For this purpose, Microsoft is working with SpaceX to provide satellite-powered Internet connectivity on Azure. This collaboration will help Microsoft to deliver cloud services to even the remotest regions of the planet. With Azure Space, Microsoft provides the most ambitious cloud service for businesses.

What is Azure Space?

Azure Space extends Azure capabilities anywhere in the world with Space infrastructure.

It is a cloud computing service by Microsoft for the space community. Its products and services are built on key partnerships and designed to meet the needs of the space community. This technology will help connect people with Azure services and space satellite technology.

Azure Space will link Azure’s existing cloud platform with new data centres and a network of privately owned satellites to supply high-speed Internet across the globe. It is particularly aimed at businesses that are located in remote corners of the world. This will help billions of people worldwide to stay connected.

Benefits of Azure Space:

• Connectivity to and from remote locations
• Availability and flexibility of Hyperscale Services
• Improvement in the quality of satellite imagery using AI (Artificial Intelligence) and the cloud
• Fastest Internet connections
• Ability to see through clouds using the SAR and SpaceEye
• Management of large amounts of data generated by satellites

Azure Space provides:

• Global Connectivity: It can connect data from anywhere in the world.
• Artificial Intelligence For Space: – It can collect huge amount of raw space data and turn it into usable information using artificial intelligence.
• Digital Engineering: It will aid the space community to innovate with speed and mission assurances.
• Azure in Space: It will also help create unlimited cloud endpoint devices on the planet to connect people from anywhere around the world.

Azure Orbital

Businesses may utilize Azure Orbital Emulator, an impressive feature of Azure Space. Artificial Intelligence simulators are required by this Service to get ready for the space mission. It can aid missions and assist in avoiding costly blunders.

Applications of Azure Orbital

• Application development
• AI data and analytics
• Hybrid cloud and infrastructure
• Internet of Things. Connect, monitor, and control devices with secure, scalable, and open edge-to-cloud solutions
• Security and governance

How does Azure Orbital work with other Azure products and services?

Azure Orbital complements other Azure services to make it easy to process and store data from satellites either in the local region of each Azure Orbital antenna or in another Azure region (using the Azure Global backbone).

Azure Modular Datacenter

An Azure Modular Datacenter, or MDC, is a movable field component of Azure data centre that can be used from any location. It is used for those customers who need cloud computing capabilities in hybrid environments, including remote locations.

The Azure Modular Datacenter provides reliability and security, even in executing the most critical applications. It provides Azure processing power and storage.

Azure Modular Datacenter gives customers the ability to migrate their apps to Azure while running these workloads on-premises with low-latency connections to their own data centre.

Azure Services from MetaSys

A software services firm with headquarters in India, Metasys Software offers solutions built with DotNet, FileMaker, iOS, PHP, and React. Our Microsoft Azure-certified experts provide Azure consulting services. They can assist with Azure services in areas such as developing new product/solution, application modernization, application migration, Windows integration, and Azure web application development. For more details click here.

The Database plays a vital role in any web or windows application development. The Database project can be used to maintain the repository of the schema changes.

Why do we need a Database project?

While developing any application, the developer has to work on many database tasks such as creating tables, triggers, stored procedures, functions, etc. It is difficult to manage the scripts at the time of deployment. Also, it is tedious to review the changes made by the developer during development. The database project in Visual studio addresses these issues.

How to create a database project?

1. Create a new project in visual studio. Select the SQL Server Database Project, as shown below.

2. Right-click on the project and select Import????Database

3. After this, you get one popup as follows. Click on ‘Select Connection…’ option to import the database.

4. You will receive another popup to select the connection properties of your database. After entering the credentials (and authenticating successfully), you will get the dropdown filled with a list of databases on  the SQL server. Select the database for which you are creating the project.

5. Once you click on ‘Connect’, you will notice all the tables, procedures, functions, etc. which will get imported.

6. Check solution explorer for your database related artefacts.

7. Now compare your project schema with the database schema after performing modifications to the database. Right-click on the solution and select Schema compare, as shown below.

As you can see in the above image, there are two sections Source and Target.

Source: If you have made any changes in the database and you want to compare those on the target, then select the database name. If however, you have made changes in the database project that you want to compare with the database, then select your project path.

Target: It will always be with the source which will be compared. If you want, you can swap Source and Target. Once selected, click on ‘Compare’ to compare Source and Target schemas.

8. For example, I have added the Enquiry table in the database; Clicking on Compare allows you to see a list of modifications.

The Action column in the above image is displayed if the changes are new or if there are any updates or deletions in the schema.

When you check the box and click on ‘Update’, all the changes will be applied to Target.

9. Now if you have made any changes in the database project and you want to execute those on the Production UAT database, then execute it in the same way as shown above.

10. In order to create the scripts for the changes, then compare the Database project with the Target Database. Then click on ‘Generate Scripts’.

Merits and Demerits of Database Project:

Merits:

1. DDL (Data Definition Language) is readily available for all the objects.
2. Deployment scripts can be easily generated.
3. A database project also includes designers for working with these files.
4. Version control can be done for the database through a series of check-in and check-outs for various operations performed on scripts and schema changes.
5. Reviewing database changes is easier and allows  Dot Net developers to be more effective in terms of making changes and reviewing previous modifications done by team members.

Demerits:

1. Schema designing is not available.
2. References to external database sources cannot be created in the database project.
3. The Visual studio database project only supports the SQL Server.

The first important point is that it is essential to determine the Storage mode before starting to develop any power BI report. Storage modes that can be used for accessing the data can include:

1. Import mode
2. DirectQuery mode
3. LiveConnect mode
4. Push mode

My experience in developing a power BI report increased quickly, as I started by developing a very simple report and ended up learning a huge amount about more advanced elements of Power BI as the project requirements changed.

In the beginning, it was exciting to work on the first simple power BI report, which I developed using a database like SQL Server and Storage mode as Import.

As shown above, the visualisation was for a count of orders for the time period indicated by the date slider. The stacked column chart on the right shows the orders based on service type on a yearly basis. The visualisation can be done for any date hierarchy including daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly. In the pie chart on the left, the total orders are shown as both a total count and a percentage breakdown. As specifically requested by the client, we also added a reset button to restore the initially selected filters values.

Later on, during the deployment phase, we had to search for an on-premises data gateway to maintain the continuous connection with the data relying on the SQL server. We installed the on-premises data gateway on our database server connecting to the datasets created on the Power BI portal as shown below:

We maintained daily refresh schedule as shown below:

After deploying this report to production, the client requested a live report that showed current statistics without needing a page refresh. After some research I found that automatic page refresh can be achieved using the DirectQuery Storage mode. Unfortunately, my report was developed using the Import mode. This is when I learned the hard way that choosing the right storage mode from the beginning is very important, as I had to recreate the whole report using the DirectQuery storage mode. Meeting the clients’ needs required converting the storage mode to Direct Query, recreating the report and setting the automatic page refresh option to 5 seconds.

We can develop a variety of reports using the Visualization options as shown in the image below.

We can even use visuals other than those available in the Visualization pane, such as the Search tool shown below:

At MetaSys, we  are focused on investing time into new and innovative projects like Power BI, to meet our clients’ needs.

For more information refer to  https://www.metasyssoftware.com/contact

Our client: Genavix is a venture in the preventive health care services industry. It offers members comprehensive health and fitness solutions to reduce health risks and improve wellness. They provide various fitness and nutrition plans helping associates follow a healthy lifestyle.

About Myzone: Myzone is an innovative wearable heart rate based system. It uses wireless and cloud technology to monitor physical activity. Myzone allows the user to view their fitness efforts live on their phone, such as how many calories they are burning. Users are also able to make connections and compete with other individuals in the network. Based on their fitness efforts, users are awarded MEPs (Myzone Effort Points), which they can use to challenge others on the platform.

We at MetaSys were given the task of integrating the Myzone system with our client’s application. Our solution used the fact that each Myzone device has a unique belt number, which is registered with a particular wellness facility. Users are able to submit their Myzone belt number, after which a unique ID is assigned to their profile. The client system can then track all Myzone activities.

One of the challenges we faced in the integration, was that the data obtained from the Myzone API is only available for the last three months. As a long term health app, our client tracks fitness for a much longer duration. To resolve this issue, we decided to import the data every night by creating a task scheduler, which imports data from the Myzone API into the application SQL tables.

Each wellness facility with registered Myzone belts has a unique API key. Using this API key and Myzone Cloudbase API – 2.0.3, a web request API call is made which retrieves Myzone API data of each user in the previous three months. The data is received in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), is then interpreted in Asp.net and imported into the application SQL tables. The imported data is used to build a user fitness diary that integrates the Myzone data with data that has been manually entered in the application by the user. The detailed tracking of fitness, such as tracking calories is used to help every user, achieve their daily health and fitness goals.

If you wish to collaborate on similar projects, feel free to contact us. We have extensive experience in integrating devices into web applications such as ASP.NET Framework, JavaScript, jQuery, Microsoft SQL Server. For more details, please visit – https://www.metasyssoftware.com/dot-net

The following procedure assumes that a storage with a container has already been created in the Microsoft Azure Portal. The backup can be implemented with the following steps.

Step 1: Create a new SQL job as shown in the following screenshot:

Step 2: Create credentials in the Security section for connecting to the Azure cloud as shown below: 

The “Identity” field should be filled in with the  Microsoft Azure storage name.  The password is the primary key used in creating Manage Access Keys on Azure cloud.  

Step 3: Use the following code in the SQL job step Transact-SQL Script (T-SQL) and select the desired database to be backed up to Azure cloud.

DECLARE @path VARCHAR(500)

DECLARE @name VARCHAR(500)

DECLARE @filename VARCHAR(256)

DECLARE @time DATETIME

DECLARE @year VARCHAR(4)

DECLARE @month VARCHAR(2)

DECLARE @day VARCHAR(2)

DECLARE @hour VARCHAR(2)

DECLARE @minute VARCHAR(2)

DECLARE @second VARCHAR(2)

SELECT @time = GETDATE()

SELECT @year   = (SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(4), DATEPART(yy, @time)))

SELECT @month  = (SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(2), FORMAT(DATEPART(mm,@time),’00’)))

SELECT @day    = (SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(2), FORMAT(DATEPART(dd,@time),’00’)))

SELECT @hour   = (SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(2), FORMAT(DATEPART(hh,@time),’00’)))

SELECT @minute = (SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(2), FORMAT(DATEPART(mi,@time),’00’)))

SELECT @second = (SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(2), FORMAT(DATEPART(ss,@time),’00’)))

set @name = ‘[Database Name…]‘;

       SET @fileName =  @name + ‘_backup_’ + @year + @month + @day + ‘_’ + @hour + @minute + @second + ‘.BAK’  

  set @path = N’https://[Azure Cloud Url path with container name…]/’ + @fileName;

       BACKUP DATABASE [Database Name…]

TO  URL =  @path 

WITH  CREDENTIAL = N’[Database Name…]Credential’  , NOFORMAT, NOINIT,  

NAME = N'[Database Name…]-Full Database Backup’, NOSKIP, NOREWIND, NOUNLOAD,  STATS = 10

GO

Step 4: Add the desired schedule (daily, weekly or monthly) in the schedules tab and specify exact time for creating a backup on the Azure cloud. Don’t forget to ‘Enable’ the job after completing the time schedule.

We at MetaSys have developed web applications using ASP.NET MVC Framework, SQL Server and web API. For more info on the kind of projects which are handled by us – https://www.metasyssoftware.com/case-study-dotnet

The story started almost a year ago when the CEO of our company and my project manager insisted that I get Microsoft certification. Two exams are required: Exam 70-483: Programming in C#, or Exam 70-486: Developing ASP.NET MVC Web Applications. I chose to tackle the C# exam (70-483) first, as I thought it might be the easier option of the two. Nevertheless, the exam syllabus for C# was substantial, and I was determined to take the exam after four months of preparation. 

Preparing for the C# Exam

Even though I knew C# quite well, I started the exam preparations from the beginning by watching C# sharp tutorial videos from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXmVym6L8dw&list=PLAC325451207E3105

I watched all the videos to brush up my knowledge on C# basics, and found it very helpful.

Next, I read the exam guide that covers all the topics from the syllabus. This allowed me to get a grasp of the scope of the syllabus, and helped me identify other helpful resources. Two additional books that I found useful were ‘C# Fundamentals for Absolute Beginners’ and ‘Programming in C# Jump Start’. One of the best ways to thoroughly prepare for this exam is by going through the Microsoft documentation for C#.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/programming-guide/

I was lucky enough to have a lot of support at the office. During the time that I was preparing for the exam, I was working on relevant live projects at the office. These were MVC based projects with WEB API and Azure. Working on the project implementation allowed me to consolidate the theoretical concepts from the videos and books. Furthermore, the seniors in the team helped me by sharing their extensive practical experience. 

Taking the exam:

You can schedule the C# exam from this link https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/exam-70-483.aspx. I scheduled my exam at 11:30 AM, on a weekday so I could reach the exam center easily and then go straight to the office. You do also have the option to take the exam from home, but I prefered to go to the Microsoft training center. 

The C# exam was MCQ based, and the questions ranged from basic to advanced  C#. The majority of the questions were scenario based, and could be flagged and returned to. The exceptions were four problem-based questions which could not be returned to. The exam was not easy, and I believe that some practical experience in C# programming is necessary to pass. I was very pleased to pass the exam on my first attempt.

Preparing for the MVC Exam

I started preparing for the second exam on MVC Web applications the day  after passing the first one. I gave myself 5 months to study for the exam. The resources I used for the Web Applications exam were similar to the resources I used for the C# exam. I relied heavily on the exam reference book ‘Exam Ref 70-486: Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications’ to best understand the scope of the exam. Another book I found useful was: ‘Pro ASP.NET MVC 5’. I also used youtube videos, the microsoft documentation, and various other websites linked below.

Links-
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-pzwRwYlXMw
https://examref.com/MCSD/70-486/1
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/mvc/overview/getting-started/introduction/getting-started
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/?view=aspnetcore-3.1
https://www.guru99.com/microsoft-azure-tutorial.html

During the time I was preparing, training was conducted in the office for ASP .Net Core. This was helpful as the syllabus of the MVC exam newly included ASP .Net Core and I had no prior experience with it. Following this training, the project manager encouraged the team to convert a live MVC project to .Net Core. This allowed me to gain valuable hands-on experiences with this new platform. 

You can schedule the MVC exam using the link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/exam-70-486.aspx. 

The MVC exam questionnaire starts with a number of questions about a case study, based on a real-world example. The rest of the questions are scenario-based. 

Although I found the exam very difficult, I was really pleased to pass with a good score on my first attempt, and to finally get the MCSA Certification. After I finished the exam I returned to the office, there was quite a celebration in the office and it made my day!

MetaSys has a team of developers working on Microsoft technologies and building dynamic web applications using ASP.NET, ASP.NET CORE and SQL Server. For more info on the kind of projects handled by us https://www.metasyssoftware.com/case-study-dotnet

Microsoft has recently launched ‘Visual Studio Mobile Center’ for the developer community. The purpose is to help in building and managing mobile apps through a set of cloud services. The Mobile Center supports applications built on several frameworks. It supports apps built on platforms like Swift, Java, Xamarin, React Native and Objective –C. The platform is currently in its “preview” period and a roadmap is in place to further build out services to be offered.

Today developers are expected to go beyond conventional approach to app building and their prime focus is on providing mobile users a Unique experience. Developers need a platform where they can build, test, deliver and monitor the apps as fast as possible on a continuous basis. Mobile Center, can reduce the time spent on creating a workflow by using the services provided by Mobile Center. It will allow the developers to concentrate on the primary task of creating a good app.

Some of the features in VS Mobile Center are:

• Build apps automatically with pull request
• Test apps on different mobile devices through the embedded automated UI tests
• Monitor bugs and crashes for immediate diagnostics
• Mobile analytics feature gives detailed insights on mobile usage and behavior
• Apps written in any language can be brought into VS Mobile Center’s cloud and lifecycle services

The developers have a choice to work on end-to-end workflow provided by the VS Mobile Center or can choose to avail only a subset of the services.

VS Mobile Center is expected to evolve further with integration with HockeyApp and Test cloud apps. In addition to that, the future versions of VS Mobile Center will support Cordova and Universal Windows platform. Advanced features like advanced analytics and push notifications will also be a part of the future versions. Currently, it supports only lifecycle features like building, testing, crashing, Beta distribution and analytics. In Cloud features support authentication, easy tables and offline sync.To access the VS Mobile Center you can sign in using your existing HockeyApp credentials or use your GitHub account or Microsoft account.

At MetaSys Software we offer custom development using  ASP.Net, SQL Server, Telerik controls and Iron speed. We also have a strong team of Certified FileMaker Developers with experience in PHP & FileMaker solutions, FM Go as well as in building iOS apps.

Initially, dot net was known as NGWS (Next Generation Windows Services). Since 2000, different versions of this technology were launched, the latest being version 4.6.2. This latest version was launched just last year in the month of August. Each version carries betas, and service packs so as to provide more value to the users. In the entire 15 years, developers experienced an object oriented programming environment and freedom to develop desktop as well as web applications. Many of the languages that run on.NET framework are simple, secure and object oriented.

Over the past 15 years, this technology has evolved to fulfill the requirements of a dynamic online environment. The ASP.NET framework has helped in building many dynamic websites and applications catering to different industry verticals. Complex applications such as hotel reservation system, a billing system in shopping malls are built easily with the ASP.NET framework. It has enabled customized content building for users, thus increasing the relevancy factor of the web page. It has helped the users in accessing any data with ease. The .Net zone has now increased more than tenfold since it was launched.

The data below will give you a clear picture of where.NET technology stands today vis-à-vis some other players in the market. (Source: W3techs)

1. As per a recent study, 15% of websites today use ASP.NET technology in which a whopping 80% are using version 4, followed by version 2.
2. Java and ColdFusion are the most preferred technology for high traffic sites followed by ASP.NET.
3. .Net domain names have got a wide presence. It is presently used in more than 200 countries.

We at MetaSys Software have a long history of experience with building.Net applications since last 15 years.Our expertise lies in different technological platforms such as.NET & ASP.NET Framework (2.0 – 4.5), JavaScript, jQuery, Microsoft SQL Server. If you wish to leverage ASP.Net development capability then please feel free to contact us.