Windows Azure End to End Examples

BuckWoody — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:45:59 GMT

I’m fascinated by the way people learn. I’m told there are several methods people use to understand new information, from reading to watching, from experiencing to exploring.

Personally, I use multiple methods of learning when I encounter a new topic, usually starting with reading a bit about the concepts. I quickly want to put those into practice, however, especially in the technical realm. I immediately look for examples where I can start trying out the concepts. But I often want a “real” example – not just something that represents the concept, but something that is real-world, showing some feature I could actually use.

And it’s no different with the Windows Azure platform – I like finding things I can do now, and actually use. So when I started learning Windows Azure, I of course began with the Windows Azure Training Kit – which has lots of examples and labs, presentations and so on. But from there, I wanted more examples I could learn from, and eventually teach others with. I was asked if I would write a few of those up, so here are the ones I use.

CodePlex

CodePlex is Microsoft’s version of an “Open Source” repository. Anyone can start a project, add code, documentation and more to it and make it available to the world, free of charge, using various licenses as they wish. Microsoft also uses this location for most of the examples we publish, and sample databases for SQL Server.

If you search in CodePlex for “Azure”, you’ll come back with a list of projects that folks have posted, including those of us at Microsoft. The source code and documentation are there, so you can learn using actual examples of code that will do what you need. There’s everything from a simple table query to a full project that is sort of a “Corporate Dropbox” that uses Windows Azure Storage.

The advantage is that this code is immediately usable. It’s searchable, and you can often find a complete solution to meet your needs. The disadvantage is that the code is pretty specific – it may not cover a huge project like you’re looking for. Also, depending on the author(s), you might not find the documentation level you want.

Link: http://azureexamples.codeplex.com/site/search?query=Azure&ac=8

Tailspin

Microsoft Patterns and Practices is a group here that does an amazing job at sharing standard ways of doing IT – from operations to coding. If you’re not familiar with this resource, make sure you read up on it. Long before I joined Microsoft I used their work in my daily job – saved a ton of time. It has resources not only for Windows Azure but other Microsoft software as well.

The Patterns and Practices group also publishes full books – you can buy these, but many are also online for free. There’s an end-to-end example for Windows Azure using a company called “Tailspin”, and the work covers not only the code but the design of the full solution. If you really want to understand the thought that goes into a Platform-as-a-Service solution, this is an excellent resource.

The advantages are that this is a book, it’s complete, and it includes a discussion of design decisions. The disadvantage is that it’s a little over a year old – and in “Cloud” years that’s a lot. So many things have changed, improved, and have been added that you need to treat this as a resource, but not the only one. Still, highly recommended.

Link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff728592.aspx

Azure Stock Trader

Sometimes you need a mix of a CodePlex-style application, and a little more detail on how it was put together. And it would be great if you could actually play with the completed application, to see how it really functions on the actual platform.

That’s the Azure Stock Trader application. There’s a place where you can read about the application, and then it’s been published to Windows Azure – the production platform – and you can use it, explore, and see how it performs.

I use this application all the time to demonstrate Windows Azure, or a particular part of Windows Azure.

The advantage is that this is an end-to-end application, and online as well. The disadvantage is that it takes a bit of self-learning to work through.

Links: Learn it: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/bb499684 Use it: https://azurestocktrader.cloudapp.net/

Know Your Product Specifications

BuckWoody — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:57:01 GMT

As the Data Professional in your organization, the rest of the org looks to you to ensure that the system can handle what the business requires. To do that, you need to know two things: what the business requires, and what SQL Server can do.

But of course there’s a bit more to it than that. Knowing the business side of the requirements – well, I teach an entire course on that. But knowing what SQL Server can do is something you can find out on your own.

SQL Server comes in versions, which are released based on date, and editions, which are based on features and capabilities. It’s that last part that I want to focus on today.

As Microsoft SQL Server matures, you’re going to see even more separation between what each edition of SQL Server can do and where it should be used. In the past, most folks have only focused on three editions – Express (the “free” one), Standard, and Enterprise. The rule of thumb was that if Standard was good enough at the moment, put it in. And it is true (and a good thing) that you can upgrade from one edition to another fairly easily.

But as time goes on, we should spend a little more time understanding what each edition does, what it’s features and capabilities are, and where and when we should put them in. As I study this information, I’ll throw in my 2 cents and you can as well based on what you see. One thing I’ve found so far is that once I have the business requirements, there’s a mix of what I can write in code and what might already be included in a different edition. It’s important to look long and hard at that choice – writing a feature on my own is certainly cheaper in the short term than moving to a “higher” edition, but in some cases it makes sense to let Microsoft handle that lifting.

These links are ones that you should bookmark and take a peek at periodically. They are the “header” links for more information on those features and capabilities:

SQL Server 2008: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143287.aspx

SQL Server 2008 R2: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143287(SQL.105).aspx

In addition, you might start learning a little more about SQL Azure. I’ll talk more about that later.

Buck Woody : Planning, Link Lists

Windows Azure End to End Examples

CodePlex

Tailspin

Azure Stock Trader

Know Your Product Specifications