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».
One of the main tendencies of this year - close integration of digital television with the Internet. TVs with support of online services and appendices show qualitatively new possibilities. The modern CLEVER TV allows to work with various appendices, to play games, to send and accept video letters, to use iPhone or iPod as the DU panel.