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December 26, 2011

Windows Azure DevCamp in Farmington, CT

Posted by Bill Wilder under Azure, Bill gave a talk, Cloud Computing, Events, Patterns, Programming, Trip Report
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Earlier this month I hung out with Jim O’Neil at the Farmington, CT offering of the Windows Azure DevCamp series. The format of the camp was a quick-ramp introduction to the Windows Azure Platform followed by some hands-on coding on the RockPaperAzure challenge.

Jim introduced cloud and presented specifics on Blob and Table storage services and SQL Azure. I had the opportunity to present one of the sections – mine was a combination of Windows Azure Compute services + the Windows Azure Queue service with some basics around using these services to assemble “cloud native” applications. The official slides for the Windows Azure DevCamp series appear to be here, though my slides were a little different and are also available (WindowsAzureDeveloperCamp-FarmingtonCT-07Dec2011-BillWilder). At the end, Jim also ran through the creation of a RockPaperAzure “bot” and it was (literally!) game on as attendees raced to create competitive entries.

I took a few photos at the event – some of Jim presenting, some showing participants at the end coming to claim their prizes from the RockPaperAzure challenge – and none from the middle!

 

December 19, 2011

Cloud Architecture Patterns on Azure with North Shore .NET User Group

Posted by Bill Wilder under Azure, Bill gave a talk, Cloud Computing, Events, Patterns
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Last week on Wednesday I went to hang out with a bunch of nice folks in Ipswich, MA at the 2nd meeting of the North Shore .NET User Group. It was an especially fun group with beer served before the talk! :-)

I spoke about Cloud Architecture Patterns like sharding, NoSQL, queue-based compute separation for scalability and reliability – with specific examples from the Windows Azure Platform such as SQL Azure Federations, Azure Table Storage, and Web Role + Queue + Worker Role patterns. The slides from my talk are here: nsnug-big-ideas-in-software-architecture-bill-wilder-14-dec-2011. (UPDATE: Note that I don’t seem to have the exact deck I used for the talk. As Ryan CrawCour pointed out, the deck I posted claims that SQL Azure is limited to 50 GB and Federations has not yet shipped, but at the talk I am certain I presented the 150 GB limit and a recently released Federations. I think I made the changes on the train en route to the event and somehow didn’t save them. Sorry! We’ll need to live with this small skew. Post a comment here if there are questions…)

There was definitely some good discussion and many questions. In fact, the following question came up, and I didn’t have a great response, but turns out there’s a timely response from Mr. SQL Azure Federations himself: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/cbiyikoglu/archive/2011/12/15/so-isn-t-the-root-database-a-bottleneck-for-federations-in-sql-azure.aspx

Also hope to see some nsnug folks at future Boston Azure User Group meetings and our planned Boston Azure Bootcamp in June 2012!

 

November 9, 2011

October Boston Azure Cloud User Group Meeting

Posted by Bill Wilder under Azure, Bill gave a talk, Boston Azure User Group, Cloud Computing, Events, Trip Report
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First, let’s note that the October Boston Azure meeting marked our two-year anniversary!

Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/thewazir/4232029536/sizes/s/in/photostream/

I believe we are the oldest Windows Azure user group in the world, still going strong. Our first meeting was held in October 2009, less than a year after Windows Azure was announced at PDC 2008, and a few months before it went RTW for real (which was, I believe, January 2010).

Now, back to our Oct meeting. Here are links to a few topics mentioned:

Also, here is the slide deck from the main presentation – given by yours truly (that’s me, Bill Wilder) – called Big Ideas in Software Architecture (Cloud and Otherwise):

At the meeting we also discussed some topics for future meetings. Here is that list (okay, I actually can’t find the list – may have forgotten to save it – sorry – so going from memory here) — note this list is in no particular order:

  1. Introduction to Cloud, Azure, and developing for Windows Azure
  2. More hands-on with the platform
  3. Using languages, libraries, and software other than .NET/Microsoft – e.g., Java, Python, Node.js, NoSQL (MongoDB), …
  4. Idempotency – look at a more challenging case than a simple thumbnailer
  5. Security in the Cloud
  6. Comparing Cloud platforms
  7. Azure AppFabric topics: Service Bus, Caching, Access Control Service (can Curt come back?), …
  8. More architecture patterns

WHAT ARE OTHER TOPICS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE? Please leave a comment, email me, or suggest via twitter (me: @codingoutloud or to the community: @bostonazure).

 

November 4, 2011

Visiting Harvard – CSCI E-175 – Cloud Computing and Software

Posted by Bill Wilder under Azure, Bill gave a talk, Cloud Computing, Events, Patterns, Programming
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Just got back from Harvard where I teamed up with Jim O’Neil to talk about the Windows Azure Cloud Platform to the class CSCI E-175 Cloud Computing and Software as a Service. This was at the invitation of the Dr. Zoran B. Djordjevic – who also hosted us last year, and the year before that it was Jim and some guy named Chris.

Like last year, the class was engaged, asking tough and interesting questions… which is all the more impressive since this class meets on FRIDAY NIGHT. Must be a Harvard thing… Anyhow, we went from around 5:30 – 8:00… ON FRIDAY NIGHT. :-)

Below are the resources I mentioned at the end of my talk, and the slide deck I used is here: Harvard-WhyAzureIsAwesome-Bill-Wilder-04-Nov-2011

Also, hope to see all of you at Boston Azure user group meetings! Feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions.

The slide deck Jim O’Neil used is here, plus here are a few action shots of Jim doing his thang:

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October 29, 2011

Cloud Architecture Patterns talk from New England Code Camp 16

Posted by Bill Wilder under Azure, Bill gave a talk, Cloud Computing, Events, Trip Report
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I attended the 16th (!) edition of New England Code Camp on Saturday 29-Oct-2011. I presented a talk called Cloud Architecture Patterns for Mere Mortals in which I introduced some big architecture ideas – e.g., CQRS, NoSQL, Sharding, and Eventual Consistency – with specific examples of how to realize these patterns drawn from the Windows Azure Platform. My slide deck is here: new-england-code-camp-16-Cloud-Architecture-Patterns-for-Mere-Mortals-bill-wilder-29-oct-2011

I also attended some cool talks – Brock Allen spoke about WIF, David Padbury on node.js, and Dominic Denicola on various Async approaches like Promises. Good time as usual! No after-event celebrating – everyone is running for cover due to the Nor’easter!

If you are interested in learning more about the Windows Azure Platform, please come join us at a Boston Azure cloud user group meeting. Details at www.bostonazure.org. We meet every month to learn about Azure. Sometimes we learn through prepared talks, sometimes we hold training events, and sometimes coding/hackathons. We are the oldest such user group in the world, turning two years old this month. Hope to see you!

Our next meeting is Thursday November 17 (the Thursday before Thanksgiving), featuring a very Azurey talk by Chris Rolon of Neudesic.

Got Azure Question? I am also a Windows Azure MVP for Windows Azure and know a thing or two about the platform. I am happy to answer questions you may have. Feel free to contact me on twitter (@codingoutloud) or by email (which is my twitter handle at gmail.com).

Azure On!

 

October 21, 2011

OWASP Boston Security Conference

Posted by Bill Wilder under Azure, Bill gave a talk, Cloud Computing, Events, Trip Report | Tags: |
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Boston Application Security Conference (BASC) hosted by the Boston chapter of OWASP (The Open Web Application Security Project).

For my part, I attended a number of interesting sessions (especially the frighteningly entertaining talk by Francis Brown on using Google and Bing to hack (or protect) web properties). Due to scheduling challenges, I missed Andrew Wilson‘s talk on Reversing Web Applications, which I wanted to check out.

For my part, I offered a Birds-of-a-Feather session on Securing Applications in the Cloud (with examples drawn from Windows Azure Platform). In this session, I reviewed both pros and cons of cloud deployments from a security point of view, and attempted to make the case that, ultimately, either your applications will simply be safer in the cloud, or at least if you want them to be sufficiently safe, it will be more cost-effective to let the specialists at Microsoft (or some other trusted cloud vendor) handle much of the dirty work.

This session was interesting for me to put together and then go through with an intimate crowd (due, at least in part I suppose, to (me) changing the scheduled time slot after the conference schedule went to the printer… D’oh! … that combined with the seeming invisibility of the BoF sessions generally). Anyhow, it was still fun to discuss, and here is the slide deck I used: OWASP Boston – BoF – Securely Running Applications in Cloud (examples drawn from Windows Azure Platform) – Bill Wilder – 08-Oct-2011.

 

October 19, 2011

Boston Azure Bootcamp was a Success!

Posted by Bill Wilder under Azure, Bill gave a talk, Boston Azure User Group, Cloud Computing, Events, Programming, Trip Report | Tags: |
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On Friday September 30 and Saturday October 1 the Boston Azure cloud user group hosted the Boston Azure Bootcamp – with a few of our friends – and it was a big success.

Here are a few links that folks attending might have been told about, plus a couple of answers I offered to gather offline.

Where can I get the materials used in the Bootcamp?

  • The materials live here: http://www.azurebootcamp.com/materials
  • However, as I explained at the bootcamp, the actual materials used at our sessions were a mix of what is posted on the web and some slide decks that had been updated (mostly for the Azure SDK 1.5, but also other changes in some cases). So you can pull the materials as linked to above and you’ll be pretty close, but the updated ones are not yet publicly posted.

How can I see what’s in Windows Azure Storage?

How can I track changes/upgrades to Windows Azure Guest OS?

Does Azure use Hyper-threading?

Where can I learn more about the Windows Azure Platform?

Where can I read more?

Who should I thank for this event?

  • You can thank our TWO MAJOR SPONSORS: This event was provided free to you because our Gold Sponsor SNI TECHNOLOGY generously sponsored the food, and Microsoft NERD donated the space. Many thanks to these major sponsors!
  • SNI TECHNOLOGY logoWithout these sponsors this event would simply not have happened.
  • You can thank our swag sponsors: O’Reilly (books), Pluralsight (training), Cerebrata (licenses), Packt Publishing (books), and Microsoft (books and licenses).
  • And you can thank the Boston Azure Bootcamp team which included (in alphabetical order): Andy Novick (who led the SQL Azure segment), Arra Derderian (helped during labs), George Babey (“swag guy” – and helped during labs), Jim O’Neil (lab-time tech support, lecture-time answer-man), Joan Wortman (ran the registration), Maura Wilder (who led the Azure Table Storage segment – and helped during labs), Nazik Huq (“twitter guy” – plus made sure there was food – and helped during labs), and William Wilder (yes, that’s me; you can call me “Bill” but wanted to be listed last…). Also, many thanks to Martha O’Neil for baking us a cloudy cake. :-)

We are planning another Boston Azure Bootcamp in 2012. Stay tuned!

Update 22-Oct-2011: Here is contact info for our Gold sponsors at SNI TECHNOLOGY:

 

September 12, 2011

Vermont Code Camp III

Posted by Bill Wilder under Azure, Bill gave a talk, Cloud Computing, Events, Trip Report
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Along with Maura Wilder and Joan Wortman, I made the trek to Vermont from Boston to hang out with the cool kids at Vermont Code Camp III. The three of us gave talks and attended a bunch of excellent sessions. For my part, I attended talks on Hadoop, Visual Studio tools for Unit Testing, EF, software consulting, and Maura and Joan’s talk Introduction to the Ext JS JavaScript framework “for Rich Apps in Every Browser” (after which I admit I was convinced that this is a framework to take seriously – very impressive).

I presented a talk in the morning called Cloud Architecture Patterns for Mere Mortals (with Examples in Windows Azure). If you are interested, my slide deck is attached: Vermont Code Camp III – Cloud Architecture Patterns for Mere Mortals – Bill Wilder – 10-Sept-2011 (also available on Slideshare)

Also, you are all invited to the (free) Boston Azure Bootcamp to be held in the Boston area (Cambridge, MA) on Friday September 30 and Saturday October 1. Sign up here, and please help spread the word. Hope to see some Vermont Code Camp friends there! Let me know if you have a strong desire to “couch surf”, especially on the middle night, and I’ll see if I can help out. Tickets won’t last forever, so I encourage you to sign up sooner than later.

Thank you to all the Vermont Code Camp III organizers, volunteers, and sponsors - like last year, this was an inspired event and I’m glad I made the trip. Find them on Twitter at @VTCodeCamp.

A handful of Vermont Code Camp photos follow… (and a couple from Sunday night on Church Street in Burlington)

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July 31, 2011

July Boston Azure User Group – Recap

Posted by Bill Wilder under Azure, Bill gave a talk, Boston Azure User Group, Cloud Computing, Events, Programming, Trip Report | Tags: , |
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The July Boston Azure User Group meeting had a tough act to follow: the June meeting included a live, energy-packed Rock, Paper, Azure hacking contest hosted by Jim O’Neil! The winners were chosen completely objectively since the Rock, Paper, Azure server managed the who competition. First prize was taken by two teenagers (Kevin Wilder and T.J. Wilder) whose entry beat out around 10 others (including a number of professional programmers!).

This month’s July Boston Azure User Group meeting was up for the challenge.

Hope to see you at the Boston Azure meeting in August (Windows Phone 7 + Azure), two meetings in September (one in Waltham (first time EVER), and the “usual” one at NERD), and then kicking off a two-day Boston Azure Bootcamp!

Details on ALL upcoming Boston-area events of interest to Azure folks (that I know about) can be found in this blog post about Boston-events in August and September. Those hosted by Boston Azure are also at www.bostonazure.org and the upcoming events page.

 

July 21, 2011

Talk: Architecture Patterns for Scalability and Reliability in Context of Azure Platform

Posted by Bill Wilder under Azure, Bill gave a talk, Cloud Computing, Events, Programming | Tags: , , |
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I spoke last night to the Boston .NET Architecture Study Group about Architecture Patterns for Scalability and Reliability in Context of the Windows Azure cloud computing platform.

The deck is attached at the bottom, after a few links of interest for folks who want to dig deeper.

Command Query Responsibility Segregation (CQRS):

Sharding is hard:

NoSQL:

CAP Theorem:

PowerPoint slide deck used during my talk:

 

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