Windows Azure SDK Tools and Templates for Azure Development

The Windows Azure SDK is a comprehensive set of tools that makes it easier to develop and deploy applications on the Azure platform.

These tools and templates provide a solid foundation for Azure development, and are essential for anyone looking to build scalable and reliable cloud-based applications.

One of the key features of the Windows Azure SDK is its rich set of libraries and frameworks, which enable developers to create applications that can take advantage of Azure's scalable and on-demand infrastructure.

Developers can use these libraries to build applications that can store and retrieve data from Azure's storage services, as well as use Azure's compute services to run tasks and workflows in the cloud.

Azure Cloud Services is a powerful platform that allows developers to build, deploy, and manage applications in the cloud. It provides a wide range of services, including computing, storage, and networking.

Azure Cloud Services offers a scalable and secure environment for applications, with features like load balancing and auto-scaling. This means that your application can handle sudden spikes in traffic and scale up or down as needed.

With Azure Cloud Services, you can also integrate your application with other Microsoft services, such as Office 365 and Dynamics. This can help you build more comprehensive and connected applications for your users.

You can now deploy your Cloud Services to large memory IaaS VMs using the new 4 core x 28GB RAM (A6) and 8 core x 56GB RAM (A7) VM sizes.

The Windows Azure SDK 2.0 for .NET release includes support for these VM sizes.

The A6 and A7 VM sizes offer significant memory capacity, with 28GB and 56GB of RAM respectively.

For more information on VM sizes, check out the Windows Azure documentation at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsazure/dn197896.aspx.

With today's release, you can now perform a Simultaneous Update of a Cloud Service, which allows for faster deployment times.

This Simultaneous Update option bypasses the normal upgrade domain walk, upgrading all roles and instances simultaneously within Windows Azure.

You can use this option to quickly update a dev or test environment, or to blast out a critical app update fast in production with a short availability impact.

To perform a Simultaneous Update using Visual Studio, select the Advanced Settings tab within the Cloud Service Publish wizard and choose the Settings link next to the Deployment Update checkbox.

Once saved, the updates to this Cloud Service will be performed using this option and all roles and instances will be updated simultaneously.

This new deployment option is ideal for scenarios where you need to quickly update a Cloud Service, but be cautious about using it in production for normal updates due to potential app downtime.

Azure App Service has taken a significant leap forward with improved diagnostics. Remote Profiling support is now available, bringing local diagnostic capabilities to the Azure development experience.

This means you can now get the same level of insight into your app's performance and behavior as you would when testing locally.

Azure API App preview template has also seen an improvement in the Swagger generation process. This will make it easier to create and manage APIs.

Having a smooth diagnostic process can save you a lot of time and frustration in the long run.

You can now create and delete Windows Azure Tables, and add/edit/delete table entities in them from the Visual Studio Server Explorer, saving you time and making it easier to build apps that use Windows Azure Storage Tables.

The Visual Studio Server Explorer has been updated to include a new Table tooling that makes it easier to build Table queries without requiring expertise with OData syntax.

With the new Query Builder, you can create complex queries without having to write a single line of code.

You can also create and name new Tables within the Visual Studio Server Explorer by right-clicking within the Windows Azure Storage node.

Once you have a Table created, you can add entities to it directly within Visual Studio by clicking the "Create Entity" button on the table designer.

You can edit or delete existing entities within Tables, making it easy to update your data.

Cloud Explorer is a new tool window that will soon replace the Azure node in Server Explorer, addressing issues such as performance and lack of support for new Azure Resource Manager resources.

Cloud Explorer provides a tool to enumerate and take developer and diagnostic actions against all of your Azure resources from right inside Visual Studio.

You can now use Cloud Explorer to see all of the resources in your resource groups and take actions against them, making it easier to manage your resources.

Cloud Explorer includes a search feature that makes it easy to find specific resources by name, saving you time and effort.

You can also switch between accounts and filter subscriptions within an account using the settings icon in the toolbar, making it easy to manage your resources.

Azure Diagnostics and Monitoring is a crucial part of managing your Windows Azure applications. It helps you understand what's happening with your app, even when it's not running on your local machine.

You can use Azure Diagnostics to collect data from your application, such as performance counters, event logs, and crash dumps. This data is then stored in a storage account, which you can use to diagnose issues.

Azure Diagnostics can be configured to collect data at regular intervals, or when specific events occur. This allows you to pinpoint exactly when and where issues are happening.

The Azure Diagnostics configuration is done through the Azure Management Portal or through code, using the Azure SDK. This makes it easy to set up and manage diagnostics for your applications.

Azure Monitoring, on the other hand, provides real-time visibility into your application's performance. It can detect issues before they become major problems, and alert you to take action.

Azure Monitoring can be integrated with other Azure services, such as Azure Service Bus and Azure Storage, to provide a complete view of your application's performance.

With the latest Windows Azure SDK update, web developers will see significant improvements, including Remote Profiling support and enhanced Swagger generation process in the Azure API App preview template.

Azure App Service Tooling Improvements have made it easier for web developers to work with Azure. They can now use Remote Profiling to diagnose issues in the Azure development experience, just like they would locally.

Hadoop Tools for Visual Studio have also been updated, providing better support for developers working with Hadoop on Azure.

The update has streamlined the publishing process for Windows Azure Web Sites, allowing developers to publish their ASP.NET Web Projects with just a few clicks. They can now associate their Windows Azure Subscription within Visual Studio and browse their sites in real-time, selecting the one they want to publish to.

You can now manage your Web Sites in the Visual Studio Server Explorer. This feature is especially useful for debugging issues that only occur in a live Windows Azure environment.

With the Visual Studio Server Explorer, you can see all your running web sites within Windows Azure. Just associate your Windows Azure subscription with Visual Studio to see them listed.

You can perform common operations on your web sites, such as starting or stopping them, by right-clicking on one. This makes it much easier to manage your web sites in the cloud.

The View Settings command on a site allows you to retrieve the live site configuration settings from Windows Azure. You can view and edit these settings directly within Visual Studio.

Changes you save to the live settings will be persisted immediately into the running instance within Windows Azure. This eliminates the need to redeploy the application or open the Windows Azure Management Portal.

The Visual Studio Server Explorer also allows you to right-click on a Cloud Service role to pull up its Configuration.

With Azure App Service Tooling Improvements, web developers will see significant enhancements, many of which are a direct result of the improved sign-in and Cloud Explorer experiences. Remote Profiling support has been added, providing diagnostic capabilities to the Azure development experience.

The Swagger generation process in the Azure API App preview template has been improved. This means developers can now generate Swagger files for their API apps with ease.

Azure App Service Tooling Improvements also bring significant improvements to the development experience. With these updates, developers can now use the same remote debugging capabilities available with classic Virtual Machines with the new Virtual Machines based on the Azure resource manager stack.

The new updates also include improved support for managing Web Sites, deployed in the cloud with Windows Azure, through the Visual Studio Server Explorer. When you associate your Windows Azure subscription with Visual Studio, you'll now see all of your running web sites within Windows Azure in the Visual Studio Server Explorer.

The improvements also include the ability to start and stop web sites, view settings, and retrieve live site configuration settings from Windows Azure. Changes you save will be persisted immediately into the running instance within Windows Azure.

The API Apps Template is a valuable tool for Azure developers. It's been improved to bring it forward into Visual Studio 2015.

One of the key improvements is the addition of a custom operation filter implementation. This ensures that duplicate Swagger operation identifiers are avoided.

This customization is made possible through the SwaggerConfig.cs file, which is shown in the Visual Studio code editor. The Swashbuckle configuration is modified to prevent multiple operations from having the same identifier.

This change is important because it prevents code-generation functionality in Visual Studio from breaking.

If you're a Visual Studio developer, you'll be happy to know that Hadoop Tools are available to help you harness the power of Hadoop on Azure.

Hadoop Tools for Visual Studio are a series of updates that make it easier to work with Hadoop on Azure.

These updates are designed to help you get the most out of Hadoop on Azure, with features like streamlined workflows and improved performance.

With Hadoop Tools, you can easily integrate Hadoop with your existing Visual Studio projects, making it easier to analyze large datasets and gain valuable insights.