50466 - Windows Azure Solutions with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010
Thanks for your interest!
There are currently no dates scheduled for this course.
Please feel free to register your interest and we'll be sure to let you know once a date is available.
REGISTRATION OF INTEREST
Human Test:
3 + 2 =
Overview:
This class is an introduction to cloud computing and specifically Microsoft's public cloud offering in Windows Azure. Windows Azure has been described by Microsoft as an operating system for "the cloud". In this class, you explore this cloud operating system and learn how to write, deploy and monitor .NET applications in Azure.
Target Audience:
This class is designed for .NET developers with Web application experience that are exploring developing new applications or porting existing applications to Windows Azure.
Pre-requisites:
Before attending this course, students must have:
Experience with Visual Studio 2010 or better
Knowledge and experience in a .NET language (C# or VB)
Cloud computing has been labelled the next big thing in the computing industry. What exactly is cloud computing? What are the benefits of cloud computing? Why would my organization and I want to explore cloud computing? Will it help us solve some of our IT problems? Of what potential issues should we be aware? This introductory module addresses the what’s and why’s of cloud computing. It also introduces Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud computing product. How does the Microsoft solution compare to other cloud computing platforms? What exactly is Windows Azure?
Lessons
Define cloud computing
Learn the benefits of cloud computing
Understand the different types of cloud computing services
Explore where computing clouds might exist
Hear about potential concerns with cloud computing
Learn where cloud computing can and cannot be applied
Place Windows Azure in light of general cloud computing
Know how Windows Azure compares to other cloud environments
Lab : Windows Azure Account Setup
Understand how to create a Windows Azure account
Explore the types of Windows Azure accounts
Learn how to access and use the Windows Azure Developer Portal
Examine the Windows Azure Developer Portal
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Understand the different types of cloud computing offerings
Explain how Windows Azure fits into the cloud computing landscape
Set up a Windows Azure account
Module 2: Windows Azure Architecture
Several components and technologies make up the Windows Azure Platform. In this module, you get a glimpse of a Windows Azure. You also explore the components that make up the Windows Azure Platform. Specifically, you look at the Microsoft data centres and the hardware and software that host Windows Azure applications and data. You also look at the development environment. What does it take to produce Windows Azure applications? Finally, you explore the various parts of the Windows Azure platform to include Windows Azure, SQL Azure and the App Fabric.
Lessons
See a simple Windows Azure application
Learn about the Microsoft data centres
Explore the hardware, servers and virtualisation (the Fabric) that host cloud applications and data
Understand the role of the Fabric Controller in managing the Windows Azure cloud
Know the general architecture and components of the Windows Azure Platform
Understand the tools used to create and deploy Windows Azure services and data stores
Understand the different types of roles in Windows Azure (Web, worker, VM)
Understand the types of storages provided by the Windows Azure Platform (Azure Storage, SQL Azure, etc.)
Lab : Introduction to Windows Azure
Explore your first Windows Azure project in Visual Studio
See how to test a cloud application in Visual Studio
Learn how to publish a cloud application
Examine the process of deploying an application via the Developer Portal
Learn how to remove a service from the cloud
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Understand the pieces of the Windows Azure platform
Explore the Windows Azure Developer Portal
Setup a cloud project in Visual Studio
Understand the difference between the Compute and Storage Emulators and Windows Azure
Module 3: Windows Azure Web Roles
In this module you explore the details of Web roles introduced in the last module. Web roles are essentially Web sites or HTTP services running in the cloud. As part of your exploration of Web roles, you learn some of the Windows Azure API you can use in roles and about how to configure roles. While Web roles run in Microsoft data centres, you test and debug them in your local machine using the Compute Emulator. So, in this module, you also explore details about the Compute Emulator and how to explore what’s going on in the Compute Emulator as your code executes.
Lessons
Explore the purpose of Windows Azure Web roles
Understand how to create Web roles in a cloud service project
See how to configure a Web role
Learn how to test Web roles run in the Compute Emulator
Start exploring the Windows Azure API
Examine how to build Web roles with multiple Web sites
Lab : Building a Web Role
Create a Cloud Application using Windows Azure Tools for Visual Studio
Explore the Web role project
Configure a Web role project
See a multi-instance role running in the Compute Emulator
Modify the application to use a custom configuration setting
Optionally, see a Web role cloud project deployed to Windows Azure
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Explore migrating ASP.NET applications to Windows Azure
Build a simple Windows Azure cloud application
Dynamically configure a Windows Azure cloud application through the Developer Portal
Determine the costs of running an application in Windows Azure
Module 4: Local Storage
Most applications use files from the server’s file system for something. Cache, simple reference data, logging, etc. are all possible uses of files and file space in a “normal” .NET application. Windows Azure computing instances (Web or worker roles) run on a VM, but share the physical server’s resources. So how does a Windows Azure application use and access a file system? This chapter covers Windows Azure local storage. That is how applications can access, to some extent, files in the cloud. This chapter also covers a number of limitations of using local storage as well as the good and bad uses of local storage. Additionally, you learn about alternatives to local storage; most notably a product called Windows Azure Drive.
Lessons
Examine Windows Azure local storage
See how local storage differs from normal server file systems
Learn how to configure local storage
Understand the limitations of local storage and where/when to use it
Explore the API to access local storage
Learn about Windows Azure Drive (formerly X-Drive)
Lab : Using Local Storage
Configure a Web Role to have local storage
Alter the Web role code to read and write to local storage
Explore the relationship of local storage to roles and role instances
Explore how to clean local storage on role instance recycling
Optionally, deploy the local storage using cloud project to the Windows Azure cloud
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Create local storage for use by a Windows Azure application
See Windows Azure scalability through multiple role instances
Design applications use of the file system using local storage or Azure Drive
Module 5: Windows Azure Administration
There are multiple administrator roles in Windows Azure. Some administrators are responsible for paying for the services used in Windows Azure. Other administrators deploy applications and data. Still other administrators need to manage and maintain the applications and data put in the cloud. This chapter covers a number of miscellaneous administration tasks and items with regard to Windows Azure. In addition, this chapter addresses some additional administrative capabilities that don’t always apply to the development of an Azure application, but may be helpful in the care and management of Azure applications in general.
Lessons
Explore the various Windows Azure subscription administrators
Understand Windows Azure OS Families and Guest OS Versions
See how to Remote Desktop to a Windows Azure virtual machine
Learn how to define a startup task for a role
Lab : Configuring and Using Remote Desktop
Learn how to create a new hosted service without deploying code
See how to create and add a PFX certificate to a hosted service
Publish and deploy a Windows Azure project configured for Remote Desktop connections
Optionally learn how to configure remote access through the Portal
Optionally setup a co-administrator for your subscription
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Better manage Windows Azure administrative accounts
Know how to deploy an application to the cloud directly from Visual Studio
Configure applications for Remote Desktop access
Explore a virtual server running Azure applications using Remote Desktop
Module 6: Windows Azure Storage and Queues
Windows Azure Storage provides highly scalable and available data storage to both cloud and on-premise services. It is not relational database storage. In fact, some types of Windows Azure Storage are quite different from relational or structured storage. In this module, you explore what Windows Azure Storage is, why you want to use, and how to access it. Once you have a general understanding of Windows Azure Storage, you explore in detail the first of three types of Windows Azure Storage; namely queue storage. Queues provide interoperable message communication between services and are not unlike what you might have seen if you have used MSMQ or IBM’s MQ Series.
Lessons
Understand the purpose of Windows Azure Storage
Learn how to create a Windows Azure Storage account
Explore Windows Azure Storage costs
Understand the Storage Emulator, how to use it, and how it is different from Windows Azure Storage
See how to access Windows Azure Storage using both the REST API and the Storage Client Library
Examine Windows Azure Storage Queues
Learn how to get messages in and out of Windows Azure Queues
Lab : Learning Windows Azure Storage and Queues
Use a Web role to create a queue and add messages to the queue
Learn how to add another Web role to your cloud service project
Use a Web role to read and display messages in the queue
Observe the difference between getting and peeking at messages in a queue
Optionally, see how to create a Storage Account service
Optionally, examine how to create an Affinity Group
Optionally, learn where to find storage account URLs and access keys
Optionally, deploy the cloud service project to the Windows Azure cloud
Explore Windows Azure Storage with external utilities
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Setup Windows Azure message queue
Create a Windows Azure Storage Account
Use the Windows Azure Client library to access Windows Azure storage
Deploy applications to Windows Azure that use Windows Azure Storage
Understand the difference between the Storage Emulator and Windows Azure Storage
Explore Windows Azure Storage with external tools
Module 7: Blob Storage
In this module, you learn about the second of three Windows Azure Storage data storage facilities called blob storage. Blob storage provides a place to store any type of data (MP3 file, PDF document, flat text, etc). All instances of the application share this common storage. In fact, the storage can even be accessed by applications outside of the cloud.
Lessons
Understand the rationale for using blob storage
Learn about the different types of blobs: block and page blobs
Examine blob storage containers and how they are used to organise and control access to blobs
Explore how to access blob storage with both the Storage Client and REST API
Lab : Using Blob Storage
Use a Web role to create a blob container and set permissions on the container
Learn how to upload blobs into a container
Use a Web role to retrieve a blob by its name (reference)
Work with blob metadata
Explore the REST API used to access blob storage
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Access blob data from Windows Azure or on-premise applications
Use the Windows Azure Client library or REST to access blob storage
Module 8: Table Storage
Table storage is the last of Windows Azure Storage data services explored in this class. Table storage provides structured storage similar, but not the same, as a traditional database may offer. In many ways, table storage is simpler and more scalable than a traditional database. It also costs less to put data in table storage than a relational database in the cloud. In this module, you learn how to use Windows Azure table storage. You also learn how it differs from SQL Azure. You also learn how to use table storage to implement sessions used by multiple roles.
Lessons
Explore Windows Azure Storage’s structural data service
Understand the reason for table storage
Examine the differences between table storage and traditional relational databases (as exhibited by SQL Azure)
Learn how to access table storage with both the Storage Client and REST API
Understand entities as they relate to table storage
Examine how to save and retrieve entities in table storage
Lab : Using Table Storage
Define an entity class
Build a TableServiceContext object to negotiate data in and out of table storage
Learn how to save entity data to table storage
Explore queries to fetch entity data from table storage
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Design applications that need structured tabular data
Create and use tables in Windows Azure
Design entities that are stored in table storage
Module 9: Worker Roles
Web roles exist to serve HTTP content. Worker roles, on the other hand, are processing work horses that can do just about anything you would like them to do. Generally speaking, worker roles serve as backend processors. By default, worker roles don’t even have an interface with which to communicate with them. The standard and accepted means to communicate with worker roles is to have them react to messages deposited into a Windows Azure Storage queue. In this module, you explore worker roles: their purpose, how to create and configure them, and how to communicate with them.
Lessons
Explore the purpose of Windows Azure worker roles
Understand how to create worker roles in a cloud service project
See how to configure a worker role
Learn how to test worker roles run in the Compute Emulator
Learn how to use Windows Azure Storage queues and messages to communicate with worker roles
Explore how to setup worker role endpoints
Learn how to communicate with worker role internal and input endpoints
Lab : Building a Worker Role
Create a worker role and add it to your cloud project
Explore the contents of a worker role project
Configure a worker role to monitor a queue for messages
Re-explore the use of queue storage in role-to-role communications
Re-explore table storage
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Build backend processors in Windows Azure
Design and build complete end-to-end applications for Windows Azure
Better use queue and table storage
Create role to role communications in Windows Azure
Module 10: SQL Azure Introduction
In this module you learn about SQL Azure. SQL Azure is a relational database in the cloud. Use SQL Azure to support applications in the cloud or on-premise. Use SQL Azure as a backup storage facility. Use SQL Azure as an easily and quickly provisioned database for prototyping, rapid development, and testing. SQL Azure is a highly scalable, available relational database maintained and operated by Microsoft yet familiar to SQL Server users.
Lessons
Learn what SQL Azure is and why you want to use it
Understand SQL Azure in comparison to SQL Server and Windows Azure table storage
Learn how to provision a SQL Azure server and databases
Examine costs associated with SQL Azure
See how to use familiar tools and APIs to work in SQL Azure
Explore how to create and manage database objects in SQL Azure
Know how to limit SQL Azure access
Understand options for performing database backups
See how to migrate data to SQL Azure
Lab : Introduction to SQL Azure
Add a SQL Azure subscription to your current Windows Azure account subscription
Create a SQL Azure server and administrator
Create a database in SQL Azure
Add a table to the SQL Azure database
Explore Database Manager for accessing and managing SQL Azure databases and tables
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Make design decisions between table storage and SQL Azure
Determine the cost of storing data in Windows Azure
Setup SQL Azure databases through the Developer Portal
Migrate data from on-premise SQL Server databases to SQL Azure
Module 11: Diagnostics
Most developers are accustomed to debugging applications. Debugging in the cloud is a bit more complex. Most developers are also familiar with the process of collecting various logs to analyse problems that occur in hardware and software systems. Windows Azure has log files. Unfortunately, since the hardware and file system of the Windows Azure data centre systems are not directly at your disposal, getting data from the log files requires a little more work. In this optional module, you learn about the Windows Azure Diagnostic Service. The API provided through this service grants you access to collect all the log data you would normally desire from your Windows system. The diagnostic service also provides the means to move that data to Windows Azure Storage so it may be externally accessed.
Lessons
Learn how to accomplish debugging and logging in Windows Azure
Examine Windows Azure Diagnostic Service
Understand the role of the Diagnostic Agent process in the diagnostic service
Learn how to configure the diagnostic service
See how to transfer diagnostic data to Windows Azure Storage
Lab : Diagnostics
See how Visual Studio cloud templates provide default diagnostic monitoring setup
Add trace statements to cloud code
Learn how to schedule diagnostic data to be transferred to Windows Azure Storage
Learn how to perform an on-demand transfer of diagnostic data to storage
After completing this module, students will be able to:
Design and build logging and debugging needs into their applications
Use Windows Azure Diagnostic Services to capture log/diagnostic data
Transfer data from Windows Azure to specified storage
