Jim and I are nearly done with the @home with Azure series, but we wanted to document some of the biggest issues we see every week.  As we go through the online workshop, many users are deploying an Azure application for the first time after installing the tools and SDK.   In some cases, attendees are installing the tools and SDK in the beginning of the workshop.

When installing the tools and SDK, it’s important to make sure all the prerequisites are installed (available on the download page).  The biggest roadblock is typically IIS7 – which basically rules out Windows XP and similar pre-IIS7 operating systems.  IIS7 also needs to be installed (by default, it isn’t), which can be verified by going into the control panels / programs and features.

The first time you hit F5 on an Azure project, development storage and the development fabric are initialized, so this is typically the second hurdle to cross.   Development storage relies on SQL Server to house the data for the local development storage simulation.  If you have SQL Express installed, this should just work out of the box.  If you have SQL Server Standard (or other edition), or a non-default instance of SQL Server, you’ll likely receive an error to the effect of, “unable to initialize development storage.”

The Azure SDK includes a tool called DSINIT that can be used to configure development storage for these cases.  Using the DSINIT tool, you can configure development storage to use a default or named instance of SQL Server.

With these steps complete, you should be up and running!

The .NET Rocks guys are coming on Thursday to Duke, and it’s not too late to register!  Here’s some more info, and to register, go here:

http://dnrrtp.eventbrite.com/

Carl and Richard are loading up the DotNetMobile (a 30 foot RV) and driving to your town again to show off their favorite bits of Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0! Richard talks about Web load testing and Carl talks about Silverlight 4.0 and multimedia.

And to make the night even more fun, we’re going to bring a mystery rock star from the Visual Studio world to the event and interview them for a special .NET Rocks Road Trip show series.

Along the way we’ll be giving away some great prizes, showing off some awesome technology and having a ton of laughs.

So come out to the most fun you can have in a geeky evening – and learn a few things along the way about web load testing and Silverlight 4!

@HOME WITH WINDOWS AZURE

I’m really excited to announce a project my colleagues Jim, John and I have been working on.  We wanted to come up with a project that would: 1) be fun for users to learn Azure, 2) help illustrate scale, 3) do something useful, and 4) be fun to develop (from our end). 

I think we got it!  Here is a rundown:

Elevate your skills with Windows Azure in this hands-on workshop! In this event we’ll guide you through the process of building and deploying a large scale Azure application. Forget about “hello world”! In less than two hours we’ll build and deploy a real cloud app that leverages the Azure data center and helps make a difference in the world. Yes, in addition to building an application that will leave you with a rock-solid understanding of the Azure platform, the solution you deploy will contribute back to Stanford’s Folding@home distributed computing project. There’s no cost to you to participate in this session; each attendee will receive a temporary, self-expiring, full-access account to work with Azure for a period of 2-weeks.

Visit the project home page at http://distributed.cloudapp.net.

For this briefing you will:

• Receive a temporary, self-expiring full-access account to work with Azure for a period of 2-weeks at no cost - accounts will be emailed to all registered attendees 24-48 hours in advance of each event.
• Build and deploy a real cloud app that leverages the Azure data center

Who should attend?

Open to developers with an interest in exploring Windows Azure through a short, hands-on workshop

*PREREQUISITES

The prerequisites are pretty straight forward and we ask that you come prepared to participate in this event by installing the required software in advance of the Live Meeting event.

1. Visual Studio 2008 or Visual Studio 2010
2. Azure Tools For Visual Studio, Feb 2010

REGISTER TODAY - 9 Events to Choose from!

Register By Phone or Online:

Click on the Event ID to register today or call 877-673-8368 and reference the Event ID below

Presenters:

Brian Hitney, Developer Evangelist, Microsoft

Jim O’Neil, Developer Evangelist, Microsoft

John McClelland, Partner Evangelist, Microsoft

Many of you reading this are already subscribed, but if you didn’t know about MSDN Flash, be sure to check it out!  Flash is a semi-weekly newsletter (delivered via email) with links to upcoming events, developer news, etc.  It’s a great way to stay connected to the development community.  (One note: be sure to enter your zip code when subscribing – it ensures we get the right events for your area!)

Here in the southeast, Glen Gordon and I partner up on contributing content to Flash, and writing the editorials.  Typically after Flash drops in your mailbox, registrations for events fill up.  The downside is: I get emails asking for help getting into events! 

So, what I thought I’d do is start a series of posts called “Flash Forward” … I’m going to do an early release of our “from the editor” section.  This will give you a chance to stay on top of upcoming events.  Now, we usually edit things a bit until the release so some things might change, but we try to call out some of the important events coming up.   And since this is a teaser for what’s in the MSDN Flash, this will hopefully get you on board if you already subscribed.

Without further ado, here’s a sneak peak at next week’s flash:

There is a whole lot going in the southeast, so listen up!

The first week of May, Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell of .NET Rocks will doing a Visual Studio 2010 Road Trip.   On Thursday, May 6^th, the guys will be hitting the Raleigh-Durham area.   The guys will continue the trip to Atlanta on Friday, May 7^th. 

The fun in Atlanta doesn’t end there – Saturday May 8^th is ReMIX Atlanta!  You only have until April 27 to register for the early bird price. With 3 tracks, a vibrant community area, and awesome speakers from the community and from Microsoft, this is sure to be a great event!

The following Saturday, the Charlotte Enterprise Developers Guild is having their 2010 Code Camp – the great facilities at CPCC will ensure many hands-on sessions, so be sure to register for this event before space fills up.

And because we can’t get enough VS2010 content, we have a VS2010 launch event in Atlanta on May 20^th, and we’ll be brining the best of the content to our roadshow in Raleigh on June 2 and Charlotte on June 3.

We’ll see you at the events!

I’m helping to organize some East Region Azure Boot Camps (www.azurebootcamp.com) – stay tuned for more info! – and had a humorous moment while surfing the various reg pages we have in place.

Our Click To Attend registration site is using … I can’t believe it … a marquee tag!  See for yourself, but it’s short lived for maintenance. 

Now, this is 100% Click to Attend and nothing to do with the event on the page.  The event, by the way, is the Ft. Lauderdale Azure Boot Camp!  Awesome full day event (cramming 2 days into 1!) … if you want to learn more about Azure and are in the Ft Lauderdale area, be sure to check it out!

More ABC’s coming to Atlanta, Charlotte, and more areas soon!

I’ve had a number of requests for slides and resources for the recent Azure roadshow in NC and FL – here are the slides and resources.  The slides are for sessions 2 and 3:

Worldmaps application:  http://www.myworldmaps.net

Stumbler application (shown during breaks): http://www.myworldmaps.net/stumbler

SETI @ Home: http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

Folding @ Home: http://folding.stanford.edu/

Prior to the MSDN Event in Charlotte on Friday, Glen and I will head over to Ruby Tuesday on 3/4 around 6pm.  If you’re in Charlotte and would like to hang out, please stop over.   If you have Azure related questions, stop on over!

Ruby Tuesday
8905 Red Oak Blvd, Charlotte, NC
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&ss=ypid.YN529x9301109&encType=1

After the MSDN Event on Wednesday 3/3/2010, Glen and I will head over the Carolina Ale House around the corner from the event.  Attending Wednesday’s event?   Stop by after the event – we’ll start around 6pm!

Brier Creek Ale House
7981 Skyland Ridge Pkwy, Raleigh, NC
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&ss=ypid.YN523x12588626&encType=1

Top line:  March 3rd, we’ll be in Raleigh, and March 5th, we’ll be in Charlotte for our next MSDN Event and Southern Fried Roadshow. 

This time it’s a full day of Azure – if you have an interest in cloud computing, be sure to come out!  See you then!

MSDN Events presents:  Take Your Applications Sky High with Cloud Computing and the Windows Azure Platform

Join your local MSDN Events team as we take a deep dive into cloud computing and the Windows Azure Platform. We’ll start with a developer-focused overview of this new platform and the cloud computing services that can be used either together or independently to build highly scalable applications. As the day unfolds, we’ll explore data storage, SQL Azure, and the basics of deployment with Windows Azure. Register today for these free, live sessions in your local area.

SESSION 1: Overview of Cloud Computing and Windows Azure

The Windows Azure platform is a set of high-performance cloud computing services that can be used together or independently and enable developers to leverage existing skills and familiar tools to develop cloud applications. In this session, we’ll provide a developer-focused overview of this new online service computing platform. We’ll explore the components, key features and real day-to-day benefits of Windows Azure.

SESSION 2: Survey of Windows Azure Platform Storage Options

Durable data storage is a key component of any cloud computing offering. The Windows Azure Platform offers many options, which can be used alone or in combination. Windows Azure itself offers ready-to-use and lightweight storage in the form of tables, blobs, and queues. Another choice for storage is SQL Azure, a true relational database in the cloud. In this session, we’ll explore the highlights of these implementations and how to both create and use storage in each form. We’ll give you guidance on choosing the right forms of storage for your application scenarios.

SESSION 3: Going Live with your Azure Solution

Windows Azure features a powerful, yet simple deployment model. By focusing on your application and abstracting away the infrastructure details, you can deploy almost any app with minimal fuss. In this session, we’ll walk you through the basics of Windows Azure deployment, including site monitoring, diagnostics and performance issues.

We’re back!  Starting early November, we’ll start our fall MSDN Southern Fried Roadshow series.  Right now, we’re scheduled here:

Check out our sessions below!

Introduction to ADO.NET Data Services

The new wave of Web applications are built on technologies such as AJAX and Microsoft Silverlight, which enable developers to build better, richer user experiences. These technologies bring a shift in how applications are organized, including a stronger separation of presentation from data. In this session, you’ll learn how ADO.NET Data Services enables applications to expose data as a REST-based data service that can be consumed by Web clients within a corporate network and across the Internet. We’ll look at how the data service is reachable over HTTP, and how URIs are used to identify the various pieces of information available through the service. You’ll get a solid understanding of data service concepts like HTTP verbs (GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE) and data formats (ATOM/APP and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)).

Parallel Programming in .NET 4.0 - Much more than Threading!

Come learn how the next version of Visual Studio and the Microsoft .NET Framework can help you write better performing and more scalable applications. We take a tour of new .NET APIs, including the Task Parallel Library (TPL) and Parallel LINQ (PLINQ). We also introduce new features in the debugger that help you quickly identify concurrency issues and visualize the internal state of your application. You don’t need any experience with writing multi-threaded code to benefit from this session

Windows 7 and Windows Server – Exciting New OS Developer Features

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 come packed with loads of new developer goodies.  Computers are starting to come with more and more hardware built-in – from Ambient Light Sensors to Accelerometers and GPS.  Come learn about how the Windows 7 Sensor API can integrate with your applications, and help them rock with these new hardware capabilities.  Not to be outdone, Windows Server R2 has seen some really incredible boosts to IIS with version 7.5 and the extensibility models.  Now you can manage your databases, delegate control to multiple IIS servers, and configure package deployment from all within one location!