Running SQL Azure as a Cluster Node

Question

Seeing as to how I can't find anything at all about it on the interwebs, I suspect that the answer is no, but I figured I'd ask...

Does anyone know (for certain) if you can run SQL Azure as a node in a cluster of servers? Essentially, we've invested in a SQL server and are looking at adding another node to the cluster. However, it would be really cool if instead of purchasing another box, we could instead just tack on SQL Azure as a part of our cluster. This would allow us to "test the waters" with Azure in our production environment until we feel more confident in it's dependability.

Answer 1

I wonder why are you looking to adding a node to the cluster, since clustering is only for high availability not for scalability. Adding a node adds higher redundancy in case of disaster, but 0 extra performance and 0 extra throughput.

And to answer the question: no, you cannot. SQL clusters work by sharing a drive on a SCSI bus. Even is SQL Azure would be capable of participating in a cluster, you would need a pretty long bus to reach into the clouds...