Microsoft is updating its Azure cloud computing platform to increase its appeal to developers. The updates include SQL Azure database enhancements, a streamlined billing and management experience, Apache Hadoop-based data service, better pricing, and the launch of a new Azure software development kit.
On Monday, Microsoft Vice President Bob Kelly posted on the official Windows Azure blog that the updates will "improve ease of use, interoperability, and overall value" for the platform. Among the highlights: access to Azure libraries for .NET, Java, and Node.js under the Apache 2 open source license, an Azure SDK for Node.js, and a limited preview of an Apache Hadoop-based service, which, he said, allows Hadoop apps to be deployed within hours rather than days through a new set of installers.
'Big Data' Strategy
Previously, Azure customers could deploy a Hadoop cluster but it had to be done manually. The preview will be available to customers this week, based on unspecified "usage scenarios." The Hadoop upgrade is part of Microsoft's announced "big data" strategy, a roadmap for managing and analyzing data of any size, either on-site or via public or private clouds.
In announcing the Big Data strategy in October, Microsoft Corporate Vice President Ted Kummer noted that businesses are asking themselves questions like "What can data from social media sites tell me about the sentiment of my brands and products?" He also said that end-users need to be able to gain critical business insights, "no matter where they are" or what device is being used.
The upgrades also include additional content and tutorials for revised Dev Centers, a simplified sign-up process, and real-time usage and billing details that can be seen directly from the Azure Management Portal.
The Management Portal has a new user interface that resembles the Metro interface of the coming Windows 8. It includes new workspaces to more easily keep track of databases, drill-downs into schemas, query plans, spatial data, query performance statistics, and support for SQL Azure Federation.
'More Pragmatic Approach'
Federation allows for databases to be scaled out and more easily managed, with repartitioning based on application workloads virtually without limit. The maximum database size in SQL Azure has been increased from 50 GB to 150 GB.
A new pricing cap for the biggest databases can reduce the price per gigabyte by 67 percent, according to Microsoft. Data transfer prices in North America and Europe are now one-quarter less, and Service Bus usage is free through March of next year.
Al Hilwa, program director for application development at industry research firm IDC, said the upgrades were "a more pragmatic approach by Microsoft to appeal to developers," by leveraging support for what he described as "new age apps." This includes backends for applications for social networking, mobile devices, and content delivery.
Hilwa noted that Azure had previously been focused on more traditional, mostly enterprise apps, but that, "if you want to make money these days with a cloud application platform, you have to be more supportive of a Web-based ecosystem."
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/software/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20111213/tc_nf/81349
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