The Big Release of Windows Azure SDK 1.3

It’s finally out now.

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What’s New for version 1.3:

• Virtual Machine (VM) Role (Beta):Allows you to create a custom VHD image using Windows Server 2008 R2 and host it in the cloud.
• Remote Desktop Access: Enables connecting to individual service instances using a Remote Desktop client.
• Full IIS Support in a Web role: Enables hosting Windows Azure web roles in a IIS hosting environment.
• Elevated Privileges: Enables performing tasks with elevated privileges within a service instance.
• Virtual Network (CTP): Enables support for Windows Azure Connect, which provides IP-level connectivity between on-premises and Windows Azure resources.
• Diagnostics: Enhancements to Windows Azure Diagnostics enable collection of diagnostics data in more error conditions.
• Networking Enhancements: Enables roles to restrict inter-role traffic, fixed ports on InputEndpoints.
• Performance Improvement: Significant performance improvement local machine deployment.

Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio also includes:

• C# and VB Project creation support for creating a Windows Azure Cloud application solution with multiple roles.
• Tools to add and remove roles from the Windows Azure application.
• Tools to configure each role.
• Integrated local development via the compute emulator and storage emulator services.
• Running and Debugging a Cloud Service in the Development Fabric.
• Browsing cloud storage through the Server Explorer.
• Building and packaging of Windows Azure application projects.
• Deploying to Windows Azure.
• Monitoring the state of your services through the Server Explorer.
• Debugging in the cloud by retrieving IntelliTrace logs through the Server Explorer.

Also…

With new management portal (Silverlight-based)

Ability to remote desktop over there