Azure Introduction
Azure is a cloud computing platform and an online portal that allows you to access and manage cloud services and resources provided by Microsoft. Microsoft Azure was officially launched on February 1, 2010. Azure allowed users to build, test, deploy, and manage applications on the data centers of Microsoft. These data centers have been spread across 54 global regions. Microsoft offers various services across multiple domains such as computing, Database, Content Delivery, Networking, and many more.
AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud
To understand what Azure Cloud is, we must also know about other cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Service (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform. Without going into details, let us just compare them to avoid confusion.
Here are some of the differences between the three cloud service providers.
Amazon web Services (AWS)
- 15 years old
- Amazon S3 is mostly used for secondary backup
- Gives managed virtual tape infrastructure across hybrid environments
- Dominant market position
- Pricing is per hour
Microsoft Azure
- 13 years old
- Backup is built into Azure
- Enterprise-grade hybrid cloud storage
- Second largest provider
- Pricing is per minute
Google Cloud Platform
- 13 years old
- Does not provide any backup
- It relies on partners like Egnyte
- Recently launched and new
- Pricing is per minute
Azure holds the largest market share, after AWS. With the extensive use of AWS, there are many professionals who already have mastered it and the job market for AWS has now become saturated. On the other hand, opting for Google Cloud would not help you much, since most of the Fortune 500 companies are not on Google Cloud right now. Hence, the number of jobs available for Google Cloud is comparatively less. Being in the middle ground, getting certified as an Azure Professional is going to be a strategically good choice.
Now that we know learning Azure is the right thing to do, let’s move on to learn how it actually works by discussing the Microsoft Azure architecture
Microsoft Azure Architecture
Let us try to understand, Microsoft Azure Architecture by the diagram given below:
Microsoft Azure Services
By now, you might have a rough idea about the entire cloud services and what is MS Azure. Let us deep-dive into Azure services.
There is an endless list of services that this cloud computing service provides you with. We will be focusing on all the important services that are frequently asked in the certification exams.
For better understanding, let’s categorize them into domains as follows:
1. Azure Compute
2. Azure Networking
3. Azure Storage
4. Azure Database
Azure Compute
It gives the products that are of building level which determines the execution of an application deployed in the Azure platform. Following are the different services that it provides:
a. Azure Virtual Machine: it is an environment that allows the user to have a similar experience as that while using dedicated hardware.
b. Azure Virtual Machine Set: They are used to create thousands of identical virtual machines in a jiffy.
c. Azure Container Service: Containers are packages that do not need virtual machines and instead depend on virtual isolation to run applications that have a shared OS kernel. And Azure container service creates a container hosting solution.
d. Azure Container Registry: It is used to store and manage container images.
e. Azure Functions: It doesn’t have a server and lets you run code-on-demand without infrastructure.
f. Azure Batch: It is used to scale N number of virtual machines at a time.
g. Azure Service Fabric: It is a distributed platform that simplifies the deployment and lifecycle management of a small service-based application.
h. Azure Cloud Services: They focus on apps and support Java, Node.js, PHP, Python, .Net, and Ruby.
i. Azure Web Apps: They create and deploy web apps at scale very quickly.
j. Azure Mobile App: It is used in building and hosting the backend for any application on mobile.
k. API Apps: It is used to build cloud APIs easily.
l. Azure Search: It provides search-as-a-service which is fully managed.
m. Notification Hubs: They are used to send push notifications to any platform from any backend easily.
n. Azure Logic Apps: It is a cloud service that will help you automate workflows, business processes, etc.
o. Azure Event Hub: It is a collection of events that can be stored.
Azure Networking
These networks allow enterprises to safely connect to their cloud resources through Azure ExpressRoute. It is also used to manage private virtual networks and, further, create multiple virtual networks.
a. Azure Virtual Network: It performs network isolation and segmentation with filters that route the traffic. It comprises Azure Connect which allows easy setup of IP-based and Azure Traffic Manager.
b. Azure Load Balancer: It balances a load of traffic going to virtual machines and isolates the external traffic to another virtual machine.
c. Azure Traffic Manager: It provides load-balancing features.
d. Azure Express Route: It is a network that lets you extend the current network into Microsoft Cloud over a private connection.
e. Azure DNS: Azure DNS translates a website to the IP address.
f. Content Delivery Network (CDN): Azure CDN helps in improving the content and allows the streaming of content by using the location of 24 different locations that are distributed throughout the world.
g. Azure VPN Gateway: It sends encrypted traffic across a public connection.
Azure Storage
Azure storage provides storage solutions that are more durable and You can build large-scale applications and still scale higher if needed, and it automatically balances the data based on traffic.
a. Azure Blob Storage: Azure follows storage in terms of binary large objects (BLOBs) with blob service. It gives users the ability to describe their data by adding metadata.
b. Azure Queue Storage: It allows applications to communicate via the exchange of messages on a queue hence it avoids lost or unprocessed messages.
c. Azure File Storage: It offers file sharing in the cloud using a standard protocol.
d. Azure Table Storage: It stores semi-structured NoSQL data in the cloud.
Azure Database
Azure Database is a relational database-as-a-service that is reliable and secure, and it gives high performance without having to worry about any infrastructure
a. Azure SQL Database: It is a relational database hosted in Azure and built on SQL server technologies. It provides a scalable, highly available, and fault-tolerant database.
b. Azure DocumentDB: It is a NoSQL database-as-a-service whose features are a transactional process over no schema data, rich querying and query processing, and transaction semantics that are similar to relational databases.
c. Azure Redis Cache: It is a data structure that implements a key-value database with optional durability.
Microsoft Azure Features
Here, we list some of the top features of Azure that are forcing enterprises of all sizes to move to the Azure cloud infrastructure:
Azure Virtual Machines come in new sizes and series, like the H100 and Hb v4 series, specifically designed for heavy-duty tasks such as machine learning and high-performance computing.
Azure Container Instances support Windows containers, enabling developers to operate both Windows and Linux containers simultaneously.
Azure Kubernetes Service supports Kubernetes 1.25 and has features like CSI drivers and RuntimeClass.
Azure Blob Storage offers pricing choices, featuring a Hot tier tailored for frequently accessed data.
Azure Files supports SMB over TCP, enabling users to access Azure Files shares from any location globally.
Azure Machine Learning includes features promoting responsible AI, such as explainability and fairness.
Azure search can be used to embed search functionality into any custom application.
Azure Express Route offers a direct connection between Azure data center and your on-premise environment.
Secure, dedicated access to Redis cache is possible with Azure Redis Cache.
Azure Batch lets you effortlessly run and execute your applications like an assembly line.
Azure Data Factory lets you seamlessly work on the on-premise or cloud infrastructure.
Azure Load Balancer is a cloud-based system that accepts client requests, determines which machines in the set can handle them, and then forwards those requests to the appropriate machines.
Disaster Recovery: Since data is not stored on a single physical computer and instead is present in different geographical locations, it will be much safer in the time of disaster. Even if one location undergoes some natural calamity, other locations are not harmed, and hence your data is safe.
Security: Azure is continuously updated and that makes it secure. Security Development Lifecycle makes sure that every development phase is safe and secure.
Flexibility: With Azure, you can scale your storage capacity. Recently, the service from Microsoft even gave updates on its increased flexibility in terms of virtual machine size. These reserved instances can decrease the Cloud Computing cost.
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