eBabel websites to run on Table Storage
26 March 2010
Currently, my multilingual websites are running on Azure SQL, a version of Microsoft Database optimized for the cloud. However, there is another way to store data that is even faster and more scalable: Table Storage.
Advantages of Table Storage
Table Storage in Windows Azure uses partition keys. I'm currently restructuring my multilingual websites data so that if one of them becomes very busy, it automatically moves to its own cloud computing partition on Windows Azure.
Moreover, data managed through Table Storage means that reading, writing and updating that data will be so much faster than doing the same thing with Azure SQL.
The only downside of Windows Azure Table Storage is that it's not optimized for complex joins between "tables" (they are entities really).
However, this is not a problem for my multilingual websites because I am rewriting the code and the data structure so that it takes full advantage of Table Storage without needing the advanced joining provided by SQL Azure. In fact, most websites don't really need all the advanced features and complex joining made possible by SQL Azure: Windows Azure Table Storage is a much more appropriate solution to build highly scalable, fast and responsive multilingual websites.
Find out more about Table Storage
At Mix 2010, Brad Calder presented an in-depth explanation of how to develop web apps with Azure Storage. I have listed below at which point of the video Brad Calder talks about which type of object that can be stored in Windows Azure.
- Introduction: Brad Calder starts by presenting the 4 types of objects that can be stored in Windows Azure: Blobs, Drives, Tables and Queues. He also gives an overview of Windows Azure.
- 3 min 6 sec: Blobs.
- 15 min 33 sec: Drives.
- 34 min: Tables.
- 51 min 28 sec: Queues.
I recommend downloading the video: you will probably watch it several times as there is so much to take in.
There are also powerpoint slides for this presentation and you might want to download them too.
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