Get Started with Azure: Core Concepts

Welcome to the foundational concepts of Microsoft Azure. This guide will introduce you to the essential building blocks and principles that power Microsoft's cloud computing platform.

What is Azure?

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing service created by Microsoft for building, testing, deploying, and managing applications and services through Microsoft-managed data centers. It provides a vast array of services, including computing, analytics, storage, and networking, allowing you to move workloads to the cloud, build new cloud-native applications, and innovate with emerging technologies.

Key Azure Concepts

1. Regions and Availability Zones

Azure is a global platform. Regions are distinct geographic locations around the world where Microsoft has data centers. Each region contains multiple data centers. Availability Zones are physically separate locations within an Azure region, providing redundancy and high availability for your applications.

Choosing the right region is crucial for performance, compliance, and cost.

2. Azure Resources and Resource Groups

An Azure Resource is anything that can be managed as a product for your solution. Examples include virtual machines, storage accounts, virtual networks, and web apps.

Resource Groups are logical containers that hold related Azure resources for a solution. They provide a way to manage and organize your resources, making it easier to deploy, update, and delete them as a group. For example, you might create a resource group for a specific application, containing its virtual machines, databases, and web services.

3. Azure Resource Manager (ARM)

Azure Resource Manager (ARM) is the deployment and management service for Azure. It provides a management layer that enables you to create, update, and delete resources in your Azure account. ARM allows you to deploy your solution through declarative templates (like ARM templates or Bicep), ensuring consistency and repeatability.

With ARM, you can manage resources, control access, and monitor usage through a single, consistent interface.

4. Azure Compute Services

Azure offers a wide range of compute services to run your applications, from simple virtual machines to complex container orchestration and serverless computing:

  • Virtual Machines (VMs): On-demand, scalable computing resources.
  • Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS): Managed Kubernetes service for container orchestration.
  • Azure Functions: Event-driven, serverless compute platform.
  • Azure App Service: Platform for building, deploying, and scaling web apps, mobile apps, and APIs.

5. Azure Storage Services

Azure provides robust and scalable storage solutions for various data needs:

  • Blob Storage: Massively scalable object storage for unstructured data like text or binary data.
  • File Storage: Fully managed file shares in the cloud accessible via the SMB protocol.
  • Queue Storage: Reliable messaging for decoupling applications.
  • Table Storage: NoSQL key-value store for structured data.

6. Azure Networking Services

Azure networking services enable you to connect your Azure resources and extend your on-premises networks to the cloud:

  • Virtual Network (VNet): The fundamental building block for your private network in Azure.
  • Load Balancer: Distributes network traffic to ensure application availability and responsiveness.
  • VPN Gateway: Securely connect your on-premises networks to Azure.

Next Steps

Now that you have a grasp of the core concepts, you can dive deeper into specific areas:

Ready to build? Start by creating your first Azure resource:

Create Your First Azure Resource