We have released new Resource Provider APIs as public preview for the Azure Compute, Storage, and Network services. These APIs enable you to manage these core services as resources within the Azure Resource Manager framework.
These APIs are REST-based, and they enable imperative management through API integration, the Azure command-line interface, or Azure SDKs. Declarative management of your resources is also supported through Azure Resource Manager templates, which enable you to model your Azure applications for easier and faster deployment.
The Azure Network Resource Provider includes resources for virtual networks, network interface cards, public IP addresses, load balancers, network security groups, and Traffic Manager. Although the new management interface is in public preview, the resources over which it operates are generally available, so normal billing and SLAs apply to resources created through the new APIs.
For more information, please see the following sites: