[This
is preliminary documentation and is subject to change.]
The
Windows Azure Platform is an Internet-scale cloud computing and services
platform hosted in Microsoft data centers. The Windows Azure Platform includes
the foundation layer of Windows Azure as well as a set of developer services
which can be used individually or together.
The
Windows Azure Platform comprises the following developer services:
Windows Azure
Windows Azure is the cloud services operating system that
serves as the development, service hosting, and service management environment
for the Windows Azure Platform. Windows Azure provides you on-demand compute
& storage to host, scale, and manage web applications and services on the
internet in Microsoft data centers.
Windows Azure platform AppFabric
Windows Azure platform AppFabric is a set of
Microsoft-hosted, highly scalable, developer-oriented services that provide key
building blocks required by many cloud-based and cloud-aware applications.
AppFabric provides applications with a common infrastructure to name, discover,
expose, secure, and orchestrate Web services, while enabling developers to
focus on their application logic rather than building and deploying their own
cloud-based infrastructure services.
SQL Azure
Microsoft SQL Azure extends SQL Server capabilities to the
cloud. SQL Azure offers a relational database service called Microsoft SQL
Azure Database. Using SQL Azure, you can easily provision and deploy relational
database solutions. Benefits include manageability, high availability,
scalability, a familiar development model, and a relational data model.