Learn more about Windows Azure Some of the great update features

This week, we released some great updates to the Windows http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/13357.html ">azure." These new features include:

calculation: New dual-core CPU 14GB RAM Instance option virtual machine: Supports Oracle software mirroring and management of stopped virtual machines Active Directory: More powerful directory management and universal spending limits that support multifactor validation: RESET expense limits, virtual machines are no longer deleted when MSDN Subscriptions stop Storage: New Storage client Library 2.1 publish Web Sites: IP address and domain name restrictions now supported

All of these improvements are now available immediately. Here are the details about them.

Calculation: New dual-CPU kernel 14GB RAM instance

This week, we posted a new memory-intensive example on Windows Azure. This new instance, called A5, has two CPU cores and 14,000 megabytes (GB) of RAM that can be used for virtual machines (Windows and Linux) and cloud services:

You can start using this new A5 calculation option immediately. Additional pricing information can be found in the cloud services and virtual machines section of the Windows Azure Web site under detailed pricing information.

Virtual machines: Oracle Software support

Earlier this summer, we announced a strategic partnership between Microsoft and Oracle, and we will enable support for Oracle software operations on Windows Azure virtual machines.

Starting today, you can now deploy a virtual machine image of a preconfigured Oracle software license that can run various combinations of Oracle databases, Oracle WEBLOGIC servers, and the Java SE platform in Windows. These images of Oracle software are deployed to enable you to quickly configure a cost-effective cloud environment for development, testing, and deployment, and to easily scale enterprise applications. These mirrors can now be easily selected in the Create Virtual Machines Wizard standard in the Windows Azure Management Portal:

During the preview, these mirrors do not incur additional costs on the standard Windows Server VM rate. At the end of the preview period, these Oracle-containing mirrors will be charged based on the total number of minutes per month of virtual machine running. With Oracle's licensed liquidity, Oracle customers who have obtained Oracle software certificates can still deploy Oracle software freely on Windows Azure.

Learn more about using Oracle mirroring on Windows Azure, visit windowsazure.com/oracle or read technical documentation on Oracle mirroring.

Virtual machine: Stopped administrative action on VM

Since this week's update, you can now perform administrative operations on virtual machines that have been stopped/unassigned. Before, a virtual machine must be operational, such as changing the size of the virtual machine, attaching and detaching disks, endpoint configuration and load balancer, and availability settings. You can do this now for a stopped virtual machine without starting them:

Active Directory: Creating and Managing Multiple active directories

Since this week's update, you can now create and manage multiple Windows Azure active directories in a single Windows Azure subscription (only one directory was previously supported and you cannot delete it once it is created). This is useful whether you are developing/testing scenarios or if you want to have a separate directory of tenants or sync with different domains.