This document compares cloud platforms Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. It finds that AWS is more oriented toward infrastructure as a service (IaaS) while Azure is more platform as a service (PaaS) oriented, though both platforms offer services across IaaS and PaaS. The document also compares specific cloud storage, databases, networking, deployment, middleware, tools and high availability/disaster recovery features between AWS and Azure.

1. Azure Vs. Amazon
Omid Vahdaty

2. Private Cloud, IaaS, PaaS

3. Cloud orientation : Amazon, Azure?
● Amazon is more IaaS oriented
● Microsoft is more PaaS oriented
● Changes over time.

4. Cloud Storage comparison
AWS Azure
S3 Blob Storage
EBS drives Azure Drives
SDB Table Storage
SQS Queues
CloudFront CDN
AWS import/export Storage stats

5. Cloud DBMS comparison
AWS Azure
MySQL MS SQL
Oracle SQL sync
EMR HDIsight (managed hadoop spark)
RDS in multi az mode
RedShift
Aurora

6. Cloud Network comparison
AWS Azure
Elastic IP , Elastic Load Balancing( ELB) Auto ip, load balancing, no static ip
assignment
VPC Azure connect
route 53
FW configurable

7. Cloud Deployment comparison
AWS Azure
AMI instance Cspkg (fancy ZIP)
Elastic beanstalk
Cloud Formation

8. Cloud Middleware comparison
AWS Azure
Simple Notification Service ServiceBus
Cloud Watch / autoScale Caching
Email notification Access control

9. Cloud Tools comparison
AWS Azure
CMD CMD
REST REST
Complex WEB portal Simple Web portal
No local dev/test Dev Fabric
3 parties 3 parties, Visual Studio ext.

10. Cloud Tools comparison
AWS Azure
Regions Multi instances
Availability Zone Regions
Elastic Load Balancing Global Traffic Manager
RDS in multi AZ mode SQL azure sync
S3/SDB/SQS Blobs/tables/queues