Windows Azure Platform Training Kit - February 2011 Update

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The February 2011 update of the Windows Azure Platform Training Kit includes several updates and bug fixes for the hands-on labs.   Most of the updates were focused on supporting the new Windows Azure AppFabric February CTP and the new portal experience for AppFabric Caching, Access Control, and the Service Bus.    The specific content that was updated in this release includes:

· Hands-on Lab - Building Windows Azure Apps with the Caching service

· Hands-on Lab – Using the Access Control Service to Federate with Multiple Business Identity Providers

· Hands-on Lab – Introduction to the AppFabric Access Control Service V2

· Hands-on Lab - Introduction to the Windows Azure AppFabric Service Bus Futures

· Hands-on Lab - Advanced Web and Worker Roles – fixed PHP installer script

· Demo Script – Rafiki PDC Keynote Demo

The setup scripts for all hands-on labs and demo scripts have also been updated so that the content can easily be used on a machine running Windows 7 SP1. 

You can download the February update of the Windows Azure Platform Training kit from here: https://bit.ly/WAPTKFeb11.  We’re also continuing to publish the hands-on labs directly to MSDN to make it easier for developers to review and use the content without having to download an entire training kit package.  You can browse to all of the HOLs here:  https://bit.ly/WAPTCFeb11.  Feel free to blog or tweet these URLs. 

You can start building your application on it in 3 simple and easy to do steps:

1. Download the Tools:

Get Visual Studio Express and the Windows Azure Tools for Visual Studio to start building and debugging applications for the Windows Azure Platform https://tinyurl.com/learnaboutazure . If you have already Visual Studio installed you can download the tools directly from https://tinyurl.com/toolsforazure .

2. Setup an Account:

Set up an account and obtain a free subscription for accessing the online portals for Windows Azure, SQL Azure and Windows Azure AppFabric. You can learn more about the accounts https://tinyurl.com/getazureaccount or you can sign up directly and get the trial https://tinyurl.com/getazurefreetrial .

3. Create your First application and Deploy it on the Windows Azure Platform:

First learn how to create a simple ASP.NET application in Visual Studio for Windows Azure on your local machine https://tinyurl.com/localazureapplication . Once successfully created, learn how to deploy this application on the Windows Azure Platform https://tinyurl.com/deployazureapplication .

When all steps are executed successfully you should have running your first application on the Windows Azure Platform!