Involved in cloud services Windows Azure administrators need to know

Microsoft's previous statement about the company's full commitment to cloud computing is well known, for developers, there are many information, code and features to be seriously processed. But as an IT administrator, the cloud represents something outside your boundaries, and the company pays for them, but you can't control it directly.

The truth is that there is no real good news about the significance of Windows Azure for IT professionals. So let's take a look at the Azure lifecycle from an IT proficiency and try to integrate the term cloud computing with the IT department that comes with it.

First, get an overview of Azure

Windows Azure is simply an environment that Microsoft runs, allowing developers to create applications that run anywhere, without having to be specific hardware. Worry about handling commands or finding management teams to manage unnecessary add-ons. Azure basically extracts the developer's service preparation and computer management level, so he or she can write applications to the Azure platform, but can't involve resources, machines, status, and so on.

Because you only pay for the products you use (for example, when using Microsoft resources for the benefit of the company), the company deserves to benefit, which minimizes the investment cost of running connected applications.

The Azure platform consists of three main components:

Structure. The architecture is basically all the networks that are dedicated to Microsoft machines running the Windows Azure platform. Now I hesitate to use the word "network" because in Azure, the feature set is the ability to build virtual networks between Azure instances and virtual machine roles. But at the moment, throughout the entire world dedicated to serving the platform, the structure is all portrayed as a large machine in the Microsoft data center.

Storage. Azure's storage can be represented by tables, queues, binary objects (BLOBs), and proprietary features called Windows Azure Drives.

Tables are usually just used to store structured data, as you've found in traditional databases. Queues are used as part of a message in which an application can insert a message into a queue and then delete it, and then perform further asynchronous communication operations on the message content. Finally, for BLOBs, it can store anything from media, images, text, documents, programs, or anything else you can imagine. The basic functionality of Windows Azure Drives allows you to mount NTFS volumes just like a mounted disk, so IT professionals are already familiar with it.

API and SDK. This layer belongs to the scope of the developer's work, and the custom hook runs on a potential structure that allows the application to work seamlessly throughout Windows Azure. (Imagine that part of the application might run on a Raymond machine, while another thread of the same application might be running in Chicago. In any other case it could be a nightmare for the program, but for Azure, the distance is only Abstract.)

Azure Tasks for IT People

Even though cloud computing can handle large loads, IT professionals and administrators have to set up and deploy customizable applications, and Always monitor them for proper operation. They also need to anticipate and manage the need for applications, whether they are customer-facing or internal, they are clustered on the Azure platform. Finally, administrators need to verify that data security, access security, and applications and data are backed up, just like an emergency system.

IT professionals also need to create and configure Windows Azure applications, primarily using the Azure Control Panel and leveraging the necessary technical support. In addition, the application itself is usually not self-managed (unless your development team is one level higher than other platforms), so even with a contingency enterprise application, you still have to manage the code.

The only part of the Windows Azure change in the equation is the area of ​​human resources usage. After Azure is put into use, administrators are freed from managing enterprise software and hardware, and have more time to manage and enhance the quality of enterprise service delivery and IT specific performance. Since the Active Directory has become a center of interest, many of the corporate decision makers have asked for Windows Azure. If you haven't heard these sounds, it won't be too long.

Of course, Microsoft is not the only player. Amazon and Google offer similar services and platforms to develop, run, and manage applications. So, as an IT professional, it's best to understand how various cloud computing platforms affect your roles and tasks.

The cloud will last forever, so bring your umbrella.

Author: Jonathan Hassell Translator: Mark