Notification Hubs - cloud notification service for millions of iOS and Windows users

Earlier in January, Scott Guthrie announced a new Windows Azure Service Bus messaging subsystem called Notification Hubs . Notification Hubs (Notification Hubs) - this is a new feature offering an extremely scalable, cross-platform push-push infrastructure for millions of users and devices.

Distinctive features of the new service Notification Hubs:

• Cross-platform support for push notifications . Notification Node Service offers an API for sending notifications to various devices and platforms. You can send messages specific to each platform and in an independent format. Today, Windows 8 and Apple iOS platforms are supported. Android and Windows Phone support coming soon;
• Efficient tag / publish / subscription and multicast routing Notification node service is optimized specifically for sending low latency notifications to thousands and millions of devices. Your server backend can send one message to the notification node and millions of push notifications will be automatically sent to users. Devices and applications can be defined tags for each user during registration at the site, which can be used to filter users when sending messages. These tags can be any lines, which greatly simplifies the task of sending messages to certain groups of users;
• extreme scaling . Notification nodes and Windows Azure allow you to work with millions of devices and users without the need to build or redesign your own infrastructure. The publication / subscription routing mechanism allows you to efficiently and simply route and deliver notifications to millions of users without investing in your own infrastructure;
• use from application with any backend . Notification nodes can be integrated and used from any application with a server backend. Nodes work effectively in conjunction with Windows Azure Mobile Services. They can also be used by server applications hosted in Windows or Linux virtual machines (IaaS). Cloud Services and Windows Azure Web Sites solutions can also use notification nodes.

New functionality integrated into the Windows Azure administration panel. Creating a notification node is carried out in a few mouse clicks and takes less than a minute.


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After creating a node, you can observe information about its operation in real time: errors of the APNS and WNS notification systems, the number of incoming messages, registration operations, successful notifications, errors in message channels.



Notification node supports Apple Push Notifications Service (APNS) and Windows Notification Service (WNS) systems, which are configured and registered in the administration panel. Support for Android devices and Android push notifications is expected soon.



After setting the parameters, you can use the notification node in your solutions to send push notifications to millions of users and devices at the same time.



For more information about the new functionality of the notification nodes, read the following materials:

• Fundamentals: Service Bus Notification Hubs
• Tutorial: Targeting Windows 8 Apps using Service Bus Notification Hubs
• Tutorial: Targeting iOS Apps using Service Bus Notification Hubs

In addition, I recommend reading the following articles from Clemens Vasters from the Windows Azure team:

• Service Bus Notification Hubs Code Walkthrough
• Service Bus Notifications Interview with the Team

On my own behalf, I want to add that the topic of the Service Bus messaging subsystem and all new products will be deeply discussed at the DevCon 2013 conference on behalf of specially invited members of the Windows Azure team. Read more about the conference in this announcement . Registration is now open !