Chapter 1. Cloud Computing and Microsoft Azure Services Platform

This book is about one of the components of the Windows Azure Platform that provides support for a relational database in the Cloud. However, as it is a component of a more comprehensive, larger system it is essential to understand how it is positioned in relation to the Windows Azure Platform. In addition to introducing the larger picture, the book also describes how Windows Azure cloud applications access and leverage relational data; how the business intelligence applications interact with the cloud-hosted relational data; how the relational database provides support for authenticating web clients; how the cloud and ground-based relational databases can be accessed from ground (on-site) as well as cloud applications, and many others.

The book, therefore, begins with an introduction to cloud computing as it is generally spoken about by reviewing the most popular cloud offerings and more specifically introduces the main components of Windows Azure Platform. Also included in this chapter is a section that you will need to go through before you access the Windows Azure Platform services.

In this chapter, we will look at the motivation for cloud computing. We will discuss the following:

• What is cloud computing?

• Why a business would like to move its business applications and data to the cloud

• Types of cloud services

• The hybrid cloud

• How cloud computing is implemented with examples of some major cloud computing vendors

• Windows Azure