14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft announced the move since earlier this month, but we thought a reminder was in order. At the start of July 2009, the company will shut down Windows Azure’s .NET Workflow Service. Developers that are currently relying on the service in order to run workflows in Microsoft's Cloud operating system have a few more days to modify their solutions. At the same time, don't expect a new release of the Workflow Service anytime soon. This because Microsoft will only deliver future versions of the Azure high-scale host for workflows after the finalization of .NET Framework 4.
“As the direct result of user feedback, we will hold off further releases of the Workflow Service until after .NET Framework 4 ships. Since there will be important changes to the Workflow Service before it goes to full production, we are planning to take down the existing Workflow Service as part of service improvements in the month of July. This means any solutions that currently rely on the Workflow Service will have to be modified on or before July 1 in order to continue functioning smoothly,” revealed Murray Gordon, Microsoft ISV Architect Evangelist.
The Redmond-based company is currently cooking the sixth edition of the .NET Services CTP and is looking to incorporate developer feedback into the release. One item of interest in this regard has been the connection among the .NET Workflow Service, .NET Services, and the Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) in the .NET Framework. Future versions Windows Azure’s .NET Workflow Service will come with support for .NET 4 Workflows, Microsoft promised. This because developers have explicitly asked the software giant to build Workflow Service on top of the .NET Framework 4's workflow engine. Taking down the service is part of giving customers what they want.
“We understand this decision will cause disruption, yet we’ve consistently heard from customers ‘it is the right move’ to ultimately deliver a better product and a better experience. The sixth iteration of Microsoft’s .NET Services will still include the Microsoft .NET Access Control Service and the Microsoft .NET Service Bus. The team will continue to deliver a number of requested improvements that make .NET Services more reliable, secure, and robust,” Gordon added.