Machines don't make mistakes, but programmers who tell them what to do do. Therefore, when I am in trouble, I have to contact technical support. Life experience has taught me to accept in advance that it is the last resort and in most cases the problem will not be solved anyway. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised by the technical support of Windows Azure. The problem was resolved within 10 minutes and in a way I didn't expect at all.
I've been experimenting with Windows Azure since September 2009, when SQL Azure CTP appeared. I want to have at least a basic overview of individual technologies so that I know whether or not to use them in my solution. This time I tried Web Sites, Mobile Services and Virtual Machines. When creating a virtual machine, you can choose whether you want to automatically create a new Blob Storage or use an existing one. I had a new one created, but I found out that I didn't like the generated name and couldn't be changed. So I deleted the virtual machine again, created a new Blob Storage, which I named to match my habits, and used it for the new virtual machine. However, I soon found out that the original Blob Storage could not be deleted. Apparently, there is something else that Storage still uses. However, if I selected All Items in the menu, I didn't see anything. The knowledge that I deleted the original virtual machine during its creation and that this functionality is still in the Preview phase just like Management Portal, made me believe that I had returned to a state in which the system should not be. Since I like to test any Beta or CTP, I decided to file a report in some way.
I contacted technical support. First, I chose the appropriate area:
I also chose, and I remember this well, an undemanding way of communication, because it didn't matter to me how long it took to fix the problem.
The next step is to determine the impact of the problem on the operation of the organization. Because I was just trying new technologies, I had the lowest one.
After sending the form, I put the computer to sleep and dealt with other things. About 5 minutes later, someone called me on my cell phone. Since the number had an international area code of 1 and no one called me from the USA, I knew which way the wind was blowing. The technical support agent asked me to log in to the Windows Azure Management Portal and tell him what I saw there. I described to him how the problem occurred and why I can't delete the Storage. In the end, it turned out that I hadn't gotten used to the new Management Portal user interface yet. Under the name of the service, there is another menu, which is sometimes there, sometimes not, depending on what service you are in. Anyway, I overlooked it, which caused me not to find out that if I delete a virtual machine, its virtual drive will remain as a backup. So this drive, which I didn't know about, prevented the Storage in which it was stored from being deleted.
To learn from technical support that I don't really know how to use the user interface is probably one of the worst things that can happen to a programmer. That’s why I apologized that I just didn't notice the menu. From the other side, I heard that he was absolutely fine. After quickly solving the problem, the worker asked me if I had any more questions. Finally, he asked if he could close the case. I thanked him for his help, wished him a nice day and ended the call.
The whole thing was resolved in a way and speed that I really didn't expect. I once read the sentence “Don't be afraid to experiment" in the Windows 95 help, I took it as my own and it persists to this day. It seems to be the right time to experiment with Windows Azure.
I also wrote the article for TechNet Blog CZ/SK.