure security

J.D. Meier is a principal program manager for developer guidance at Microsoft and has contributed to several of Microsoft’s patterns and practices books. His blog gives him a way to convey his knowledge of his latest research efforts, which have recently been focused on security for Windows Azure.

TechNet Webcast - Windows Azure Security - A Peek Under the Hood (Level 100)

In this Security Talk webcast, Charlie Kaufman, a software architect on the Windows Azure team at Microsoft, describes how the Windows Azure software is structured to accept software and configuration requests from customers, deploy the software within virtual machines, and allocate storage and database resources to hold a persistent state—all while maintaining a minimal attack surface and several layers of defense in depth. Charlie also demonstrates how Windows Azure security compares with systems operated on a customer's premises. (60:00)

MSDN Webcast - Security Talk - Using Windows Azure Storage Securely (Level 200)

In this Security Talk webcast, Jai Haridas, an engineer on the Windows Azure Storage team at Microsoft, covers how to store and access data securely, and how to share blobs with other users using container access control lists (ACLs) and the SAS feature. Jai also discusses some of the best practices for using Windows Azure Storage. (60:00)

MSDN Webcast - Security Talk - Azure Federated Identity Security Using ADFS 2.0 (Level 300)

In this Security Talk webcast, John Steer, a security architect for the Microsoft IT Information Security group, explains how to create an Windows Azure application using Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) 2.0 Security Token Service (STS), previously known as Geneva Server, for back-end authentication. (60:00)

Cloud Cover Episode 8 - Shared Access Signatures

In this episode of Cloud Cover, learn how to create and use Shared Access Signatures (SAS) in Windows Azure blob storage and discover how to easily create SAS signatures yourself. (41:50)

Cloud Cover Episode 15 - Certificates and SSL

In this episode of Cloud Cover, learn how certificates work in Windows Azure and how to enable SSL. Also, discover a tip on uploading public key certificates to Windows Azure. (29:08)

Security for SQL Azure

SQL Azure Firewall

This MSDN library article describes the SQL Azure firewall and how to use it to protect data from unwanted access.

Security Guidelines and Limitations (SQL Azure Database)

This MSDN library article describes guidelines and limitations for the following security-related aspects of SQL Azure databases: firewall, encryption and certificate validation, authentication, login and users, and security best practices.

Getting Started with SQL Azure

This MSDN library article describes how to set the firewall settings using the SQL Azure portal. It also explains how to overcome firewall errors.

Security Guidelines for SQL Azure

This TechNet Wiki article provides an overview of security guidelines for customers connecting to SQL Azure Database, and building secure applications on SQL Azure.

These posts on the SQL Azure team blog help customers with a variety of security-related concerns that are top-of-mind for the community.

Microsoft SQL Azure Security Model

This IT Mentors training video covers authentication and authorization for SQL Azure. (30:00)

Security for Windows Azure AppFabric

Securing and Authenticating an AppFabric Service Bus Connection

This MSDN Library article discusses how develop applications that use the Windows Azure AppFabric Service Bus to perform secure connections.

Building Applications that Use AppFabric Access Control

This MSDN Library article discusses how to use the Windows Azure AppFabric Access Control service (AC) in your applications to build trust with Web services, request tokens, use the management service, and access control quot

Windows Azure SDK and Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio (March 2011) SDK 1.4

pbutlerm — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:35:00 GMT

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=7a1089b6-4050-4307-86c4-9dadaa5ed018&displaylang=en

Windows Azure SDK 1.4 Released

Windows Azure™ is a cloud services operating system that serves as the development, service hosting and service management environment for the Windows Azure platform. Windows Azure provides developers with on-demand compute and storage to host, scale, and manage web applications on the internet through Microsoft® datacenters.
Windows Azure is a flexible platform that supports multiple languages and integrates with your existing on-premises environment. To build applications and services on Windows Azure, developers can use their existing Microsoft Visual Studio® expertise. In addition, Windows Azure supports popular standards, protocols and languages including SOAP, REST, XML, Java, PHP and Ruby. Windows Azure is now commercially available in 41 countries.
Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio extend Visual Studio 2010 to enable the creation, configuration, building, debugging, running, packaging and deployment of scalable web applications and services on Windows Azure.

Windows Azure SDK 1.4 Refresh is primarily a stability release addressing the below issues.

Resolved an issue that caused full IIS fail when the web.config file was set to read-only.
Resolved an issue that caused full IIS packages to double in size when packaged.
Resolved an issue that caused a full IIS web role to recycle when the diagnostics store was full.
Resolved an IIS log file permission Issue which caused diagnostics to be unable to transfer IIS logs to Windows Azure storage.
Resolved an issue preventing csupload to run on x86 platforms.
User errors in the web.config are now more easily diagnosable.
Enhancements to improve the stability and robustness of Remote Desktop to Windows Azure Roles.

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=7a1089b6-4050-4307-86c4-9dadaa5ed018&displaylang=en

Microsoft Azure Named Fastest Cloud Service

pbutlerm — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:28:00 GMT

Interesting article about performance comparison of PaaS and IaaS providers around the globe

Article on InformationWeek: http://www.informationweek.com/news/cloud-computing/infrastructure/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=229300184&pgno=1&queryText=&isPrev=

Performance comparison Link: https://www.cloudsleuth.net/web/guest/global-provider-view

Filters: Response Time, 30 days, World

Linked Servers to SQL Azure

pbutlerm — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:41:00 GMT

Great Article in how to setup Linked Servers on SQL Azure

Link: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sqlcat/archive/2011/03/08/linked-servers-to-sql-azure.aspx

Abstract

Connecting directly to a SQL Azure database from a reporting tool (like Microsoft Excel and PowerPivot, or SQL Server Reporting Services) from your desktop or local data center is possible using a data source that looks like:

[YourAzureServr@database.windows.net].[YourDatabase].[YourSchema].[YourTable]

This is useful if you have a single database on SQL Azure that you need to query. What if you have reached the 50GB limit that is currently the top size of a SQL Azure database? The solution is to split your database into many databases containing the same schema. See this paper on database sharding with SQL Azure.

Expecting the users to always define multiple data sources to connect to multiple databases is cumbersome and may not perform well. For example, a PowerPivot user would have to open a separate link to every SQL Azure database individually. This paper describes a solution using a local SQL Server that can ease the access to all these databases and will usually give better performance. The solution is called Partitioned Views and is implemented using Linked Servers. Since customers don’t usually like to expose their databases to the internet, we are proposing a separate server that contains no actual data and only contains the views necessary for applications to get an internet link to SQL Azure databases. This is not the only solution because you can implement stored procedures using OPENROWSET or OPENQUERY for solutions that need more logic.

A read-only solution is the easiest to implement. If modifications must be made to the SQL Azure tables via the Distributed Partitioned Views, you must read the restrictions in SQL Server Books Online. It also helps to read about how to implement a partitioned view. Using the check constraints on the tables as shown in the examples in this link is essential if you want the optimizer to only touch the right tables when you use the constrained columns in a WHERE clause in your queries.

Link: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sqlcat/archive/2011/03/08/linked-servers-to-sql-azure.aspx

Windows Azure Platform Training Kit - February 2011 Update

pbutlerm — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 07:32:00 GMT

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=413E88F8-5966-4A83-B309-53B7B77EDF78&displaylang=en

The February 2011 update of the Windows Azure Platform Training Kit includes several updates and bug fixes for the hands-on labs. Most of the updates were focused on supporting the new Windows Azure AppFabric February CTP and the new portal experience for AppFabric Caching, Access Control, and the Service Bus.
Some of the specific changes with the February update of the training kit includes:

[Fixes] Several bug fixes in demos and labs
[Updated] Hands-on Lab - Building Windows Azure Apps with the Caching service
[Updated] Hands-on Lab – Using the Access Control Service to Federate with Multiple Business Identity Providers
[Updated] Hands-on Lab – Introduction to the AppFabric Access Control Service V2
[Updated] Hands-on Lab - Introduction to the Windows Azure AppFabric Service Bus Futures
[Updated] Hands-on Lab - Advanced Web and Worker Roles – fixed PHP installer script
[Updated] Demo Script – Rafiki PDC Keynote Demo
[Fixes] The setup scripts for all hands-on labs and demo scripts have also been updated so that the content can easily be used on a machine running Windows 7 SP1.

Release: February Update
Version: 2.4

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=413E88F8-5966-4A83-B309-53B7B77EDF78&displaylang=en

Windows Azure Training Videos (Jumpstart–Channel 9)

pbutlerm — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:08:00 GMT

This is a compilation of the Windows Azure Jumpstart Videos on Channel 9:

Session 01: Windows Azure Overview
Session 02: Introduction to Compute
Session 03: Windows Azure Lifecycle, Part 1
Session 04: Windows Azure Lifecycle, Part 2
Session 05: Windows Azure Storage, Part 1
Session 06: Windows Azure Storage, Part 2
Session 07: Introduction to SQL Azure
Session 08: Windows Azure Diagnostics
Session 09: Windows Azure Security, Part 1
Session 10: Windows Azure Security, Part 2
Session 11: Scalability, Caching & Elasticity, Part 1
Session 12: Scalability, Caching & Elasticity, Part 2, and Q&A

Course materials and code samples

Reference & Credit: http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/btl/b/weblog/archive/2011/01/14/your-weekend-look-cloudy-free-windows-azure-training-just-released.aspx by Frank Gartland

Enjoy,

Patrick

Azure SDK 1.3 / Tools AND Azure Training Kit November Update

pbutlerm — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:06:00 GMT

We have just release the 1.3 version of the Azure SDK, Azure Tools for Visual Studio and the Training Kit. This is the information and links for them:

Azure Software Development Kit (SDK) 1.3:

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=7a1089b6-4050-4307-86c4-9dadaa5ed018&displaylang=en

Virtual Machine (VM) Role (Beta):Allows you to create a custom VHD image using Windows Server 2008 R2 and host it in the cloud.
Remote Desktop Access: Enables connecting to individual service instances using a Remote Desktop client.
Full IIS Support in a Web role: Enables hosting Windows Azure web roles in a IIS hosting environment.
Elevated Privileges: Enables performing tasks with elevated privileges within a service instance.
Virtual Network (CTP): Enables support for Windows Azure Connect, which provides IP-level connectivity between on-premises and Windows Azure resources.
Diagnostics: Enhancements to Windows Azure Diagnostics enable collection of diagnostics data in more error conditions.
Networking Enhancements: Enables roles to restrict inter-role traffic, fixed ports on InputEndpoints.
Performance Improvement: Significant performance improvement local machine deployment.

Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio also includes:

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=7a1089b6-4050-4307-86c4-9dadaa5ed018&displaylang=en

C# and VB Project creation support for creating a Windows Azure Cloud application solution with multiple roles.
Tools to add and remove roles from the Windows Azure application.
Tools to configure each role.
Integrated local development via the compute emulator and storage emulator services.
Running and Debugging a Cloud Service in the Development Fabric.
Browsing cloud storage through the Server Explorer.
Building and packaging of Windows Azure application projects.
Deploying to Windows Azure.
Monitoring the state of your services through the Server Explorer.
Debugging in the cloud by retrieving IntelliTrace logs through the Server Explorer.

Windows Azure Platform Training Kit - November Update

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=413E88F8-5966-4A83-B309-53B7B77EDF78&displaylang=en

The November update provides new and updated hands-on labs for the Windows Azure November 2010 enhancements and the Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio 1.3. These new hands-on labs demonstrate how to use new Windows Azure features such as Virtual Machine Role, Elevated Privileges, Full IIS, and more. This release also includes hands-on labs that were updated in late October 2010 to demonstrate some of the new Windows Azure AppFabric services that were announced at the Professional Developers Conference (http://microsoftpdc.com) including the Windows Azure AppFabric Access Control Service, Caching Service, and the Service Bus.
Some of the specific changes with the November update of the training kit include:

Updated all hands-on labs to use the new Windows Azure Tools for Visual Studio November 2010 (version 1.3) release
New hands-on lab "Advanced Web and Worker Role" – shows how to use admin mode and startup tasks
New hands-on lab "Connecting Apps With Windows Azure Connect" – shows how to use Windows Azure Connected (formerly Project "Sydney")
New hands-on lab "Virtual Machine Role" – shows how to get started with VM Role by creating and deploying a VHD
New hands-on lab "Windows Azure CDN" – simple introduction to the CDN
New hands-on lab "Introduction to the Windows Azure AppFabric Service Bus Futures" – shows how to use the new Service Bus features in the AppFabric labs environment
New hands-on lab "Building Windows Azure Apps with Caching Service" – shows how to use the new Windows Azure AppFabric Caching service
New hands-on lab "Introduction to the AppFabric Access Control Service V2" – shows how to build a simple web application that supports multiple identity providers
Updated hands-on lab "Introduction to Windows Azure" - updated to use the new Windows Azure platform Portal
Updated hands-on lab "Introduction to SQL Azure" - updated to use the new Windows Azure platform Portal

Note: The presentations and demo scripts in the training kit will be updated in early December 2010 to reflect the new Windows Azure November enhancements and SDK/Tools release.

Azure Security Papers

pbutlerm — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:19:00 GMT

This is a list of Azure Security Paper published by the Microsoft Global Foundation Services (GFS), the team that manages and supports the Azure Data Centers.

Information Security Management System for Microsoft Cloud Infrastructure

(November 2010)

This paper describes the Information Security Management System program for Microsoft's Cloud Infrastructure, as well as some of the processes and benefits realized from operating this model. An overview of the key certifications and attestations Microsoft maintains to prove to cloud customers that information security is central to Microsoft cloud operations is included.

Windows Azure™ Security Overview (August 2010)

To help customers better understand the array of security controls implemented within Windows Azure from both the customer's and Microsoft operations' perspectives, this paper provides a comprehensive look at the security available with Windows Azure. The paper provides a technical examination of the security functionality available, the people and processes that help make Windows Azure more secure, as well as a brief discussion about compliance.

Security Best Practices for Developing Windows Azure Applications (June 2010)

This white paper focuses on the security challenges and recommended approaches to design and develop more secure applications for Microsoft’s Windows Azure platform. It is intended to be a resource for technical software audiences: software designers, architects, developers and testers who design, build and deploy more secure Windows Azure solutions.

Azure and Patterns & Practices still apply

pbutlerm — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 06:07:32 GMT

The fact of migrating or developing new applications on Azure provides the opportunity to review architectures, refactor code and apply best practices that we may have missed. This is most current documentation available from the MS Patterns and Practices team:

Link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff921347.aspx

Solution Development Fundamentals

Solution development fundamentals cover the cross-cutting aspects of solution development, such as security, caching, data access, validation, exception management, and so on. It also includes application architecture, development process, the software development life cycle (SDLC), and application life cycle guidance. You will find guidance and patterns that are generally applicable to solution development regardless of the specific architecture or scenario.

Active Releases

Enterprise Library. Enterprise Library is a collection of application blocks that address common cross-cutting concerns that developers face when developing applications. The latest version of Enterprise Library (version 5.0) was released in April 2010 and includes support for Visual Studio 2010, as well as many performance and functionality improvements.
Unity. Unity is our implementation of a dependency injection container. We recently released Unity 2.0 (also part of the latest version of Enterprise Library) which includes a number of key features, including support for policy-based interception and support for Silverlight. Unity provides a mature and stable foundation for building high-quality, flexible, pattern-based libraries and reference implementations.
A Guide to Claims–based Identity and Access Control. This guide gives you enough information to evaluate claims-based identity as a possible option when you're planning a new application or making changes to an existing one. It is intended for any architect, developer, or information technology (IT) professional who designs, builds, or operates Web applications and services that require identity information about their users.
Microsoft Application Architecture Guide, 2nd Edition. This guide provides design-level guidance for the architecture and design of applications built on the .NET Framework.
Performance Testing Guidance for Web Applications. This guide shows you an end-to-end approach for implementing performance testing for your Web applications.

General Guidance

Enterprise Library

Enterprise Library 4.1 — October 2008

Unity Application Block

Process

Visual Studio Team System — September 2007

Technical Articles

Enjoy,

Patrick