I know a lot of technical people who work in partners (ISVs, System Integrators etc).

I know that virtually none of them would think of going to the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) learning portal to find some deep and high quality technical content. Instead they would head to MSDN, Channel 9, msdev.com etc.

I am one of those people :-)

Hence imagine my surprise when i stumbled upon this little gem Architectural Guidance for Migrating Applications to Windows Azure Platform (your company and hence your live id need to be a member of MPN – which is free to join).

This is first class stuff – and represents about 4 hours which is really 8 if you stop and ponder :)

Course Structure

The course is divided into eight modules.  Each module explores a different factor that needs to be considered as part of the migration process.

• Module 1:  Introduction: 
  • This section provides an introduction to the training course, highlighting the values of the Windows Azure Platform for developers.
• Module 2:  Dynamic Environment:
  • This section goes into detail about the dynamic environment of the Windows Azure Platform. This session will explain the difference between current development states and the Windows Azure Platform environment, detail the functions of roles, and highlight development considerations to be aware of when working with the Windows Azure Platform.
• Module 3:  Local State:
  • This session details the local state of the Windows Azure Platform. This section details the different types of storage within the Windows Azure Platform (Blobs, Tables, Queues, and SQL Azure). The training will provide technical guidance on local storage usage, how to write to blobs, how to effectively use table storage, and other authorization methods.
• Module 4:  Latency and Timeouts:
  • This session goes into detail explaining the considerations surrounding latency, timeouts and how to assess an IT portfolio.
• Module 5:  Transactions and Bandwidth:
  • This session details the performance metrics surrounding transactions and bandwidth in the Windows Azure Platform environment. This session will detail the transactions and bandwidth costs involved with the Windows Azure Platform and mitigation techniques that can be used to properly manage those costs.
• Module 6:  Authentication and Authorization:
  • This session details authentication and authorization protocols within the Windows Azure Platform. This session will detail information around web methods of authorization, web identification, Access Control Benefits, and a walkthrough of the Windows Identify Foundation.
• Module 7:  Data Sensitivity:
  • This session details data considerations that users and developers will experience when placing data into the cloud. This section of the training highlights these concerns, and details the strategies that developers can take to increase the security of their data in the cloud.
• Module 8:  Summary
  • Provides an overall review of the course.