Mar 15, 2023 7 min read Azure

Get Started with Azure Cloud

Learn how you can benefit from the Azure Cloud by understanding some basic concepts of the Azure Cloud.

Cloud computing has revolutionized the IT industry by providing affordable and scalable computing resources to businesses of all sizes. Microsoft Azure Cloud is one of the leading cloud platforms, offering a wide range of services that enable organizations to build, deploy, and manage their applications and infrastructure. In this blog post, we will explore how you can get started with Azure Cloud in 2023 and take advantage of its benefits.

Benefits of Azure Cloud

Azure Cloud provides numerous benefits that can help businesses streamline their operations and reduce costs. One of the most significant benefits of Azure Cloud is its scalability. With Azure, you can quickly scale up or down your computing resources based on your business needs, which can reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Another benefit of Azure is its flexibility. With Azure, you can choose from a wide range of services that can be customized to meet your specific business requirements. Whether you need to build a web application or deploy and manage your infrastructure, Azure has a solution for you.

Azure also provides robust security features that can protect your data and applications from cyber threats. With Azure’s built-in security features, you can ensure that your applications are always secure and compliant with industry regulations.

Getting Started with Azure Cloud

To get started with Azure Cloud, you first need to create an Azure account. You can sign up for a free account that provides access to a limited set of services or choose a paid subscription that provides access to all Azure services.

Once you have created an Azure account, you can start exploring Azure’s services and building your applications. Azure provides a wide range of tools and resources that can help you get started quickly, including documentation, tutorials, and sample code.

Azure Hierarchy

Azure hierarchy refers to the organizational structure of Azure subscriptions, management groups, and resource groups. Understanding Azure hierarchy is essential for managing and organizing resources effectively.

By understanding Azure hierarchy and using the right tools, you can leverage the power of Azure Cloud to build, deploy, and manage your applications and infrastructure with ease.

Understand Management Groups and Subscriptions

Azure management groups provide a way to manage access, policy, and compliance across multiple subscriptions. Management groups enable you to group subscriptions together and apply policies and security controls at scale. By using management groups, you can apply policies and security controls to all the subscriptions within the group, which can help you maintain compliance and improve governance.

Azure subscriptions provide a way to manage access, billing, and resources within Azure. A subscription is a logical container for Azure resources, such as virtual machines, storage accounts, and databases. Subscriptions provide access control boundaries, which allow you to control who has access to your resources and how much they can use. Azure subscriptions also provide different pricing tiers and offers, which can help you optimize cost and performance based on your business needs.

When creating a subscription, you need to choose a pricing tier and offer that best suits your business requirements. You can choose from different pricing tiers, such as Free, Pay-As-You-Go, and Enterprise, which provide different levels of features and support. You can also choose from different offers, such as Azure in Open, Azure for Students, and Azure Dev/Test, which provide discounts and promotions based on your usage and needs.

By understanding management groups and subscriptions, you can organize, manage, and optimize your resources effectively on Azure Cloud.

Understand Resource Groups

Resource groups are a fundamental concept in Azure that allows you to manage and organize resources based on their function or lifecycle. By grouping resources together, you can apply policies, manage permissions, and monitor usage more effectively. When creating a resource group, you can specify the region where the resources will be deployed, which can help reduce latency and improve performance.

Azure Subscription and Resource Group Image

Understand Directories

Azure Directories is a container for objects, such as users, groups, and applications, within an Azure tenant. By creating directories, you can organize objects and control access to resources. Directories enable you to manage identities and access resources in a centralized location. You can use Azure AD PowerShell, Azure AD Graph API, Microsoft Graph API, or the Azure portal to manage directories effectively.

Creating Users and Groups

To create users and groups in Azure, you can use the Azure portal, Azure AD PowerShell, Azure AD Graph API, or Microsoft Graph API. By creating users and groups, you can manage access to resources and assign roles to users. Role assignments allow you to control access to resources and manage permissions based on the user's role.

Role Assignments

Azure Cloud provides role-based access control (RBAC) that allows you to grant access to resources based on the user's role. Role assignments can be made at the subscription, resource group, or resource level. By creating custom roles, you can define granular permissions and control access to resources more effectively.

Managing resources with the Azure portal is an easy and intuitive way to manage your resources. The portal provides a graphical user interface that allows you to create, configure, and manage resources with ease. You can also use the portal to monitor the performance and availability of your resources.

Managing Resources With Azure Portal

What is Azure CLI

Azure CLI is a command-line interface that allows you to manage Azure resources using a terminal or command prompt. With Azure CLI, you can create, configure, and manage resources using simple commands. Azure CLI is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and can be used to manage resources for Azure Cloud, Azure Stack, and Azure Government.

Managing Resources with Azure CLI

Azure CLI provides a powerful set of features that can help you manage your resources effectively. Some of the key features of Azure CLI include support for multiple output formats, support for scripting and automation, and support for Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates. With Azure CLI, you can create, configure, and manage resources using simple commands, making it an efficient tool for managing resources in Azure Cloud.

What is Azure Cloud Shell

Azure Cloud Shell is a browser-based shell environment that allows you to manage Azure resources using a command-line interface (CLI). With Azure Cloud Shell, you can use either Bash or PowerShell to create, configure, and manage resources in Azure. Azure Cloud Shell provides a convenient and secure way to manage your resources from anywhere, without the need to install any software on your local machine.

Managing Resources with Cloud Shell

Azure Cloud Shell provides a powerful set of features that can help you manage your resources effectively. With Cloud Shell, you can use either Bash or PowerShell to create, configure, and manage resources in Azure. Some of the key features of Cloud Shell include support for multiple output formats, support for scripting and automation, and support for Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates.

What is PowerShell

PowerShell is a command-line shell and scripting language that is built on top of the .NET Framework. With PowerShell, you can automate tasks and manage resources in Windows and Azure. PowerShell provides a powerful set of features that can help you manage your resources effectively, including support for modules, cmdlets, and scripts.

Managing Resources with PowerShell

PowerShell provides a powerful set of features that can help you manage your resources effectively. With PowerShell, you can use simple commands and scripts to create, configure, and manage resources in Azure. Some of the key features of PowerShell include support for modules, cmdlets, and scripts, which can help you automate tasks and manage resources more efficiently.

What is Azure SDK

Azure SDK is a collection of libraries and tools that allow you to build, deploy, and manage applications and services on Azure. The Azure SDK provides a comprehensive set of tools and resources that can help you develop and deploy your applications quickly and easily. The Azure SDK includes libraries for .NET, Java, Python, and Node.js, as well as tools for managing storage, compute, and networking resources.

Managing Resources with Azure SDK

Azure SDK provides a powerful set of tools and resources that can help you manage your resources effectively. With Azure SDK, you can use libraries and tools to build, deploy, and manage applications and services on Azure. Some of the key features of Azure SDK include support for multiple programming languages, support for Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates, and support for tools such as Azure CLI and Azure PowerShell.

Creating a static website

Creating a static website is one of the simplest ways to get started with Azure Cloud. You can use Azure Blob Storage to host static content and Azure CDN to improve performance and availability. Azure Blob Storage provides a scalable and cost-effective solution for hosting static content, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. Azure CDN can improve the performance and availability of your website by caching content closer to your users and minimizing latency.

By using Azure Blob Storage and Azure CDN, you can create a fast and reliable static website that can be deployed and managed easily on Azure

Conclusion

Azure Cloud is an excellent platform for businesses looking to take advantage of cloud computing. With its scalability, flexibility, and robust security features, Azure can help businesses streamline their operations and reduce costs. To get started with Azure, you can sign up for a free account and start exploring Azure’s services and tools. With Azure, you can build, deploy, and manage your applications and infrastructure with ease.