Azure Introduction to Cloud Services

Define the cloud and Azure services through on-demand self-service, resource pooling, broad network access, plasticity in capacity, and measured service.

Explore SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS, comparing control and management overhead with examples like Office 365 and web apps, plus disaster recovery and database as a service.

Explore Azure data centers across more than 20 regions in 140 countries worldwide. Access rapid 30 Gbps inter-VM transfers over a high-speed optical network and private dark fiber.

Start a free Azure trial with a 60-day $200 credit and 12 months of free services. Verify your account with a Microsoft account and start testing.

Explore the Azure compute category in the portal to create virtual machines, build and host container services, function apps, and multi-tier cloud services for web apps.

Explore Azure networking options: virtual networks with interconnected virtual machines, load balancers for scalability, gateways for site-to-site and point-to-site VPN connections, traffic manager and security groups for traffic rules.

Azure storage services help you store files, blobs, tables, and queues, create storage accounts, host smb file shares, and back up on premises or in the cloud across regions.

Explore Azure database options, including SQL databases and elastic databases, plus data analytics tools like HDInsight and Cosmos DB, and services such as Data Factory and Data Lake Store.

Explore Azure's web and mobile hosting through web apps and containers, with platform as a service, scalability, and a global content delivery network for media and caching.

Explore Azure cloud services beyond compute, networking, and storage, including cognitive services, AI, ML, data science, IoT, Azure Active Directory, Key Vault, and monitoring with Application Insights and Log Analytics.

Explore the classic deployment model versus the arm deployment model in Azure, comparing independence of resources, access control, and management with resource groups, json templates, and the resource manager API.

Explore Azure management interfaces, including the portal user interface for point-and-click management, PowerShell for scripting, Azure CLI for cross-platform commands, and Azure Cloud Shell for remote access to your subscription.

Navigate the Azure portal hub to access resources, customize the hub menu and dashboard, and use blades to view virtual machines and activity logs.

Discover how Azure PowerShell simplifies management by installing and using PowerShell in classic or resource manager modes, authenticating to subscriptions, and leveraging cloud shell in the portal.

Explore cloud concepts and Azure services, including compute, networking, storage, data and analytics, and web or mobile hosting, plus deployment models and management tools such as Azure portal and PowerShell.