Cloud Workstations: Microsoft Dev Box is Now Available

The announced numerous new features in Microsoft Dev Box, ready-to-code, cloud-based workstations for developers and productivity, at Microsoft Build. It had a lot to share, including Visual Studio connections, configuration-as-code customisation, and Microsoft Dev Box internal Dev Box rollout, and the reception was amazing. Its happy to announce Microsoft Dev Box’s public availability.

Delivering fast, self-service dev environments in the cloud

In response, introduced Visual Studio Codespaces in 2019 preconfigured, container- and Linux-based dev environments that developers could boot up in seconds from Visual Studio Code to work on their apps on the move.

Codespaces, now GitHub Codespaces, is fast and mobile, which developers adore. However, software development involves many tools. It initially designed Codespaces to support Visual Studio Code and GitHub, but users immediately requested support for other IDEs, source code management, and tools.

The added Visual Studio support to Codespaces first. However, enterprise-ready management and governance proved more difficult than imagined. That and the fact that coders wanted all their tools on the cloud made us realize had to deliver:

• Strong security, compliance, and cost control for enterprises.
• Built-in dev tool integrations and high-fidelity cloud performance.
• Access preset, project-specific resources yourself.

A developer-optimized virtualization solution was needed. Windows 365 Cloud PCs securely stream your personalized Windows desktop, programs, settings, and information from the Microsoft Cloud to any device. Importantly, Windows 365 integrates with Microsoft Intune, allowing IT admins to control Cloud PCs alongside real devices. That was exactly what to needed, therefore built new solution on Windows 365.

Transforming the dev workstation experience

After enterprise management, considered hardware. While high-powered compute was essential, it soon discovered that storage may greatly affect developer performance. Large builds strain storage drives, which become bottlenecks if read or write rates can’t keep up. The included premium SSDs in Microsoft Dev Box package to account for this. But dev workstations’ main issues long deployment delays and setup difficulties caused by complicated projects and toolsets remained.

Microsoft Dev Box service configuration and deployment management would need to change to solve these issues. Developers work on many projects that require particular tools. A role-based configuration would need these developers to customize their workstation and install additional tools after provisioning. IT admins and dev leads required a means to build various, customized settings and let developers spin up a new workstation ready-to-code for their project.

AWS first step was to integrate with Azure Compute Gallery to scale base picture sharing and version management. A new administration layer let teams organize images and networking setups by project. Now, dev leads and IT admins can configure several workstations per project. Admins might even choose the Azure location where each workstation deployed, giving developers worldwide a high-fidelity experience.

The eliminated the requirement for programmers to contact IT for new workstations by preconfiguring them. Because could offer numerous workstation setups for a project, devs could choose a customized one, spin it up, and start coding quickly. Developers have a dedicated Developer Portal for quick access to their project-based workstations. Azure Deployment Environments, also broadly available, can be used on this portal to swiftly deploy environments for any development stage.

Arriving at Microsoft Dev Box

Microsoft Dev Box cloud-based workstations targeted for developer use cases and productivity was the result. Dev Box blends developer-optimized solutions with enterprise-ready Windows 365 and Microsoft Intune. It continue to collaborate with Microsoft teams to develop Dev Box. AWS latest collaboration with Visual Studio optimized Visual Studio on Dev Box with built-in integrations. It also adding configuration-as-code customisation to Dev Box to provide dev leads more freedom over configuring boxes for specific purposes and connecting provisioning to their Git flow.

Before launching Dev Box wanted to ensure enterprise readiness. Microsoft often tests services internally before publishing them. Dev Box was stress-tested against products with hundreds of GB repos. This has been difficult yet rewarding, and lessons have sped up general availability. Microsoft has over 10,000 engineers utilizing Dev Box, and several clients use it in production.

Enabling the best of Dev Box with flexible pricing

The learned a lot about consumer usage patterns and use cases from initial efforts. Dev Box is ideal for full-time desktop replacement or specialized use. You can use a powerful Dev Box for a compute-intensive task or a second computer for an experiment or proof of concept.

In the beginning, planned to charge consumers solely for Dev Box when it was running. Unfortunately, this concept worked well for part-time Dev Box use but left administrators who sought a uniform monthly cost for full-time usage with a lot of unpredictability.

To suit varied use cases, it implemented a predictable monthly fee for full-time Dev Box usage while maintaining consumption-based, pay-as-you-go pricing up to a monthly ceiling. This strategy balances full consumption and subscription-only pricing so developers may optimize their budget for full-time and part-time use scenarios.

What is Microsoft Dev Box?

Microsoft Dev Box is a managed service in Microsoft Azure that offers cloud-based workstations that are already configured and ready to develop. By doing away with the necessity for intricate setup procedures, developers may swiftly access potent virtual machines customized for their applications. Dev Box offers reliable speed, scalability, and smooth integration with current development tools by utilizing Azure’s strong infrastructure.

Cloud workstations built to support key developer use cases

Developers have self-service access to preconfigured, project-specific developer boxes with Microsoft Dev Box, an Azure service. To prevent configuration conflicts, operate across several dev boxes and connect as needed. To optimize security, compliance, and cost effectiveness, manage dev boxes with physical devices in Microsoft Intune.

Features

• Infrastructure for cloud-based virtual desktops that is integrated with developer processes and designed to increase developer productivity
• Developer onboarding durations are reduced from days to minutes using project-based setups.
• No matter where they are in the world, dev team members can enjoy a high-fidelity experience with region-specific dev boxes.
• Businesses may secure cloud workstations in the same manner as traditional workstations using Microsoft Intune.

Change the experience of using a developer workstation

With cloud-based workstations optimized for developers, you can expedite onboarding and begin coding in a matter of minutes. With all the resources and tools developers require while maintaining IT control, Dev Box arrives preconfigured and ready to code. Customize dev boxes to fit your developer’s tools and processes. With dev boxes ready to install in your nearest Azure region, you and your team members may enjoy a high-fidelity connection from anywhere in the world.

Spin up project-based, preconfigured dev boxes

With the code repository and tools for your current activity already installed, quickly launch a development box. Choose from a collection of dev box pools that your team has created without the need for IT assistance or image management. Run several project-based development boxes at once to avoid configuration conflicts and work in parallel. To handle your most demanding activities on any device, switch between high-compute and daily dev boxes.

Maximize developer security and compliance

Dev box’s sophisticated policy management and governance helps keep developers, their workstations, and their workloads safe. Using Microsoft Intune, centralize the management of dev boxes and physical devices. For each dev box, define unique permissions and access controls for each project, defaulting to zero trust. Without sacrificing productivity, isolate processes and steer clear of orphaned source code.