We have just published a new tutorial and sample code to illustrate many of the Windows Azure Java-related technologies in action.  In this guide, we provide a step-by-step tutorial that shows how to migrate a Java Spring Framework application (the PetClinic sample application) to the Windows Azure Cloud.  The code that accompanies this document is also published on GitHub.  We encourage Java developers to download and explore this new sample and tutorial.

Details

Windows Azure is an open cloud platform, and supports a wide variety of programming languages and frameworks, including Microsoft .NET, Java, Node.js, PHP, Python and Ruby.  This guide is written specifically for Java developers to demonstrate how to migrate a typical Java application to the Windows Azure cloud. While the tutorial focuses on a popular Spring Framework sample application (the Java PetClinic); the tutorial will introduce you to the Azure Java SDK for Eclipse, Windows Azure Caching using memcached, Windows Azure Cloud Services, Windows Azure SQL Database, as well as a variety of other technologies that would be used in many other types of Java applications.

Windows Azure Cloud Services (PaaS) or Windows Azure Virtual Machines (IaaS)?

Fundamentally, there are two different ways to run an application layer, such as a Web site, on Windows Azure.  The first is via Platform as a Service (PaaS) via Azure Cloud Services. The second is via Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) via Windows Azure Virtual Machines (VMs).  With either, the developer chooses from one of several worldwide data centers (four in the U.S., two in Europe, and two in Asia) to host their application.

• With Windows Azure Cloud Services, the developer just focuses on the application, and the platform automatically provisions and maintains the instances (under the covers these are Windows YHyperHY Hyper-V VMs) upon which the application layer runs.  The instances can be horizontally scaled from one to several hundred clones, and load balancing is automatic.  While the instances can be sized (with different numbers of virtual cores and memory), the instances are fundamentally managed by Windows Azure, including all patching and security updates of the OS layer. This guide focuses on running the Java Pet Clinic sample application on Windows Azure Cloud Services.
• With Windows Azure Virtual Machines, the developer creates his/her own VM image, and is responsible for installing and managing that VM including any software to be installed on the VM.  For Java developers, there are a variety of pre-built VM images available, including Windows and several distributions of Linux.  This is also a great way to run Java applications in the Windows Azure Cloud; as the developer has low-level control of the OS and VM, and can install other software such as mySQL directly on any number of VMs, to build-out a complete application from application layer to data layer. Most Java applications will simply migrate with little or no code changes required. Load balancing can also be setup such that multiple VMs (perhaps running Tomcat/JSP layer) are load balanced via round-robin. Unlike Azure Cloud Services, however, the developer must manage the VM including any security patching just as if the VM was running on-premises. While the new tutorial focuses on Java running on Windows Azure Cloud Services, we encourage developers to also try out Windows Azure Virtual Machines, using either Windows or Linux VMs.

Spring Framework on the Windows Azure Platform  

Spring Framework’s recently updated PetClinic sample was chosen for this new guide because it is a familiar vehicle for demonstrating several enterprise technologies that are used to create scalable Java EE applications such as Spring Data JPA, MVC, AOP, JMX, EhCache, and Logback. We will be extending PetClinic by injecting transient fault handling and Memcached on Azure Cache via AOP.

For Java developers who are familiar with Eclipse and STS, Microsoft has provided the ‘Windows Azure Toolkit for Eclipse with Java’. This toolkit provides the following resources for aiding in Java development in Eclipse on Windows Azure: 

• Windows Azure Plugin for Eclipse with Java
• Microsoft JDBC 4.0 Driver for SQL Server and Windows Azure SQL Database
• Package for Apache Qpid Client Libraries for JMS
• Package for Windows Azure Libraries for Java
• Windows Azure Access Control Services Filter
• Windows Azure Common Plugin

In this guide, we will be using the Windows Azure Plugin for Eclipse with Java and the Microsoft JDBC 4.0 Driver for SQL Server. The plugin to Eclipse provides Java wrappers for Windows Azure services and a Windows Azure emulator.

Conclusion

Windows Azure is an open cloud platform, and supports a wide variety of programming languages and frameworks. We encourage Java developers to explore new Java on Windows Azure tutorial and sample code to illustrate many of the Windows Azure Java-related technologies in action.