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Microsoft launches Windows Azure, its "cloud OS"

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Re: Microsoft launches Windows Azure, its "cloud OS"

#11

Post by dmix »

DenisM wrote: post #7
sriramk wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[disclaimer - I work for the Windows Azure team]. The root website is www.azure.com - that should link to all the relevant docs, bits, sites. We're turning on all the switches as I write this so you may see a few 404s before noon PST.

A bit of feedback: I would be hesitant to start using this because there is no way to anticipate the pricing scheme whenever it shows up. Last thing I want is to commit to a platform andthen find out it's cost-prohibitve. Also, google promises to keep certain level of usage free which makes me more likely to try because I know I won't get suddenly hosed with high prices.

I've heard this come up many times today. I'm curious if everyone questioned the financial motives of Google App Engine when it first came out.

Then again the target market for Azure seems to be enterprise IT depts, who tend to be involved with proprietary technology, and not start-up developers looking for a cheap and efficient host.

Re: Microsoft launches Windows Azure, its "cloud OS"

#12

Post by yters »

mkn wrote: post #9

Am I wrong in wondering if cloud computing might do for computing what hedge funds and CDSs did for finances? By this I mean that in both cases we're talking about attaining the last iota of efficiency by consolidating a resource in the hands of a few. What happens when the MS cloud goes down? (I know. Impossible.) We've seen the stories about people who have lost access to their gmail accounts. What if a large porti…

I like the google gears approach, where you can go offline with the data if necessary. Still not ideal, though.

Re: Microsoft launches Windows Azure, its "cloud OS"

#13

Post by DenisM »

dmix wrote: post #11
DenisM wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A bit of feedback: I would be hesitant to start using this because there is no way to anticipate the pricing scheme whenever it shows up. Last thing I want is to commit to a platform andthen find out it's cost-prohibitve. Also, google promises to keep certain level of usage free which makes me more likely to try because I know I won't get suddenly hosed with high prices.

I've heard this come up many times today. I'm curious if everyone questioned the financial motives of Google App Engine when it first came out. Then again the target market for Azure seems to be enterprise IT depts, who tend to be involved with proprietary technology, and not start-up developers looking for a cheap and efficient host.

1. Yes, I did question it back then too. Google has since rectified their stance and published their pricing scheme. The paid service is not operational yet but it's a neccesary piece of inforation to plan the projects ahead. I have started learning pyhon based on that information (python is required for google's services) but did not commit the project itself yet because the ship date is still up in the air.

2. This is not true, they target several markets and among them both corporate develoers and web developers: http://www.microsoft.com/azure/corpdev.mspx http://www.microsoft.com/azure/webdev.mspx

Re: Microsoft launches Windows Azure, its "cloud OS"

#15

Post by bigthboy »

I'm interested to see how well the service fairs when it launches and I'm just as interested in seeing the response from those developers who are being able to test the platform. I think that this could potentially be a "step in the right direction" for Microsoft to stay relevant in a world that's changing how and where data and processing is handled. However, unlike many speculators who talk about how someday the "Cloud will completely engulf the world," I don't think that will happen anytime soon. As available as the Internet is and the number of providers grow, there still is going to be a need for localized data processing and handling to a certain extent. This is one of the places that I agree with Microsoft in saying that it needs to be "Local + Cloud." The concept of it all strikes me as something best used to enhance local applications to have access to more information, seamlessly, and dynamically, and be able to tailor that information to meet the needs of the end-user.

Re: Microsoft launches Windows Azure, its "cloud OS"

#16

Post by dejb »

dcurtis wrote: post #8

Microsoft has destroyed their brand so completely that I don't even consider this a viable product. I don't trust Microsoft.

When did you actually trust Microsoft with online computing? Before Vista? I don't see a huge relationship between Vista and their online efforts. Sounds like a bit of MS bashing propaganda from somebody who has never liked or trusted them.

Re: Microsoft launches Windows Azure, its "cloud OS"

#17

Post by axod »

dejb wrote: post #16
dcurtis wrote: post #8

Microsoft has destroyed their brand so completely that I don't even consider this a viable product. I don't trust Microsoft.

When did you actually trust Microsoft with online computing? Before Vista? I don't see a huge relationship between Vista and their online efforts. Sounds like a bit of MS bashing propaganda from somebody who has never liked or trusted them.

Microsoft has never "gotten" the internet. They still don't. I don't see any reason to suppose they have suddenly "gotten" it here.

Re: Microsoft launches Windows Azure, its "cloud OS"

#18

Post by amvp »

Maybe I'm missing something here, because nobody is mentioning it, but isn't this a major shift for MS? Microsoft is a software company basically (other than mice and zunes and 360s), but here they are offering essentially hardware-as-a-service. If, last week, I would have gone to Dell and bought a server with a windows license (Disclaimer: I'd never do such a thing!), I'd now just pay MS to run my app on Azure . Dell, HP, IBM and whoever else make windows servers have just been cut out of the equation, right?

Re: Microsoft launches Windows Azure, its "cloud OS"

#19

Post by sriramk »

andr wrote: post #6

Definitely interesting! From what I see at first glance, there's a queue/MQ-like service, a scalable database (is it SQL or key/value?), a workflow service, and the whole thing works whether you want to use .NET or not.

You can find more docs on Windows Azure tables (distinct from the blobs service which you missed :-) ) at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=131257 . Sorry about the doc link. I'm sure there's a web version somewhere which I can't find right now thanks to the flaky connection I'm on

Re: Microsoft launches Windows Azure, its "cloud OS"

#20

Post by bstadil »

mkn wrote: post #9

Am I wrong in wondering if cloud computing might do for computing what hedge funds and CDSs did for finances? By this I mean that in both cases we're talking about attaining the last iota of efficiency by consolidating a resource in the hands of a few. What happens when the MS cloud goes down? (I know. Impossible.) We've seen the stories about people who have lost access to their gmail accounts. What if a large porti…

Amazon currently have 3 separate data centers and additional S3 storage in Europe. This trend will continue as SLAs become more of a selling point for all Cloud purveyors.

Second why do people think that your own data center will be better? It is like putting your money under the bed rather than in the bank. So people do that but not a good idea.

Lastly we will see a common API emerge that will allow us to move with little impertinent. The emergence of Eucalyptus is an early indication of this.

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