• Private cloud computing for large companies – Next is cloud computing for SMBs, then cloud computing on mobile phones.
• Larry Ellison about cloud computing: “Maybe I’m an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about.” I think I am an idiot, too.
• Microsoft Office Web Applications FAQ – Big mistake: Silverlight is not required.
• White paper: Microsoft Office SharePoint Online – 24 pages
• White paper: Microsoft Exchange Online Standard – 19 pages
• Windows Server 2008 R2 will be 64-bit only. Think about what this means for terminal services! Good point by Brian Madden
• Small Business Server 2008 and Essential Business Server 2008 have been released.
• Install IIS, PHP, and MySQL on Server Core – Why not Apache?
• Windows 7 and Vista boot up a little faster than Windows XP. This was also my impression.
• MS confirms Windows 7 sped up for 2009 launch – Targeting is one thing, releasing another.
• MS Deploy tool: Deploy IIS web sites using Windows Installer (MSI)
• Ever Wonder Why Hyper-V’s Release Trails Windows Servers’ Release? I didn’t, but it is interesting to know anyway.
• Adian Finn shares some interesting experiences with VMM 2008 and Hyper-V

The four services of the Azure Services Platform are: Windows Azure, .NET Services, SQL Services, and Live Services.

Windows Azure

As I outlined yesterday, the term “Windows Azure” is a bit misleading. Essentially, Windows Azure is a cloud-based Web platform. Even though it is running on Windows Server 2008, it is not a cloud-based Windows edition. Perhaps this might change though. David Chappell mentioned that Microsoft might support unmanaged code on Windows Azure in the future. Perhaps this is a hint that non- web-related applications will one day run on Windows Azure. Then it could be possible that we can move our complete Windows backend to Microsoft’s datacenters.

.NET Services

.NET Services is not really a new service. Microsoft just renamed the BizTalk Services, which were introduced a year ago. Perhaps they renamed it because many confused it with the BizTalk Server. I guess that many will confuse it now with Windows Azure because they are both related to .NET. The main difference is that Windows Azure is for hosting .NET applications whereas the .NET Services offer cloud-based infrastructure that helps integrate external applications. These applications can be cloud-based, i.e. they could run on Windows Azure, but they could also be on-premise applications, that is, apps running on your own servers. The .NET Services consist of three components: Access Control, Service Bus, and Workflow. Access Control is for identity federation (facilitates single sign-on), the Service Bus exposes application’s services on the Internet (makes them accessible via an URI), and Workflow implements the logic that coordinates the interaction of the applications. These components can be used by software vendors for their own applications.

SQL Services

The SQL Services were formerly called SQL Server Data Service (SSDS). Basically, it is a cloud-based service offering data storage capabilities. It is based on Microsoft SQL Server, but it only offers a subset of its data types and it is exposed as a web service, which means that it can be accessed over HTTP using the SOAP and REST protocols. “Cloud-based” means that Microsoft doesn’t just offer SQL Servers in its datacenters for rent. Users of this service would rather rent data storage. That is, you don’t have to manage the DBMS yourself. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about things like storage capacity, scalability, availability etc. Like .NET services, SQL Services can be used by software vendors for their own applications.

Live Services

The Live Services encompass Microsoft’s Internet applications such as Hotmail, Live Messenger, or Live Search. These services, or more specifically the data behind these services, can be accessed by applications via the so-called Live Operating Environment. For example, a software vendor could offer a VOIP application, which accesses the user’s Live contacts to retrieve their phone number. As with all the other services of the Azure platform, HTTP is the only protocol supported.

Thus, one can say that the Azure Services Platform is Web-based. However, contrary to some other cloud service providers, it is not solely browser-based. Furthermore, Microsoft is not trying to replace on-premise computing like Google. Microsoft mostly targets ISVs (independent software vendors) with Azure, who will provide new kinds of applications that will run partly in the cloud and partly on conventional servers and desktops. Microsoft’s marketing dubbed this approach, already for quite some time as S+S (Software + Service) as opposed to SaaS (Software as a Service). With Azure, it becomes clearer what S+S really is. It is not just that they want to continue selling software licenses. Microsoft brings to bear its huge Windows ecosystem. Microsoft alone might not be able to stop the Googles and Amazons, but together with an armada of ISVs who will develop for Azure and for Windows, it is quite likely that Microsoft will extend its dominance to the cloud.

For Windows admins, this means that the complexity of their environments will grow significantly within the next few years. You will have to manage software that runs on computers within your organization and also software that runs in third-party datacenters. In addition, you have to make sure that they interact properly. Contrary to many others, I believe that cloud computing will require more IT staff in most organizations, not less. Cloud computing certainly will rationalize IT tremendously. However, IT became more effective since Konrad Zuse invented the first computer almost 70 years ago. Ever since, the number of IT pros has been growing. The reason for this is that more effective computer technology always made new kinds of applications possible. This extended the complexity of IT, which increased the need for IT pros. I believe that this also applies to cloud computing. Within the next few years, we will move some of ours apps to the cloud, some will stay in our server rooms and completely new kinds of applications will be invented.

• FREE: SolarWinds Web Transaction Watcher – Record and monitor a Web transaction (0)
• Migrating to SharePoint 2010 (1)
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• Is the Web replacing Windows as the primary malware playground? (4)
• Free website monitoring services (9)

There are quite a few fundamental concepts related to Microsoft’s cloud initiative: Azure Services Platform, Windows Azure, .NET services, Live Services and SQL Services. The most interesting question is how these relate to each other. Some journalists seem to believe that Windows Azure is the fundamental platform and all the other services run on top of it. This picture is supported by the following diagram, which can be found in many articles.

However, there is a different diagram, which contradicts this view.

According to this diagram, Windows Azure is not some kind of cloud OS that hosts the other Azure services, but is just one of the four Azure services. The cloud itself probably represents the Azure Services Platform. So which is the true picture? I am not really sure, but David Chappell’s white paper (.docx), which outlines the technical details, indicates that the latter view is correct. The diagram below makes this clearer.

The VMs are virtual machines that run a 64-bit Windows Server 2008 with .NET 3.5. By the way, the hypervisor used is not Hyper-V. It is called Windows Azure hypervisor.

The Windows Azure applications are basically .NET 3.5 apps that run inside the VMs. An application consists of one or multiple instances. Each instance has its own VM. There are two kinds of Windows Azure instances: Web role instances and Worker role instances. A Web role instance is just a.NET program that works with IIS, for example ASP.NET or WCF (Web services). A Worker role instance is also a .NET app, but it doesn’t require IIS. What is important is that a Worker role instance isn’t allowed to have any incoming network connections. It receives its input only from a Web role instance. Instances communicate via the Windows Azure Fabric or the Windows Azure Storage. Web role instances communicate via HTTP with external entities, like a Web browser, for instance.

I think it becomes clearer now what Windows Azure really is. Basically, Windows Azure is just a virtualized Web server with runtime plus cloud technology. The latter just means that applications are sliced into smaller junks (the instances) which are running in a distributed infrastructure. Or even more simplified, Windows Azure is just a Web server running on multiple machines.

This (over)simplification removes a little of Windows Azure’s shine. I don’t want to downplay what Microsoft has accomplished; however, I think that some writers have exaggerated the significance of this new technology. From a user’s point of view, there won’t be much change in the near future. Windows Azure apps are simply Web apps. You won’t realize the difference if your Web mailer runs on Windows Azure or any other Web platform. Cloud computing is mostly about scalability. Therefore, we have a new platform now for the Facebooks and My Spaces out there. I don’t think that it will really offer new possibilities for small and mid-sized companies. If you don’t want to run your Web apps on your own servers, you can do that already now by renting Web space. The good news is that Web space might get even cheaper now.

I think it is also clear what Windows Azure is not. First of all, it is not a cloud-based Windows edition. You can’t run Office 2007 or Active Directory on it and most significantly, Windows Azure has no windows. Windows Azure is used and managed via a web browser. Perhaps IIS Azure would have been a more proper naming. As things stand now, Windows Azure is not really a competitor to Windows Server or the Windows Client. Windows Azure and the other components of the Azure Services Platform are just new technologies that extend the Web-based capabilities of Windows.

Even though I downplayed the significance of Windows Azure, I find it very interesting from a technical point of view. I also think that, in the long run (5 to 10 years), cloud technology will change IT notably. Rest assured that I will write more about it soon.

• FREE: SolarWinds Web Transaction Watcher – Record and monitor a Web transaction (0)
• Migrating to SharePoint 2010 (1)
• Scan your website for malware with free tools (11)
• Is the Web replacing Windows as the primary malware playground? (4)
• Free website monitoring services (9)