Chapter 10
Applying Microsoft Azure
IN THIS CHAPTER
Building new applications
Bridging your systems
Authenticating new systems
Deploying private Ethereum
In this chapter, you get a preview of the exciting innovations that are taking place inside of Microsoft’s Azure platform and how these changes can improve your business’s efficiency and create new opportunities for products and services.
This chapter helps you compete for, collaborate with, and service customers in a global economy. Blockchain technology is opening new markets and changing business models. Microsoft is working hard to make it an assessable technology for traditional business.
This chapter also explains innovative blockchain bridges that are being built to allow you to connect and scale your existing systems. You find out how to deploy your own blockchain inside Azure and the keys elements to making a safe and hassle-free transition to blockchain systems for your business.
Bletchley: The Modular Blockchain Fabric
Project Bletchley concentrates on offering architectural building blocks for enterprise customers within a consortium blockchain ecosystem (a members-only, permissioned networks for members to execute contracts). Bletchley’s blockchain fabric platform is powered by Azure, the cloud computing platform for Microsoft. Project Bletchley addresses the following:
- Digital identity
- Private key management
- Customer privacy
- Data security
- Operations administration
- System interoperability
In Project Bletchley, Azure provides the cloud layer for blockchain, serving as the platform where applications can be built and delivered. It will be availability in 24 regions globally. Azure is combining its traditional products such as hybrid cloud capabilities, extensive compliance certification portfolio, and enterprise-grade security to various blockchains. Microsoft wants to make it easier for the existing clients to quickly adopt blockchain technology, especially in controlled industries such as healthcare, financial services, and government.
Figure 10-1 shows project Bletchley’s Blockstack Core v14, a new decentralized web of server-less applications where users can control their data.
FIGURE 10-1: Blockstack Core v14.
Azure will work with several blockchain protocols. They are part of Hyperledger project and unspent transaction output (UTXO)–based protocols. This means that the Azure platform doesn’t utilize a cryptocurrency and may be more appealing to enterprise customers. They’ll also have integrations with more sophisticated protocols, including Ethereum, that do utilize a cryptocurrency to secure the network.
Cryptlets for encrypting and authenticating
Project Bletchley is built around two ideas:
- Blockchain middleware: Cloud storage, identity management, analytics, and machine learning
- Cryptlets: Secure execution for interoperation and communication between Microsoft Azure, Bletchley’s ecosystem, and your own technology
Cryptlets are built as off-chaincode components, written in any language, executed within a trusted container, and communicated over a secure channel. Cryptlets can be used in smart contracts and UTXO systems, when additional functionality or information is needed.
Cryptlets bridge the gap in security between on- and off-chain execution of programs, operating when additional secure information is needed. They’re what lets your customer relationship management (CRM) or trading platform connect with your cloud storage and then be secured with Ethereum, for example.
Bletchley’s middleware works in tandem with Cryptlets and existing Azure services, like Active Directory and Key Vault, and other blockchain ecosystem technologies, to deliver a complete solution and ensure the reliable operation of your blockchain integration.
Table 10-1 shows the difference between an oracle and a Cryptlet. from the Devcon 2 presentation on Bletchley.
TABLE 10-1 Cryplets vs. Oracles
|
|
Cryptlets |
Oracles |
|
Verification requirements |
Requires trust with verification with a trusted host (HTTPS), a trusted Cryptlet key, and a trusted enclave signature. |
Requires trust but no formal verification. |
|
Infrastructure |
Standard infrastructure. You achieve hardware-based isolation and attestation via enclaves available globally in Azure. Bletchley Cryptlet software development kit (SDK) frameworks (Utility and Contract) are available to help you get started quickly creating and consuming Cryptlets. |
Customized infrastructure. You can write and host separately. Establishing trust is difficult. Oracles have been platform specific, and documentation is currently very sparse. |
|
Developer use |
Many language options are available, and they are blockchain agnostic. |
Tied to their own blockchain and few language options. |
|
Marketplace availability |
A marketplace is available for publishing and discovery. |
No common marketplace is available for publishing and discovery. |
Cryptlets are built by developers and sold in Bletchley’s marketplace. They address many different functionality sets that are essential to building distributed ledger-based applications. The market is growing to meet the demands of customers who need the necessary functionality, such as secure execution, integration, privacy, management, interoperability, and a full set of data services.
Utility and Contract Cryptlets and CrytoDelegates
There are two types of Cryptlets:
- Utility: Utility Cryptlets provide encryption, timestamping, external data access, and authentication. They create a more sound and trusted transactions.
- Contract: Contract Cryptlets are full delegation engines. They can function as autonomous agents or bots. They provide all the execution logic that a smart contract normally does but outside of a blockchain.
Contract Cryptlets are tied to smart contracts and are created when your smart contract is published. They run in parallel with your virtual machine and have greater performance over traditional smart contracts built inside blockchains because they don’t require a mining fee to execute your contract. They’re most attractive to noncryptocurrency blockchains users where chaincode and smart contracts are signed by known parties.
Figure 10-2 shows a depiction of a Cryplet container and the secure communication path to your smart contract.
FIGURE 10-2: A Cryplet container.
CryptoDelegates allow Utility and Contract Cryplets to function. They act as adaptors by creating functional hooks in your smart contract virtual machines. They call the Cryptlet from the code of your smart contract, which in turn creates a secure and authentic envelope for transactions.
Building in the Azure Ecosystem
Azure is a digital ecosystem and cloud computing platform. It connects enterprises directly with their cloud partners and SaaS. This, in turn, allows enterprises to transfer their data in an interconnected, reliable, and secure way.
The Azure cloud platform is the second largest Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) platform in the world. It’s a reliable and safe haven for your cloud computing and data storage. In Azure, there is a service known as ExpressRoute, which provides consumers a way to directly connect to Azure. This, in turn, prevents the performance and security issues that are widely seen in the public Internet.
In 2015, Microsoft decided to expand its Azure ecosystem using the Ethereum and Hyperledger blockchain systems. The first offering of Azure Blockchain as a Service is powered by Ethereum. Ethereum is a Turing-complete blockchain framework for build applications, and you can read about it in depth in Chapter 5 or in Ethereum For Dummies, by Michael G. Solomon (Wiley). Microsoft aims to build more offerings based on the blockchain technology and Hyperledger. It’s also growing the Azure marketplace, while transitioning to a portal for customers on Azure.
Microsoft’s Azure Stack program incorporates Azure Quickstart Templates, which deploy the various Azure resources with the help of the Azure Resource Manager in order to help you get more work done. The Azure Resource Manger allows customers to work with their business resources as a group. It enables them to deploy, delete, or update all the resources in their solution in a coordinated and single operation.
Azure Quickstart Templates can work for various environments, like production, staging, and testing. Through Azure Resource Manager, customers get several features for tagging, auditing, and security. These features help consumers to manage their resources after deployment.
Microsoft’s Project Bletchley is their blockchain architecture that is merged with established enterprise technologies they were already offering. It gives Azure a blockchain backend and marketplace.
Bletchley’s ecosystem is an approach taken by Microsoft in order to bring forward blockchain or distributed ledger networks to a wider audience in a safe and effective manner. They want to help build authentic solutions and address actual business problems.
Getting Started with Chain on Azure
Chain, which provides blockchain technology solutions, released its Chain Core Developer Edition on Azure. Chain Core Developer Edition is an open-source and free version of the company’s distributed ledger platform. It enables you to issue as well as transfer assets on authorized blockchain networks.
Through its test net, your developers can join or start a blockchain network, access in-depth technical tutorials and documentation, and build financial applications. They can also run their own prototypes on the Chain’s test net or create their own personal network on Azure.
Installing Chain’s distributed ledger
Chain Core Developer Edition accompanies code samples, a Java SDK, and getting-started guides. In addition, it comes with a dashboard interface and installers for Linux, Mac, and Windows.
Follow these steps to install your Chain Core Developer Edition:
- Navigate to Chain’s install page at
https://chain.com/docs/core/get-started/install. - Choose your operating system from the list.
- Click Download.
- Open the Chain program.
- Run the Chain Core installer.
Chain has an SDK available that gives you and your developer the software development tools that allows the creation of blockchain applications and assets.
Creating your own private network
You can create a private Ethereum Consortium Blockchain network in Azure. You should be able to do this on your own without the help of a developer. Just follow these steps:
-
Sign up for or log into your Azure account.
There is a free trial option and a pay-as-you-go option that make it easy to try out Azure.
- Go to
https://goo.gl/YtqnKa. -
Click Deploy to Azure.
Azure Resource Manager templates are created by members of the Azure community. Microsoft doesn’t screen for security, compatibility, or performance. - Complete the form.
- Click Purchase.
Congratulations! You now have a private Ethereum Consortium Blockchain network.
Using financial services on Azure’s Chain
Chain launched its open-source and free developer platform. It includes a test network, which is operated by Microsoft, Chain, and the Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts (3CI). 3CI is the platform launched by Chain, which provides blockchain technology solutions and is Chain Core Developer Edition.
This platform enables you to issue as well as transfer assets on authenticated blockchain networks. It’s an effort among leading financial companies and Chain. Various financial applications can be developed via Chain Core.
Many new innovative products are planned to be launched on this platform. The range covers payments, banking, insurance, and capital markets. Additionally, Visa has partnered with Chain in order to develop a secure, fast, and simple way to process business-to-business (B2B) payments worldwide.
Deploying Blockchain Tools on Azure
Azure has several other useful implementations of blockchain technology and tools that you might find useful. I cover four of Azure’s core blockchain tools and projects in this section, including its Ethereum implementation; Cortana, an analytics machine learning tool; Azure’s data visualization tool, Power BI; and its Active Directory (AD) tool. The last three are not specifically blockchain tools, but they can be used with your Azure blockchain project.
This section gives you an idea of what you can build with Azure and some of the tools available to make your project a success.
Exploring Ethereum on Azure
Ethereum Blockchain is now available as a service on Microsoft’s Azure platform. This initiative is offered by ConsenSys and Microsoft in partnership. Solidity is a new project that they created that allows you to start building your decentralized application on Ethereum. Find out more at https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ConsenSys.Solidity.
Ethereum Blockchain as a Service (EBaaS) enables enterprise developers and clients to develop a blockchain environment on the cloud and can be spun up with one click.
When you’re deploying Ethereum blockchain on Azure, Azure offers two tools initially:
- BlockApps: A semiprivate and private Ethereum blockchain environment
- Ether.Camp: A built-in developer environment
BlockApps can also be deployed into the public environment of Ethereum. These tools allow rapid development of applications based on a smart contract.
Ethereum is a flexible and open system, which can be customized to meet the varied needs of customers. Read more about Ethereum in Chapter 5.
Cortana: Your analytics machine learning tool
Cortana is a powerful analytics machine learning tool based on cloud systems. It’s a fully managed cloud service that enables users to easily and quickly build, organize, and share predictive analytics solutions. It provides many benefits to consumers.
By reviewing the analytics provided by Cortana Intelligence, you can take action sooner than your competitors by predicting the next big thing. This flexible and fast software allows you to build quick solutions for your industry, which are tailored to your particular needs.
Furthermore, the Cortana learning tool is secure and scalable. Cortana offers data value, irrespective of the complexity and size of the data. And, most of all, Cortana allows you to interact with smart agents, so that you can get closer to your consumers in more natural, practical, and useful ways. The Cortana Intelligence Suite is helpful in various sectors, including manufacturing, financial services, retail, and healthcare.
Visualizing your data with Power BI
Power BI, which is offered by Microsoft, is a powerful service based on the cloud system. It covers the latest business intelligence services and tools of Microsoft. This service assists data scientists in envisioning and sharing insights from the data of their organizations.
The Power BI data visualization course, which is provided online by edX, is part of the Microsoft Professional Program Certificate in Data Science. This cloud-based service is rapidly gaining popularity among data science professionals.
Power BI helps you to visualize and connect your data. In this course, students learn how to connect, import, transform, and shape their data for business intelligence. Additionally, the Power BI course teaches you how to create dashboards and share them with business users on mobile devices and the web.
Managing your access on Azure’s Active Directory
Azure Active Directory (AD) is a broad access and identity management solution. It provides a wide set of facilities, which allow you to supervise access to cloud and on-premises resources and applications. This includes various Microsoft online services, such as Office 365, in addition to numerous non-Microsoft SaaS applications.
One of the main features of Azure AD is that you can handle access to its resources. These resources can be external to the directory, like Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, on-premises resources or SharePoint sites, and Azure services, or they can be internal to the directory, such as permissions for managing objects through directory roles.