1. Building Connected Apps with
Mobile Services
Mike Benkovich - @mbenko
mike@benko.com

2. Session Objectives and Takeaways
What is Mobile Services?
What are the components?
Where to get the tools
How to get started

3. Why Mobile Services?
• Apps are everywhere
• Where’s the Data
• Who’s using it
• Minimize custom code
• Speed to market

4. Where does it run?
• Web
• Windows
• Android
• iOS
• Windows Phone
• etc…
Data
Svc
Data
Identity

5. Connected Patterns
• Create a Data Store
• Add services
• Host it somewhere
• Make it work
Data
Svc
Data
Identity

7. Scenarios
• Modern Mobile Applications
Windows Store, Windows Phone, iOS, Android, HTML
• Common Scenarios
Reduce the friction and work required by providing solutions to
patterns to work with authentication, push notification,
structured storage and more
• Rapid Development
Provision and deploy solutions in minutes rather than days or
weeks

8. What is Mobile Services?

9. To get started…
• Windows Azure subscription
• Database for storing information
– SQL Azure for rapid provisioning and
deployment
– Dynamic Schema
• Service configuration and scaling
– Scripting on data
– Identity and notifications
• SDK to enable identity and notifications

11. Code to instantiate Mobile Services
• In Application object add code to create
an instance of your Mobile Service
• Call methods to operate on the
service…i.e.
public static MobileServiceClient MobileService = new MobileServiceClient(
"https://demoapp123.azure-mobile.net/",
"OxxAAAAbbbCCCCCddEEEfffGGGh12345"
);
private void ButtonSave_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
var todoItem = new TodoItem { Text = TodoInput.Text };
InsertTodoItem(todoItem);
}

12. Storage
• SQL Database partitioned by schema
– Appx.ToDoItem
– Appy.ToDoItem
• Manage data by standard SQL tools
– SQL Management Studio
– Portal
– REST API
– CLI Tools

13. Work with SQL
• Tables created in portal
• Dynamic SQL Enabled
• Create poco classes and persist as
tables

15. Identity
• Use existing identity providers like Oauth
– Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, Google, etc.
• Authorize to work with data
• Table options
– Everyone
– With application key
– Authenticated users
– Admins

16. Add code to trigger
authentication
private MobileServiceUser user;
private async System.Threading.Tasks.Task Authenticate()
{
while (user == null)
{
string message;
try
{
user = await App.MobileService
.LoginAsync(MobileServiceAuthenticationProvider.Facebook);
message =
string.Format("You are now logged in - {0}", user.UserId);
}
catch (InvalidOperationException)
{
message = "You must log in. Login Required";
}
MessageBox.Show(message);
}
}

18. Server logic
• Scheduled jobs
• Notification services
• Diagnostics, logging and scale

19. Diagnostics, Logging and
Scale
• Diagnostics
– API calls
– CPU Time
– Data Out
• Logging
– console.error(…)
– console.log(…)
– …
Scale - Compute
Scale out instance count
Scale up VM size
Scale - Storage
Scale out mobile service tenant to
dedicated SQL DB
Scale up SQL DB

20. Pricing during Preview
reserved mode
service level
agreements
Preview
No availability SLA*
General Availability
99.9%
Private VM - Small instance
is the only size available
Free - unlimited inbound
data. 165MB outbound
data/day, excess charged.
Pay - SQL Database,
Compute same reduced rate
as Web Sites i.e 33%
discount, excess outbound
transfers starting at
$0.12/GB
Up to 100 applications
shared mode

21. Summary
• Learn and understand the patterns for
connected applications
• Use available tools and technologies to
make it simpler
• Try Azure Mobile Services today for FREE!
http://aka.ms/AzureTrialMB
• More info on my site
http://www.Benkotips.com