Introduction To Windows Azure

In this article, we are going to get an overview of Windows Azure.

Role of Cloud Services

Generally, a wide range of cloud services is used in a building environment for development, boosting performance of apps, maintaining scalability, and increasing the development speed. In cloud, in-built infrastructure is available, which means there is no need for configuration or deployment or maintaining the computing, storage and networking infrastructures on which applications run. In the Cloud, you can perform your development and testing in the same kind of environment to reduce the turnaround time of deployment. It helps in reducing the cost and growing the business process. It has in-built SANs (Storage Area Network) to maintain the costs.

Windows Azure

• Windows Azure is an open and flexible cloud platform that allows you to rapidly build, deploy, and manage applications across an over-all network.
• Here, you can build applications using different languages, several tools or frameworks, and integrate them in public cloud applications with present environment.
• Windows Azure is a Structure in the Cloud.
• Windows Azure is used in Active Directory Services.

Office 365

• Microsoft Office 365 allows you to access and work on the files you need anywhere also from any device.
• In Microsoft Services - such as Office 365 - is SaaS model, which uses an online version of office web apps along with SharePoint, Lync, and exchanges different kinds of cloud based services like document delivery, outlook email etc.

In Cloud services, the following high-level service model categories are available.

1. Software as a Service (SaaS)
2. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
3. Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Software as a Service (SaaS)

• In this case, customer operates access to cloud based application services with desired database on-demand and pay per subscription.
• In Microsoft services, Office 365 is SaaS model, which uses an online version of office web apps along with SharePoint and Lync and exchanges different kinds of cloud based services such as document delivery, outlook email, and office components like PowerPoint, Word etc.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

• In this case, the main approach is configuring and managing the virtual machines like Hyper-v, VMWare Operating system and applications. VLANs IP addresses, virtual local area networks (VLANs), and software are resources that also are delivered in IaaS View.
• Windows Azure is IaaS and PaaS. Tt means, Virtual Machines are example of the IaaS model.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

• The responsiblity of PaaS model involves design, develop, and deployment to various application structure. Also, you should take care of data integrity and business logic at the same time.
• Cloud is an example of the PaaS model.

In this model, Azure is used in development, hosting, and providing services.

Windows Azure can be divided into four basic categories of cloud-based services,

1. Compute Services
2. Data Services
3. Network Services
4. App Services
   

Computing services offer different services, such as Virtual Machine, Websites, Cloud Services, and Mobile Services.

• Windows Azure currently offers two different network services: Virtual Network and Traffic Manager.
• In Windows Azure, data service provides with several ways like reporting business data, managing, all data management (SQL database management), Backup and recovery, and store data.
• In App Services, several services help boosting the performance and security, like Media Services, Active Directory Services.

That's it for now.