Rackspace has launched Openstack.net, an SDK for .NET developers so you can create web apps for the Rackspace Cloud.

The new software development kit is aimed at Rackspace’s cloud platform that is based on OpenStack. Alongside the .NET SDK there’s an API for PowerShell too.

The release means Rackspace will provide an alternative to Windows Azure, which until now has been the main target for .NET developers wanting to develop cloud applications.

According to Cole Humphreys on the Rackspace blog, this is the first set of tools to be developed. He says:

the Rackspace Cloud SDK for Microsoft.NET and Rackspace’s PowerClient help you utilize common cloud features for development. Additionally, you can use tools like these for management of production environments using Windows Server platforms running on a Rackspace hosted infrastructure. You don’t have to use the PowerClient or the SDK to make the APIs work; we just recommend it when you’re using a platform requiring API calls to the Rackspace Cloud.

Future versions will add features to make the SDK handle all OpenStack deployments, but the current version has providers that you can use to specify the cloud identity, server provisioning details, block storage, file storage, and networking. The SDK consists of the API, a getting started guide, reference manual and sample code. You use it in Visual Studio through the NuGet extension manager, and the SDK and PowerClient can be downloaded from Github here: