Quick Tour of Microsoft Azure

A Quick Tour of Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is a comprehensive cloud computing platform that offers a multitude of services and tools to build, deploy, and manage applications. This quick tour will guide you through accessing the Azure portal, managing accounts and subscriptions, creating and managing resources and resource groups, and using Azure CLI and PowerShell.

Accessing the Azure Portal

The Azure portal is a web-based, unified console that provides an alternative to command-line tools. It is the primary interface for managing Azure resources.

1. Sign In

• Go to the Azure portal.
• Sign in with your Microsoft account.

Managing Accounts & Subscriptions

Azure subscriptions are the foundation of managing your Azure resources, providing access to services and billing information.

1. Access Subscriptions

• In the Azure portal, click on the “Cost Management + Billing” blade.
• Select “Subscriptions” to view your active subscriptions.

Creating Resources

Resources in Azure are instances of services that you create and manage. Here’s how to create a resource:

1. Create a Resource

• Click on the “+ Create a resource” button on the home page or in the left-hand menu.
• Select the type of resource you want to create (e.g., Virtual Machine, Storage Account).

2. Configure Resource

• Fill in the required details such as resource name, region, and pricing tier.
• Click “Review + create” and then “Create”.

Finding Resources

To locate your resources within the Azure portal:

1. Search for Resources

• Use the search bar at the top of the Azure portal to type the name of the resource.
• Select the resource from the search results to view its details.

Removing Resources

If you no longer need a resource, you can delete it:

1. Delete a Resource

• Navigate to the resource you want to delete.
• Click on the “Delete” button at the top of the resource’s overview page.
• Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Resource Groups

Resource groups are containers that hold related resources for an Azure solution. They allow you to manage multiple resources as a single entity.

1. Create a Resource Group

• Click on “Resource groups” in the left-hand menu.
• Click “+ Create”.
• Fill in the required details such as the resource group name and region.
• Click “Review + create” and then “Create”.

2. Manage Resources within a Group

• Navigate to your resource group to view, add, or remove resources.

Using Azure CLI

Azure CLI is a command-line tool for managing Azure resources. Here’s a quick start:

1. Install Azure CLI

• Follow the installation guide.

1. Sign In

• Open your terminal and run:
  sh az login
• Follow the instructions to authenticate.

1. Create a Resource Group

• Run:
  sh az group create --name MyResourceGroup --location eastus

Using Azure PowerShell

Azure PowerShell is another powerful tool for managing Azure resources. Here’s how to get started:

1. Install Azure PowerShell

• Follow the installation guide.

1. Sign In

• Open PowerShell and run:
  powershell Connect-AzAccount
• Follow the instructions to authenticate.

1. Create a Resource Group

• Run:
  powershell New-AzResourceGroup -Name MyResourceGroup -Location eastus

Conclusion

This quick tour provides a high-level overview of managing Azure through the portal, Azure CLI, and PowerShell. With these tools and methods, you can efficiently create, manage, and remove resources, as well as organize them using resource groups. By leveraging Azure’s extensive services and tools, you can optimize your cloud operations and accelerate your development processes.