Posts Tagged ‘.net’

I’m going to use the theme of an earlier post (Windows Azure SQL Database what’s missing?) and ask the same question on another service offered on Windows Azure. The reason I chose these offerings specifically is because I really like them as a developer. Not having to deal with configuring infrastructure and being able to […]

Being primarily a developer, I would prefer not having to manage infrastructure. With SQL Database I don’t have too. SQL Database provides most of the features I need when working with a relational database. If SQL Database doesn’t suit your needs, you can have SQL Server running in a VM within Windows Azure. Though again […]

Caching capabilities have been available in Windows Azure for a while now, at least for use in cloud services. With the latest improvements to Windows Azure caching is now its own service. Now you can use distributed caching with all your Windows Azure applications, whether your application is a Web Sites, VM, Cloud Service or […]

The velocity of release for Microsoft development and infrastructure products can be at times overwhelming, especially if you’re trying to keep up. Microsoft has done something to help reduce the time to get the new offerings up and running. On Windows Azure they provide several pre-configured images to allow you to get started using the […]

This is part two in a series of extending SSIS for the enterprise with complementary Microsoft products. Specifically, we are going to look at how we can extend an SSIS solution to go through DMZs and firewalls across the Internet to reach and capture data regardless of the SQL Server schema type. In this scenario, […]

If you have used Windows Azure for any length of time, one thing you should have noticed is the rate of change. When I say change, I’m not referring to things being taken away either. The change is almost always improving what already exists or adding more capabilities. The new SDK adds support for the […]

Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of working with some of the world’s largest companies in a variety of industries. One thing in common with all of these engagements was using SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) as the tool of migrating data for the companies’ business intelligence collateral. I have developed […]

I have to admit – I’m not always great at spotting whatever is going to be the next great thing.  This is evidenced by the fact that I bought an HD-DVD player because I was certain that format would beat Blu-ray, but more important to my professional life was the skepticism with which I originally […]

A source system that contains dynamic or customer-defined data fields is both an old problem and a sticky one in the  DW/BI environment.  A standard approach of flattening the dynamic data into name/value pairs is recommended for a relational-type database.   But what about multidimensional modeling or OLAP storage?  Name/value pairs are just the beginning.  To […]

Lately, I’ve been thinking about ways to manage and re-use existing code. Right away I thought of code snippets. Snippets are handy for methods or small segments of code, but what I was really looking for was a faster way to repurpose common class libraries and patterns. Functionality such as caching, logging, abstracting the SharePoint data layer, etc. […]

Recently, I was working with a customer who was evaluating Office 365 for a very particular use case.  The scenario was this: The customer has several “kiosk” type computers in a store, and need to be able to save email attachments directly to the cloud without having to touch the file system of the kiosk.  […]

One of the things that I have been caught complaining about from time to time with the way Sitecore handles assignment of data source in presentation details is that the data source is stored as a string path, making it necessary to update every instance of presentation details that references an item when it is […]