Let’s focus on Exam 70-583 this time. This exam is PRO: Designing and Developing Windows Azure Applications. This guide itself will be a different approach to preparing for the exam itself. Instead of just taking the individual topics, let’s review the topic in as much information as we can. Here is a set of resources to get started. This is the topic I will be presenting at TechEd North America 2011, so expect more information after 5/18/2011. Here is the link to the session: http://northamerica.msteched.com/topic/details/C4E262?fbid=LDYU5Auug-t#showdetails
What is involved to plan, design, develop and deploy for the Windows Azure Platform? There are several areas to consider. See the graphic below (graphic from MSDN documentation).
Additional Resources:
Resources from msdev.
http://www.msdev.com/Directory/SeriesDescription.aspx?CourseId=153
Most of the information covered here is addressed through the Windows Azure Platform Training Course available on MSDN.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/WAZPlatformTrainingCourse
There is a set of learning snacks and a learning plan
http://learning.microsoft.com/manager/LearningPlanV2.aspx?resourceId=30f78dea-f126-4b01-82eb-52cbc908e4ec&clang=en-US&cats=d4e8e42c-3d5a-4a6e-915d-d99556a49bd7
Moving Applications to Windows Azure
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff728592.aspx
Also, the Windows Azure Architecture Guide, part 1
http://waag.blob.core.windows.net/partone/index.html
Information for some of the topics is found here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg433040.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee924681.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee336230.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee730904.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff728592.aspx
The exam objectives are:
Designing Data Storage Architecture
When we talk about Data Storage for Windows Azure, we need to consider the two sides the story has: Windows Azure Storage and SQL Azure Storage.
Under Windows Azure Storage, we need to consider Blob, Drives, Tables and Queues. Then SQL Azure is a relational database focused on transaction based activities.
The topics addressed through the exam are as follows:
- Choose the appropriate data storage model based on technical requirements
- Design a synchronization strategy
- Plan a cost-effective data architecture based on business requirements
- Design a database migration plan from SQL Server to SQL Azure
- Plan for media storage and accessibility
Optimizing Data Access and Messaging
How we work with the surrounding technologies that will help us access data and exchange information across is essential to a successful story in the Windows Azure Platform.
- Optimize a data access strategy
- Design a reliable data access layer to access SQL Azure
- Design an efficient strategy to avoid data access throttling
- Design a queue strategy that guarantees idempotency
- Design communication strategies using queues
Designing the Application Architecture
- Choose appropriate role types for compute instances
- Optimize worker roles design for efficient resource usage
- Identify performance vs. cost trade-offs
- Choose appropriate ways to respond to Azure Fabric Controller events
- Develop a plan to migrate existing applications and services
Preparing for Application and Service Deployment
- Choose and appropriate upgrade strategy
- Choose the appropriate virtual machine size
- Plan a deployment for the entire application life cycle
- Define a resource-efficient environment for application development and testing
- Choose a naming scheme for resources
Investigating and Analyzing Applications
- Plan, collect, and interpret diagnostics and instrumentation data
- Identify SQL Azure performance and storage capacity with dynamic management views
- Identify and mitigate deployment and runtime issues for Windows Azure
Designing Integrated Solutions
- Design hybrid solutions
- Identify and mitigate connectivity issues in hybrid solutions
- Plan for appropriate access control schemes based on security requirements