It is known that technology is constantly evolving. Today we have something at level 90, in some time the level will jump up to 120 – it’s theoretically like the character development in games. The more work that takes place on a given technology, the more smoothly it works and at the same time attracts even more supporters.
For sure, it is a highly expanding technology. This well-known cloud computing service works in a very competitive industry. Many companies all over the world choose the Microsoft Azure platform to get up-to-date cloud services technology.
In the previous articles, we explored the topic of Azure but from the business side. What does it look like from the typical technological side? Today we will describe a few of the services because the range offered by Azure is very extensive and it will be hard to write about them in one post. Let’s learn more about it. Ready?
Azure has many services, so we will describe only some of them in greater detail.
Azure Application services is a PaaS offering, and it is used for REST APIs, hosting web applications, and backend services for mobile applications. App services can be used no matter what framework or programming language is used to develop web applications – this includes, among others, it can be Java, Node.js, .NET, Ruby, PHP, or Python.
The platform is fully optimized, supports Linux and Windows, and has built-in auto-scaling and deployment with Visual Studio Team Services, Team Foundation Server, or GIT. What’s more, it easily integrates with other SaaS solutions such as Office 365 or Twilo, and connects with on-premises applications such as Oracle.
Azure Pipelines is an excellent tool for managing and automating software delivery. It is a highly dependable cloud-hosted solution that enables rapid end-to-end automation of integration, testing and deployment. Its integration capabilities across popular systems such as GitHub and Jenkins provide flexibility when it comes to workflow management, while its testing services ensure quality assurance across multiple operating systems. Moreover, its ability to streamline CI/CD (continuous integration & continuous delivery) processes makes Azure Pipelines a powerful asset in today’s DevOps environment.
Azure Messaging services allow sending messages on the platform, and this provides connectivity between components and applications that are written in different languages. In addition, it provides connectivity whether applications are hosted in the same cloud, many others, or simply located within the company.
You are free to create messaging queues regardless of whether a client is available, and the general operations with Azure Messaging services will help in balancing the changing workload bandwidth. Let’s take a look at some services under this one.
We wrote earlier about message queuing. Service Bus is a messaging service for businesses, offering middleware technology, message queuing, and more. It is a brokered and also highly reliable cloud-based system.
A consumer doesn’t have to be connected to the queue at the same time to receive a message (here there is an option of only one consumer per message). With the “topics and subscriptions” feature, we can add more consumers for a message to a topic. What’s next? Each topic has one or more subscriptions, and the subscriptions have filters – so different messages from a given topic can go to different subscriptions.
Another feature is Relay, which allows you to connect on-premise services to Azure without opening a firewall connection to the network. There are two options here: WCF-Relay and Hybrid Connection, with which you can make a secure connection. What’s the difference? WCF-Relay uses Windows Communication Foundation to remotely invoke procedures, while Hybrid Connection uses the network socket standard.
Event Grid is one of the newest Azure services that provides event-driven reactive programming. In this function, events are issued to subscribers, who decide how to handle them. In this case, routing can also be done by event type or prefix and postfix.
Event Hubs is designed to ingest large streams of data that are generated by services and devices. This feature makes it easy to store or capture telemetry. It is a good choice when you need a large download bandwidth.
You can freely define your consumer groups, and this will allow you to read the event stream. How does it work? If you have only one consumer, you can use the default group, but if there are more consumers, you need to configure groups and give them many. It is possible to read from the beginning to the end of the stream or read parts of it.
Event Hubs supports protocols such as AMQP over WebSockets, HTTPS, and AMQP. Moreover, you can use Shared Access Policies here for security purposes and .NET or C as language support.
Azure Storage is one of the best cloud storage services. It includes storage structures for data objects, storage for messages or communications, disks for virtual machines, and storage for files in the cloud and locally or NoSQL storage. With HTTPS, you can have a unique namespace, accessible from anywhere.
Benefits of Azure Storage services
What are the benefits of Azure Storage services?
Scalability: It is scalable according to data and application requirements, and besides, you can manage upgrades, critical issues and handle hardware maintenance for users.
Security: You will get secure encryption services, and data in the cloud will be encrypted with shared key mode. What’s more, you can use SAS token to limit access to your data. Another advantage is PowerShell and CLI, which support scripting.
Availability: Data will be available for users even in the case of hardware failure thanks to the replication. Data can be accessed from anywhere, and users can read it in different languages, thanks to Microsoft’s client library.
Recovery services have two features for securing data outside. With this service, you can store or organize your backup data and do it in an organized way. What kind of data can you store? Among others, these include backups of workstations or databases, or virtual machine configuration information.
Azure Backup allows you to backup and restore data. These solutions work in the cloud and are characterized by great accessibility. It is a solution that is easy to use and configure and offers consistent copies along with security features.
Azure Backup performs point-in-time backups, using protection through a Microsoft Azure Recovery Services agent called MARS, a MABS server, or integration with the Data Protection Manager system center, or DPM. Copies include sources such as virtual machines, files, folders, SQL databases, SQL machines, VMware VMs, and more.
Azure Site Recovery provides a backup option for your server architecture, so you don’t have to create another data center or pay for more storage space. The service supports Azure Backup, DPM, Windows Server, and more, making it easy to organize your backup data, which reduces administrative costs. Moreover, you can also reduce the cost of deploying, maintaining, and monitoring your local DR infrastructure with a native disaster recovery service called DRaaS.
Azure Networking is a network operations service between Azure and local infrastructure. It offers various options for managing and connecting cloud resources, as well as managing and monitoring traffic, load balancing, or securing user connections. It is built on top of one of the largest fiber optic networks, so it can support an all-in-cloud and hybrid strategy. What can be found in provided by Azure Networking services?
Network monitoring:
Application security services:
Network security:
Application delivery services:
Azure Repos and Boards provide an integrated way to track projects and workflows. With Azure Repos, users can manage versions of their codebase to ensure all coding teams are always up-to-date. Then with Azure Boards, users can seamlessly organize tasks and track progress. Just some of the features included within these tools such as Kanban boards, dashboards, reporting, and work item tracking make it an invaluable user experience for any development team. Working with Azure Repos and boards make project tracking simpler than ever before.
Azure Artifacts helps developers manage their software components, such as NuGet, npm, and Maven packages, in a reliable and secure manner. Azure Artifacts makes it easy to set up a DevOps pipeline to streamline the development process. Azure Artifacts supports major version controls such as Azure Repos and GitHub, providing an integrated Azure user experience. It also provides formal dependencies on shared packages by storing packages internally or externally using dedicated feeds. Azure Artifacts provides reliable package lifecycle management best practices with Azure Boards and Azure Pipelines, making it easy for developers to share and collaborate using maven, npm, and other package types.
Azure Test Plans provide a comprehensive and efficient solution for managing test cycles, exploratory testing, tracking the results against the requirements, and discovering solutions to challenging problems. With its integrated testing tools, users can quickly develop detailed test cases, review the code coverage, track their progress through the planned test suites and deliver defect-free applications with confidence. The azure-hosted service also includes step-by-step guides of best practices for testing software reliability and performance, assuring customers of qualified results. Allowing for more efficient communication between teams for faster issue resolution, azure test plans reduce risk and ensure product quality at every stage of development.
Azure is a powerful technology, containing various services that can be used in the development of a company not only in terms of business but also in terms of technology. Keep in mind that Azure is more than 200 services, and that includes Azure DevOps services and Azure DevOps Server. Use Azure as a key element for the entire company infrastructure, thanks to its numerous benefits. The agile software development process with Azure brings new possibilities to the company’s growth. In this article, you explored a drop in the bucket of services offered by Azure, so stay tuned, and let’s check different services next time.
After carefully evaluating suppliers, we decided to try a new approach and start working with a near-shore software house. Cooperation with Hicron Software House was something different, and it turned out to be a great success that brought added value to our company.
With HICRON’s creative ideas and fresh perspective, we reached a new level of our core platform and achieved our business goals.
Many thanks for what you did so far; we are looking forward to more in future!
Hicron is a partner who has provided excellent software development services. Their talented software engineers have a strong focus on collaboration and quality. They have helped us in achieving our goals across our cloud platforms at a good pace, without compromising on the quality of our services. Our partnership is professional and solution-focused!
The IT system supporting the work of retail outlets is the foundation of our business. The ability to optimize and adapt it to the needs of all entities in the PSA Group is of strategic importance and we consider it a step into the future. This project is a huge challenge: not only for us in terms of organization, but also for our partners – including Hicron – in terms of adapting the system to the needs and business models of PSA. Cooperation with Hicron consultants, taking into account their competences in the field of programming and processes specific to the automotive sector, gave us many reasons to be satisfied.
