Building Windows Azure Services

Introduction

Microsoft introduced cloud platform officially known as Azure Services Platform.It makes easy for .NET Developers to move their applications to the cloud using same tools and API’s they’re already familiar with. It provides highly-scalable execution environment for running .NET Applications and storing data in Microsoft data centers throughout the world.

.NET Services

If you were Application Developer using technologies like WCF, WF and Biz Talk Server then you must aware of .NET Services of Windows Azure. .NET Services plays an important role in building cloud based applications in windows azure environment. .NET Services provides the building blocks for hosting the services in the Microsoft Data centers.

Requirements 

Few common requirements for moving your applications into cloud platform.

1. Describe and package your business, workflow processes.
2. Describe a way to communicate between cloud based applications and on-premise applications.
3. Define a secured communication and control access to cloud based applications.

.NET Services components

.NET Services fulfills the cloud infrastructure using the following components

• .NET Workflow Service – Provides infrastructure for hosting and managing WF workflows and also provides tools for deploying, managing and tracking workflow instances.
• .NET Service Bus- This component provides a relay service that establishes the connectivity across boundary. More on this component can be found here
• .NET Access Control Service This component provides the WS-security features.

All senders and listeners must first obtain a token from the .NET Access Control Service  before they can use .NET Service Bus.

Creating a .NET Services Solution

Before you get started with .NET Services, you need to get a invitation token before you create a .NET Services solution. You can obtain an invitation token from the following link http://www.microsoft.com/azure/register.mspx.

Once approved you will get a invitation token via e-mail.

You can create a new solution using this invitation code in portal.

It looks as follows

You also require to download and install .NET services SDK. It will add several .NET Assemblies to your machine. The key assemblies are

• Microsoft.ServiceBus.dll
• Microsoft.Activities.dll
• Microsoft.AccessControl.Management.dll

When you install the .NET Services SDK it also install the samples on the .NET Services.

In the next post I am going to discuss about The The .NET Access Control Service.