Monthly Archives: April 2011

My SQL Saturday Talk: “Storing Data in the Cloud: Beyond SQL Azure”

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I spoke today at SQL Saturday #71 where I gave a talk on “Storing Data in the Cloud: Beyond SQL Azure” where I talk about the following:

  • What is the Cloud
  • How does SQL Azure compare with SQL Server
  • What are the other storage options available on the Windows Azure Platform

There were many interesting questions from the audience of 20 or so people – One asked (paraphrasing here..) “Are the Microsoft Data Centers resilient to the radiation expected from a nuke” to which I did not have a good answer. To another question, Jeff Mlakar (@JeffMlakar) offered helpfully that the SQL Azure Data Sync service is an option for SQL Azure backups to on-prem and with geo-replicating SQL Azure across data centers.

We didn’t get to the end of the material due to lots of discussion… but we did get through the most critical concepts.

April 2011 Azure Cloud Events in Boston Area

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Are you interested in Cloud Computing generally, or specifically Cloud Computing using the Windows Azure Platform? Listed below are the upcoming Azure-related events in the Boston/Cambridge area which you can attend in person and for FREE (or at least inexpensive).

They are listed in the order in which they will occur.

Know of any more cloud events of interest to the Windows Azure community? Have any more information or corrections on the events listed? Please let us know in the comments.

1. SQL Saturday #71

  • when: Sat 02-Apr-2011, 8:30 AM – 6:00 PM
  • where: Babson College
  • wifi: (unknown)
  • food: Provided
  • cost: Cheap (registration required)
  • what: All about SQL and related topics
  • More info & Register: http://www.sqlsaturday.com/71/eventhome.aspx

2. Cloud Platform Bake-Off led by Kyle C. Quest

  • when: Fri 15-Apr-2011, 10:00 AM – ??? PM
  • where: Hosted at Cafe On the Common, 677 Main Street Waltham, MA (but please DOUBLE CHECK the location at Meetup.com listing)
  • wifi: (unknown)
  • food: (unknown)
  • cost: FREE, but pre-registration appears to be required
  • what: “Putting different cloud platforms head to head is one of the original ideas for Cloud Hackathon. I’m sure lots of people are curious how each platform can measure up to its competition.” This is a coding/hacking event on Windows Azure plus Amazon EC3, Google App Engine, and maybe others.
  • More info: See Meetup.com for details
  • Register: See Meetup.com

3. Boston Azure User Group meeting with David Makogon as featured speaker

  • when: Thu 28-Apr-2011, 6:00 – 8:30 PM
  • where: Hosted at NERD Center
  • wifi: Wireless Internet access will be available
  • food: Pizza and drinks will be provided
  • cost: FREE
  • what: Exact topics to-be-announced, but they will be awesome 🙂 David Makogon from Microsoft will be featured speaker
  • More info: See Boston Azure cloud user group site for details (soon)
  • Register: (soon)