Microsoft and Oracle have released previews of virtual machine (VM) images that enable Oracle workloads to run on Windows Azure.The two companies announced their partnership on Azure in late June, but the VM images apparently weren't available at that time. The preview images, which come prebuilt and which include the Oracle licensing, were either released on September 24 or yesterday, according to Microsoft's blog announcements. Using the previews isn't exactly free as there are Windows Azure compute and storage costs incurred, but there are no Oracle licensing charges to use the images during the preview period, according to Microsoft. It's not clear how long they will stay at the preview stage, however.
To run the images, users need to have a Windows Azure account and they can set up the VMs by selecting the images from the Windows Azure Virtual Machines image gallery, as described here. The list of Oracle VM images includes Oracle Database 12c, Oracle WebLogic Server 12c and Java Platform Standard Edition 6 or 7 on Windows Server 2012.
Microsoft is not recommending using the image previews in production environments. There are plenty of other caveats to consider, too.For instance, Oracle Database clustering isn't currently supported on Windows Azure. Microsoft also cautions that Windows Azure produces dynamic IP addresses for the Oracle Databases that are hosted, instead of the static IP addresses expected by the application, which "may result in unintended side effects."
Another limitation is that Oracle WebLogic Server images support clustering on the Enterprise edition only. Connection pools will time out after four minutes of inactivity, which could affect applications that rely on connection pools, Microsoft warns. See all of Microsoft's caveats regarding the use of the preview images at this MSDN library page.
The idea behind this collaboration between Microsoft and Oracle is that organizations can get support from both companies when running Oracle workloads on Windows Azure, as explained by Brad Anderson, Microsoft's corporate vice president for cloud and enterprise, during his Oracle OpenWorld keynote address. That speech marked the first-time keynote appearance of a Microsoft executive at the annual Oracle event.
It is now possible to run Oracle Linux on Windows Azure, according to Microsoft, and Java is supported on Microsoft's cloud platform. Oracle, for its part, is supporting Microsoft's Hyper-V hypervisor for its products.
Microsoft Announces General Availability Of Two-Factor Authentication For Windows Azure
Microsoft has announced the general availability of Windows Azure multi-factor authentication for IT pros and users. The new security capability is available for most any application used on the cloud infrastructure.
The security means that a person signs in with their usual user name and password but then authenticates either through an application on their mobile device, an automated voice call or text message with a passcode.
Windows Azure multi-factor authentication is available with on-premise virtual private networks and web applications for running on a company’s existing hardware or in a Windows Azure virtual machine. It can be synchronized with Windows Server Active Directory for automated user set up. Cloud applications like Windows Azure, Office 365, and Dynamics CRM can also be secured by two-factor authentication as can custom applications. It is available in two pricing options: $2 per user per month or $2 for 10 authentications.
Two-factor authentication is all the rage these days. Amazon Web Services and Google Compute Engine offer it and you can expect a wave of announcements from other providers ove the next several months.
But it’s really just a small aspect of what cloud services need to do. Security at the virtual machine level, where apps are located, can get attacked if the administrator falls victim to a malware attack. And that’s a user management issue as much as two-factor authentication. That’s where companies like JumpCloud enter the picture. Look to providers like them to provide the next generation of security to protect cloud services.
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