Overview

Windows Azure Pack orchestrates several resource providers to manage a private cloud. These providers post usage data for services such as databases, websites, and VMs to Windows Azure Pack’s usage database. Cloud Cruiser’s native Windows Azure Pack Collector, which you run in a daily batch job, queries the Windows Azure Pack Usage API for this data and data about plan and subscription events.

The collector downloads this data as JSON documents, which it writes to a feed directory in the <working_dir>/usage_files directory. A separate daily job runs afterward to process this data and load charges. It uses the JSON Collector to convert both the usage data and the event data to CC Records. If a usage record is associated with an active subscription to an active plan, then the subscriber’s name is determined by matching the subscription ID in a translation table and the usage is charged to that subscriber. The correct list of active subscriptions and plans is maintained via state files that track subscriptions and plans whose create and delete events don’t fall within the same day. This keeps them allocated until their delete event arrives.

For all subscribers that do not exist as customers in Cloud Cruiser, the job imports them as new customers. It does the same with plans that do not exist as rate plans.