Azure Deployment

One of the fundamental design decisions used during the development of Enterprise Server for .NET is that a deployment can be deployed on-premise (in the customer's domain on customer hardware), and in the cloud in Azure with equal ease.

Deploying a CICS or JES system is no more difficult, if not easier than deploying locally. The Enterprise Server for .NET core functionality is exactly the same using exactly the same code base, just running in a different host environment.

Enterprise Server for .NET can be deployed as either worker roles or into virtual machines running in Azure. Virtual machines in Azure can also be used to host 3rd party applications that cannot be integrated into Azure worker roles, e.g. schedulers, printer management , etc.

Some advantages and disadvantages to keep in mind when deploying Enterprise Server for .NET system and applications to Azure are discussed below.

• Advantages
  • No hardware or operating system maintenance issues.
  • Network load balancing for free.
  • Microsoft guarantees roles will be up 99.98 percent of the time via their SLA, provided each role has two or more instances.
  • Ability to scale up and down dynamically.
  • Running costs are very well defined and predictable.
• Disadvantages
  • Performance is lower than on-premise.
  • Cannot debug Enterprise Server for .NET applications. This is a Microsoft restriction and is the main reason why we recommend an on-premise staging/testing deployment before deploying into Azure.
  • Data in the cloud is contentious, and serious thought as to where the data lives must be given.
  • Using SQL Azure as the database has limitations ( , performance). However it is possible to use a full blown SQL server installation running on a virtual machine in a Microsoft Azure virtual network.

  Refer to the azure section of this help set for more information on deploying to Azure. Windows Azure Support.