1 What is Microsoft Azure?

Microsoft Azure is Microsoft’s globally distributed cloud platform that delivers hundreds of services for compute, storage, networking, databases, AI, and more, letting individuals and enterprises build and run applications without owning physical servers. The chapter explains cloud computing as layered abstractions—Infrastructure-, Platform-, and Software-as-a-Service—and positions Azure as a public cloud that can also participate in private and hybrid setups. With data centers across more than 65 regions, Azure enables placing workloads close to users for lower latency and designing resilient, regionally redundant architectures, while offering a consistent management model regardless of geography.

Moving from concepts to practice, the chapter shows how common scenarios benefit from Azure: hosting web apps with managed compute and databases that scale on demand; extending on-premises environments with hybrid identity and synchronized file shares; and designing fault-tolerant, multi-region systems using global traffic routing, load balancing, and data replication. It highlights automation with Azure Resource Manager templates for repeatable, error-resistant deployments, and introduces the main ways to interact with the platform—Azure Portal for visual management, Azure CLI and PowerShell for scripting and automation, and language SDKs for embedding Azure services into applications—all unified through Azure Resource Manager.

The motivations for adopting Azure go beyond upfront cost savings to include elastic scalability, built-in reliability (availability zones, paired regions, resilient storage), rapid infrastructure expansion, strong support options, and extensive compliance coverage. Cost is treated as a first-class concern: you can start with a free account, use pay-as-you-go when appropriate, and significantly reduce spend with reserved instances or spot pricing, with billing typically driven by time, traffic, and storage. The chapter also surveys alternatives—on-premises, other cloud providers, and multi-cloud—emphasizing trade-offs in skills, governance, and cost, and concludes by guiding readers to create an account so they can choose the right services, configure them correctly, integrate them effectively, and operate them efficiently.

A selection of some of the many Azure Regions spanning the globe.

Cloud computing abstraction layers. The responsibility shifts between you and the cloud provider across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. As you move up the layers, the provider manages more — from physical infrastructure and virtualization in IaaS, to the OS and runtime in PaaS, and nearly everything in SaaS — leaving you to focus on just your applications and data.

Simple on-premises web hosting. In this setup, both the database and web server are hosted locally, with all public traffic routed through the on-premises server. This works for many small businesses but can struggle with performance, scalability, and maintenance as traffic or demand grows.

Mr. Wayne’s cloud architecture. Moving the website to Azure places the database in Azure SQL and the web application in an App Service Plan, with Azure DNS providing faster global resolution. This setup reduces latency for distant users, handles traffic spikes through scaling, and eliminates the need for Mr. Wayne to maintain physical hardware.

Hybrid file synchronization setup. This architecture connects an on-premises environment to Azure using Entra ID for authentication and Azure File Sync agents for keeping files synchronized between local file servers and Azure File Shares. Users can access files locally or in the cloud, with changes automatically kept in sync. This setup provides built-in backups, easier disaster recovery, and secure remote access, while reducing the need for additional on-premises storage hardware.

Redundant Azure architecture example. This setup uses Azure Traffic Manager to route requests between regions, ensuring availability if one region goes offline. Within each region, a Load Balancer directs traffic to healthy virtual machines, while multiple VMs prevent single points of failure. Azure SQL Database is replicated between regions to keep data consistent, so the application remains available and up to date even during outages.

Azure Virtual Machine Scale Set – Autoscaling Settings. You can choose manual or auto-scale and then limits on how many instances you want to scale to.

Azure Portal

Azure CLI – Listing App Service Plans

PowerShell console showing 10 Azure cmdlets.

Azure landing page.

Create a new Microsoft account.

Azure account creation.

• Azure is applicable to real-world scenarios and can be effective and desirable for a variety of projects and companies.
• Scalability and reliability are two of the main factors that define Azure and cloud computing in general.
• Cost can be managed by using a combination of PAYG services, reserved instances of VMs and spot pricing VMs.
• Azure has services that are always free, such as Cosmos DB free tier, a certain number of Azure Function executions and some Azure App Service Plans.
• The three types of computing relevant to Azure is cloud, on-premises and multi-cloud.
• The main ways to interact with Azure is using the Azure Portal, the Azure CLI, PowerShell, or integrating with an Azure software development kit.
• You can create a free Azure account to get started trying out services and features.
• Azure’s global network of regions allows you to deploy resources close to users, improving performance and meeting compliance requirements.
• The three main cloud service models — IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS — differ in how much infrastructure the provider manages versus what you manage.
• Real-world scenarios such as web hosting, hybrid file synchronization, and risk mitigation highlight how Azure can address common IT challenges.
• Multiple tools — including the Azure Portal, CLI, PowerShell, and SDKs — give you flexibility in how you create, manage, and monitor resources.
• Billing models like PAYG, reserved instances, and spot pricing provide options to balance flexibility and cost savings.

FAQ