PaaS Cloud Platforms Classified

Posted on March 29, 2012 by CloudyInNashville

This is an excellent article about the different types of Public Cloud PaaS platforms out there. (I bet you thought there was only one type of PaaS didn’t you? Smile) This blog post classifies them as:

  • Metadata PaaS
  • Framework PaaS
  • Instance PaaS

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It uses many PaaS examples to show where they fit. For instance Metadata PaaS products are likened to Microsoft Access in the cloud. (Some of my own examples that would seem to fit this taxonomy are Microsoft’s LightSwitch forms over data tool that can generate an app that can be deployed either on-premise or into Windows Azure, and the LongJump/AT&T cloud PaaS.)

I won’t steal his thunder concerning the rest, but I do invite you to read his full blog post.

Bill

Posted in Cloud, PaaS | Leave a comment

Windows Azure Training Roadmap

Posted on March 26, 2012 by CloudyInNashville

Windows Azure Training

Good Books

Webcasts

  • Joel Forman, who works with me at Slalom Consulting, has a good blog post that lists an excellent half-day training plan.
  • For a deeper dive there was a day-long Learn Windows Azure Event recently. It was recorded and posted on MSDN’s Channel 9.
  • Peter Laudati worked with me at Microsoft. He is currently a Developer Evangelist who works with the user groups that meet here in New York Metro. He posted an excellent SQL Azure Roadmap for training located here.  By the way his blog is  an excellent one to follow if you want to keep abreast of user group happenings and other Windows Azure events in the New York Metro area.

Web Sites

Blogs

The Windows Azure Team Blog is the best place to hear about new Windows Azure announcements as they occur.

Peter Laudati’s blog JrsyShr Dev Guy, as mentioned above, is a good one to follow for local Microsoft and user group events.

Try It

Download the Visual Studio tools and client libraries from Windows Azure .NET tools and client libraries.  These tools have a Cloud Emulator (Compute and Storage) so that you can develop and test locally without even having a Windows Azure account.

To upload and test in the cloud you will need an account. You can sign up for a free trial account here.  You will be asked for a credit card for fraud protection, but your account will be capped so that you will never be charged anything.

Nevertheless, to avoid using up all of your allotted resources heed the warning about how resources are charged in Azure. Essentially the meter is running all the time that an application is deployed and storage is in use, whether anyone is accessing them or not. For more details see the General Information reference above.

What Have I Missed?

What are your favorite Windows Azure learning resources?  What do you tell Windows Azure newbies that want to ramp up quickly on the platform? Let me know.

Thanks

Bill

Posted in Windows Azure | Leave a comment

Welcome to Cloudy In New York

Posted on March 25, 2012 by CloudyInNashville

Welcome to the Cloudy In New York blog.  This is my first blog post here but not my first blog.  In November I ended a 6 year stint as an Architect Evangelist with Microsoft in New York. In that job I focused primarily on Windows Azure, Microsoft’s public Cloud platform.  You can read more about me and  my new Role as a Cloud Architect with Slalom Consulting in New York on the About page.

During much of that time I was the Windows Azure Editor of the Ignition showcase team blog.  My posts in that blog were devoted to filtering and amplifying what was new and important in the Windows Azure World. This blog will be in that style. There is so much content being posted these days from Microsoft and the community that there is a strong need for someone to cut though the firehose of information and draw your attention to what is really important.

Don’t expect any long step-by-step posts (in general). One of my favorite quotes is by Mark Twain who is reputed to have said in a letter: “Pardon the length of this letter; I did not have time to make it shorter” Another one of my favorite quotes is Albert Einstein’s quote that “Things need to be made as simple as they can be, but no simpler”.  I promise that I will spend the time to boil it down what I feel is really important and make it as simple as possible, but no simpler. So let me know if I am meeting these objectives and whether or not you find this blog useful.

Thanks

Bill Zack

Posted in Cloud, Windows Azure | Leave a comment