Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 8
Windows Azure and ASP.NET
This chapter walks you through the steps of creating a Windows Azure application and deploying it in the cloud. By now,
you know you can't create WinForms applications in Windows Azure. However, you can create an ASP.NET application
that runs locally in IIS and connects to SQL Database, or build an ASP.NET application that runs as a cloud project which
can then run entirely in the cloud. This chapter will show you how to build a small web application in ASP.NET that can be
deployed in the cloud, and implements the Direct Connection pattern discussed in Chapter 2.
An application published in the Microsoft cloud is referred to as a
cloud service
, even if it's a web site. So, you first
need to create a new Windows Azure cloud service to host the web site.
Creating a Cloud Service
First, you need to set up a Windows Azure cloud service so you can deploy a Windows Azure application later. Each
Windows Azure service created in the cloud is mapped to a virtual machine. In most cases you do not need to have control
over the Virtual Machine (VM) itself; you can simply deploy your applications and configure certain parameters. However,
you can also perform advanced tasks such as running startup scripts and establishing a remote connection to the VM.
To create your Windows Azure cloud service, follow these steps:
sign in with your Windows Live account.
1.
2.
When you've logged in, select Cloud Services. You will see the list of cloud services you've
created so far (if you have been granted administrative access to someone else's Azure
account, you will see their cloud services, too), as shown in Figure
8-1
.
