WINDOWS AZURE - the third era of the Microsoft operating systems

Technologies of cloud computing promptly develop, but the leader of the license software the Microsoft company entered on this market far not in the forefront.
First it seemed that attempts of Google to provide office applications on demand, begun in 2005, had no relation to the market of the habitual software established on the desktop computer. However Google Apps and Google Docs, and also cloudy services from other providers gained ground, delaying a part of clients traditional ON. It appeared that is simple to do without park of computers and purchase of licenses for office applications. The analysis of sales volume of Microsoft should show this tendency, so, a choice didn't remain.
In spite of the fact that the market was occupied by such players as Sun Microsystems, IBM, Amazon, Salesforce, autumn of 2008 of Microsoft declared creation of the new cloudy WINDOWS AZURE operating system intended for development of cloudy appendices. During that moment it seemed to much that the corporation after all was late with the introduction for the market and that technologies of computing clouds put a lethal blow of its monopoly in the software. Nevertheless, Microsoft started the third era of operating systems to repeat in hope success of DOS in the 1980th and Windows in the 1990th.
WINDOWS AZURE - elements
In the current year WINDOWS AZURE was declared by commercial system. As well as traditional OS, WINDOWS AZURE allows to start applications and to store data, but there is it not on the computer of the user, and in computing clouds.
The WINDOWS AZURE operating system is a part of Windows Azure Platform - groups of cloudy technologies for development ON which includes the following elements:

• WINDOWS AZURE provides Windows-Wednesday for appendix and data storage work in Microsoft data centers
• SQL Azure ensures functioning with relational databases on the basis of the SQL server. Data can be stored both in the cloudy environment, and within the precincts of the enterprise, nevertheless cooperating with AZURE Windows applications
• Windows Azure Platform AppFabric connects the appendices working both in cloudy, and in the traditional environment, providing the protected data transmission.

Despite similarity of names, the concepts fabric and AppFabric - not so same. The first treats association of physical cars in the cloudy OS, the second - to connection of the appendices working in different environments.
Directly the WINDOWS AZURE operating system also consists of several interconnected parts: Compute Service, Storage Service and Fabric.
Compute Service
Compute Service is responsible for calculations. The main objective of a cloudy platform consists in providing support of the appendix starting huge number of users at the same time. WINDOWS AZURE supports some copies of the same code on different physical servers. In turn, the appendix can work at once in several versions at several virtual cars, each of which is provided with a gipervizor on the basis of Hyper-V modified for use in clouds.
There are two types of working versions of the cloudy appendix: web role (Web role) and working role (Worker role). The first is able to process HTTP-or HTTPS-inquiries, and by its virtual car (VM) the Internet Information Services (IIS) server is started. The programmer has possibility to create the web role version with the help ASP.NET or Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), and also to use any other.NET technology working with IIS. The appendix can be created in any programming language.
On the contrary, the working role doesn't assume IIS start. It carries out of a task in a background mode. For example, the web role can be applied to receiving inquiry from the user. But its processing will be started later by means of the version of a working role.
Storage Service
Storage Service provides data storage. WINDOWS AZURE OS supports three modes of work with data. The idle time from them - BLOB containing binary data with simple hierarchy. This type of the organization of information is intended for storage of images, audio and video, t.   е. for use of large volumes.
When it is necessary to structure the same data, resort to tables where for each unit of information there is a line number and column number. The table in Storage Service isn't relational. Its simple organization allows to get access to this by means of methods ADO.NET. In such look cloudy OS distributes data storage on some physical computers that is more effective, than when using a relational database.
The considered ways provide data storage and access to them, and the third way is necessary for their communication, called "turn". The data structure principle in turn is based on the following: «The first came - the first left». This way helps different versions of the appendix to exchange among themselves messages. The web role and a working role as synchronization in the cloudy environment is impossible so communicate. Let's assume, the user via the web interface causes the task demanding essential computing capacities. The web role writes down the received inquiry in turn. A working role, addressing to this turn, accepts inquiry and carries out it. Results of performance (answer) are transferred by the same principle, through turn.
Irrespective of a data structure method, information in WINDOWS AZURE Storage реплицируется 3 times that provides stability of system: loss of data in one of copies isn't fatal. Besides, there are the archival copies which are storing in other data center of Microsoft. It means that even if all data center is destroyed, information will be lifted and restored from archives of other center.
Fabric
The last component of OS - Fabric - allows to organize a set of computers on which appendices and WINDOWS AZURE data are stored. Management such «a computer fabric» carries out the software called by fabric controler.
Fabric carries out monitoring of all working appendices, operates interaction from OS on different VM and chooses the physical server for an application launch, thereby optimizing equipment use.
Management of appendices is carried out by means of the configuration files containing the XML description of everything that is necessary for the appendix, for example the necessary number of virtual cars with web roles and working roles. Fabric controler creates these virtual cars and traces a condition of each of them if necessary to replace failed or to start it on other physical server.
The WINDOWS AZURE components allow to create applications of different types. So, for creation of the scaled Internet appendix it is enough to programmer to use necessary quantity of web roles, keeping data in tables. And the appendix with parallel calculations will need a web role, turn for preservation of the inquiries, necessary quantity of working roles and the table (or BLOB) for data storage. In turn, SQL Azure and AppFabric give the chance to connect solutions of WINDOWS AZURE to programs and the databases functioning within a local network or with cloudy systems of other providers.
Cost of cloudy services
The appendices created on the basis of WINDOWS AZURE, are provided as service to individuals, corporate users or both that, and another at the same time. Let's give the prices for some cloudy services Microsoft:

• computing capacities - 0,12 dollars/h
• storage of data in a month - 0,15 dollars/gbytes
• transactions of data - 0,01 dollars of/10 Kb
• loading of data - 0,10 dollars/gbytes
• downloading of data - 0,15 dollars/gbytes

Examples of cloudy appendices
Let's consider examples of the cloudy appendices created by means of WINDOWS AZURE and calculated on different types of users.
The decision for corporate users
By means of WINDOWS AZURE the independent software developer can create applications for business users, applying software principles as service (SaaS - Software as a Service).
As example the decision developed by the American company Alinean, Inc can serve. Its field of activity - granting on demand of analytical means in the field of the analysis of sales and marketing. Alinean systems allow to estimate needs and business possibilities in the future, to offer the decision for building of capacities and to count up, when investments will start to pay off. Users of Alinean are the corporate clients being in different corners of the globe. Among them IBM, HP, Microsoft, Intel, AT&T, VMware, Oracle, Siemens, Symantec, etc. In the data center of Alinean being in Orlando (Florida, the USA), on demand provided service of 20 servers working 24 hours per day seven days in a week. Volume of business of dews, and capacities began not to suffice and the maintenance of internal TsOD everything became more expensive.
Therefore the decision to transfer the software developed earlier under WINDOWS AZURE roof was made. As a result 28 virtual servers from Azure and 20 SQL Azure (on 10 Gbytes everyone) were required. Thanks to fee upon, Alinean was possible to achieve reduction of expenses on service on 60   % in comparison with the previous, traditional model. Besides, the management estimates in 160   % the relation of average increase in profit to volume of investments (ROI - Return On Investment) at WINDOWS AZURE in comparison with investments in a former configuration (100 %).
The decision for individuals
Thanks to scalability of WINDOWS AZURE allows to keep account a huge number of users. Creating the cloudy decision, the company developer can count not only on corporations, but also on individuals.
Such appendix was made by the New Zealand company TicketDirect International which, working in an on-line mode, carries out 45   % of all sales of tickets for cultural and sporting events of New Zealand. Previous, traditional, the system of sale of the tickets, functioning on the basis of Microsoft SQL Server 7 and SQL Server 2000, was written on Visual Basic 6. The appendix without problems served some hundred sales within an hour. But in days of sales when the discount for visit of popular action appeared, thousands people tried to "reach" system at the same time. No wonder that the computer park of the seller of tickets didn't maintain such flow of users.
WINDOWS AZURE provided TicketDirect scaled infrastructure as service with payment after delivery possibility. As a result at the moment of sales the appendix starts to use additional capacities. Now the equipment only to cover temporary surges in activity isn't required to buy the TicketDirect company. Restrictions practically doesn't exist. In clouds the company is capable to serve some popular actions beginning the sales the same minute. WINDOWS AZURE will provide so many capacities, how many it is necessary for business.
Internal decision
In the environment of WINDOWS AZURE can be created the internal applications which users are employees of this enterprise. In this case scalability, perhaps, isn't so important. But surges in activity happen and in the company - then it is difficult to overestimate advantages of calculations in clouds even within the precincts of the enterprise.
As an example we will give the company Microsoft rather its department of information technologies where found the application of WINDOWS AZURE. Within annual charitable campaign the IT department carries out online auction in favor of the charitable organization United Way. Before the equipment and ON for it were supported all the year round while action was carried out within one month only once in a year. Besides, at the very end of auction usually there was one more problem which technical workers faced. Each time was observed at this time surge in activity, and the system appeared overloaded.
The department of IT made the decision to migrate in computing clouds. WINDOWS AZURE and Microsoft SQL Azure for data storage were involved. Now in the last days of the IT team auction programs system on use of bigger quantity of resources to serve an increasing stream of inquiries. When auction comes to an end, capacities are reduced according to loading. The cloudy model is ready to serve so many users, how many it is necessary. In the huge company which Microsoft is, the system allows to collect now more means going on charity.

WINDOWS AZURE in operation

The given examples speak about creation of systems on demand. But to work in the environment of WINDOWS AZURE, it is not obligatory to program the own appendix. Now each of us will manage to test cloudy Microsoft OS in operation. On the basis of WINDOWS AZURE within "live", working Windows Live system office applications on demand are available. Windows Live allows to create documents in the Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats and to store them on a virtual disk, in clouds. It is curious that the system gives the chance to open the online document on the personal computer by means of traditional ON Microsoft.
In future WINDOWS AZURE will fall outside the limits data centers of her developer and it will be established within the precincts of other corporations. Microsoft declared the forthcoming interaction with such companies, as Dell, HP and eBay. The last plans to use the cloudy decision on the basis of WINDOWS AZURE thanks to what subscribers can participate in the habitual eBay auction, using iPad.
According to Steve Ballmer, there came one of the most important moments of a computer era. «All understand that cloud computing is extremely favorable, and it opens great opportunities».