Recently several Windows Azure December updates are announced to improve ease of use, interoperability, and overall value. Here are my favorites and see here for complete details.
![image]( "image") Simplified Risk Free 90-Days Free Trial
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- Eliminating usage above free quota limits that lead to overage charges; see below Monthly
Allocations- Compute (750 small compute hours)
- Storage – Relational (1G Web Edition)
- Storage – Non-Relational (20GB with 50K transactions)
- Bandwidth (Unlimited Inbound, and 20GB Outbound)
- Default Monthly Spending Limit of $0 USD
- A Windows Live ID and credit card are required for proof of identity. There is no obligation to
purchase at the end of the free trial.
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Usage Cap (Spending Limit) ![StopSpending]( "StopSpending") |
- Experience Cloud without worry of excess charges (charged at Standard Rates)
beyond your monthly usage limits - View real-time usage and billing details directly from the Windows Azure Management
Portal - Usage Cap is applicable for all offers including 90-Days Trial, MSDN Subscriptions,
BizSpark - Receive automatic credit during signup based upon your eligibility (MSDN Subscription, BizSpark, …)
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![Unlimited]( "Unlimited") Management Portal |
| The new portal has a Metro-style user interface with new features including new workspaces with the ability to more easily monitor databases, drill-down into schemas, query plans, spatial data, indexes / keys, and query performance statistics. |
SQL Azure Federation and Increased Database Size![image]( "image") |
- scale out Databases elastically and manage with greater ease using a new sharding
pattern - Increased Databases Size limit from 50 GB to 150 GB
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![image]( "image") Windows Azure SDK for Node.js |
- Libraries for Windows Azure Storage (Blob, Table, Queue)
- Windows Azure PowerShell for Node.js, providing command-line tools for development and
deployment of Node.js applications - Source code for Node.js client libraries is also available on GitHub
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Apache Hadoop Based Distribution for Windows Azure![image]( "image") |
- The Developer Preview is available by invitation, with following highlights:
- Install and setup Hadoop on Windows Azure in hours instead of days thanks to a new set
of installers that simplify setup and deployment. - New JavaScript libraries that enable millions of JavaScript developers to build
MapReduce jobs for the first time using the new Hadoop based Service on Windows
Azure. - Hive ODBC Driver and Hive Add-in for Excel enable data analysis of unstructured data through familiar
tools including Excel and PowerPivot.
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Management Portal
Windows Azure SDK for Node.js
