Cast Iron Systems used the Service Bus and Access Control Service from Windows Azure to quickly enhance its integration solution with cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-on-premises connectivity in just one day. This faster time-to-market allowed Cast Iron to supply customers with a solution to connect applications across cloud and on-premises environments without the months of development otherwise required. Customers can now use the Cast Iron solution to more easily deploy applications on Windows Azure and scale workloads without worrying about integration issues.
Presented at MPLS 2010 Oct 24-27 Washington D.C.
Monique Morrow, Cisco Distinguished Consulting Engineer, discussed the role of the network in developing as a base for cloud computing in developing XaaS models across a private backbone vs offering Cloud-based services over the Internet.
The presenter further presented the potential evolution of Cloud Computing in the form of Private, Hybrid and Inter-Cloud.
Service Level Management and Security are also highlighted themes in this presentation.
An overview of the various standards organizations and forums that may be specific to cloud computing and emerging inter-cloud was also provided
Discussion and takeaway - the value of these models to your business.
Presented at MPLS 2010 Oct 24-27 Washington D.C.
Monique Morrow, Cisco Distinguished Consulting Engineer, discussed the role of the network in developing as a base for cloud computing in developing XaaS models across a private backbone vs offering Cloud-based services over the Internet.
The presenter further presented the potential evolution of Cloud Computing in the form of Private, Hybrid and Inter-Cloud.
Service Level Management and Security are also highlighted themes in this presentation.
An overview of the various standards organizations and forums that may be specific to cloud computing and emerging inter-cloud was also provided
Discussion and takeaway - the value of these models to your business.
Infrastructure components configure and deploy 24 hiapc fabrizio volpeFabrizio Volpe
Infrastructure components configure and deploy
In collaboration with IEEE Computer Society, the Cloud Security Alliance and Dell, Microsoft is hosting a 24 Hours in a Private Cloud virtual event
Identity Services Drilldown - TechEd NA 2009Jorgen Thelin
Presentation from TechEd North America 2009
Abstract:
Microsoft's identity services enable enterprises, organizations, and developers to easily adopt the services they need. In this session learn about how identity solutions can enable service adoption, including: enterprises connecting their identity directory to cloud services, ISV developers leveraging Microsoft building blocks to sell their service to organizations, and web developers adopting customized versions of Live ID for their applications. We'll cover the Microsoft Federation Gateway service, updates to Live ID, and a turnkey adoption mechanism using Active Directory and Codename “Geneva” Server.
Get ready to deliver Windows desktops and apps like a cloud provider with Pro...Citrix
At Synergy in San Francisco, Citrix announced a bold new project aimed at enabling enterprises and service providers to deliver Windows desktops and apps as a true cloud service. Project Avalon promises to revolutionise the delivery of IT services by enabling enterprise customers to build and leverage private, public and hybrid clouds to deliver access to desktops, apps and data anywhere. Join us to learn what you can do to prepare for Project Avalon.
Microsoft Mobile Oy Story: IT Operations Fit for the 3rd PlatformHCL Technologies
This case study looks at how Microsoft Mobile Oy engaged with HCL to transform and manage its IT infrastructure operations. It examines the journey the two companies made to modernize the IT operations of this global high-tech manufacturing firm
Infrastructure components configure and deploy 24 hiapc fabrizio volpeFabrizio Volpe
Infrastructure components configure and deploy
In collaboration with IEEE Computer Society, the Cloud Security Alliance and Dell, Microsoft is hosting a 24 Hours in a Private Cloud virtual event
Identity Services Drilldown - TechEd NA 2009Jorgen Thelin
Presentation from TechEd North America 2009
Abstract:
Microsoft's identity services enable enterprises, organizations, and developers to easily adopt the services they need. In this session learn about how identity solutions can enable service adoption, including: enterprises connecting their identity directory to cloud services, ISV developers leveraging Microsoft building blocks to sell their service to organizations, and web developers adopting customized versions of Live ID for their applications. We'll cover the Microsoft Federation Gateway service, updates to Live ID, and a turnkey adoption mechanism using Active Directory and Codename “Geneva” Server.
Get ready to deliver Windows desktops and apps like a cloud provider with Pro...Citrix
At Synergy in San Francisco, Citrix announced a bold new project aimed at enabling enterprises and service providers to deliver Windows desktops and apps as a true cloud service. Project Avalon promises to revolutionise the delivery of IT services by enabling enterprise customers to build and leverage private, public and hybrid clouds to deliver access to desktops, apps and data anywhere. Join us to learn what you can do to prepare for Project Avalon.
Microsoft Mobile Oy Story: IT Operations Fit for the 3rd PlatformHCL Technologies
This case study looks at how Microsoft Mobile Oy engaged with HCL to transform and manage its IT infrastructure operations. It examines the journey the two companies made to modernize the IT operations of this global high-tech manufacturing firm
Developing eBusiness solutions with a Model Driven Approach: The Case of Acer...Marco Brambilla
This presentation addresses the problem of developing enterprise-class eBusiness solutions in a more economically viable and time-effective way, by adopting Model Driven Development (MDD). Specifically, we report on an experience of more than six years of collaboration between Acer Inc. (the 4th branded PC vendor worldwide) and Web Models, an Italian startup company spinoff of Politecnico di Milano, innovator in the market of software tools and methodologies for MDD. The results clearly demonstrate that MDD can shorten the development of complex eBusiness solutions, improve the quality and conformance to requirements, and increase the economic profitability of solutions, by lowering the total cost of ownership and extending the life span of systems.
Competitive battle for e commerce supremacy -ebay vs google & microsoft case ...prashanthc85
Case study on the Competitive battle for E-Commerce supremacy by ebay, Google and Microsoft. The competitive advantage that ebay shopping site has over Google Base and Microsoft's Windows Live Expo online classifieds portals.
Build new applications or extend your existing applications into the cloud using familiar technology and tools in new ways to achieve web-capable scalability. Focus on building solutions—let Windows® Azure™ manage the infrastructure.
Cloud service categories - cloud based ai servicesV2Soft2
Cloud Service Categories and Cloud-Based AI Services
Cloud computing offers a vast array of services delivered on-demand over the internet. These services can be broadly categorized into three main types:
1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):
IaaS provides the fundamental building blocks of IT infrastructure, such as:
Virtual Servers
Storage
Networking
Firewalls
Load Balancers
Think of IaaS as renting Lego bricks. You have complete control over configuring and managing these resources, just like building with Legos. This allows for high levels of customization for specific needs but also requires a significant level of technical expertise to manage.
2. Platform as a Service (PaaS):
PaaS builds upon the foundation of IaaS by providing a platform for developing, deploying, and managing applications. It includes:
Operating Systems
Databases
Development Tools
Middleware
PaaS is like a pre-built Lego set with instructions. It offers a complete development environment, simplifying application creation and deployment. This allows developers to focus on building the application logic without worrying about managing the underlying infrastructure.
3. Software as a Service (SaaS):
SaaS delivers ready-to-use software applications over the internet. These applications are managed by the cloud provider, and users access them through a web browser or mobile app. Examples include:
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Email and Collaboration Tools
Productivity Suites
Cloud Storage
SaaS is like using a shared online Lego creation platform with pre-built models. Users don't need any technical expertise; they simply log in and use the application. This is the most user-friendly option with minimal setup required.
KVH Customer Case Study - Aplix CorporatinKVH Co. Ltd.
Since the founding of Aplix Corporation, a competitive edge in software development technology has been the core of their business. Pursuing business innovation based on high technological capabilities, software development, server expansion, capacity expansion resulted in increased stress on their developers.
In addition, during office relocation due to business expansion, it was essential to have flexibility and short lead time for network construction in order to reduce the down time of critical systems. KVH was selected as a valued network service provider with dedicated pre-sales engineers and specially assigned field engineers consistently offering extensive support from the start of the project, through network design, construction, and all the way through project delivery. KVH offered a dedicated leased line connection to AWS through which it was possible to shorten the down time of critical internal systems.
Cloud based AI services - types of cloud computingV2Soft2
Cloud-based AI services represent a transformative convergence of artificial intelligence and cloud computing, offering diverse solutions to individuals and businesses. The three main types of cloud computing services—Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS)—play distinct roles in facilitating the deployment and utilization of AI applications.
The presentation covers in detail how to build intelligent microservices solutions using Azure App Service features in Azure. The presentation is a demo driven and demonstrate how to design and provision complete end-to-end solutions using cloud services & Azure App Services capabilities.
Microsoft SQL Azure - Agility in the New Economy Partner Technical DatasheetMicrosoft Private Cloud
SQL Azure is a cloud-based relational database platform built on Microsoft® SQL Server® technologies. With SQL Azure, you can easily provision and deploy relational database solutions to the cloud.
Migrating its entire virtualized environment from VMware to Hyper-V has helped Miele & Cie, an appliance manufacturer shrink its server space by more than 50 percent and improve productivity.
To add to the new flexible and energy-efficient data center, Miele has also ‘saved an estimated 35 percent in licensing costs by going with a Microsoft virtualization solution’.
Hyper-V has helped AcXess fill that much needed virtualization gap with an improvised and more competent functionality and reduced data center and hardware costs.
According to Tom Elowson, President and Cofounder, AcXess, “Hyper-V has made all the difference. It is amazing to think we have grown our business 300 percent over the last few years with Hyper-V. ”
There are many misconceptions surrounding Cloud Computing and what it has to offer.
Tell apart the facts from the myths with Cloud Computing Myth Busters and develop a deeper understanding of the Cloud.
Download Myth Busters >>
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Accelerate your Kubernetes clusters with Varnish CachingThijs Feryn
A presentation about the usage and availability of Varnish on Kubernetes. This talk explores the capabilities of Varnish caching and shows how to use the Varnish Helm chart to deploy it to Kubernetes.
This presentation was delivered at K8SUG Singapore. See https://feryn.eu/presentations/accelerate-your-kubernetes-clusters-with-varnish-caching-k8sug-singapore-28-2024 for more details.
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
The Metaverse and AI: how can decision-makers harness the Metaverse for their...Jen Stirrup
The Metaverse is popularized in science fiction, and now it is becoming closer to being a part of our daily lives through the use of social media and shopping companies. How can businesses survive in a world where Artificial Intelligence is becoming the present as well as the future of technology, and how does the Metaverse fit into business strategy when futurist ideas are developing into reality at accelerated rates? How do we do this when our data isn't up to scratch? How can we move towards success with our data so we are set up for the Metaverse when it arrives?
How can you help your company evolve, adapt, and succeed using Artificial Intelligence and the Metaverse to stay ahead of the competition? What are the potential issues, complications, and benefits that these technologies could bring to us and our organizations? In this session, Jen Stirrup will explain how to start thinking about these technologies as an organisation.
Why You Should Replace Windows 11 with Nitrux Linux 3.5.0 for enhanced perfor...SOFTTECHHUB
The choice of an operating system plays a pivotal role in shaping our computing experience. For decades, Microsoft's Windows has dominated the market, offering a familiar and widely adopted platform for personal and professional use. However, as technological advancements continue to push the boundaries of innovation, alternative operating systems have emerged, challenging the status quo and offering users a fresh perspective on computing.
One such alternative that has garnered significant attention and acclaim is Nitrux Linux 3.5.0, a sleek, powerful, and user-friendly Linux distribution that promises to redefine the way we interact with our devices. With its focus on performance, security, and customization, Nitrux Linux presents a compelling case for those seeking to break free from the constraints of proprietary software and embrace the freedom and flexibility of open-source computing.
Observability Concepts EVERY Developer Should Know -- DeveloperWeek Europe.pdfPaige Cruz
Monitoring and observability aren’t traditionally found in software curriculums and many of us cobble this knowledge together from whatever vendor or ecosystem we were first introduced to and whatever is a part of your current company’s observability stack.
While the dev and ops silo continues to crumble….many organizations still relegate monitoring & observability as the purview of ops, infra and SRE teams. This is a mistake - achieving a highly observable system requires collaboration up and down the stack.
I, a former op, would like to extend an invitation to all application developers to join the observability party will share these foundational concepts to build on:
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey 2024 by 91mobiles.pdf91mobiles
91mobiles recently conducted a Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey in which we asked over 3,000 respondents about the TV they own, aspects they look at on a new TV, and their TV buying preferences.
Alt. GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using ...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
GraphRAG is All You need? LLM & Knowledge GraphGuy Korland
Guy Korland, CEO and Co-founder of FalkorDB, will review two articles on the integration of language models with knowledge graphs.
1. Unifying Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs: A Roadmap.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
2. Microsoft Research's GraphRAG paper and a review paper on various uses of knowledge graphs:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/graphrag-unlocking-llm-discovery-on-narrative-private-data/
SAP Sapphire 2024 - ASUG301 building better apps with SAP Fiori.pdfPeter Spielvogel
Building better applications for business users with SAP Fiori.
• What is SAP Fiori and why it matters to you
• How a better user experience drives measurable business benefits
• How to get started with SAP Fiori today
• How SAP Fiori elements accelerates application development
• How SAP Build Code includes SAP Fiori tools and other generative artificial intelligence capabilities
• How SAP Fiori paves the way for using AI in SAP apps
Securing your Kubernetes cluster_ a step-by-step guide to success !KatiaHIMEUR1
Today, after several years of existence, an extremely active community and an ultra-dynamic ecosystem, Kubernetes has established itself as the de facto standard in container orchestration. Thanks to a wide range of managed services, it has never been so easy to set up a ready-to-use Kubernetes cluster.
However, this ease of use means that the subject of security in Kubernetes is often left for later, or even neglected. This exposes companies to significant risks.
In this talk, I'll show you step-by-step how to secure your Kubernetes cluster for greater peace of mind and reliability.
Encryption in Microsoft 365 - ExpertsLive Netherlands 2024Albert Hoitingh
In this session I delve into the encryption technology used in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Purview. Including the concepts of Customer Key and Double Key Encryption.
Essentials of Automations: The Art of Triggers and Actions in FMESafe Software
In this second installment of our Essentials of Automations webinar series, we’ll explore the landscape of triggers and actions, guiding you through the nuances of authoring and adapting workspaces for seamless automations. Gain an understanding of the full spectrum of triggers and actions available in FME, empowering you to enhance your workspaces for efficient automation.
We’ll kick things off by showcasing the most commonly used event-based triggers, introducing you to various automation workflows like manual triggers, schedules, directory watchers, and more. Plus, see how these elements play out in real scenarios.
Whether you’re tweaking your current setup or building from the ground up, this session will arm you with the tools and insights needed to transform your FME usage into a powerhouse of productivity. Join us to discover effective strategies that simplify complex processes, enhancing your productivity and transforming your data management practices with FME. Let’s turn complexity into clarity and make your workspaces work wonders!
Enhancing Performance with Globus and the Science DMZGlobus
ESnet has led the way in helping national facilities—and many other institutions in the research community—configure Science DMZs and troubleshoot network issues to maximize data transfer performance. In this talk we will present a summary of approaches and tips for getting the most out of your network infrastructure using Globus Connect Server.
zkStudyClub - Reef: Fast Succinct Non-Interactive Zero-Knowledge Regex ProofsAlex Pruden
This paper presents Reef, a system for generating publicly verifiable succinct non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs that a committed document matches or does not match a regular expression. We describe applications such as proving the strength of passwords, the provenance of email despite redactions, the validity of oblivious DNS queries, and the existence of mutations in DNA. Reef supports the Perl Compatible Regular Expression syntax, including wildcards, alternation, ranges, capture groups, Kleene star, negations, and lookarounds. Reef introduces a new type of automata, Skipping Alternating Finite Automata (SAFA), that skips irrelevant parts of a document when producing proofs without undermining soundness, and instantiates SAFA with a lookup argument. Our experimental evaluation confirms that Reef can generate proofs for documents with 32M characters; the proofs are small and cheap to verify (under a second).
Paper: https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/1886
Removing Uninteresting Bytes in Software FuzzingAftab Hussain
Imagine a world where software fuzzing, the process of mutating bytes in test seeds to uncover hidden and erroneous program behaviors, becomes faster and more effective. A lot depends on the initial seeds, which can significantly dictate the trajectory of a fuzzing campaign, particularly in terms of how long it takes to uncover interesting behaviour in your code. We introduce DIAR, a technique designed to speedup fuzzing campaigns by pinpointing and eliminating those uninteresting bytes in the seeds. Picture this: instead of wasting valuable resources on meaningless mutations in large, bloated seeds, DIAR removes the unnecessary bytes, streamlining the entire process.
In this work, we equipped AFL, a popular fuzzer, with DIAR and examined two critical Linux libraries -- Libxml's xmllint, a tool for parsing xml documents, and Binutil's readelf, an essential debugging and security analysis command-line tool used to display detailed information about ELF (Executable and Linkable Format). Our preliminary results show that AFL+DIAR does not only discover new paths more quickly but also achieves higher coverage overall. This work thus showcases how starting with lean and optimized seeds can lead to faster, more comprehensive fuzzing campaigns -- and DIAR helps you find such seeds.
- These are slides of the talk given at IEEE International Conference on Software Testing Verification and Validation Workshop, ICSTW 2022.
GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using Deplo...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
FIDO Alliance Osaka Seminar: The WebAuthn API and Discoverable Credentials.pdf
Microsoft Windows Azure - Cast Iron Software Engineering Company Speeds to Market Case Study
1. Windows Azure
Customer Solution Case Study
Leading Integration Company
Speeds to Market with Cloud-to-
Cloud Interoperation
Overview “Using the Cast Iron cloud integration
Country or Region: United States
Industry: Software engineering solution, customers can go live on the
Windows Azure platform faster than they
Customer Profile
Cast Iron Systems provides could wrestling with interoperability issues
application integration solutions
that help organizations connect themselves.”
many kinds of business
software. The Mountain View,
California–based firm employs
Cast Iron Systems specializes in helping
100 people. organizations connect Internet-hosted (cloud)
Business Situation
applications with on-premises applications. When
When Microsoft announced the Microsoft announced the Windows Azure™
Windows Azure™ platform, Cast
Iron wanted to enhance its
platform, Cast Iron set out to enhance its Cast
integration solution with better Iron Integration Solution with Windows Azure
connectivity to other public and
private cloud offerings and to
platform connectivity. Using the Service Bus and
on-premises data. Access Control Service, Cast Iron created the
Solution
needed connectors in just one day. Faster time-
Cast Iron used the Service Bus to-market enabled Cast Iron to supply a timely
and Access Control Service,
developer services that run on
solution to an urgent need. Its enhanced product
the Windows Azure platform, to can help customers host applications off-
quickly provide broad
connectivity with other data
premises without concerns about interoperability
sources. with on-premises data. With the Cast Iron
Benefits
Integration Solution, companies can now use
• Faster time-to-market application data wherever it resides and scale
• Time savings for customers
• Improved scalability
workloads without worrying about overloading the
communications infrastructure.
2.
3. “Without the Situation Solution
Cast Iron Systems, whose tagline In mid-2009, Cast Iron began
Service Bus and is “The #1 SaaS and Cloud working with the Windows Azure™
Integration Company,” provides team at Microsoft to demonstrate
Access Control a simple way to connect that Windows Azure applications
Service, we would software-as-a-service (SaaS), or could communicate with virtually
“cloud”-based, applications with any application running in any
have had to create one another and with on- environment, hosted or on-
premises applications. For premises. Windows Azure is a
our own service example, using the Cast Iron cloud services operating system
bus infrastructure, Integration Solution, an that serves as the development,
organization can link Microsoft service hosting, and service
which would have Dynamics® CRM Online data with management environment for the
an on-premises SAP financial Windows Azure platform.
taken months.” application so that any changes Windows Azure provides
Rishi Vaish, Vice President of made to the customer developers with on-demand
Engineering, Cast Iron Systems relationship management data is compute and storage to host,
reflected in the financial system. scale, and manage Web
Cast Iron has helped companies applications on the Internet
reduce integration costs by up to through Microsoft® data centers.
80 percent. The company is
based in Mountain View, To create this anything-to-
California, and has 100 anything interoperability, Cast
employees. Iron used the Service Bus and the
Access Control Service features
“Research shows that of Windows Azure. Using these
integration difficulties are the services simplifies the task of
major reason why organizations building applications and services
are hesitant to pursue the that bridge cloud and on-
hosted-services computing premises deployments.
model,” says Chandar
Pattabhiram, Vice President of The Service Bus is an Internet-
Product and Channel Marketing scale enterprise service bus that
for Cast Iron Systems. “Our makes it easy to connect
mission is to help cloud applications over the Internet.
customers and providers get past Services that register on the
those difficulties so that they can Service Bus can easily be
deploy business solutions discovered and accessed across
wherever it makes sense, on- any network topology. Access
premises or in the cloud.” Control Service provides an easy
way to control Web applications
and services while integrating
with standards-based identity
4. providers. Authorization decisions Service rules can easily and
can be pulled out of the flexibly be configured to cover a
application and placed in a set of variety of security needs and
rules that can transform incoming different identity-management
security claims into claims that infrastructures.
applications understand.
One-Day Development
“We liked the Service Bus Using the Service Bus and
because it uses a nonproprietary Access Control Service, Cast Iron
interface to address message was able to extend its Cast Iron
queues in the cloud,” says Rishi Integration Solution to include
Vaish, Vice President of Windows Azure platform
Engineering for Cast Iron connectivity in just one day. “Our
Systems. “It gave us an easy philosophy is that we do not want
way to connect to the Windows to write any code to solve
Azure platform, from any other integration problems,” Vaish
cloud or from behind a says. “Using drag-and-drop
customer’s firewall. Without the controls, we were able to use the
Service Bus and Access Control Service Bus and Access Control
Service, we would have had to Service to add Windows Azure
Figure 1. Cast Iron create our own service bus platform connectivity to our
demonstrated SAP-to-
infrastructure, which would have existing Cast Iron Integration
Amazon EC2 connectivity
taken months. Our customers Solution. It took us one day to
using the Service Bus and
also would have had to invest in a understand the services and
Access Control Service.
similar development effort. Using another day to build the Azure
the Service Bus and Access connection capability. No code
Control Service, they can simply writing was required. Plus, there
subscribe to these services and is no requirement to maintain the
connect their various applications infrastructure.”
immediately.”
Cast Iron used Access Control
Service to make sure that only
authorized users can access
service queues. With Access
Control Service, Cast Iron was
able to avoid the complicated
programming that is normally
required to secure applications
that extend beyond organizational
boundaries. With its support for a
simple declarative model of rules
and claims, Access Control
5. The Service Bus provides the integrate with applications
familiar, enterprise service bus running in another cloud. The
application pattern, while helping other is cloud-to–on-premises
to solve some of the hard issues systems—cloud-based
that arise when implementing this applications are able to integrate
pattern across network, security, with on-premises applications
and organizational boundaries at running behind a firewall without
Internet scale. “When customers having to open any ports in the
connect to applications behind firewall.
another company’s firewall, they
usually have to work with those As an example of the latter, Cast
companies’ IT organizations to Iron has demonstrated use of the
open up service bus ports,” Service Bus to connect an
Vaish says. “With the Service Amazon EC2 application with an
Bus, you don’t have to do this, SAP application running behind a
because the request comes from customer firewall (Figure 1). No
behind the firewall.” firewall ports had to be opened
for the data to be synchronized
Usage Scenarios reliably and securely. Account
With the Service Bus connectivity updates were picked up from
to the Windows Azure platform, SAP by Cast Iron, and data was
the Cast Iron Integration Solution put in a dynamically created
delivers expanded integration queue. Another Cast Iron runtime
options. One is cloud-to-cloud— running in Amazon EC2 polls for
applications running in one cloud changes in the queue and
are able to securely and reliably updates the custom application
with the changes. No
programming was required to
demonstrate this use-case, which
was implemented in less than a
day.
Benefits
Using the Service Bus and
Access Control Service, Cast Iron
was able to expand the
capabilities of its Cast Iron
Integration Solution with only one
day’s development work, handily
beating competitors to market.
With this solution, its customers,
too, can speed to market with
applications that connect to the
6. “We can focus on Windows Azure platform and then Time Savings for Customers
scale those applications With the Cast Iron Integration
delivering services endlessly. Solution enhanced with Windows
Azure platform connectivity, Cast
rather than on Faster Time-to-Market with New Iron can help its customers,
coding integration Integration Solutions including SaaS providers and
Cast Iron used the Service Bus corporate IT departments, quickly
interfaces. We and Access Control Service to move their applications to that
enhance its Cast Iron Integration platform. “Using the Cast Iron
were able to create Solution with cloud-to-cloud data cloud integration solution,
the SAP-to-Amazon exchange capability in one day, customers can go live on the
with no code-writing. “Without Windows Azure platform faster
EC2 solution in just the Service Bus, we would have than they could wrestling with
had to spend months to create an interoperability issues
one day.” interface to the Windows Azure themselves,” Pattabhiram says.
Sumit Kapoor, Technical platform,” Vaish says. “Our “We can tell customers, ‘If
Alliance Manager, Cast Iron customers would have had to you’re looking at the Windows
Systems invest the same effort, plus Azure platform for your next-
develop the messaging generation applications, we
infrastructure and the integration already have the connectivity
middleware.” covered. We can connect the
Windows Azure platform to your
Sumit Kapoor, Technical Alliance on-premises applications, your
Manager for Cast Iron Systems, customers’ on-premises
adds, “We can focus on applications, or any cloud-based
delivering services rather than on applications.’”
coding integration interfaces. We
were able to create the SAP-to- Improved Scalability
Amazon EC2 solution in just one Now that the Cast Iron Integration
day. There is a growing number Solution can take advantage of
of cloud environments, both the Service Bus to connect to a
public and private, and data broader range of applications
sitting on on-premises over the Internet, customers are
infrastructures. Using the Service able to scale their infrastructures
Bus, we can connect all these endlessly to keep pace with
environments.” need. “There’s no worry about
overloading the communications
infrastructure,” Vaish says.
“Microsoft handles that for us.
This is very important for
customers that do not know how
their workloads will grow over
time. We’ve removed one more
7. For More Information barrier that was keeping them Windows Azure Platform
For more information about from the cloud.” The Windows Azure platform
Microsoft products and provides an excellent foundation
services, call the Microsoft for expanding online product and
Sales Information Center at service offerings. The main
(800) 426-9400. In Canada, call components include:
the Microsoft Canada • Windows Azure. Windows Azure
Information Centre at (877) is the development, service
568-2495. Customers in the hosting, and service
United States and Canada who management environment for
are deaf or hard-of-hearing can the Windows Azure platform.
reach Microsoft text telephone Windows Azure provides
(TTY/TDD) services at (800) developers with on-demand
892-5234. Outside the 50 compute and storage to host,
United States and Canada, scale, and manage Web
please contact your local applications on the Internet
Microsoft subsidiary. To access through Microsoft data
information using the World centers. In addition, Windows
Wide Web, go to: Azure serves developers’
www.microsoft.com connectivity needs through
the following services.
For more information about 〉 The Service Bus connects
Cast Iron Systems products and
services and applications
services, call (650) 230-0621 or
across network
visit the Web site at:
boundaries to help
www.castiron.com
developers build
distributed applications.
Additional Resources:
Download: Windows Azure 〉 The Access Control Service
Tools and SDK provides federated,
View: Architecting and claims-based access
Developing for Windows Azure control for REST Web
services.
• Microsoft SQL Azure. Microsoft
SQL Azure offers the first
cloud-based relational and
self-managed database
Software and Services
Software Azure Services
• Windows and Platform
• Windows Azure
− Windows Azure Platform
• Service Bus
− Windows Azure
Access Control Service
• − Access Control Service
Service Bus
This case study is for informational
This case study is for informational
purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO
purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO
WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN
WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN
THIS SUMMARY.
THIS SUMMARY.
Document published November 2009
Document published November 2009
8. service built on Microsoft SQL
Server 2008 technologies.
To learn more about the Windows
Azure platform, visit:
www.windowsazure.com