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Comparing Cloud Platform Options
for .NET Applications
Summary of Findings
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Comparing Cloud Platform Options for
.NET Applications
• Bottom Line: Available .NET cloud platforms
exist in public and private deployments of both
infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as
a service (PaaS). Microsoft Azure is a compelling
public cloud platform for .NET shops while
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a flexible and
proven choice for diverse IT organizations.
Private cloud options from smaller vendors are
more limited in scope than either. Assess all
cloud platform options based on their fit with your
cloud adoption goals and project scenarios, and
be prepared to adopt more than one solution.
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Comparing Cloud Platform Options for
.NET Applications
• Context: Enterprise application teams typically
have a mixed application environment including
Microsoft .NET. Organizations building a .NET
cloud strategy should examine Microsoft's
Windows Azure services for suitability. Seeing
past the most obvious .NET cloud platform is a
challenge. Because of Microsoft's .NET market
dominance, Windows Azure would seem to be
the natural home for .NET apps in the cloud.
However, one size does not fit all project
scenarios.
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Comparing Cloud Platform Options for
.NET Applications
• Take-Aways: Enterprises choose .NET cloud
platforms because of improved flexibility, capacity
utilization, risk avoidance and mitigation, reduced
time to market, and access to the ecosystems
and sharing models available through cloud
markets. Although all cloud platforms provide
these benefits, the degree to which those
benefits can easily be realized in a particular kind
of offering is subject to wide variance. Consider
the following options for developing and
deploying Windows .NET applications in the
cloud.
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Comparing Cloud Platform Options for
.NET Applications
• Take-Aways:
- Windows Azure PaaS includes Cloud Services, for
which applications are partitioned to reflect a modern
cloud architecture, and Web Sites, a lower barrier to
entry PaaS for simple ASP.NET front ends:
• The strengths of the Windows Azure PaaS include keeping pace
with Windows Server and .NET framework innovation, superior
tooling integration with Visual Studio, flexibility in deployment
model, and range of high-quality application services.
• Weaknesses include a ponderous deployment update process,
lack of a declarative automatic-scaling capability, limited identity
management capabilities, and ceding control of runtime and
hosting aspects.
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Comparing Cloud Platform Options for
.NET Applications
• Take-Aways:
- Windows Azure PaaS (cont.):
• Use Windows Azure Cloud Services when you are committed to
a cloud architecture and an all-Microsoft technology stack, or
when the complementary Azure Infrastructure Services
capabilities are important to your project.
• Use Windows Azure Web Sites when you need to start small
and fast by deploying an ASP.NET site in a shared container,
with the option of scaling out or reserving instances as required.
• Avoid Windows Azure PaaS when your organization requires
fine-grained control over a portable, virtualized operating
environment.
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Comparing Cloud Platform Options for
.NET Applications
• Take-Aways:
- IaaS+Windows Server refers to deploying .NET
applications on virtual machine (VM) instances running
Windows. AWS and Microsoft are the most compelling
IaaS providers for Windows:
• The strengths of IaaS+Windows Server include prominent,
successful and diverse cloud providers (AWS, Rackspace and
Microsoft, to name a few) with a proven ability to deliver globalclass cloud infrastructure and operations, to provide portability of
virtual machine contents across public and private deployments,
and to support a wide range of project types (basically, anything
that will run on a Windows Server).
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Comparing Cloud Platform Options for
.NET Applications
• Take-Aways:
- IaaS+Windows Server (cont.):
• Some weaknesses are that management of the application
software stack (including patching and intrusion prevention)
remains the purview of the customer, development of cloud
architectures is significantly more complex than with other PaaS
options, and using any of the tempting platform-level capabilities
provided by IaaS providers torpedoes portability.
• Use Windows Server IaaS when control, flexibility and portability
are primary motivations. In particular, IaaS+Windows Server is
ideal for "Lift-and-Shift" migrations of existing applications into
the cloud for eventual cloud optimization.
• Avoid Windows Server IaaS when productivity and time to
market are primary motivations.
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Comparing Cloud Platform Options for
.NET Applications
• Take-Aways:
- Private PaaS via CEAP refers to using a software
product — known as a cloud-enabled application
platform (CEAP) — to create a PaaS on server and
storage infrastructure under the organization's control.
Apprenda and Microsoft Windows Azure Services for
Windows Server are key platforms for this option:
• The strengths of private PaaS via CEAP include the ability to
retain total control over the physical and software assets used to
deliver the PaaS capability, the ability for IT to monitor and
control platform access for compliance purposes, and a
simplified development model when compared with
IaaS+Windows Server.
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Comparing Cloud Platform Options for
.NET Applications
• Take-Aways:
- Private PaaS via CEAP (cont.):
• Some weaknesses are that cloud scalability is limited by the
physical resources available to the customer, new CEAP
capabilities and business value can only be delivered through
the installation of a software patch or upgrade, all management
is entirely the responsibility of the customer, and mature
alternatives for .NET CEAP products are limited.
• Use a CEAP when your platform choice is a commitment
spanning multiple applications, and you want to create a private
PaaS for internal or external developers, or when you desire to
create a PaaS that can be made available both privately and on
public cloud resources.
• Avoid a CEAP when you have inadequate private cloud
capabilities on which to layer your PaaS delivery, or if your
organization lacks the requisite IT operations sophistication.
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Comparing Cloud Platform Options for
.NET Applications
• Take-Aways:
- Emerging alternatives from a variety of innovative
vendors provide a contrast to the established leaders
and should be considered either as secondary choices
or for opportunistic projects.
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Comparing Cloud Platform Options for
.NET Applications
• Conclusion: If you could aggregate many evaluation
criteria into one measure — appropriateness for strategic
adoption — one solution has established itself as a leader
for .NET applications in each cloud model: Windows
Azure for public PaaS, AWS for Windows Server running
on public IaaS and Apprenda for private PaaS. Other
offerings are beginning to mature and create real
competition for developer attention. In the public cloud,
increased competition from Microsoft has forced Amazon
Web Services to up its game and to start treating
Windows Server VMs and Windows developers as firstclass citizens. Likewise, Microsoft has been forced to
innovate and expand Azure into IaaS. Developers benefit
from this competition.
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