Introduction to Microsoft Azure | A Cloud

Computing Service
Designed by Microsoft in 2010, Microsoft Azure is one of the widely used
cloud computing platforms. Azure provides a wide variety of services such
as cloud storage, compute services, network services, cognitive
services, databases, analytics, and IoT. It makes building, deploying, and
managing applications very easy.

What is Azure?
Azure is Microsoft's cloud platform, just like Google has its Google Cloud and
Amazon has its Amazon Web Services, or AWS. Generally, it is a platform
through which we can use Microsoft's resources. For example, to set up a
huge server, we will require a huge investment, effort, physical space, and so
on. In such situations, Microsoft Azure comes to our rescue. It will provide us
with virtual machines, fast processing of data, analytical and monitoring tools,
and so on, to make our work simpler. The pricing of Azure is also simpler
and more cost-effective. Popularly termed as "Pay As You Go", which
means how much you use, pay only for that.

How does Microsoft Azure Work?

It is a private and public cloud platformthat helps developers and IT

professionals build, deploy, and manage applications.
t uses the technology known as virtualization. Virtualization separates the tight
coupling between the hardware and the operating system using an abstraction
layer called a hypervisor.
Hypervisor emulates all the functions of a computer in a virtual machine; it
can run multiple virtual machines at the same time, and each virtual machine
can run any operating system, such as Windows or Linux.

Azure takes this virtualization technique and repeats it on a massive scale in

the data center owned by Microsoft. Each data center has many racks filled
with servers and each server includes a hypervisor to run multiple virtual
machines. The network switch provides connectivity to all those servers.
Microsoft Azure Architecture

Microsoft Azure, a well-known cloud computing platform, provides users

with the tools to design, deploy and managenumerous applications and
services.
Various products include machine learning, mobile application development,
and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, making it venerable for almost all
application or service types.

The Azure platform can work from PCs, laptops, smartphones, and tablets,
and supports many programming languages, including HTML5, JavaScript,
PHP, Python, and C#.

Along with application hosting, Microsoft Azure is also a safe place to store
information where users can store files online and access them from
anywhere. Commonly used to host applications including email and social
media, it can store any kind of data from documents to images to videos.

Microsoft also operates many physical data centers globally. IT infrastructure,

such as server racks and network connectivity, is necessary for enterprises
and organizations to run their IT requirements. The key technique in this
infrastructure is virtualization, which reduces excess physical hardware by
dynamically scaling resources required, depending on the demand. This is
key to cloud computing because it allows the software to run on any server
within a data center.

Azure's foundation is envisioned by SDN (SOFTWARE DEFINED

NETWOEKING )principles. Due to the demand from the users, Microsoft has
been continually enhancing Azure's network by installing several new servers,
hardware virtualization technologies, and new applications.

Continuous evolvement of such services calls for a constant enhancement in

the already deployed network hardware and software, thereby affecting the
configuration and performance of the overall system. This implies that the
management of such complex network topology is increasingly important for
effectual scaling and resource management.

After establishing the emphasis on technology and architecture, the

application’s technical design is a natural progression. Each application is
self-standing, but the following resources can help in the process of
construction:
 Reference Architectures: All reference architectures are designed for
growth and changes which every vendor must have these days. You can
easily find one reference architecture that accommodates the number of
people in your team and the requirements that your project entails. One if
the remarkable goads of these architectures is that they enable the user to
start building from where they are comfortable, given the type of client they
are dealing with. Each reference architecture also includes implementation
details that are necessary for leveraging the architecture. Recommended
architectures undergo the sponsorship from the vendors in order to
actualize their usage.

 Design Principles: It is important to appreciate the principles of design

that are inherent in the various perspectives. For example, in the context of
the high level design processes, there are principles to policy development
that may be valuable, such as, constraints based design principles. In
contrast, alignment-based design principles may be appropriate in low-
level design processes. These principles should always be used as a
source of information in the course of carrying out the design phase of the
system.

 Design Patterns: Cloud design patterns represent solutions that cloud

providers use to enhance the reliability and scalability of their services.
These patterns consist of best practices, guidelines, and rules that
encapsulate effective strategies for cloud system design. By leveraging
these patterns, you can create a more robust and efficient cloud
architecture.

What Are the 3 Service Categories Provided by

Microsoft Azure?
Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform that offers the following three
categories of services:
 Infrastructure as a service ( IaaS )
 Platform as a service (PaaS)
 Software as a service (SaaS)
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
Virtual machines, storage, and networking will come under the category of
infrastructure as a service but the users have to do manually the build and
deploy of the applications. Azure will support a wide range of operating
systems because of its Hyper-hypervisor.
To know more about IaaS you can refer to this link What is IaaS?
Platform as a service (PaaS)
Azure app service, Azure functions, and logic apps are some services that are
offered by Azure under the platform as a service. This service will provide
autoscaling and load balancing and also there will be a pre-configured
environment for the application.
To know more about PaaS you can refer to this link What is PaaS?
Software as a service (SaaS)
Office 365, Dynamics 365, and Azure Active Directory are some of the
services provided by Microsoft Azure under Software as a Service (SaaS) the
complete application will be managed by the Microsoft azure including
deploying, scaling and load balancing.
What is Microsoft Azure Used For?
Following are the some the use cases that Microsoft Azure Used.
 Deployment Of applications: You can develop and deploy the application
in the azure cloud by using the service called Azure App Service and Azure
Functions after deploying the applications end users can access it.
 Identity and Access Management: The application and data which is
deployed and stored in the Microsoft Azure can be secured with the help of
Identity and Access Management. It's commonly used for single sign-on,
multi-factor authentication, and identity governance.
 Data Storage and Databases: You can store the data in Microsoft azure
in service like blob storage for unstructured data, table storage for NoSQL
data, file storage, and Azure SQL Database for relational databases. The
service can be scaled depending on the amount of data we are getting.
 DevOps and Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment
(CI/CD): Azure DevOps will provide some tools like including version
control, build automation, release management, and application
monitoring.
What are the various Azure Services and How does
Azure Work?
Following are some of the services Microsoft Azure offers:
 Compute: Includes Virtual Machines, Virtual Machine Scale Sets,
Functions for serverless computing, Batch for containerized batch
workloads, Service Fabric for microservices and container orchestration,
and Cloud Services for building cloud-based apps and APIs.
 Networking: With Azure, you can use a variety of networking tools, like the
Virtual Network, which can connect to on-premise data centers; Load
Balancer; Application Gateway; VPN Gateway; Azure DNS for domain
hosting, Content Delivery Network, Traffic Manager,
 ExpressRoutededicated private network fiber connections; and Network
Watcher monitoring and diagnostics
 Storage: Includes Blob, Queue, File, and Disk Storage, as well as a Data
Lake Store, Backup, and Site Recovery, among others.
 Web + Mobile: Creating Web + Mobile applications is very easy as it
includes several services for building and deploying applications.
 Containers: Azure has a property that includes Container Service, which
supports Kubernetes, DC/OS or Docker Swarm, and Container Registry,
as well as tools for microservices.
 Databases: Azure also included several SQL-based databases and
related tools.
 Data + Analytics: Azure has some big data tools like HDInsight
for Hadoop Spark, R Server, HBase, and Storm clusters
 AI + Cognitive Services: With Azure developing applications with artificial
intelligence capabilities, like the Computer Vision API, Face API, Bing Web
Search, Video Indexer, and Language Understanding Intelligent.
 Internet of Things: Includes IoT Hub and IoT Edge services that can be
combined with a variety of machine learning, analytics, and
communications services.
 Security + Identity: Includes Security Center, Azure Active Directory, Key
Vault, and Multi-Factor Authentication Services.
 Developer Tools: Includes cloud development services like Visual Studio
Team Services, Azure DevTest Labs, HockeyApp mobile app deployment
and monitoring, Xamarin cross-platform mobile development, and more.
Azure for Disaster Recovery and Backup
A full range of disaster recovery (DR) and backup services are available from
Microsoft Azure to help shield your vital data and apps from interruptions. With
the help of these services, you may quickly restore your data and applications
in the event of a disaster by replicating them to a secondary cloud site. Azure
backup services also protect your data from ransomware attacks,
unintentional deletion, and corruption.
Key Azure DR and Backup Services
 Azure Site Recovery: Your on-premises virtual machines (VMs) can be
replicated to Azure more easily with the help of this solution. You may
easily failover your virtual machines (VMs) to Azure in the event of a
disaster and keep your business running. Azure VM replication to an
alternative Azure region is also supported by Azure Site Recovery.
 Azure Backup: If you want to protect the data which is present in the cloud
then you need to use the Azure Backup service. It offers a single area to
monitor backup jobs, manage backup policies, and recover data. Azure
pricing and costs.
Azure Competition
Following are the some of the competitors of Microsoft Azure:
 Amazon Web Services (AWS): Market leader offering a wide range of
cloud services with extensive global infrastructure.
 Google Cloud Platform (GCP): It known for its innovative services like Big
Query and TensorFlow, with a strong focus on data analytics and machine
learning.
 IBM Cloud: It offers a comprehensive suite of cloud services,
including AI, blockchain, and IoT solutions, with a focus on enterprise
clients.
 Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI): IT focuses on enterprise-grade cloud
solutions, including databases, applications, and infrastructure services,
leveraging Oracle's expertise in enterprise software.
How Azure can help in Business?
Azure can help our business in the following ways:
 Capital less: We don’t have to worry about the capital as Azure cuts out
the high cost of hardware. You simply pay as you go and enjoy a
subscription-based model that’s kind to your cash flow. Also, setting up an
Azure account is very easy. You simply register in Azure Portal and select
your required subscription and get going.
 Less Operational Cost: Azure has a low operational cost because it runs
on its servers whose only job is to make the cloud functional and bug-free,
it’s usually a whole lot more reliable than your own, on-location server.
 Cost Effective: If we set up a server on our own, we need to hire a tech
support team to monitor them and make sure things are working fine. Also,
there might be a situation where the tech support team is taking too much
time to solve the issue incurred in the server. So, in this regard is way too
pocket-friendly.
 Easy Back-Up and Recovery options: Azure keeps backups of all your
valuable data. In disaster situations, you can recover all your data in a
single click without your business getting affected. Cloud-based backup
and recovery solutions save time, avoid large up-front investments and roll
up third-party expertise as part of the deal.
 Easy to implement: It is very easy to implement your business models in
Azure. With a couple of on-click activities, you are good to go. Even there
are several tutorials to make you learn and deploy faster.
 Better Security: Azure provides more security than local servers. Be
carefree about your critical data and business applications. As it stays safe
in the Azure Cloud. Even, in natural disasters, where the resources can be
harmed, Azure is a rescue. The cloud is always on.
 Work from anywhere: Azure gives you the freedom to work from
anywhere and everywhere. It just requires a network connection and
credentials. And with most serious Azure cloud services offering mobile
apps, you’re not restricted to which device you’ve got to hand.
 Increased collaboration: With Azure, teams can access, edit and share
documents anytime, from anywhere. They can work and achieve future
goals hand in hand. Another advantage of Azure is that it preserves
records of activity and data. Timestamps are one example of Azure’s
record-keeping. Timestamps improve team collaboration by establishing
transparency and increasing accountability.
What is Azure Cloud Shell?
Azure PowerShell is an extension of Windows PowerShell that allows users to
manage Azure’s vast features through the PowerShell interface. Developers
use cmdlets—pre-written scripts—to perform complex tasks like deploying
virtual machines (VMs) or creating cloud services from the command line.
Azure PowerShell (APS) can also automate processes through scripting.
While some users have noted that the interface feels somewhat incomplete
and support could be improved, advocates highlight the platform’s simplicity in
handling typically challenging operations.
With Azure Cloud Shell, you can:
 Execute commands and scripts on your Azure resources using a unified
command-line interface that offers features like tab completion and
command history.
 Manage your Azure subscription with a comprehensive set of commands
that allow you to create, list, and delete subscriptions, as well as control
user access keys.
 Begin interactive tutorials to learn how to use common features, such as
creating virtual machines or virtual networks.
How to Access Azure Shell?
Azure Cloud Shell provides a convenient way to manage and develop Azure
resources directly from your browser. You can easily access it via the Azure
Web Portal or by navigating
to https://portal.azure.com/Error/UE_404?aspxerrorpath=/#cloudshell/, where
you can choose between Bash and PowerShell environments for your
command-line tasks.
To know about How to access Azure Shell you can refer to this link How to
access Azure Shell?
What is Azure Security?
Azure Security encompasses the various tools and features provided by
Microsoft on its Azure cloud platform to ensure security. According to
Microsoft, these tools include a comprehensive range of physical,
infrastructure, and operational controls designed to protect its cloud services.
As a public cloud computing platform, Azure supports a diverse array of
programming languages, operating systems, frameworks, and devices. Users
can access Azure’s services and resources from anywhere as long as they
have an internet connection.
What is Azure Security Center?
Azure Security Center is a comprehensive security management platform
provided by Microsoft for Azure users. It offers several key benefits, including:
 Visibility and Control: It enables users to gain insight and manage the
security of various Azure resources, such as Virtual Machines, Cloud
Services, Azure Virtual Networks, and Blob Storage.
 Protection for Hybrid Workloads: It secures workloads that are deployed
both within Azure and in non-Azure environments, including on-premises
systems.
 Enhanced Security Posture: The Azure Security Center continuously
monitors the cloud environment, helping users understand the security
status of their resources and improve their security posture.
 Threat Detection and Mitigation: With a centralized dashboard, the
Azure Security Center provides alerts and recommendations, assisting
organizations in detecting and preventing cybersecurity threats. This also
aids in regulatory compliance by streamlining security policies across the
platform.
Additionally, Azure Security Center tackles several security challenges:
 Dynamic Workloads: As customers utilize a variety of cloud services that
frequently change, the Azure Security Center simplifies the implementation
of security standards and best practices.
 Evolving Threats: With more organizations shifting to the public cloud,
cyber threats have become increasingly sophisticated. Azure Security
Center helps customers secure their workloads and minimizes
vulnerabilities by promoting adherence to security best practices.
 Lack of Security Expertise: The high volume of security alerts can
overwhelm administrators, especially those with limited experience. Azure
Security Center equips administrators with tools to effectively respond to
and manage these threats.
How Azure Security Works?
According to Azure Security documentation, Microsoft Azure employs a
shared security responsibility model, indicating that security is a collaborative
effort between Azure and its customers. In on-premises environments, the
entire security burden lies with the customer. However, as customers
transition to the cloud, certain security responsibilities shift to Azure.
Here's how the responsibilities vary across different cloud service models:
 Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Azure assumes responsibility for
physical security, including hosts, networks, and data centers.
 Platform as a Service (PaaS): Azure manages physical security and the
operating system, while responsibilities for identity and directory
infrastructure, network controls, and applications are shared with
customers.
 Software as a Service (SaaS): Azure takes on even more responsibilities,
including physical security, operating systems, network controls, and
applications, while still sharing identity and directory infrastructure with the
customer.
In summary, Azure secures the physical infrastructure, but the distribution of
responsibilities varies based on the cloud service model. Customers retain
more responsibilities in IaaS compared to PaaS or SaaS. Regardless of the
environment—on-premises, IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS—customers are consistently
accountable for data governance and rights management, account and
access management, and endpoint protection.
Azure Security Best Practices
The Azure Security documentation serves as a valuable resource for security
recommendations and best practices. Here are some key tips to help you
enhance your security posture:
 Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Use Azure Security
Center’s RBAC to manage permissions effectively. Familiarize yourself
with the five built-in roles (Subscription Owner, Resource Group Owner,
Subscription Contributor, Resource Group Contributor, and Reader) and
two specific security roles (Security Administrator and Security Reader),
each with different levels of access.
 Regularly Monitor the Azure Security Center Dashboard: Keep an eye
on the dashboard for a centralized view of your Azure resources, which
also provides actionable recommendations.
 Establish Security Policies: Implement security policies to prevent
misuse of resources. Azure can automatically generate a security policy
tailored to your subscription.
 Upgrade to Azure Security Center Standard: By upgrading your
subscription, you can access advanced features such as identifying and
resolving security vulnerabilities, leveraging analytics for threat detection,
and enabling quick responses to security incidents.
 Utilize Azure Key Vault: Store your keys securely in Azure Key Vault,
which is specifically designed to manage secrets like passwords and
database credentials.
 Implement a Web Application Firewall: Protect your applications from
common threats and vulnerabilities by installing a web application firewall.
 Enable Azure Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Use MFA, particularly
for administrative accounts, to add an extra layer of security.
 Encrypt Virtual Hard Disks: Ensure the confidentiality of your data by
encrypting virtual hard disk files.
 Connect Azure Virtual Machines via Virtual Networks: Enhance
security by placing Azure VMs on virtual networks when connecting to
other networked devices.
 Leverage Azure DDoS Protection: Utilize Azure’s Distributed Denial of
Service (DDoS) services to safeguard against and mitigate DDoS attacks.
Features of Azure
Azure offers a comprehensive array of features designed to enhance data
protection and application management:
 Data Protection: Azure ensures the security of your data through various
methods, including replication, snapshots, and encryption. These options
allow for data protection across multiple regions globally, providing an
added layer of security against natural disasters, cyberattacks, or hardware
failures. By storing data in various data centers worldwide, Azure
guarantees that your information remains safe, even if one location
experiences an incident.
 Azure Site Recovery: This feature gives you full control over data
replication processes, allowing you to define the level of detail and metrics
to monitor. You can customize the replication schedule based on your
business requirements, ensuring your data remains secure and accessible.
 Development Flexibility: Azure supports a wide range of capabilities for
building, deploying, and managing applications that can run on any device
at any time. Users can choose their preferred programming languages and
frameworks, enabling horizontal scaling by adding servers or distributing
the load across multiple servers.
 Open-Source Tools: Azure provides numerous tools and services rooted
in open-source technology, facilitating monitoring, logging, and
troubleshooting. These resources enable you to keep track of your
application’s health and address any issues that may arise.
 App Services and Mobile Management: Azure offers hosting through
App Services, allowing you to quickly deploy updates and new features to
your applications without downtime. It also supports mobile device
management (MDM) for apps tailored to mobile users.
 Active Directory Integration: Azure Active Directory (AAD) enhances
security by connecting user profiles with applications, enabling seamless
sign-in experiences. Through Active Directory synchronization, user
 accounts, groups, and permissions are automatically managed between
on-premises Active Directory and Azure Active Directory, streamlining user
management and policy enforcement within your organization.
By leveraging these features, Azure enables businesses to build resilient,
scalable, and secure applications tailored to their needs.
Difference between AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure
The following are the differences among AWS, Google Cloud and Azure:
Feature AWS Google Cloud Azure

EC2 (Elastic Google Compute Engine VHD (Virtual Hard

Technology Compute Cloud) (GCE) Disk)

Fully supports Fully supports Supports relational and

relational and NoSQL technologies like Big NoSQL through
Databases databases and Big Query, Big Table, Windows Azure Table
Supported Data Hadoop and HDInsight

Per hour — rounded Per minute — rounded Per minute — rounded

Pricing up up up

Per minute rounded up

On-demand, reserved On-demand sustained
commitments (Pre-paid
spot use
Models or monthly)

Many enterprises find

it difficult to Fewer features and
Less "Enterprise-ready"
understand the cost services
Difficulties structure

Simple Storage Blob Storage, Queue

Cloud Storage,
Service (S3), Elastic Storage, File Storage,
Persistent Disk,
Storage Block Storage, Disk Storage, Data Lake
Transfer Appliance
Services Elastic File Storage Store

Cloud Speech AI, Cloud

SageMaker, Lex, Azure Bot Service,
Machine Video Intelligence,
Polly, and many more Cognitive Service
Learning Cloud ML Engine

Scaling and Management of Azure

The following services are used in scaling and in management in Azure
Cloud:
 Auto-scaling: Azure provides auto-scaling capabilities, allowing resources
to automatically scale up or down based on demand, ensuring optimal
performance and cost-efficiency.
 Resource Groups: Resources in Azure can be organized into resource
groups, simplifying management and enabling centralized monitoring and
control.
 Azure Resource Manager: It facilitates resource deployment,
management, and monitoring through templates, providing a unified
management interface.
Azure Monitoring Services
The following are the some of the Azure Monitoring Services:
 Azure Monitor: Centralized monitoring service for Azure resources,
offering insights into performance, availability, and usage metrics.
 Application Insights: Provides real-time insights into application
performance and usage, enabling proactive troubleshooting and
optimization.
 Log Analytics: Collects and analyzes log data from various sources,
offering valuable insights for troubleshooting, security monitoring, and
compliance.
 Azure Advisor: Offers personalized recommendations for optimizing
Azure resources, enhancing performance, and reducing costs.
Pricing in Microsoft Azure
Pricing
Option Description Billing Ideal For Savings/Notes

Pay only for

Per minute or Startups, small
what you use,
Pay-As- per second businesses, Flexible, easy to
with no long-
You-Go (depending on unpredictable scale up/down.
term
service). workloads.
commitment.

Commit to 1- or
3-year terms for Upfront or Predictable Save up to 72%
Reserved
specific monthly workloads, long- compared to Pay-
Instances
resources to get payments. term projects. As-You-Go.
discounts.
Pricing
Option Description Billing Ideal For Savings/Notes

Batch jobs,
Up to 90%
Buy unused dev/test
savings, but
Spot Azure capacity Per second environments,
instances can be
Instances at a deep billing. workloads
evicted when
discount. tolerant to
capacity is needed.
interruptions.

Use existing Businesses Significant

Azure Windows Server Discounted already using savings on
Hybrid or SQL Server rates applied Windows Server Windows/Linux
Benefit licenses to save automatically. and SQL Server VMs and SQL
costs. on-premises. Server workloads.

Discounted rates Developers and Available through

Discounted
Dev/Test for development testers in non- Dev/Test
Pay-As-You-
Pricing and testing production subscriptions in
Go billing.
environments. environments. Azure.

Cost Management Tools in Azure

Tool Purpose

Azure Cost
Helps monitor, analyze, and control Azure spending with
Management and
detailed reports and budget alerts.
Billing

Azure Pricing Estimates the cost of Azure services based on your configuration
Calculator and usage assumptions.

Provides personalized best-practice recommendations for cost

Azure Advisor optimization, security, reliability, and performance
improvements.