Windows Azure Web Sites

INTRODUCTION TO THE WINDOWS AZURE BOOK SERIES

It has been fascinating watching the maturation of Windows Azure since its introduction in 2008. When it was announced, Azure was touted as being Microsoft’s “new operating system.” And at that level, it has not really lived up to its billing. However, if you consider Azure to be a collection of platforms and tools that allow you to cloud-enable your corporation’s applications and infrastructure, well, now you’re on the right track.

And, as it turns out, a collection of cooperating tools and services is the best way to think of Azure. The different components that comprise Azure become building blocks that allow you to construct an environment to suit your needs. Want to be able to host a simple website? Well, then Azure Web Sites fits the bill. Want to move some of your infrastructure to the cloud while leaving other systems on premise? Azure Virtual Networking gives you the capability to extend your corporate domain to include machines hosted in Azure. Almost without exception, each twist and turn in your infrastructure roadmap can take advantage of the building blocks that make up Windows Azure.

A single book covering everything that encompasses Azure would be huge. And because of the breadth of components in Azure, such a book is likely to contain information that you are not necessarily interested in. For this reason, the Windows Azure series from Wrox takes the same “building block” approach that Azure does. Each book in the series ...