Sep
23
2011
UPDATED: 06-12-2011
The thing about technology is that it develops fast, really fast and to keep up with new releases of your tool set is not an easy task..
The thing I think is lacking on the windows.azure.com site is a clear summary of the latest tools, the things you need and where to get them. The use of the Platform installer, which on its own is a great tool, hides the facts about the pieces you are about to install. With that it also seems that Microsoft or the Azure team is steering everybody to the Platform installer to get started but how about the long time users? or the team leads responsible for making sure everybody has the correct version… anyways, I was thinking of attempting to make a old-fashioned summary of the tools, download locations and the version numbers in relation to Windows Azure.
Please note, not all mentioned downloads are required to work with Azure. I just listed all the components that have some support listed for Azure.
The other problem is that the Azure MVP’s and Microsoft teams also use community projects to build new tools sets. The problem here is that the code is not in one common place so you have to go to github or codeplex or who knows where to get the stuff. I really hope Microsoft would make one nice landing page where they link everything up in one easy location. Until then….
If you have some additions, please let me know.
Microsoft Downloads
Tools
SDK’s
Service Packs
Training Kit