Announcing preview for new Windows Azure Cache

Today we are announcing preview availability for the new Windows Azure Cache. We are also announcing the retirement of the current Shared Caching Service and a final decommission date for the Silverlight-based portal.

New Windows Azure Cache
Windows Azure Cache gives you access to dedicated cache that is managed by Microsoft. By using this distributed, in-memory, scalable solution, you can build highly scalable and responsive applications with super-fast access to data. A cache created using the Cache Service is accessible from applications running on Windows Azure Web Sites, web and worker roles, and Virtual Machines.

The new service differs from the old Windows Azure Shared Caching Service in several key ways:

For more information, visit the Windows Azure Cache website.

Windows Azure Cache is available in three tiers: Basic, Standard, and Premium. Your pricing for the three tiers can be found in the table below. For more information about the pricing of Windows Azure Cache tiers, please see the Cache Pricing Details page.

Windows Azure Cache tier

Preview price

General availability price*

Basic (128 MB)

$12.5
per 128 MB

$25
per 128 MB

Standard (1 GB)

$50
per 1 GB

$100
per 1 GB

Premium (5 GB)

$200
per 5 GB

$400
per 5 GB

* General availability date has not been announced.

To get started, visit the Preview Features webpage and sign up for the preview.

Retirement for existing Shared Caching Service
In coordination with the announcement of the preview for Windows Azure Cache, we are announcing the upcoming retirement for the existing Shared Caching Service.

The Shared Caching Service will remain available for existing customers for a maximum of 12 months from today’s date. During the Windows Azure Cache preview period, we encourage all existing Shared Caching customers to try out Windows Azure Cache and migrate to the new service when it reaches general availability. Windows Azure Cache provides more features, is easier to manage in the new Azure Portal, and provides a better value overall.

Please note the Silverlight-based portal used to manage Shared Caching will be decommissioned on March 31, 2014. Shared Caching service users who have not migrated to Windows Azure Cache will receive communications on how to manage their shared caches if they choose to continue using the old service after that date.

Thank you,

Windows Azure Team