Introduction to Microsoft Azure:

Microsoft Azure is like a super helpful computer system that businesses use. It stores information in a safe and organized way, and it can do lots of different tasks for companies. It keeps data secure, helps with big data analysis, and is good at handling information.

Azure has different services for storing and managing data, such as Blob Storage, SQL Database, and Cosmos DB. It’s also good at keeping things safe with features like threat intelligence and encryption.

One of the cool things about Azure is that it can save companies money. It can grow or shrink based on what a company needs, and it’s good for keeping things running , being flexible, and helping with security. It’s also great for recovering from disasters and working together on projects. Plus, it supports different programming languages like Java, Node Js, and C#.

Many big companies use Azure, and Azure has data centers all over the world.

Azure Services:

Azure Virtual Machines:

Appropriate for N-tier architectures and large-scale computing (HPC) tasks.

Azure Blob Storage:

Perfect for storing vast quantities of unstructured object data, like text or binary data.

Azure SQL Database:

A completely managed service for developing and deploying relational databases for applications.

Azure App Service:

Appropriate for web, mobile, and API applications, it provides a managed platform to build, deploy, and scale web apps.

Azure Functions:

Great for situations where things happen in response to events and for organizing small services. It lets you run little bits of code without needing to think about the technical details underneath.

The Right Azure services for specific use cases

Microsoft helps you pick the best tools for your Azure solutions by using decision trees and comparison charts. These tools help you check services based on things like security, cost, and the kind of design you need.

When you’re choosing Azure services, think about your application, how big it might get, how secure it needs to be, and how much it will cost. Microsoft’s A+B mindset is a way to think about and choose the right Azure services for your applications.

By looking at what your application needs and checking out what each Azure service offers, you can make smart choices and pick the best services for your specific needs.

Azure Resource Manager (ARM):

Azure Resource Manager (ARM) is like a superhero manager for Azure. It helps you put things in order by allowing you to create, change, and remove stuff in your Azure account. With ARM, you can decide who in your group can do what with the resources, set rules for access, and organize things into groups.

Think of ARM like the boss that oversees everything but doesn’t do the work . It depends on templates to describe how you should set things up, making it easy for you to repeat the setup or make sure you manage everything .

So, in simple terms, Azure Resource Manager acts as a control center for Azure, ensuring it organizes everything, makes management easy, and keeps everything working .

Azure Virtual Machines (VMs):

When you create and set up Azure Virtual Machines (VMs), it’s crucial to think about the best ways to ensure security, performance, and monitoring. Here are some tips for managing and optimizing VMs:

Security Best Practices

Secure your VMs by applying authentication and access control.
Follow security best practices with Azure Security Center and Azure Active Directory.
Refer to Azure Security Center’s Azure Secure Score to guide your security posture.

Performance and Sizing

Optimize performance and cut costs by choosing the right size for your VMs.
When using SQL Server on Azure VMs, think about VM size, storage, and HADR configuration to enhance performance.

Monitoring Best Practices

Set up alert rules for Azure VMs to ensure availability and configure data collection for reliable monitoring.
Keep an eye on the health and performance of your VMs, and identify and resolve issues.

Azure Networking:

Azure Networking is like a set of tools that help things connect, stay safe, and get monitored in Azure and also with things in your own place. Important tools in this set are Virtual Network, Azure Load Balancer, and Azure VPN Gateway.

Virtual Network helps you organize and take care of networks in different parts of Azure. Azure Load Balancer makes sure your applications and services share the load well. Azure VPN Gateway creates a secure connection between your own network and Azure.

There are also other useful tools like Azure DNS, Peering service, Route Server, Azure Firewall, and Azure Bastion. To make sure your network is safe and works well, you can use things like network security groups, service endpoints, web application firewall, and Azure DDoS Protection.

If you want to keep an eye on your network, there are monitoring services like ExpressRoute Track, Azure Track, or VNet Terminal Access Point (TAP). Azure Networking helps you set up a network that’s both safe and efficient.

Azure Identity and Access Management (IAM):

Azure Identity and Access Management (IAM) is like a helpful system that lets you control who can do what in Azure. It helps you handle user access and permissions by using Azure Active Directory. Also, it uses something called role-based access control (RBAC) to decide what each user can do in Azure.

Managing user access and permissions using Azure Active Directory:

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is like a digital key manager in the cloud. It helps keep track of who’s who, what they can do, and what apps they can use. With it, you can split up tasks in your team and give each person the right amount of access they need for their job.

Implementing Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) in Azure:

Azure RBAC is like a security boss in Azure that helps control who can do what with different things in Azure. It helps you decide who can access Azure stuff, what actions they can perform, and which areas they can get into.

For example:

Letting one person handle virtual machines and another person manage virtual databases.
Allowing a group of database experts to manage SQL databases.
Giving one person control over everything in a group, like virtual machines, websites, and subnets.
Letting an application access everything in a group.

Keeps roles, rules, and limits globally, ensuring constant access, even with changes. Azure RBAC works with various users and groups, allowing rule-setting at different levels.

Azure DevOps:

Azure DevOps is like a helpful tool for building and testing your code. One important part is Azure Pipelines, which is a Microsoft cloud service. It works for all kinds of projects and languages. Azure Pipelines combines building, testing, and delivering your code to different places. To use it, you need an organization in Azure DevOps, keep your code in a special system, and set up a build agent on a server. You can create pipelines in the Azure DevOps portal to define how your code gets built and tested. There’s also a release pipeline to decide where your code should go after it’s built.

Azure Monitoring and Logging:

Azure Track is a tool that collects and organizes data about how things are doing. One component is Azure Track Logs, which gathers information from monitored things and stores it in Logs. You can use Log Analytics in the Azure portal to work with queries and their results. These queries help find issues, get alerted about them, or see results in a workbook or dashboard. Log Analytics in the portal lets you edit and run these queries, from simple ones to more advanced ones for analysis and visualization. It stores the data in a Log Analytics workspace and the same service analyzes it. The term Log Analytics is changing to Azure Track logs to better fit its role in Azure Track and match up with metrics.

Azure Security:

Protecting secrets:

Store and manage secrets like passwords and API keys using Azure Key Vault.

Azure database security:

Apply security measures to Azure databases, including encryption and access control.

Azure data security and encryption:

Secure sensitive information by encrypting data both at rest and in transit.

Azure identity management and access control:

Establish robust authentication and access control policies.

Azure network security:

Set up Azure Network Security Groups to manage traffic and safeguard resources.

Azure operational security:

Need users to undergo multifactor verification and ensure compliance with security standards.

Microsoft Azure: Unraveling The Secrets of IAM, Azure Networking, VMs, and ARM