Oracle Preview Virtual Machines on Windows Azure are now Available!
Virtual Machines for Oracle are now available in preview. Microsoft and Oracle have combined to provide end-to-end support for customers running business-critical Oracle software on Windows Azure. Brad Anderson announced it at Oracle OpenWorld! View the video here: https://blogs.technet.com/b/in_the_cloud/archive/2013/09/27/icymi-oracle-openworld-2013-keynote.aspx
This means the Oracle Database, Oracle WebLogic Server, and the Java development environment are now available, in preview, in the Windows Azure Virtual Machines Image Gallery. These images include licenses for the Oracle software that they contain.
During the preview period, there is no charge for the included Oracle licenses. You will pay only for the Windows Azure compute and storage resources that your Virtual Machine consumes. If you would prefer to use an Oracle software license that you already own, you can do that too. Just choose a Windows Server image from the Image Gallery and install the Oracle software yourself.
Whether you bring your own Oracle license or use one of the license-included images, you now have increased flexibility and choice in where to deploy your applications and the peace of mind that comes from knowing you will be fully supported by Oracle.
To get started, sign in to the Windows Azure Management Portal (https://click.email.microsoftemail.com/?qs=378f344bda59c3f044c12fabed50a5bb3108ac63baef548eb34935bd94685eeb0ccabb6d7d42ca99) and add a new Virtual Machine from the Image Gallery. For more information, visit the Oracle information page (https://click.email.microsoftemail.com/?qs=378f344bda59c3f0b75cce40c85cfa318d718cc5387f6ef1c7c1d2c6a9b6b35625caff7e7b6657f5) on the Windows Azure website.
If you are new to Azure and an Oracle user looking to migrate to a cloud solution, check out this: https://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/campaigns/oracle/
if you are looking for more technical guidance, i would recommend these links as a first start:
Deploy Pre-configured Oracle VMs on Windows Azure
https://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2013/09/24/deploy-pre_2d00_configured-oracle-vms-on-windows-azure.aspx
For specific configuration and version information, use this MSDN reference:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn439770.aspx