Rackspace Hosting provides hosting and cloud computing services to more than 160,000 companies throughout the world. It wanted to create a toolkit for customers who develop Internet-based applications with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. Working with technology partner Neudesic, Rackspace created the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Plug-In for the Rackspace Cloud, which simplifies and speeds cloud application development and deployment. Rackspace expects to easily extend the toolkit and expand its business.
Business Needs
Based in San Antonio, Texas, Rackspace Hosting is a leading worldwide provider of hosting and cloud computing solutions. The company offers enterprise-level hosting services to businesses of all sizes. Its key products are Rackspace Managed Hosting, Rackspace Cloud, and Rackspace Email & Apps.
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Rather than switching to a cloud control panel and working in a separate API, a developer can use our solution to stay within Visual Studio 2010…. That helps eliminate errors and saves precious time.  |
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Jim Battenberg
Cloud Evangelist
Rackspace Hosting |
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For the past several years, a growing number of Rackspace customers with applications based on the Windows operating system have been demanding tools to help them develop, deploy, and manage those applications on the Rackspace cloud infrastructure. Most recently, developers using the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 development system needed a solution that could ease cloud development and deployment, from within Visual Studio 2010.
“We had Linux-based cloud offerings, but nothing for the developers who use the Microsoft .NET platform and tools,” says Jim Battenberg, Cloud Evangelist, Rackspace Hosting. “It was evident that we were missing a big piece of the marketplace with our products.”
Rackspace wanted to offer .NET developers a toolkit that would make it simple and fast to create and deploy applications on cloud servers. “We knew we had to develop a toolkit that would give developers a level of abstraction from the cloud, so they wouldn’t have to go back and forth between a cloud control panel and their native integrated development environment,” says Battenberg.
“Developers need to focus on creating Internet-scale cloud applications, without worrying about complex deployment and management of those applications,” says Battenberg.
Solution
Rackspace teamed with Neudesic, a California-based Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and Microsoft National Systems Integrator, to create the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Plug-In for the Rackspace Cloud. To build the toolkit, the two companies used the Visual Studio 2010 API and Windows Presentation Foundation in the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.
Developers who are working with Visual Studio 2010 tools can use the toolkit to develop applications and deploy them directly to the Rackspace cloud infrastructure. The solution is designed to eliminate the need to manage separate cloud and application environments by giving developers a full view of their environment. “With the toolkit, developers can easily build and deploy applications on Rackspace Cloud Servers for Windows,” says Battenberg.
With the plug-in, developers are aware of everything going on with their cloud server instances as they are developing or deploying applications. They can take advantage of a layer of automation not previously possible without integration.
To download the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Plug-In for the Rackspace Cloud, developers simply establish a Rackspace Cloud Servers for Windows account and follow the steps to download and install the toolkit.
Benefits
The Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Plug-In for the Rackspace Cloud eases cloud application development and deployment. And because Rackspace and Neudesic used extensible Microsoft technologies, future enhancements to the product are possible. As a result of offering the solution, Rackspace anticipates adding new global customers.
Simplifies and Speeds Development and Deployment
The toolkit provides a range of templates and plug-ins that make up a centralized cloud management portal, simplifying application development and shortening deployment time. “The Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Plug-In for the Rackspace Cloud makes cloud application development and deployment easy and intuitive, which reduces deployment and provisioning time,” says Battenberg. “.NET developers now have an easy way to deploy applications, websites, and blogs to the cloud—from within their familiar Visual Studio 2010 environment.”
Because .NET developers using the toolkit can perform multiple tasks from within Visual Studio 2010, they can be more efficient and productive. For example, if a developer wants to deploy and manage a cloud-based application, both of those tasks can be handled through the Visual Studio 2010 Plug-In on the developer’s computer. “Rather than switching to a cloud control panel and working in a separate application, a developer can use our solution to stay within Visual Studio 2010 instead of going back and forth between two environments,” says Battenberg. “That helps eliminate errors and saves precious time, ultimately increasing productivity.”
Takes Advantage of Extensible Technology
Rackspace and Neudesic developers took advantage of the extensibility of the Visual Studio 2010 environment when building the toolkit, which means that the solution can be easily enhanced in the future. “With the Visual Studio 2010 API and Windows Presentation Foundation, we had all the advantages of a smooth, well-integrated, and extensible development environment,” says Battenberg. “That gives us the flexibility to extend this product whenever we need to.”
Helps Rackspace Expand Business
With this solution, Rackspace has the opportunity to gain new business by meeting the demand for a toolkit for Visual Studio 2010 cloud applications. “Rackspace now has a chance to offer our cloud services in an environment that .NET developers are comfortable with,” says Battenberg. “That also helps us to be perceived as providing a platform as a service, rather than just infrastructure as a service, and that makes us more competitive in the industry.”
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