Try it NOW: Deploying and Managing Windows Azure Applications Evaluation

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Have you wanted to try how Azure can help support your application deployment and management, well check out the Deploying and Managing Windows Azure Applications Evaluation

This evaluation will showcase how System Center and Azure can come together.  System Center enables IT Professionals to use existing skills and tools to monitor and manage applications on Windows Azure without purchasing additional hardware or software. The Windows Azure Application Monitoring Management Pack bridges the gap between System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 and applications running on Windows Azure, enabling IT Pros to use System Center Operations Manager to manage applications on Windows Azure.

In this evaluation, users will follow a step-by-step guide to deploy a sample application to Windows Azure and then use System Center Operations Manager to monitor and manage that application.

The following components are included in the Deploying and Managing Windows Azure Applications evaluation:

  • Windows Azure Platform Trial - Sign up for a free trial of the Windows Azure platform or use your own account.
  • Evaluation Guide - This step-by-step guide walks you through deploying and managing an application on Windows Azure.
  • Windows Azure-ready Application - You will deploy this sample application on Windows Azure.
  • System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 VHD - This fully configured virtual machine provides the environment from which you will deploy the sample application on Windows Azure and demonstrates System Center Operations Manager's capabilities for managing applications and IT services in a Windows Azure public cloud environment.
  • Windows Azure Application Monitoring Management Pack - The Windows Azure Application Monitoring Management Pack for System Center Operations Manager enables you to monitor the availability and performance of applications that are running on Windows Azure.
  • Windows Azure Software Development Kit and Tools for Visual Studio - To further explore Windows Azure, these tools extend Visual Studio 2010 and Visual Web Developer 2010 Express Edition to enable you to create, build, debug, run, and package scalable services on Windows Azure.

To get started take a look here: Deploying and Managing Windows Azure Applications Evaluation

Here are some of the System Requirements

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 with the Hyper-V role enabled.
  • RAM: 8 GB or more recommended
  • Hard disk space required for install: 40 GB minimum (80 GB recommended)
  • Internet connection

Available in:

  • 64-bit edition
  • VHD (virtual hard drive) download
  • These languages: English
  • The image has a 180-day evaluation period. After this time, you will need to uninstall the software or upgrade to a fully-licensed versions of the products on this VHD.

Additional Info for System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 VHD:

  • Supported Operation Systems: Windows Server 2008 Enterprise R2, Windows Server 2008Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V is required to use this virtual machine. In addition to the system requirements for Windows Server 2008 as described in the release notes, a 64-bit system with hardware-assisted virtualization enabled and data execution prevention (DEP) is required. It is also recommended to ensure that you have a clean install of x64 edition of Windows Server 2008 to be able to use the Hyper-V technology. Prerequisites, installation steps, OS recommendations, and known issues of Hyper-V can be found here.