Windows Azure Web Sites

Chapter 4

Managing Windows Azure Web Sites from the Console

IN THIS CHAPTER:

• Tuning up your system to execute the Azure cmdlets
• Managing site state and application settings
• Getting comfortable with building more complex scripts

She checks her watch; there are only minutes to spare. It’s dark, and it’s getting darker. The guards are closing in, but their weapons are the least of her worries. The clock seems to run faster and faster, and it won’t be long until the good guys, nay, the whole planet, will have all but run out of time. The music crescendos as time appears certain to favor the antagonists, and the only hope left for all of humanity is to connect to a distant satellite and override the nuclear launch control codes. And what does our heroine do? Browse to a website? Open Visual Studio? No! She opens a command-line shell!

There is something uber-geeky and smart-looking about anyone who seems to have good control of their systems from a command line. If you’re a touch typist and know your command set well, you can move very quickly inside of a shell and, better yet, write scripts to help automate anything that exposes a compatible interface.

Your typical day at the office may not be quite as compelling as the heroine above, but there are many practical applications for having a handle on what you’re able to do and knowing the fastest way to do it. With Azure, it may very well be from within PowerShell, and the Windows Azure cmdlets (pronounced “command-lets”) are the way ...