This week we published a new getting-started tutorial with sample project for Azure Cloud Services on the azure.microsoft.com site. This is a multi-tier application that uses Azure SQL Database and Azure Storage queues and blobs.  It’s designed to be as simple as possible for a multi-tier application with web and worker roles, so you can learn the basics of building, testing, and deploying in minutes rather than having to invest hours working with a large and complex project.

Another multi-tier sample application and tutorial that uses Azure Cloud Services and Azure Storage queues and blobs has been available since late 2012: the Azure Email Service Cloud Service tutorial series. That is still the best choice for an introduction to more real-world coding scenarios, or for learning how to use Azure Storage tables. It was written a year and a half ago for Visual Studio 2012 and SDK 2.0, but notes have been added to explain how to make it work with Visual Studio 2013 and the latest SDK. We’re working on updating it.

The tutorials focus on providing hands-on experience rather than a conceptual introduction. For an up-to-date introduction to Azure Cloud Services that starts with the basics and does go into more depth (and with future installments promised), see the great new article on the new justazure.com site: Microsoft Azure Cloud Services Part 1: Introduction.