Utilizing Windows Azure Pack
The integration of Service Manager and Orchestrator provides a great self-service
catalog for users; services can be requested and utilize a rich workflow system that can
include authorization activities. However, it does not provide an interface to view and
manage provisioned services such as a VM in a SCVMM-hosted private cloud. This is
where Windows Azure Pack is utilized—the ultimate end-user experience for
architectures built on System Center.
With the word Azure being a key part of the name Windows Azure Pack, it would be
natural to think of Windows Azure Pack as a solution that provides an Azure-like
experience on premises. This is not the case, however. That is not to say that it’s not a
good solution; it just isn’t Azure running on premises. Instead, Windows Azure Pack
provides services on premises (and for hosting partners) that utilize numerous
components of System Center and expose those through a web-based interface that
looks a lot like the classic Azure portal. Behind the scenes, it’s a completely different
solution than the public cloud Azure, and it is not Azure consistent in that you cannot
write an application using Azure Resource Manager and run it on premises with
Windows Azure Pack. You cannot write a JSON template that works in Azure and
deploy it on premises by using Windows Azure Pack. Instead, what you do get is a
highly extensible REST-based solution that enables many services to be offered to end
users and has a large partner ecosystem extending its capabilities. Out-of-the-box
through Microsoft-provided extensions, this includes capabilities such as deploying
virtual machines, websites, and even databases. Figure 9.15 shows the basic
experience of creating a new VM by using Windows Azure Pack’s web interface.