Journey from .NET to Azure

BANGALORE, INDIA: When the .NET session audience of Spark IT 2011 made an attempt to define, ‘What Microsoft Azure is’, it ranged from ‘Microsoft’s platform-as-a-service (PaaS), to ‘data centre on the cloud’ and to ‘Microsoft’s cloud platform’. 

However, all that Manoj Kumar Sharma, a consultant and corporate trainer, who was holding a session on ‘Migrating .Net to Windows Azure’ on the second day of the event, could say was that the definitions did not make much sense.

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“Windows Azure is an operating system that runs only in Microsoft data centres,” noted Sharma.

Or, in other words, it is the sum total of all operating systems that is there in the six Microsoft data centres spread across the world, starting from the 64 bit Windows 7 2008 R2 base operating system inside the four virtual machines that is created inside an eight-core physical machine. It also include each of the OSs inside all the servers, CPUs, racks, containers and then the final one meant for data centres. This is Windows Azure.

The session gave insight into the nuances of migrating from an ASP.Net environment to Windows Azure.

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He noted that developers need to make sure that one code is maintained Qexclusively for the operating system and one for the local system.

“One of the biggest problems we have been facing is that when we create an application, there are other processes that are running on our system; the main core has to divide its time among all these processes, which results in a a lot of time sharing. Now, if you have a code that is completely dedicated for you, then you can do away with the whole issue of time sharing,” he added.

Take aways:

• A base OS: It has advantages over others because in this, developers need not have to apply service pack, which results in downtime, as it has the live update capability.

• Azure SDK installed on local system: This creates an Azure-based virtual environment in the local system.

• ASP.Net Web applications and ASP.Net Web site in Visual Editor 2010: Understands the difference and converts web site to web application.

• Administrator privilege on local computer.

• Virtual Studio 2010 or 2008: It will work only in Virtual Studio 2010 or 2008 versions.

• Needs sequel Service Express Edition.

• The operating system should be either Windows 7 or Windows Vista.

• Each of the VMs can deploy only either web applications or service application. For web application we need to put ISA 7.5 host and service application we need to provide HVC code.

• This will not work in 2005 model of Virtual Studio as it offers only local-based support.

• If a system has both Virtual Studio 2010 and 2008 installed, then it will work only with the 2010 model.

• It won’t work with Windows XP.

He concluded the session saying that cloud is the best method available today for any developer to test their applications and it also saves about 70-80 per cent of the operating cost of a company.

He also added that the community must keep it updated to the latest developments so as not to be left behind.