SellRex

What's up with Johnny's laptop? Please tell me that he borrowed his gf's laptop for this.

Still wish we could go back (officially) to calling it "SQL Azure" ... "Azure SQL Database" is too long ... to clunky ... sounds dumb. You can't say "SQL Database" all by itself, because that doesn't tell you anything. I still think you should have a chat with marketing about changing it back. "SQL Azure" and "SQL Server" ... quick, easy, right to the point, no minunderstandings. I'm going to be a rebel and keep calling it "SQL Azure."

Mark, thank you for this great presentation. I was confident in Azure before, but I'm even more confident following your talk that the Azure infrastructure is well-built and well-maintained. You answered many of my curiosities about how the datacenters function. I highly recommend watching your presentation to all current and future Azurites.

Disagree with both presenters on the point that the new caching structure is ALWAYS better. If an app is running just fine on two ExtraSmall instances ($29) with the AppFabric Caching Service at 128MB ($45), you are at about $74 per month. The new Azure Caching is only available for Small instances. Two Smalls will cost about $144 (6-month plan). That's $70 difference! ... per month! It's a world of difference in cost. In fact, you have to get all the way up to 7 ExtraSmall instances with 128MB AppFabic cache before you get to the cost of 2 Small instances.

If the app only needs a few ExtraSmall instances because it's a low demand app, but you still want the speed of a cache so that those on the app do have a better experience with it, then the AppFabric Cache is a GREAT solution. The new caching system wouldn't be a good choice under these conditions.

Also note that ExtraSmall instances have rather limited memory available. Because AppFabric caching service runs totally outside that memory, it's the perfect choice for those running things on ExtraSmall instances.

Therefore, I hope MS will keep the old AppFabric cache around. I sort of doubt it ... it might even be a marketing play to get many apps off of the el cheapo ExtraSmall instances. I have noted that the AppFabric system has been removed from the Azure pricing calculator. That seems to indicate that they are going to depreciate it at some point. My suggestion is to keep it around.

The link to the MP4 and WMV files are broken.

Just about the most USEFUL and HELPFUL presentations I've ever had from MS. Thanks for this Jai ... I learned a great deal, including some very important tips that I can build into my apps right now for faster and more reliable code! I especially appreciated the section on working with table storage, as I'm about to move at least a dozen tables from SQL Azure into table storage. Great Job! Thanks again.

@smarx: Awesome ... thanks Steve.

Luke

Nate, Nick: The blog post link doesn't actually link to the blog you had in the show, and I don't see it at their website. Was it removed for some reason?

Luke

ps ... cloudCover += jokes. You guys are doing a great job.

Great job guys! Scott, that was excellent. Cheers to the SQL Azure team for making dB sync so simple and transparent.

Steve,

Thanks for all of your hard work on Azure! Best wishes on your next adventure!

Luke