Microsoft Azure (formerly known as Windows Azure) has received a big update, including improvements to websites, virtual machines, and mobile services. The Microsoft Azure team has been working hard to make the experience that much better.
The updates include the general availability support of Traffic Manager with Azure websites, which improve the performance and availability of websites. Java is now supported with Azure websites, which makes it easier to run Java Web applications. There is also a basic tier option for Azure websites, which offer a savings of 20%.
There is now a preview of Visual Studio support for .NET in mobile services, along with Azure Active Directory integration and offline support. All of these features are available right now. Here is a quick rundown of the new features:
- Web Sites: SSL included, Traffic Manager, Java Support, Basic Tier
- Virtual Machines: Support for Chef and Puppet extensions, Basic Pricing tier for Compute Instances
- Virtual Network: General Availability of DynamicRouting VPN Gateways and Point-to-Site VPN
- Mobile Services: Preview of Visual Studio support for .NET, Azure Active Directory integration and Offline support;
- Notification Hubs: Support for Kindle Fire devices and Visual Studio Server Explorer integration
- Autoscale: General Availability release
- Storage: General Availability release of Read Access Geo Redundant Storage
- Active Directory Premium: General Availability release
- Scheduler service: General Availability release
- Automation: Preview release of new Azure Automation service
Head over here to read about these new features. Enjoy!
