If you want to know how to calculate the size of a SQL Azure Database – just run this query against the database in question:
SELECT SUM(reserved_page_count)*8.0/1024 FROM sys.dm_db_partition_stats; GO
This will return the size of the database in megabytes!
Have a look at this article for more details: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsazure/ff394114.aspx
- Ira Bell
Hello,
Running scripts generated from SQL Server Management Studio to recreate a schema for a SQL Azure database usually throws errors given the different nature of these environments. (Note: SQL Azure is currently more restrictive than SQL Server On-Premise installations.)
I’ve found that a reliable way to create scripts for SQL Azure is to use Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio ensuring that I select Azure for the database engine type option as shown in the below image.
(Note: SQL Server 2008 R2 is required to be able to select the SQL Azure database engine type.)
The steps are shown below for those who require the full steps to execute a generate script from SQL Server Management Studio.
Note: If you need a copy of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, you can find it here: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=22985
First, connect to the database you wish to work with in SQL Server Management Studio. Then, right click on the database and select Tasks -> Generate Scripts
The steps above are shown in the images below.
Click Next, then select the objects you wish script.
The steps above are shown in the image below.
Select a file name to write the script to (for example: c:\users\washington\documents\script.sql), then click on the advanced button. Next, find the Script for the database engine type option and select SQL Azure Database from the dropdown. Click Ok to return to the previous screen.
Note: There are some useful options in this section, such as Script DROP and CREATE.
The steps above are shown in the image below.
Click Next, to review your selections, then click Next.
The steps above are shown in the image below.
Finally, click finish when the script has been created.
The step above is shown in the image below.
- Washington Leon-Jordan
Hello,
Have you ever wondered how to tell the instance size for Windows Azure Hosted Services? It’s quite simple. If you log in to the management portal, simply click on Hosted Services –> then select the Choose Column picklist and select the Size checkbox. This will add a column to your display area which shows the sizes of the instances you currently have running/deployed. There are several other options in there. You could select them all – but it gets quite cluttered. I’ve done this – and it made me go crazy!
The steps above are shown in the image below:
- Ira Bell
Folks,
Unfortunately you are not able to change the size of your instances from within the Windows Azure Management Portal using the configuration button. You’re certainly allowed to change the instance count – but changing the configuration file to add an instance type will not work.
Let’s talk about a given scenario: www.Nimbo.com is currently hosted in Windows Azure. In order to keep company costs down, we would like to take our very simple brochure type of website down to an extra-small instance which currently costs $30/month as opposed to the small instance size which costs $90/month. So – if I’ve deployed our website without specifying the instance size – our company will be paying 1080 a year. Reducing the instance size to an extra-small will save the company $720/year assuming we have a single instance. Can we simply log in to the Windows Azure Management Portal and make the change? Not through the configure menu item. You actually have to redeploy your solution to Windows Azure, ensuring that you’ve properly visual studio solution.
This isn’t a huge deal – but it definitely reduces the flexibility of scaling down a bit. In order to make this change, I originally thought that I would simply need to redeploy making a change to the following in the ServiceConfiguration.cscfg file:
<WebRole name="<web-role-name>" vmsize="[ExtraSmall|Small|Medium|Large|ExtraLarge]"
enableNativeCodeExecution="[true|false]">
However, if you redeploy the same package file (*.cspkg) and just make a change to the ServiceConfiguration.cscfg file it won’t actually work. When I tried this, the solution kept redeploying as the default “Small” instance size as opposed to the “Extra Small” that I was hoping for.
What you actually must do is to right click the properties of your Webrole in the Visual Studio solution and click properties. From there you can select VMSize under the Configuration menu option and make the change. Repackage or re-publish your application and then upload both files and it will work. This explains a bit – as the instance size must also be included in the *.cspkg file. Interesting!
The steps above are shown in the two images below:
After you make the changes, you can see that the configuration file has been modified. For our site, we have an entry that looks like this:
<Role name="NimboWeb" vmsize="ExtraSmall">
If you’re interested in the options of the WebRole Schema, they are located here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg557553.aspx
- Ira Bell
Nimbo has officially entered in to the Rock, Paper, Azure challenge! Our bot name is Nimbo. There are some smart people out there but hopefully the code we wrote for this will stand up to the challenge!
The website for the challenge is located here: http://www.rockpaperazure.com/
There are a few useful videos available which will help you to get started. Otherwise, have a look at the leaderboard to watch our bot’s progress: http://www.rockpaperazure.com/leaderboard.aspx
Did you know that Nimbo was formed to focus on cloud computing? Nimbo is derived from the Nimbostratus cloud – or as we typically like to say “the rain cloud”. Our passion to constantly improve our skills and knowledge around cloud computing is what defines our incredible culture. Interested in working with us? We offer highly rewarding careers and one of the best working environments in the United States. Email us at info@nimbo.com today!
Click the below image to be directed to the Nimbostratus cloud wikipedia site:
The details of this offer are below – but before you take a look – ask yourself if you’re concerned with cloud adoption for any reason. The cloud certainly has a lot of different topics which present challenges for adoption or acceptance. I recently raised a question on LinkedIn around this. My question and a summary of the results are posted below:
Question:
Answers:
It seems from the list and other conversations I’ve had around various ‘water coolers’ that the following items are some of the biggest things blocking adoption to the cloud:
Microsoft has a current promotion which gives you a 6 month block of Windows Azure hours for half the price. In addition to that you receive free training and free consulting (from Nimbo). The offer is set to expire June 30th, 2012 – but if you purchase a discovery pack before the holiday season – you’ll have just enough time to purchase another one before the offer expires. This means that you’ll have locked in 50% discounted Windows Azure for an entire year.
This is an excellent deal and a wonderful way to get in to the cloud at a steal of a price! Feel free to ping us with your company name and we’ll have someone from Microsoft reach out to you about getting involved with Windows Azure: info@nimbo.com
Ira Bell was invited to speak at the NexTI conference this week and accept the award for Excellence in Cloud Application Practice. We are proud of this accomplishment and will continue to push the boundaries with what we can achieve in the cloud.
The press release is displayed below:
Ira Bell, COO of Nimbo, spoke on the Next Gen Award Winners Panel at the NexTI Solution event in Miami, Florida on October 5th, 2011. Nimbo received an award for Excellence in Cloud Application Practice for a unique development approach based on best practices.
The panel was part of a three day event, “Innovative Strategies for Success in an Era of IT Transformation,” which brought together leaders from some of the industry’s most innovative technology vendors. Bell was joined by other award recipients in the categories of Excellence in Infrastructure Practice, Excellence in Storage Practice and Excellence in Unified Communications Practice. The event featured technical demonstrations, roundtable discussions, panels and keynote addresses by delegates from Dell and IBM.
The Next Gen Awards Panel served as a platform for thought leadership around driving growth through new business models and innovative technologies. Bell was joined by executives from True Cloud, IT Weapons and Explore Consulting. The panelists engaged in dialogue around cloud computing and its implications for setting standards for new business models. The panelists agreed that technologies such as cloud computing and mobility will be drivers in smarter, more agile business models.
“Our clients come to us because they need more flexible business process solutions with long-term scalability. They are simply responding to demand from their own customers. The problem is a general lack of understanding on how to implement complex solutions extending on-premise investments to the cloud,” said Bell. The panelists noted that awareness among business users is rising however there is still a long way to go in terms of understanding and implementing these new technologies.
Nimbo was founded with the purpose of creating cloud solutions that would be disruptive to traditional computing methods while solving difficult business problems. The Excellence in Cloud Applications Practice award supports Nimbo’s mission to leverage cloud technologies to simplify business processes.
–Kristine Drier
Hello,
Last week I was testing the parties after configuration on a BizTalk 2010 server for HIPPA 5010 transactions. I was facing the following error with one of the parties:
Error:
Error encountered during parsing. The X12 interchange with id ’000000001′, with sender id ’9999999 ‘, receiver id ’1111111 ‘ had the following errors:
Error: 1 (Miscellaneous error)
16: Invalid Control Standard Identifier
Error: 2 (Field level error)
SegmentID: ISA
Position in TS: 1
Data Element ID: ISA11
Position in Segment: 11
Data Value: ^
7: Invalid code value
I checked the party settings, everything was looking fine but still I was getting the error.
We know that ISA11 can be used in X12 as a standard identifier or a repetition separator and if we want to use as a repetition separator then we need to check the Envelop value. I did the same but still getting the error.
Then I changed the property of UseIsa11AsRepetitionSeprator value to TRUE, EDI disassembler stage in the pipeline component and it worked.
- Ratikant Pawar
