Microsoft introduces Windows Azure for cloud computing

Microsoft has unveiled its new cloud computing operating system. With this so-called Azure platform, the company is competing with Amazon, Salesforce.com and Rackspace, among others.

Windows Azure is the system that will form the basis of the Azure Services Platform from Microsoft’s data servers. This platform enables developers to deliver applications from Microsoft’s infrastructure, and will to exist from the services Microsoft SQL, Microsoft .Net, Live Services, Microsoft Sharepoint and Dynamics CRM.

At the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft chief software architect Ray Ozzie presented a first Community Technology Preview of Windows Azure. Although Ozzie claimed that development of the system started three years ago under the name ‘Red Dog’, just before Amazon announced its EC2 cloud service, the functionality is still limited.

For now, SDKs will only be available for Java and Ruby developers to build .NET applications, and Azure will only run Microsoft’s Live Mesh service. Live Meeting will be the next proprietary service Microsoft will offer from the platform.

An important part of Windows Azure is the so-called Fabric Controller, the part that connects the hardware resources of a data center with the services offered. The controller enables Azure to automatically update the developers’ applications, eliminating the need to update individual PCs. Application of virtualization technology separates the operating system layer from the application layer, making it unnecessary to update desktop systems when applications are updated.

It is still unknown when Azure will become publicly available and what prices Microsoft will charge for its services.