Introduction to the Windows Azure Platform

This module provides an overview of the platform to get you started with Windows Azure. It describes web roles and worker roles, and the different ways you can store data in Windows Azure. It lays down the basic knowledge before you progress to the scenarios.

The Adatum Scenario

Introduces you to the Adatum company and the aExpense application. The topics describe how Adatum migrates the aExpense application to the cloud. It will help you understand why Adatum wants to migrate some of its business applications to the cloud, and it describes some of its concerns.

Getting to the Cloud

This module explains the first steps that Adatum takes in migrating the aExpense application. Adatum's goal here is simply to get the application working in the cloud, but this includes "big" issues, such as security and storage.

How Much Will It Cost?

Here we introduce a basic cost model for the aExpense application running on Windows Azure and calculate the estimated annual running costs for the application. This module is optional. You don't need to cover it before you go on to the following scenarios.

Automating Deployment and Using Windows Azure Storage

Describes how Adatum uses PowerShell scripts and the Microsoft Build Engine (MSBuild) to automate deploying aExpense to Windows Azure. It also describes how Adatum switches from using SQL Azure to Windows Azure Table Storage in the aExpense application and discusses the differences between the two storage models.

Uploading Images and Adding a Worker Role

Describes adding a worker role to the aExpense application and shows how aExpense uses Windows Azure Blob Storage for storing scanned images.

Application Life Cycle Management for Windows Azure Applications

Discusses how to manage developing, testing, and deploying Windows Azure applications.

Adding More Tasks and Tuning the Application

This module shows how Adatum adds more tasks to the worker role in the aExpense application. In this phase, Adatum also evaluates the results of performance testing the application and makes some changes based on the results.