Azure Services Fundamentals

A new platform is emerging that promises to usher in a wave of new opportunities by dramatically changing the way companies deal with IT and the software built on it. This platform ultimately makes it easier for the little guy to take innovative ideas to market through a "pay as you go" business model, avoiding many of the upfront costs and complexities of typical IT investments. This platform is what we commonly referred to as "the cloud" today.

This intense three-day course introduces you to the new world of cloud computing and how to build on the Azure Services Platform. We'll cover Windows Azure, .NET Services, SQL Services, and Live Services and you'll learn how to start building applications using each one through a series of hands-on labs. Along the way we'll discuss cloud computing tradeoffs and help you understand the constraints and limitations imposed by the cloud computing model offered by the Azure Services Platform today.

Student Prerequisites
Attendees should be architects, developers, and technical decision makers who need to learn about cloud computing and are specifically interested in the Microsoft Azure Services Platform.

Cloud Computing Course Outline:

Introduction
- What is cloud computing?
- Utility computing: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS
- Microsoft's strategy: Software + Services (S+S)
- Azure Services Platform

Windows Azure Roles
- Windows Azure development fabric and VS tools
- Understanding the "Web" Role
- Understanding the "Worker" Role
- Building Windows Azure applications
- Deploying to Windows Azure

Windows Azure Storage
- Understanding Windows Azure storage services
- Table Storage
- Blob Storage
- Queue Storage
- Programming storage services

.NET Services Overview
- Understanding .NET Services
- .NET Service Bus
- .NET Access Control Service
- .NET Workflow Service
- A lap around using .NET Services

.NET Service Bus
- Understanding the need for an "Internet" Service Bus
- The .NET Relay Service
- Relay addressing and the Service Registry
- Connectivity options: one-way, multicast, publish/subscribe, etc
- WCF programming model

.NET Access Control Service (ACS)
- Understanding identity and federation
- Identity providers and claims-based security
- The need for a hosted security token service (STS)
- Application scopes and access control rules
- Managing the ACS in the Azure Services Portal

.NET Workflow Service
- The need for a reliable/scalable workflow hosting environment
- Cloud-based workflow activities
- Designing workflows for the .NET Workfow Service
- Deploying and managing workflow types and instances
- Use-cases and current limitations

SQL Services
- The need for a relational database service in the cloud
- SQL Data Services (SDS) architecture
- SDS features and capabilities
- How it differs from Windows Azure Storage
- Programming SDS in your applications

Live Services
- Understanding the Live Services platform
- A survey of services in the Live Services family
- Building social applications and experiences
- Programming the Live Framework

Live Mesh
- The need for Live Mesh and synchronization
- Understanding Mesh Services
- Mesh Services architecture and framework
- Programming Mesh Services