Windows Azure platform AppFabric - Announcements

The .NET Services November 2009 CTP QFE Scheduled Maintenance -- Complete

2009-11-13T08:55:00Z

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance

The .NET Services (Service Bus and Access Control Service) planned maintenance is complete. Some service namespaces may be in the activating state and will automatically get activated shortly. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience.

The .NET Services November 2009 CTP QFE Scheduled Maintenance -- Extended

2009-11-12T23:14:00Z

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance --- Extended

The planned maintenance completion is delayed until 1AM PST due to unforeseen deployment issues.

The .NET Services (Service Bus and Access Control Service) will be undergoing planned maintenance on November 12th, 2009, starting at 3PM PST, and ending at 12AM PST November 13th. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience.

When:

START: November 12th, 2009, 3PM PST

END: November 13th, 2009, 12AM PST

Impact Alert:

.NET Services and the .NET Services Portal will be unavailable during this period.

Thank You,

The .NET Services Team

The .NET Services November 2009 CTP QFE Breaking Changes Announcement and Scheduled Maintenance

2009-11-12T05:59:00Z

The .NET Services Team will release a QFE on 11/12/2009 (Thursday). Users will have NO access to .NET Services Portal and .NET Services during the scheduled maintenance down time. Please note that any Access Control Service data (i.e. rules, scopes, issuers, token policies) that customers have created will have to be manually restored by customers post this QFE release.

When:

START: November 12th, 2009, 3pm PST

END: November 13th, 2009, Midnight PST

Impact Alert:

Service Bus, Access Control Service and the .NET Services Portal will be unavailable during this period.

Please read the following detail to prepare your applications for this QFE release:

.NET Services SDK Samples

Service Bus Message Buffer HTTP API Sample
Description	A HTTP Message Buffer sample has been added to the November 2009 CTP QFE SDK
Pre-Release Behavior	SDK contains Message Buffer Client sample only
Post-Release Behavior	SDK contains both Message Buffer Client and HTTP Message Buffer samples
Recommended Post-Release Action	In order to get access to the new HTTP Message Buffer samples, users will need to download the new November 2009 CTP QFE SDK

Access Control Service

A New Service Namespace Management Key will be generated
Description	A New Service Namespace Management Key will be generated. Please note that it might take up to 24 hours for some management keys to be generated after the release
Pre-Release Behavior	n/a
Post-Release Behavior	n/a
Recommended Post-Release Action	Configuration files, user code or scripts referencing the management key should be updated with the new management key
Access Control Service data will not be migrated
Description	All Access Control Service data such as rules, scopes, token policies, issuers will not be migrated to the November 2009 CTP QFE release
Pre-Release Behavior	n/a
Post-Release Behavior	n/a
Recommended Pre-Release Action	Export Access Control Service data Customers who have configured ACS data (i.e. rules, scopes, token policies and issuer) may wish to export their data to enable post release restoration. Currently the acm.exe tool does not support bulk operations such as backup/restore. Instead, it must be performed manually. To assist in the process there is a short script you can run which will create a collection of text files that capture the Token Policies, Scopes, Issuers, and Rules in files. While the Token Policies, Scopes, and Issuers are retrieved into their own respective files, the Rules must be retrieved in reference to the Scope. As such, the script loops through all the scope IDs in scopes.txt and requests all the rules for that particular scope and places them in the rules_[scope id].txt file. To run this script, please ensure that the Service Namespace (service) and the Management key (mgmtkey) properties are set in acm.exe.config. Export.BAT acm getall scope > scopes.txt FOR /F "tokens=2 delims=: " %%G IN ('findstr /B "id" scopes.txt') DO (acm getall rule -scopeid:%%G >> rules_%%G.txt) acm getall tokenpolicy > tokenpolicy.txt acm getall issuer > issuer.txt
Recommended Post-Release Action	Restore Access Control Service Data Please note that a new Service Namespace Management Key will be generated as part of the QFE release. After the QFE release, you will have to retrieve the new key from the Portal and update acm.exe.config. To perform a restoration, you will have to run all the necessary commands using the acm.exe tool. To learn more about how to use the acm.exe tool, please see the ACM.exe sample in the SDK. Due to dependencies, the restoration must be done in a particular order. First the Token Policies, then the Scopes which reference the Token Policy IDs, then the Issuers, and then the Rules which reference both the Scope IDs and the Issuer IDs.

The .NET Services Team

Scheduled Maintenance Notification - .NET Services Access Control Service - COMPLETE

2009-11-11T04:35:00Z

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance - COMPLETE

The .NET Services Access Control Service planned maintenance is complete. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Scheduled Maintenance Notification - .NET Services Access Control Service

2009-11-11T01:49:00Z

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance

The .NET Services Access Control Service will be undergoing planned maintenance on November 10th, 2009, starting at 7PM PST, and ending at 9PM PST. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience.

When:

START: November 10th, 2009, 7PM PST

END: November 10th, 2009, 9PM PST

Impact Alert:

.NET Services Access Control Service will be unavailable during this period.

Thank You,

The .NET Services Team

A New Community Protocol and Token Format Supported by the Access Control Service

2009-11-06T00:55:00Z

The November 2009 CTP release of the Access Control Service includes support for a new community protocol and token format. Their names are Web Resource Authorization Protocol (WRAP) and Simple Web Tokens (SWT). See here for specifications, community discussion, and more information.

Scheduled Maintenance Notification - .NET Services and Portal (Nov 5th, 2009) -- COMPLETE

2009-11-05T22:59:00Z

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance

The .NET Services (ServiceBus and Access Control Service) planned maintenance is complete. Some service namespaces may be in the activating state and will automatically get activated shortly. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience.

The new portal URL is: https://netservices.azure.com/

Microsoft .NET Services November 2009 CTP Release Announcement

2009-11-05T18:15:00Z

The .NET Services Team is excited to announce the release of .NET Services November 2009 CTP. This release focuses on the portal user experience improvement, services performance, and execution on the Access Control Service and Service Bus roadmaps announced in September, 2009.

Next Steps

1. Download and install the .NET Services SDK

2. Read the .NET Services November 2009 CTP release notes carefully for any breaking changes and known issues

3. Visit the .NET Services Developer Center to access .NET Services forum, videos, blogs, documentations and more

The .NET Services Team

Scheduled Maintenance Notification - .NET Services and Portal (Nov 5th, 2009) -- EXTENDED

2009-10-30T22:58:00Z

Scheduled Maintenance Notification - .NET Services and Portal (Nov 5th, 2009) -- EXTENDED

Because of unforeseen deployment issues our scheduled maintenance has been extended. We expect our service to be available for use at 3PM PST. We apologize for the inconvenience.

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance

The .NET Services (ServiceBus and Access Control Service) will be undergoing planned maintenance on November 5th, 2009, starting at 9AM PST, and ending at 12PM PST due to a major software upgrade. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience.

When:

START: November 5th, 2009, 9AM PST

END: November 5th, 2009, 12PM PST

Impact Alert:

.NET Services and the .NET Services Portal will be unavailable during this period.

Thank You,

The .NET Services Team

The .NET Services November 2009 CTP Breaking Changes Announcement and Scheduled Maintenance

2009-10-30T18:25:00Z

The .NET Services Team is going to release the November 2009 CTP on 11/5/2009 (Thursday). Users will have NO access to .NET Services Portal and .NET Services during the scheduled maintenance down time.

When:

START: November 5th, 2009, 9AM PST

END: November 5th, 2009, 12PM PST

Impact Alert:

Service Bus, Access Control Service and the .NET Services Portal will be unavailable during this period.

Please read the following detail to prepare your applications for this CTP release:

.NET Services Project

.NET Services Portal address
Description	.NET Services Portal URL is changed
Pre-Release Behavior	.NET Services Portal can be accessed at http://portal.ex.azure.microsoft.com
Post-Release Behavior	.NET Services Portal can be accessed at https://netservices.azure.com
Subscription migration
Description	Exiting Subscription name in the July 2009 CTP will be automatically migrated as Project name in the November 2009 CTP
Pre-Release Behavior	“Azure CTP Project” is the default value for the existing Subscription
Post-Release Behavior	“Azure CTP Project” is the default value for the existing Project. Users can assign arbitrary names to newly created projects in the November 2009 CTP
Solution migration
Description	Solutions in the July 2009 CTP will be automatically migrated as Service Namespaces in the November 2009 CTP
Pre-Release Behavior	Solution is the basic entity of a Subscription
Post-Release Behavior	Service Namespace is the basic entity of a Project
Solution region migration
Description	Existing solutions might be migrated to different sub-regions within the United States
Pre-Release Behavior	Solutions are located in a sub-region within the United States
Post-Release Behavior	Existing Service Namespaces will be automatically migrated and reassigned to North Central or South sub-region within the United States.

Service Bus

Queues changes
Description	The Service Bus Queues feature has been changed due to customer feedback and is renamed to “Message Buffer” in order to better reflect the associated capabilities. Message Buffers will be introduced with temporary caching functionality in the November 2009 CTP and the long term goal of providing comparable functionality to queues.
Pre-Release Behavior	Queues provide persistent message storage. Microsoft.ServicesBus.dll provides APIs such as QueueClient, QueueManagementClient, QueuePolicy for interaction with Queues
Post-Release Behavior	Message Buffers provide message caching. Queues related APIs will be removed from Microsoft.ServicesBus.dll. MessageBufferClient APIs will be provided in Microsoft.ServicesBus.dll for interaction with the new Message Buffers
Recommended Post-Release Action	References to Queues should be removed from applications. For some applications, Message Buffers may be substituted for Queues. Where durability requirements exist, solutions employing Azure storage features may be preferred.
Routers removal
Description	Service Bus Routers feature will be removed. A November 2009 CTP sample will be provided to demonstrate how to implement an ‘anycast’ message distribution model similar to the Router’s respective capability
Pre-Release Behavior	Routers push messages to a subscription list. Microsoft.ServicesBus.dll provides APIs such as RouterClient, RouterManagementClient, RouterPolicy etc… for interaction with Routers
Post-Release Behavior	Routers functionality as well as related Microsoft.ServiceBus.Router APIs are removed
Recommended Post-Release Action	Router API calls should be removed from applications. For some applications, the approach suggested in the LoadBalance sample may provide sufficient message routing functionality. Other approaches are possible but are likely to require more client code.
RelayBinding Security Default
Description	All RelayBindings are secured by default in the November 2009 CTP
Pre-Release Behavior	Some RelayBindings have RelaySecurity.Mode set to EndToEndSecurityMode.None
Post-Release Behavior	All RelayBindings have RelaySecurity.Mode set to EndToEndSecurityMode.Transport which is secured by default
Recommended Post-Release Action	User code using any RelayBinding should be updated to use HTTPS transport in service and endpoint addresses. As an alternative, the RelayBinding RelaySeucirty.Mode can be set to EndToEndSecurityMode.None. Note that setting EndToEndSecurityMode.None allows message contents to travel in clear text, considered a security risk for many applications
Service Namespace replaces Solution name
Description	Solution name is replaced as Service Namespace in the November 2009 CTP
Pre-Release Behavior	Solution is the basic naming for a .NET Services solution i.e. http://<solution>.servicebus.windows.net
Post-Release Behavior	Service Namespace is the basic naming for a .NET Services application i.e. http://<service_namespace>.servicebus. windows.net
TransportClientCredentialType update
Description	TransportClientCredentialType such as AutomaticRenewal, CardSpace, ClientCertificate, FederationViaCardSpace and UserName will be removed in the November 2009 CTP release. They will be replaced by credential types that are supported by the new Access Control Service
Pre-Release Behavior	Service Bus authentication type includes CardSpace, X509Certificate, FederationViaCardSpace and UserNamePassword and are reflected in TransportClientCredentialType
Post-Release Behavior	Service Bus authenticated type includes SharedSecret, Simple Web Tokens and Saml which are reflected in TransportClientCredentialType
Recommended Post-Release Action	User code using TransportClientCredentialType in the July 2009 CTP should be updated to use the authentication types employed in the November 2009 CTP.. Sample code will be provided in the November 2009 CTP SDK to illustrate how to use the new authentication type
EndToEndWebHttpSecurityMode. TransportCredentialOnly is removed
Description	EndToEndWebHttpSecurityMode. TransportCredentialOnly is removed
Pre-Release Behavior	EndToEndWebHttpSecurityMode. TransportCredentialOnly option exists
Post-Release Behavior	EndToEndWebHttpSecurityMode. TransportCredentialOnly option is removed as it is not supported
Recommended Post-Release Action	User code using EndToEndWebHttpSecurityMode. TransportCredentialOnly should use EndToEndWebHttpSecurityMode.Transport instead
HttpBufferClient is not public
Description	Microsoft.ServiceBus.HttpBufferClient is removed from public APIs
Pre-Release Behavior	Microsoft.ServiceBus.HttpBufferClient is public
Post-Release Behavior	Microsoft.ServiceBus.HttpBufferClient is no longer public
Recommended Post-Release Action	User code using HttpBufferClient may be replaced by MessageBufferClient
TcpRelayConnectionMode.Direct is removed
Description	Microsoft.ServiceBus. TcpRelayConnectionMode.Direct is removed
Pre-Release Behavior	Microsoft.ServiceBus. TcpRelayConnectionMode.Direct exists
Post-Release Behavior	Microsoft.ServiceBus. TcpRelayConnectionMode.Direct is not supported; Direct Connection is supported in Hybrid mode only.
Recommended Post-Release Action	User code using TcpRelayConnectionMode.Direct may be replaced by TcpRelayConnectionMode.Relayed or TcpRelayConnectionMode.Hybrid
Service publishing feed address aligns with service transport
Description	Service publishing feed address aligns with service transport
Pre-Release Behavior	Service publishing feed address used HTTP transport i.e. http://<mysolution>.servicebus.windows.net/ <mycalculatorservice> regardless of the transport being used in the service i.e. service is accessed at “sb://<mysolution>.servicebus.windows.net/ <mycalculatorservice>” when NetTcpRelayBinding is used
Post-Release Behavior	Service publishing feed address is now aligned with the service transport i.e. the feed will be accessed at “sb://<mysolution>.servicebus.windows.net/ <mycalculatorservice>” when service is accessed at “sb://<mysolution>.servicebus.windows.net/ <mycalculatorservice>”
Recommended Post-Release Action	User code referencing service publishing feed address may be updated with matching service transport
WSHttpRelayBinding is removed
Description	WSHttpRelayBinding is no longer supported
Pre-Release Behavior	WSHttpRelayBinding is supported
Post-Release Behavior	WSHttpRelayBinding is no longer supported
Recommended Post-Release Action	User code using WSHttpRelayBinding should be changed to use another supported binding such as WS2007HttpRelayBinding or user-constructed custom binding
WS2007FederationHttpRelayBinding is removed
Description	WS2007FederationHttpRelayBinding is no longer supported
Pre-Release Behavior	WS2007FederationHttpRelayBinding is supported
Post-Release Behavior	WS2007FederationHttpRelayBinding is no longer supported
Recommended Post-Release Action	User code using WS2007FederationHttpRelayBinding should be changed to use another supported binding such as WS2007HttpRelayBinding or user-constructed custom binding

Access Control Service

Solution credentials replaced with Issuer credentials
Description	Windows Cardspace, Certificates, Username/Password credentials are replaced with Issuer credentials (Issuer Name and Issuer Key) to request tokens from the Access Control Service STS
Pre-Release Behavior	Windows Cardspace, Certificates, Username/Password are supported credentials for requesting tokens from the Access Control Service STS, including tokens to authorize access to Service Bus endpoints
Post-Release Behavior	Requesting a token from the Access Control Service STS requires an Issuer credential which is consisted of an Issuer Name and an Issuer Key. A 32 byte random base-64 encoded string should also be provided in the token request. For Shared Secret and Simple Web Token requests, the Issuer must be configured in Access Control Service. In addition, X509 certificate for SAML requests must be uploaded to Access Control Service
Recommended Post-Release Action	Applications that previously used solution credentials should be ported to use Issuer credentials.
WS-Trust STS replaced with Web Resource Authorization Protocol (WRAP) STS
Description	The WS-Trust and WS-Federation STS endpoints have been replaced with a REST-based STS that accepts REST token requests
Pre-Release Behavior	Access Control Service STS accepted SWS-* security token requests
Post-Release Behavior	Access Control Service STS is now REST-based
Recommended Post-Release Action	Application using the WS-Trust or WS-Federation capability of Access Control Service should be ported to use the new REST-based protocol and format
Access Control Service data will not be migrated
Description	All Access Control Service data such as scope, rules, certificate, Username and password, Windows Cardspace will not be migrated to the new release
Pre-Release Behavior	Access Control Service data can be accessed through public APIs or .NET Service Portal
Post-Release Behavior	Access Control Service data will not be migrated and will not be available for access through public APIs or .NET Services Portal. Note that the Service Bus scope and rules will not be migrated either.
Recommended Pre-Release Action	To facilitate post release configuration, you may choose to save a copy of existing data through Access Control management interface. To learn more on how to obtain Access Control data through management interface, see the ACS Management AtomClient sample from the .NET Service July 2009 CTP SDK
Recommended Post-Release Action	You will need to recreate Access Control Service data i.e. scope, rules etc… in order to restore your application using Service Bus or Access Control Service.
Access Control Management Portal replaced with a SDK Command-line Tool (acm.exe)
Description	The Access Control Management Portal will be removed from the November 2009 CTP .NET Services Portal
Pre-Release Behavior	Users can manage Access Control Service objects (scopes, token policies, issuers and rules) through web user interface at the .NET Services Portal
Post-Release Behavior	A command line tool (acm.exe) will be available in the November 2009 CTP SDK for users to manage Access Control Service objects. The .NET Services Portal will contain the Management Key which will be used to authenticate calls from the tool

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance (October 29th, 2009) - COMPLETE

2009-10-29T16:05:00Z

Update: The scheduled maintenance is complete. The management portal and account provisioning are currently functional. Apologies for the inconvenience.

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance (October 29th, 2009)

When:

Start: 10:00hrs PDT, October 29^th, 2009
End: 18:00hrs PDT, October 29^th, 2009

What:

Maintenance on the storage layer of the Provisioning Service.

Impact Alert:

Customers will be unable to login to the .NET Services Portal to provision new accounts or perform Access Control management operations.

Thank You,

The .NET Services Team

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance (September 8th, 2009) - COMPLETE

2009-09-02T21:42:00Z

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance (September 8^th, 2009) - COMPLETE

When:

Start: 08:00hrs PDT, September 8^th, 2009
End: 14:00hrs PDT, September 8^th, 2009

What:

Routine maintenance on the storage layer of the Access Control Service.

Impact Alert:

Customers can expect intermittent timeouts on Access Control operations during this maintenance window. This will also impact ServiceBus and Portal.

Thank You,

The .NET Services Team

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance (7/7) -- COMPLETE

2009-07-08T00:11:00Z

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance -- COMPLETE

The .NET Services and .NET Services Portal (including account provisioning) planned maintenance due to a major software upgrade is now complete and all services are back online.

We apologize again for the inconvenience.

Thank You,
.NET Services Team

Microsoft .NET Services July 2009 CTP Release Announcement

2009-07-07T21:41:00Z

The .NET Services Team is excited to announce the release of the .NET Services July 2009 CTP. This release focuses on improving platform support, the get started developer experience as well as services reliability.

The .NET Services July 2009 CTP New Features

1. The .NET Services now support Windows 7 RC in addition to Windows 2008, Windows 2008 R2 and Windows Vista. The .NET Services SDK can be installed on machines running Windows 7 RC.

2. There are multiple improvements with the get started developer experience: A one click integrated installer for both the .NET Services SDK and Client Redistributable. The .NET Services SDK installer now also supports incremental upgrades.

Next Steps

1. Download and Install the .NET Services SDK

2. Read the .NET Services July 2009 CTP release notes carefully for any breaking changes and known issues

3. Visit the .NET Services Developer Center to access .NET Services forums, videos, blogs, documentations and more

The .NET Services Team

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance 7/7 -- STARTING

2009-07-07T19:01:00Z

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance -- STARTING

The .NET Services and .NET Services Portal (including account provisioning) planned maintenance due to a major software upgrade is starting now.

When:

START: July 7th, 2009, 9AM PST

END: July 7th, 2009, 3PM PST

Impact Alert:

.NET Services and the .NET Services Portal will be unavailable during this period.

Thank You,

The .NET Services Team

Windows Azure platform AppFabric - Announcements

The .NET Services November 2009 CTP QFE Scheduled Maintenance -- Complete

The .NET Services November 2009 CTP QFE Scheduled Maintenance -- Extended

The .NET Services November 2009 CTP QFE Breaking Changes Announcement and Scheduled Maintenance

.NET Services SDK Samples

Service Bus Message Buffer HTTP API Sample

Access Control Service

A New Service Namespace Management Key will be generated

Access Control Service data will not be migrated

Scheduled Maintenance Notification - .NET Services Access Control Service - COMPLETE

Scheduled Maintenance Notification - .NET Services Access Control Service

A New Community Protocol and Token Format Supported by the Access Control Service

Scheduled Maintenance Notification - .NET Services and Portal (Nov 5th, 2009) -- COMPLETE

Microsoft .NET Services November 2009 CTP Release Announcement

Scheduled Maintenance Notification - .NET Services and Portal (Nov 5th, 2009) -- EXTENDED

Scheduled Maintenance Notification - .NET Services and Portal (Nov 5th, 2009) -- EXTENDED

Because of unforeseen deployment issues our scheduled maintenance has been extended. We expect our service to be available for use at 3PM PST. We apologize for the inconvenience.

The .NET Services November 2009 CTP Breaking Changes Announcement and Scheduled Maintenance

.NET Services Project

.NET Services Portal address

Subscription migration

Solution migration

Solution region migration

Service Bus

Queues changes

Routers removal

RelayBinding Security Default

Service Namespace replaces Solution name

TransportClientCredentialType update

EndToEndWebHttpSecurityMode.

TransportCredentialOnly is removed

HttpBufferClient is not public

TcpRelayConnectionMode.Direct is removed

Service publishing feed address aligns with service transport

WSHttpRelayBinding is removed

WS2007FederationHttpRelayBinding is removed

Access Control Service

Solution credentials replaced with Issuer credentials

WS-Trust STS replaced with Web Resource Authorization Protocol (WRAP) STS

Access Control Service data will not be migrated

Access Control Management Portal replaced with a SDK Command-line Tool (acm.exe)

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance (October 29th, 2009) - COMPLETE

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance (September 8th, 2009) - COMPLETE

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance (7/7) -- COMPLETE

Microsoft .NET Services July 2009 CTP Release Announcement

.NET Services Scheduled Maintenance 7/7 -- STARTING