Last week is version 2.0 of the Windows Azure SDK and Visual Studio tools released. And this time not just a few bug fixes, but really good additions.
Ok, version number is updated and Windows Server 2012 is the default osFamily of a Role.
Also the new VM sizes are added to the tools.
Beside the known Web and Worker Roles there is also a Role specific for the Windows Azure Servicebus added.
But the real news are in the Diagnostics and the Windows Azure Storage in the Server Explorer. The diagnostics is now much better to setup.
And the Windows Azure Storage in the Server explorer has more functionalities besides a read function. We missed a really simple editor for example Windows Azure Storage tables. A separate tool was needed for that, but know we do not have to leave the Visual studio environment. Also selecting from Storage Table is possible.
Publishing to Windows Azure Websites can also be done by importing data from the Windows Azure website itself.
The deployment of a Cloud Service can be setup far easier. One of the great advantages of Windows Azure is your app is always up, even during a new deployment. The deployment will be split, first server A and then Server B. Sometimes this is not really wanted and now it is possible to bypass this.
More info on my blog when I use it, but ofcourse also on the blog of Scott Guthrie