How do you prepare your COBOL applications for the Cloud? Understand the thought process required to effectively plan and develop COBOL applications for the Microsoft Azure platform. Let’s take a closer look together at the techniques and processes required for COBOL development and deployment for the Cloud. Join us for this discussion and technical demonstration, using Visual COBOL and the Microsoft Azure platform.

1. Building COBOL Applications
for Microsoft Azure
Jim Lane
Senior Solution Engineer

2. Agenda
• Azure 101 Demo
• Why Bother With The Cloud?
• Azure Architecture Overview
• How To: Cloud Enabling Legacy Applications
• Sample App: Legacy Cobol Running in Azure
• Q&A
2

3. Visual Cobol in
Azure Demo
3

4. What’s So Great About
Cloud Computing?
4

5. What’s So Great About Cloud Computing?
• Scalability
– On-Demand
– Scale-Up or Scale-Down
– Consumption Based Pricing
• Availability - Reliability
• Administration
• Flexibility
– Public, Private or Combination
– Hosting, Storage, Database
5

6. Application Services
Software Services
Platform Services
Infrastructure Services
6

7. Application Services
Software Services
Platform Services
Infrastructure Services
7

8. 8

9. Compute Roles
Role
Code Configuration
9

10. Azure Role Types
Web Role Worker Role
• Designed for web based UI • Designed for
tasks distributed, background
• Hosted on IIS processing tasks
• Hosts ASP.Net pages and/or • Similar to batch job or
WCF Services Windows service
• Handles incoming • Communicates with other
HTTP/HTTPS requests roles or role instances
• Has access to Storage through message queues
Services • Can handle incoming requests
• Fast CGI & PHP also via HTTP/HTTPS/TCP
available • Has access to Storate
Services
10

11. Azure Web App Design Pattern
HTTP(S) Your Service
Virtual Machines Virtual Machines
Web Worker
Role Role
Load
Balancer IIS
Agent Agent
Queue
Service
Windows Azure Fabric Fabric Controller
11

12. Cloud Enabling
Legacy Applications
12

13. Cloud Enablement Example:
Legacy Inventory Lookup Application
CICS
Screen
Module
Business
Rule Flat
Module File
13

14. Cloud Enablement Example:
Application Modernization Requirements
• Incorporate existing lookup in new service portal
• Provide web based front-end
• No new infrastructure investments allowed
• Existing mainframe infrastructure being reduced
• Distributed development team’s resources limited
• Complex business rules
• High volumes expected during peak times
14

15. Cloud Enablement Example:
Legacy Inventory Lookup Application
CICS
Screen
Web RoleModule
Web Role
Business
Rule Flat
Module File
15

16. Architecture Considerations for the Cloud
• Choose Your Roles Wisely
– Should Break Out Along Functional Lines
– Mind Your Reentrant Code
• Latency
– Geographic Distribution of Roles
– Role Startup Time vs Role Pool
– Caching Schemes
• Scalability
– Data Concurrency
– Keep Data Close to Workers
• Stateful vs Restful
– Remember – there’s no there, there
16

17. Cloud Enablement Example:
Architectural Patterns
HTTP(S)
Virtual Machines Virtual Machines
Web Worker
Role Role
Load
Balancer IIS
Agent Agent
Queue
Service
Windows Azure Fabric Fabric Controller
17

18. Cloud Enablement Example:
Legacy Inventory Lookup Application
Web
Role
18

19. Cloud Enablement Example:
Legacy Inventory Lookup Application
Inventory Lookup
Web Role
• Presents the new web based UI for Inventory Lookup
operations
• Looks like and operates like any other ASP.Net application
• Translates user gestures into service requests for Worker
Role (e.g. listInventoryCatalog, getInventoryForItem, etc…)
• Communicates service requests and responses to Worker
Role through Message Queue
• Does not maintain state between calls
19

20. Cloud Enablement Example:
Architectural Patterns
HTTP(S)
Virtual Machines Virtual Machines
Web Worker
Role Role
Load
Balancer IIS
Agent Agent
Queue
Service
Windows Azure Fabric Fabric Controller
20

21. Cloud Enablement Example:
Legacy Inventory Lookup Application
Worker
Role
21

22. Cloud Enablement Example:
Legacy Inventory Lookup Application
Inventory Lookup
Worker Role
• Azure Worker Role project
• Retrieves config info from store
• Configures message queue communications
• Mounts virtual drive for flat file
• Reads incoming messages and calls legacy
COBOL with appropriate linkage
• .Net Class Library project
• Receives instructions from linkage (unchanged)
• Reads indexed flat file (unchanged)
• Passes data back through linkage (unchanged)
22

23. Cloud Enablement Example:
Architectural Patterns
HTTP(S) Inventory Lookup Application
Virtual Machines Virtual Machines
Web Worker
Role Role
Load
Balancer IIS
Agent Agent
Queue
Service
Windows Azure Fabric Fabric Controller
23

24. 24

25. Q&A