Windows Azure Web Sites

1 Introduction to Windows Azure and Fundamental Concepts

IN THIS CHAPTER:

• The role of Windows Azure Web Sites and how it may find a place in your workflow
• An introduction to the Windows Azure Management Portal in the context of a website developer
• The basics of creating a simple site
• How application state management differs from IIS
• Setting deployment credentials

References to “the cloud” seem to be everywhere. Targeted developer advertisements, corporate messaging, and even consumer marketing have all been invaded by this new use of a common word. You can't drive by a bank of city billboards or walk down the corridor of an airport terminal without seeing mention of cloud computing in some form. Heck, by the end of this book, “cloud” won't even sound like a real word anymore!

Indeed, at this point in the Internet's history, it's almost impossible to have any kind of Internet presence without being “in” the cloud, even if you were unaware of it. The most popular mail services have all been cloud-based for some time, as have music and movie services. Nearly every smartphone vendor offers some kind of cloud feature set that it tries to leverage as a marketing point to distinguish itself from the competition. Even the latest versions of document- and photo-editing software have built-in cloud features, or are themselves built on top of the cloud fabric. It's not surprising that the same can be said about our operating systems as well.

By now you have likely wrestled through some ...