Windows Azure was announced on PDC 2008 (Oct 27) and will hopefully be released mid next year. You probably already know about Azure by this time. If no, I would like to quote some from www.azure.com as intro: The Azure Services Platform is an internet-scale cloud computing and services platform hosted in Microsoft data centers. The Azure Services Platform provides a range of functionality to build applications that span from consumer web to enterprise scenarios and includes a cloud operating system and a set of developer services. Fully interoperable through the support of industry standards and web protocols such as REST and SOAP, you can use the Azure services individually or together, either to build new applications or to extend existing ones.
Let us have a quick overview of the clients we usually use in our daily life, then we will explore the potential of Azure and what is waiting for us down to the road:
Windows Client
- Full capabilities, power, rich UI, high performance
- Ability to utilize local resources e.g. audio, camera.
- Capable of blending different hardware and software resulting in amazing applications
- Private data, reliable and fastest
- Personal, trusted and full control
Web Client
- Data accessibility, availability
- Connect with devices, data services, friends
- Sociability, ability to share
- Interaction, collaboration, email, instant messaging
- Searchable
- Data security is questionable
- Open formats and standards for data exchange
Mobile Client
- Low capability compared to regular PC horsepower
- Portable: palm reach
- Smart device while powered by web. e.g. Search for restaurants nearby
- Your 24/7 companion
Smart Client
Did we forget about Smart Clients? These applications are usually Windows Forms application which take all the advantages of Windows Client including offline storage, utilization of local resources as well as the goodness of internet connectivity. The Smart Client was coined few years ago, but for .NET developers all Windows Client is pretty much generally considered as Smart Clients. The idea behind Smart Client was to utilize full local computing capabilities and exploit the web's accessibility, availability and nature of openness through XML Web Services to developers build great software.
Mesh
An important part of Live Services is Mesh, which enables developers to build application for consumer devices which are physically close to them. If you are at home you would be able to access through Windows Client, if you are on the go, you would be through Mobile Client, if you have Internet access only, you would be able to avail the service through Internet. Mesh allows us to get all those devices get connected, exchange data and stay synchronized. You can even add a Mac as device into Mesh to work with. Data communication among devices through Mesh is secured, since the data transferred between them are surely encrypted.
The following screenshots show how you can sync your local PC using Mesh and how your friends can share files or work on files you gave access them to:
Goodness of all Clients
Windows Azure Services Platform is actually an array of technologies, consists of set of tools, and extremely scalable on demand powered by Microsoft datacenters and their ingenious virtualization technology. The core of this platform is to provide user with best experience taking the goodies of each client platform we use in our daily life. Combining the power of HTTP, XML, REST and WebServices Azure lets developers to build cloud enabled applications. The basic advantage of using open and standard protocol for communicating between clients is decreased dependency on the tools, languages or platform of the client. Client could be made by Ruby, Python or it could be in iPhone.
Azure enables you to store your data in the cloud. No matter which client you used to work on your data, if you change your client, time-space, you will be able to get back to the same data once you worked on some other devices/OS.
Why hosting cloud application with Microsoft?
Microsoft has 460 millions Live users to date backed up by hundreds of thousands of servers in their datacenters. How many times have you seen Microsoft's sites down? I have not seen many times in life. So, their ability to host, manage super scalable and high traffic websites is not questionable at all. Who else can be a better host of your next big application other than Microsoft?
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