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Azure Portal Navigation Concepts

This document provides an overview of the core concepts behind navigating the Azure portal. Understanding these concepts will help you efficiently manage your Azure resources and services.

The Azure Portal Interface

The Azure portal is a unified web-based interface for managing all your Azure services. It's designed for ease of use, offering a consistent experience across different resource types.

Key Navigation Elements

• Global Search: Located at the top of every page, this powerful tool allows you to quickly find resources, services, documentation, and marketplace items.
• Azure Services: A comprehensive list of all available Azure services, categorized for easy browsing.
• All Resources: A centralized view of all the resources you have deployed in Azure, allowing you to filter, sort, and manage them.
• Resource Groups: Logical containers that help you organize and manage related Azure resources.
• Favorites: Pin frequently used resources, services, or dashboards for quick access.
• Notifications: Stay informed about important events, alerts, and service updates.
• Settings: Customize your portal experience, manage user access, and configure preferences.
• Cloud Shell: An interactive, authenticated, browser-accessible shell for managing Azure resources with Bash or PowerShell.

Understanding the Structure

The portal is structured hierarchically:

1. Subscriptions: The highest level of organization, representing your billing and access boundary.
2. Resource Groups: Collections of related resources within a subscription.
3. Resources: Individual services or components deployed within a resource group (e.g., a virtual machine, a storage account, a web app).

Common Navigation Patterns

• Breadcrumbs: Located at the top of a resource's blade, breadcrumbs show your current location within the portal hierarchy and allow you to navigate back up the tree.
• Blades: The portal uses a "blade" system where detailed views or configuration options open to the right of the current view, creating a cascading effect. You can close blades by clicking the 'X' or navigating back.
• Command Bar: Each resource and service view has a command bar offering relevant actions and settings.

Best Practices for Navigation

• Utilize the global search for quick access.
• Organize resources into meaningful Resource Groups.
• Pin frequently used items to your Favorites.
• Familiarize yourself with the Cloud Shell for command-line management.
• Use Resource Groups and Subscriptions to manage access and billing effectively.

By mastering these navigation concepts, you can significantly improve your productivity when working with Azure.