Is Azure an operating system or framework?

Question

MS invokes the Azure operating system.

For me, it looks like a structure. I have a bit of a problem with defining two separately. I have a common intuition, but I am not clear enough to really say whether Azure is really an OS or just a framework sitting on top of operating systems.

Answer 1

I just listened to Deep Fried Bytes Podcast # 20 , in which they interview Steve Marx, the Windows Azure program manager, and he explains all this.

From what I can compile so far (not finished the whole podcast), it works as follows:

• Microsoft has thin servers running Hyper-V that can run virtualized instances of Windows Server 2008

• You can start / stop / restart an arbitrary number of these win2k8 virtual servers using the API, and you get a fee only based on what you use.

• The platform that manages this start / stop / reboot / disaster recovery / provisioning / billing / etc is Windows Azure . They jokingly refer to it as a "Windows Server Overlay"

• You define roles for these virtual machines, which can be either

  • a web role in which you can run any .NET code hosted inside IIS (for example: ASP.NET, httpHandler, etc.),
  • worker-role, in which you run some standalone .NET code to process the wallpaper, etc.
  • Perhaps more roles after exiting CTP

• You can use the azure API for Windows to start / stop them - for example: "Give me 5 instances of my role on the Internet and 3 instances of my working role"

• Data is stored in data storage services and may be

  • Blobs (I assume something like S3)
  • Queues (I assume something like SQS)
  • Tables - marx mentioned "web-scale non-relational data storage" - something like SimpleDB or BigTable

• These virtual machines have many other services available to them - Live Services for Windows Live, .NET services, SQL Services if you need a full-blown SQL server for relational data, Sharepoint services if you want to use sharepoint, etc.

• All these things rolled together are the Windows Azure Services platform

My trick is that gigantic marketing fails. Confusion abounds. It seems that MS always does such a “collapse” of just one buzzword, though (.NET 5 years ago, anyone?). I really want them to stop him.

Answer 2

Another way I've heard is through infrastructure as a service. This means that you do not need to think about the operating system as if you were using a server or virtual machine that you are configuring.

Answer 3

What is Windows Azure? perhaps answers this question?

Quote from @ daok :

Description

The Azure ™ Services platform (Azure) is an Internet-class cloud services platform hosted by Microsoft data centers that provides an operating system and a set of developer services that can be used individually or jointly. The flexible and compatible Azures platform can be used to create new applications to run from the cloud or expand existing cloud applications. Its open architecture allows developers to create web applications, applications running on connected devices, PCs, servers, or hybrid solutions that offer the best online and local networks.

Azure reduces the need to acquire new technologies , and this allows developers to quickly and easily create applications that work in the cloud , using their existing skills with Microsoft Visual Studio and Microsoft .NET Framework. In addition to the managed code languages ​​supported by .NET, Azure will support more programming languages ​​and development environments in the near future. Azure simplifies application maintenance and operation by providing on-demand computing and storage for hosting, scaling, and managing web applications and connected applications. Infrastructure management is automated with a platform that is designed to provide high availability and dynamic scaling in accordance with the needs of use with the possibility of using a pricing model with payment as you go. Azure provides an open, standards-based and compatible environment that supports multiple Internet protocols, including HTTP, REST, SOAP, and XML.

Functions

Key components of the Azure Services platform include the following:

• Windows Azure for hosting and service management, scalable storage, low-level computing and networking.
• Microsoft SQL Services for a wide range of database and reporting services
• Microsoft.NET services, which are services based on well-known concepts of the .NET Framework, such as workflow and access control.
• Live Services for sequential user access to the storage, sharing and synchronization of documents, photos, files and information on their PCs, phones, PC applications and websites.
• Microsoft SharePoint Services and Microsoft Dynamics CRM for business content, collaboration, and quick cloud solutions.

Answer 4

Technically, Azure is a set of services running on vanilla Windows 2008 servers, running virtually inside Hyper-V. Your application runs on these services, distracting from the real operating system. Because of this, they call Azure the "cloud operating system." Unfortunately, these answers do not answer my question ... so ...

I reformatted my question to something more general: What is the difference between the OS and the Framework?

Answer 5

Windows Azure is both the foundation and the OS. The main feature of any OS for developers is the processor and memory, which Windows Azure provides in different ways through node computation. it also provides scalable storage for storing several types of storage, whether structured, unstructured, or even semi-structured data. note that the node storage runs on different hardware resources than the compute node, which provides higher efficiency and high system availability and system scalability. if your application encounters any problem, the system will automatically create another instance, plus your data will be replicated three times.

Since Cloud Computing is a concept that consists mainly of three layers, infrastructure, platform and software (as a service), each of them is focused on a specific segment. windows azure aims developers to create highly accessible and scalable applications, it does not manage the infrastructure, it is installed on Windows Server, which does administration on the infrastructure, however, since Cloud Computing is based on virtualization, Windows Azure has its own hypervisor that is not dependent on Windows Server Hyper- V.

For developers who need to create their own applications on Cloud Computing, they need a developed infrastructure or platform that enables them to do this.

why I think that Windows Azure is not just a framework, not just an OS, it’s both.