Setting up an SP2013 VM on Azure, with a GUID-less DB
Critical Path Training produces a number of excellent training courses, books, and free resources. If you haven't checked out their Inside SharePoint 2013 book, you definitely should. It's a pretty comprehensive guide to what Developers need to know (initially) to do SP2013 Development. I typically build their VM when I first start using the next version of SharePoint and often make it my baseline for general development. This year however I've decided to spice it up a bit and go for an install without the Configuration Wizard and a GUID-less database instance, per Todd Klindt/Shane Young's book because their guide is more close to an enterprise level configuration. I also wanted install and configure it in Azure, so I can get to it wherever I am (and free up some SSD space on my PC). The Critical Path VM guide can be downloaded here . You'll need a (free) account to download the guide. I sug...