Is there a list of best practices for Azure Cloud Services?

Hi all;
I was talking with a Sql Server expert today and learned that Azure Sql Server can take up to a minute to respond to a query that normally takes a fraction of a second. This is one of those things where it's really valuable to learn it when architecting as
opposed to when we go live.
Cloud Services are not Sql Server (obviously) but that led to the question - Is there a list of best practices for Azure Cloud Services? If so, what are they?
We will be placing the cloud services in multiple datacenters and using traffic manager to point people to the right one. The cloud service will set between an IMAP client & server, pretending to be the mail client to the server, and the server to the client.
Mostly it will pass all requests & responses across from one to the other.
thanks - dave
What we did for the last 6 months -
Made the world's coolest reporting & docgen system even more amazing

hi dave,
>>Cloud Services are not Sql Server (obviously) but that led to the question - Is there a list of best practices for Azure Cloud Services? If so, what are they?
For this issue, I have collected some blogs and document about best practices for azure cloud service, you can view them, but I am not sure they are your need.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/xx130451.aspx
http://gauravmantri.com/2013/01/11/some-best-practices-for-building-windows-azure-cloud-applications/
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/CloudPowerHowToScaleAzureWebsitesGloballyWithTrafficManager.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/jj717232.aspxhttp://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/best-practices-performance/
>>The cloud service will set between an IMAP client & server, pretending to be the mail client to the server, and the server to the client. Mostly it will pass all requests & responses across from one to the other.
For your scenarioes, If you'd like to communicate with each instances, I recommend you refer to this document (
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/hh180158.aspx ). And generally, if we want connect the client to server on Azure, the service bus is a good choice (http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/cloud-services-dotnet-multi-tier-app-using-service-bus-queues/
If I misunderstood, please let me know.
Regards,
Will
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Similar Messages

Is there a list of best practices for Azure websites?

Hi all;
I was talking with a Sql Server expert today and learned that Azure Sql Server can take up to a minute to respond to a query that normally takes a fraction of a second. This is one of those things where it's really valuable to learn it when architecting as
opposed to when we go live.
Websites are not Sql Server (obviously) but that led to the question - Is there a list of best practices for Azure Websites? If so, what are they?
We will be the website in multiple datacenters and using traffic manager to point people to the right one. The website will run as a REST server using Web API 2, mostly for license checks from our app running on corporate Exchange servers. And a small part
will be for javascript based web pages used for account CRUD.
thanks - dave
What we did for the last 6 months -
Made the world's coolest reporting & docgen system even more amazing

sorry I was not sure if you were using a web server or what?
One other idea out of the slow cooker is to use a dedicated web server with SQL server running beside IIS
If you are using the standard web sites, then the SQL option is about as slow as FTP uploads, very slow
I have considered time of day too, and it seems Azure is less loaded early in the AM
Corsair Carbide 300R with TX850V2 Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 CFX/SLI AMD Phenom II 965 C3 Black Edition @ 4.0 GHz G.SKILL RipjawsX DDR3-2133 8 GB EVGA GTX 660 Ti FTW Signature 2 (GK104 Kepler) Asus PA238QR
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Is there a list of best practices for Azure Sql Server?

I was talking with a Sql Server expert today and learned that Azure Sql Server can take up to a minute to respond to a query that normally takes a fraction of a second. This is one of those things where it's really valuable to learn it when architecting as
opposed to when we go live.
Is there a list of best practices for Azure Sql Server? If so, what are they?
We will be calling the database from multiple instances, both Azure websites and Azure cloud services. The calls will be about 90% selects, 9% updates, and 1% inserts.
thanks - dave
What we did for the last 6 months -
Made the world's coolest reporting & docgen system even more amazing

Hi,
Here are some documentation on Azure SQL Database to get you started.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/ee336279.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/ff394102.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/jj156164.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/ee336282.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/ee336256.aspx
Regards,
Mekh.

Best Practice for Securing Web Services in the BPEL Workflow

What is the best practice for securing web services which are part of a larger service (a business process) and are defined through BPEL?
They are all deployed on the same oracle application server.
Defining agent for each?
Gateway for all?
BPEL security extension?
The top level service that is defined as business process is secure itself through OWSM and username and passwords, but what is the best practice for security establishment for each low level services?
Regards
Farbod

It doesnt matter whether the service is invoked as part of your larger process or not, if it is performing any business critical operation then it should be secured.
The idea of SOA / designing services is to have the services available so that it can be orchestrated as part of any other business process.
Today you may have secured your parent services and tomorrow you could come up with a new service which may use one of the existing lower level services.
If all the services are in one Application server you can make the configuration/development environment lot easier by securing them using the Gateway.
Typical probelm with any gateway architecture is that the service is available without any security enforcement when accessed directly.
You can enforce rules at your network layer to allow access to the App server only from Gateway.
When you have the liberty to use OWSM or any other WS-Security products, i would stay away from any extensions. Two things to consider
The next BPEL developer in your project may not be aware of Security extensions
Centralizing Security enforcement will make your development and security operations as loosely coupled and addresses scalability.
Thanks
Ram

Best practice for consuming web services

Hi
we are consuming web service in orchestration by "Add Generated Item".By using this option it creates 1 orch,1xsd file and some bindings.
we have different projects for schemas,maps and orchestration under our solution in visual studio.
Now i need to know that what will be the best practice for consuming web service in orchestration i mean in which project should i use "add generated item" (in orchstration project or in schemas project) coz it generates both 1 orch and 1
schema.
thanks

From a service orientation perspective you should abstract the service artifacts from the other artifacts. Otherwise it will be very difficult to update the service interface without affecting the other artifacts. For example you don't want to have to redeply
your entire application if only one field changes in the service you consume.
So I typically generate the items, remove the unnecessary stuff, and put them in a separate project.
Depending on the control you have over the services you want to consume, it would even be better to create another layer of abstraction. By that I mean create your own interface (schema) and map that one to the one the service exposes. This basically
is only necessary if you consume external services that are beyond your control. By abstracting the interface it exposes, you limit the impact of changes of that interface on the rest of your system. All changes are abstracted behind your own interface.
If you consume internal services, you can probably control the way the interface is defined. In a service oriented world all internal services expose a well known interface, based on the domain objects you have within your organisation.
Jean-Paul Smit | Didago IT Consultancy
Blog |
Twitter | LinkedIn
MCTS BizTalk 2006/2010 + Certified SOA Architect
Please indicate "Mark as Answer" if this post has answered the question.

Can a Worker Role process call Antimalware for Azure Cloud Services programmatically?

I'm trying to find a solution that I can use to perform virus scanning on files that have been uploaded to Azure blob storage. I wanted to know if it is possible to copy the file to local storage on a Worker Role instance, call Antimalware for Azure
Cloud Services to perform the scan on that specific file, and then depending on whether the file is clean, process the file accordingly. If the Worker Role cannot call the scan programmatically, is there a definitive way to check if a file has been scanned
and whether it is clean or not once it has been copied to local storage (I don't know if the service does a real-time scan when new files are added, or only runs on a schedule)?

Hi,
I would suggest you have a look at this article:
http://azure.microsoft.com/blog/2014/10/30/microsoft-antimalware-for-azure-cloud-services-and-virtual-machines/, please note the Microsoft Antimalware Client and Service is not installed by default in cloud service, please try to use the PowerShell
cmdlet, Set-AzureServiceAntimalwareExtension to enable antimalware in your cloud service. Here's some more info:http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/dn771718.aspx
Best Regards,
Jambor
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Is it possible to do Continuous deployment for azure cloud services(website,web and worker roles) using VSO Release management?

Hi,
I am trying to do continuous deployment using visual studio online and release management for Azure cloud services. But not able to find the way to do it(with the help of different blogs, those are describing using VM only).
I tried using Release management visual studio extension also. But no Luck.
Please help me if it is possible to do continuous deployment using release management.
Thanks,
Phani

Hi,
Please refer to the following Forum Thread with similar question which has been answered. Let us know if this helps.
https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/9d8322f6-36e5-4cca-a982-d420d34d2072/realease-management-deployment-to-azure-websites-webworker-roles?forum=tfsbuild
Regards,
Nithin Rathnakar

How to add security for Azure Cloud Service?

Hi,
We have build some API's in azure cloud service.
We want to add security for Azure Cloud Service.
How to add security for Azure Cloud Service?

Hi Santhosh,
You may add security for your API's by using:
Mutual certificate authentication
Using OAuth 2.0
Manage developer accounts
Regards,
Manu Rekhar

What is the best practice for developing web service?

Hi All,
I'm a newbee to web services...
I was wondering what would be the best approach in developing a web service,
using tools or programmatic approach?
If I use WebLogic Workshop, am I tied to a vendor?
Is it possible for me to develop web services using workshop and deploy in
another app server..?
I would appreciate if somebody could give me a pointer to start.
I have already referred BEA's docs.
I'm still confused on a good starting point on the best approach to develop
protable web services.
Thanks in advance for any inputs.
K K

K K-
You have a very valid point on the simplify or complicate matters. If you are
going for clean and not-so-time-centric code, then there are several different
programs and packages out there you can choose from.
Since you are specialized in J2EE, than the Sun package may be what you are looking
for. BEA's classes simplify much of the work you will be doing, but you could
emulate their classes or extend yours above the functions provided in theirs.
It all boils down to how much work are you willing to do.
If you are asking for more detailed, coding 'Design Patterns' to utilize, I would
wait for a few more posts from other folks as my work often requires me to utilize
the tools provided.
Sincerely,
Eric Ballou
"K K" <[email protected]> wrote:
Eric,
Thanks for the response.
I was also looking at Sun's WSDP 1.1, which is more programmatic approach.
Some how, I feel being a J2EE developer, I should go on the direction
of the
programmatic approach.
Using the tools could simplify or complicate things. Also, the Workshop
samples import all weblogic specific packages.
My code looks so dirty with many vendor specific packages being imported.
Could you give me your suggestions for a clean and neat approach?
I would personally prefer to avoid the quick and dirty approach.
Thanks again.
"Eric Ballou" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
K K-
The best approach in developing portable web services is knowing whatyou
are
planning on using them for as well as how much is willing to be spent,etc.
BEA's Workshop is portable to other frameworks, but the ease ofintegrating a
developed client or a developed server can very greatly. Even moreof an
issue
is migration from one framework to another. If you choose to developin
Workshop
and your company later deploys .Net solutions, some of your work mayhave
to be
redone unless the company is willing to keep portions of the 'old'system
around
until new versions of the service are available. However, Workshophas
several
ant tools available that would assist you in deploying to other appservers or
even a stand-alone application should you need cross framework abilities.
If you are just starting out in web services, http://www.webservices.org
is a
good place to start checking out vendors in the space.
Sincerely,
Eric Ballou
"K K" <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi All,
I'm a newbee to web services...
I was wondering what would be the best approach in developing a web
service,
using tools or programmatic approach?
If I use WebLogic Workshop, am I tied to a vendor?
Is it possible for me to develop web services using workshop and deploy
in
another app server..?
I would appreciate if somebody could give me a pointer to start.
I have already referred BEA's docs.
I'm still confused on a good starting point on the best approach todevelop
protable web services.
Thanks in advance for any inputs.
K K

What is best practice for calling XI Services with Web Dynpro-Java?

We are trying to expose XI services to Web Dynpro via "Web Services". Our XI developers have successfully generated the WSDL file(s) for their XI services and handed off to the Web Dynpro developers.
The Java developers put the WSDL file to their local PC's and import as "Adaptive Web Services" data models. When the application is constructed and deployed to our development box, the application abends because the J2EE server on that box cannot locate the WSDL file at runtime (it was on the developers box at, say, "C:\temp\" and that directory does not exist on the dev server).
Since XI does not have a way of directly associating the generated WSDL file to the XI service, where is the best place to put the WSDL so it is readable at design time and at run time? Also, how do we reconcile that we'll have 3 WSDL files for each service (one for Dev, one for QA and one for Prod) and how is the model in Web Dynpro configured so it gets the right ome?
Does anyone have any good guide on how to do this? Have found plenty of "how to consume a Web Service in Web Dynpro" docs on SDN, but these XI services are not really traditional Web Services so the instructions break down when it comes time to deploy.

HI Bob,
As sometimes when you create a model using a local wsdl file then instead of refering to URL mentioned in wsdl file it refers to say, "C:\temp" folder from where you picked up that file. you can check target address of logical port. Due to this when you deploy application on server it try to search it in "c:\temp" path instead of it path specified at soap:address location in wsdl file.
Best way is re-import your Adaptive Web Services model using the URL specified in wsdl file as soap:address location.
like http://<IP>:<PORT>/XISOAPAdapter/MessageServlet?channel<xirequest>
or you can ask you XI developer to give url for webservice and username password of server

Best Practices for Setting up a Windows 2012 R2 STD Domain Controller in a Remote Site

So I'm looking for an article or writeup similar to the "Adding Domain Controllers in Remote Sites" TechNet article but for Windows Server 2012 STD R2. Here is my scenario:
1. I want to setup the domain controller at Site A where the primary domain controller is located. The primary domain controller is Windows Server 2008 R2.
2. Once the DC is setup I plan on leaving it on our network for a few days before shipping it to remote Site B for installation
Other key items:
1. The remote Site B will have a different IP range than Site A but will be connected to Site A via a single VPN tunnel. All the DCs that replicate with each other are on the same domain.
2. The 2012 DC that I setup for Site B (same domain in same forest) will be a DHCP, DNS, and WSUS server all replicating to the primary DC at Site A
Questions:
1. What items can I setup while it's at Site A without effecting or conflicting with the existing network and domain controller? Can I setup a scope once the DHCP role is added?
2. All of our DCs replicate through Sites and Services, do I have to manually add this to our primary DC for the new DC going to remote Site B? Or when does this happen automatically when I promote the DC?
All and all I'm just looking for a list of Best Practices for 2012 or a Step by Step Guide. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi,
Thanks for your posting.
When you install AD DS in the hub or staging site, disconnect the installed domain controller, and then ship the computer to the remote site, you are disconnecting a viable domain controller from the replication topology.
For more and detail information, please refer to:
Best Practices for Adding Domain Controllers in Remote Sites
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc794962(v=ws.10).aspx
Regards.
Vivian Wang

Visual Studio cannot remote debug Azure cloud service: There was a failure to launch the remote debugger

I am trying to invoke remote debugger on an Azure worker role cloud service, following the example of
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/ff683670.aspx
But on attaching the remote debugger for the cloud service instance
Microsoft Visual Studio
There was a failure to launch the remote debugger.
OK
According to somebody else's extra coverage on the topic, there are extra ports 4016/4017 that need to be taken care of (but do they have to be exposed externally)?
http://developers.de/blogs/damir_dobric/archive/2014/02/04/behind-windows-azure-remote-debugger.aspx
So servicedefinition.csdef gets
 <Endpoints>
 <InputEndpoint name="Endpoint1" protocol="http" port="80" />
 <InputEndpoint name="RemoteDebugger" protocol="tcp" port="4016" localPort="4016" />
 <InputEndpoint name="RemoteDebugger2" protocol="tcp" port="4017" localPort="4017" />
 <InstanceInputEndpoint name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.Connector" protocol="tcp" localPort="30398">
 <AllocatePublicPortFrom>
 <FixedPortRange min="30400" max="30424" />
 </AllocatePublicPortFrom>
 </InstanceInputEndpoint>
 <InstanceInputEndpoint name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.Forwarder" protocol="tcp" localPort="31398">
 <AllocatePublicPortFrom>
 <FixedPortRange min="31400" max="31424" />
 </AllocatePublicPortFrom>
 </InstanceInputEndpoint>
 </Endpoints>
Serviceconfiguration.cscfg gets
 <Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.Connector.Enabled" value="true" />
 <Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.Connector.Version" value="2.3" />
 <Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.ClientThumbprint" value="THUMBNAIL" />
 <Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.ServerThumbprint" value="THUMBNAIL" />
 </ConfigurationSettings>
 <Certificates>
 <Certificate name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.TransportValidation" thumbprint="THUMBNAIL" thumbprintAlgorithm="sha1"
/>
 </Certificates>
But all these are to no avail; the same error still pops for Visual Studio 2013 Update 4; Azure SDK 2.3
Anybody regularly perform remote debugging for Azure cloud services?
The melody of logic will always play out the truth. ~ Narumi Ayumu, Spiral

And, how do I control that in Visual Studio?
All I get is the Attach Debugger... context menu option in the Azure cloud service nodes in Server Explorer. That is where it is failing. There are no customisable options.
Because of that, the Attach to Process dialog box is unable to retrieve the list of processes (to debug) in the remote worker role instance server.
I tested a blank-template worker role project and published to a new cloud project, and this simplistic copy had no problems with the Remote debugger.
Now the question is, what is it about this real-world project/cloud service that is different from blank sample? From what I compare between what I think are the relevant settings, there are none.
ServiceDefinition.csdef
<Imports>
<Import moduleName="Diagnostics" />
<Import moduleName="RemoteAccess" />
<Import moduleName="RemoteForwarder" />
<Import moduleName="RemoteDebuggerConnector" />
</Imports>
<Contents>
<Content destination=".\">
<SourceDirectory path="D:\Projects\experiments\workerrole1\workerrole1\rcf\Debug\RemoteDebuggerContent\" />
</Content>
</Contents>
<Endpoints>
<InstanceInputEndpoint name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.Connector" protocol="tcp" localPort="30398">
<AllocatePublicPortFrom>
<FixedPortRange min="30400" max="30424" />
</AllocatePublicPortFrom>
</InstanceInputEndpoint>
<InstanceInputEndpoint name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.Forwarder" protocol="tcp" localPort="31398">
<AllocatePublicPortFrom>
<FixedPortRange min="31400" max="31424" />
</AllocatePublicPortFrom>
</InstanceInputEndpoint>
</Endpoints>
ServiceConfiguration.cscfg
<ConfigurationSettings>
<Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.Diagnostics.ConnectionString" value="DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=storage;AccountKey=" />
<Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteAccess.Enabled" value="true" />
<Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteAccess.AccountUsername" value="" />
<Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteAccess.AccountEncryptedPassword" value="" />
<Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteAccess.AccountExpiration" value="2015-12-31T23:59:59.0000000+08:00" />
<Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteForwarder.Enabled" value="true" />
<Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.Connector.Enabled" value="true" />
<Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.Connector.Version" value="2.4" />
<Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.ClientThumbprint" value="" />
<Setting name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.ServerThumbprint" value="" />
</ConfigurationSettings>
<Certificates>
<Certificate name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteAccess.PasswordEncryption" thumbprint="" thumbprintAlgorithm="sha1" />
<Certificate name="Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteDebugger.TransportValidation" thumbprint="" thumbprintAlgorithm="sha1" />
</Certificates>
The melody of logic will always play out the truth. ~ Narumi Ayumu, Spiral

Is there a best practice for deleting a published report?

Post Author: matthewh
CA Forum: General
Is there a best practice for deleting a published report from C:\Program Files\Business Objects\BusinessObjects Enterprise 11.5\FileStore on Crystal Reports Server or can I just delete the subfolders? Does it reference them elsewhere? I have a load of old reports I need to shed, but can't see how to do it.

Hi,
You can refer the SRND guide. As per document (page -292)
you can configured -You can add a maximum of 50 agents per team.
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cust_contact/contact_center/ipcc_enterprise/ippcenterprise9_0_1/design/guide/UCCE_BK_S06086EC_00_srnd-9-0-1.pdf
Also you can check the Bill of Material document of UCCE , under the section "Operating Conditions, Unified ICM, Unified CC" What are the number should configure in UCCE.

Is there a website or PDF somewhere which discusses best practices for producing a children's picture book? I am mostly interested in requirements for good image format, resolution, etc.

Is there a website or PDF somewhere which discusses best practices for producing a children's picture book? I am mostly interested in requirements for good image format, resolution, etc.

There may be a few links in Apple Support, regarding articles about how to use iBooks Author
and iBooks Store, etc; these would be separated into two general categories by device used.
Since there is an iOS and an OS X version of each, you may have to look to see what Apple
Support says about the one you are interested in; and how far their database goes toward an
answer to your question. Otherwise, a general search engine approach may be necessary.
Not sure if anything along the lines of what you seek would be available in an App.
References to iBooks Author and iBooks Store, etc appear within these two categories in Support:
For Mac OS X:
http://www.apple.com/support/mac-apps/
For iOS:
http://www.apple.com/support/ios/
Appears a community host moved your earlier post into one of the iBooks Author or Store sections
after I'd replied to what otherwise may be a similar post. Not sure if the links to the Discussions area
of iBooks you are interested in, have similar questions or answers by others who'd visited previously.
Is there a website or PDF somewhere which discusses best practices for producing a children's picture book? I am mostly interested in requirements for good image format, resolution, etc.
In my reply to your earlier thread, prior to it being moved, those links to sections of iBooks Author, etc
are posted. You can also find them from the main Apple Support Communities page.
Sorry to not be of much help in this matter.
Good luck & happy computing!

Best practices for setting up projects

We recently adopted using Captivate for our WBT modules.
As a former Flash and Director user, I can say it’s
fast and does some great things. Doesn’t play so nice with
others on different occasions, but I’m learning. This forum
has been a great source for search and read on specific topics.
I’m trying to understand best practices for using this
product. We’ve had some problems with file size and
incorporating audio and video into our projects. Fortunately, the
forum has helped a lot with that. What I haven’t found a lot
of information on is good or better ways to set up individual
files, use multiple files and publish projects. We’ve decided
to go the route of putting standalones on our Intranet. My gut says
yuck, but for our situation I have yet to find a better way.
My question for discussion, then is: what are some best
practices for setting up individual files, using multiple files and
publishing projects? Any references or input on this would be
appreciated.

Hi,
Here are some of my suggestions:
1) Set up a style guide for all your standard slides. Eg.
Title slide, Index slide, chapter slide, end slide, screen capture,
non-screen capture, quizzes etc. This makes life a lot easier.
2) Create your own buttons and captions. The standard ones
are pretty ordinary, and it's hard to get a slick looking style
happening with the standard captions. They are pretty easy to
create (search for add print button to learn how to create
buttons). There should instructions on how to customise captions
somewhere on this forum. Customising means that you can also use
words, symbols, colours unique to your organisation.
3) Google elearning providers. Most use captivate and will
allow you to open samples or temporarily view selected modules.
This will give you great insight on what not to do and some good
ideas on what works well.
4) Timings: Using the above research, I got others to
complete the sample modules to get a feel for timings. The results
were clear, 10 mins good, 15 mins okay, 20 mins kind of okay, 30
mins bad, bad, bad. It's truly better to have a learner complete
2-3 short modules in 30 mins than one big monster. The other
benefit is that shorter files equal smaller size.
5) Narration: It's best to narrate each slide individually
(particularly for screen capture slides). You are more likely to
get it right on the first take, it's easier to edit and you don't
have to re-record the whole thing if you need to update it in
future. To get a slicker effect, use at least two voices: one male,
one female and use slightly different accents.
6) Screen capture slides: If you are recording filling out
long window based databse pages where the compulsory fields are
marked (eg. with a red asterisk) - you don't need to show how to
fill out every field. It's much easier for the learner (and you) to
show how to fill out the first few fields, then fade the screen
capture out, fade the end of the form in with the instructions on
what to do next. This will reduce your file size. In one of my
forms, this meant the removal of about 18 slides!
7) Auto captions: they are verbose (eg. 'Click on Print
Button' instead of 'Click Print'; 'Select the Print Preview item'
instead of 'Select Print Preview'). You have to edit them.
8) PC training syntax: Buttons and hyperlinks should normally
be 'click'; selections from drop down boxes or file lists are
normally 'select': Captivate sometimes mixes them up. Instructions
should always be written in the correct order: eg. Good: Click
'File', Select 'Print Preview'; Bad: Select 'Print Preview' from
the 'File Menu'. Button names, hyperlinks, selections are normally
written in bold
9) Instruction syntax: should always be written in an active
voice: eg. 'Click Options to open the printer menu' instead of
'When the Options button is clicked on, the printer menu will open'
10) Break all modules into chapters. Frame each chapter with
a chapter slide. It's also a good idea to show the Index page
before each chapter slide with a progress indicator (I use an
animated arrow to flash next to the name of the next chapter), I
use a start button rather a 'next' button for the start of each
chapter. You should always have a module overview with the purpose
of the course and a summary slide which states what was covered and
they have complete the module.
11) Put a transparent click button somewhere on each slide.
Set the properties of the click box to take the learner back to the
start of the current chapter by pressing F2. This allows them to
jump back to the start of their chapter at any time. You can also
do a similar thing on the index pages which jumps them to another
chapter.
12) Recording video capture: best to do it at normal speed
and be concious of where your mouse is. Minimise your clicks. Most
people (until they start working with captivate) are sloppy with
their mouse and you end up with lots of unnecessarily slides that
you have to delete out. The speed will default to how you recorded
it and this will reduce the amount of time you spend on changing
timings.
13) Captions: My rule of thumb is minimum of 4 seconds - and
longer depending on the amount of words. Eg. Click 'Print Preview'
is 4 seconds, a paragraph is longer. If you creating knowledge
based modules, make the timing long (eg. 2-3 minutes) and put in a
next button so that the learner can click when they are ready.
Also, narration means the slides will normally be slightly longer.
14) Be creative: Capitvate is desk bound. There are some
learners that just don't respond no matter how interactive
Captivate can be. Incorporate non-captivate and desk free
activities. Eg. As part of our OHS module, there is an activity
where the learner has to print off the floor plan, and then wander
around the floor marking on th emap key items such as: fire exits;
first aid kit, broom and mop cupboard, stationary cupboard, etc.
Good luck!

Is there a list of best practices for Azure Cloud Services?

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