AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals: Compute & Network

Compute refers to a system's processing capability involving CPU, memory, and storage resources. It is crucial in virtual machines, where they allocate resources to mimic physical hardware and ensure efficient operation. Virtual machines use software-based computing resources to run multiple operating systems and applications on a single physical machine. These resources can be adjusted dynamically based on workload requirements, providing flexibility and scalability. Hypervisors manage compute resource allocation to virtual machines, ensuring optimal performance and resource utilization. Understanding compute's importance helps organizations optimize performance and resource utilization in virtualized environments.

Gain practical experience in creating a virtual machine using the Azure portal. Follow a detailed, step-by-step video tutorial to become proficient in virtual machine creation.

Azure containers offer a lightweight and agile method for running multiple instances of applications on a single physical or virtual host. Unlike virtual machines, containers do not require managing the operating system for each, enabling faster deployments, dynamic scalability, and efficient resource utilization. Azure supports Docker and provides various container-related services, including Azure Container Instances (a platform as a service offering), Azure Container Apps (offering container management and additional benefits like load balancing and scaling), and Azure Kubernetes Service (a container orchestration service for simplified container fleet management). Containers are commonly employed in microservice architecture for independent maintenance, scaling, and updates of different application components.

Azure Functions is an event-driven, serverless compute option that eliminates the need to maintain virtual machines or containers as an event triggers the function, minimizing resource provisioning when not in use. It is well-suited for tasks requiring quick responses triggered by events, timers, or messages from other Azure services, and it automatically scales based on demand. Functions can be stateless or stateful, providing flexibility and efficient resource allocation.

Additionally, Azure App Service allows the hosting of web apps, background jobs, mobile back-ends, and RESTful APIs in various programming languages without managing infrastructure. It supports automatic scaling high availability, and offering features for hosting web apps, API apps, WebJobs, and mobile apps. App Service manages deployment, security, scaling, and high availability, making it an ideal choice for hosting web-oriented applications in Azure.

This network security group lab in the terminal provides practical experience configuring Azure network access. You'll learn how to create a virtual machine, install Nginx, and set up network security groups. The lab covers activating the sandbox, creating a Linux virtual machine, configuring Nginx on the virtual machine via a custom script extension, and enabling HTTP traffic to the virtual machine. You'll also learn to verify that the virtual machine runs using the appropriate Azure commands and validate your successful work.

Azure Virtual Private Network (VPN) allows for secure connections between trusted private networks and untrusted networks like the Internet. It includes the Site-to-Site Connection, linking on-premises data centers to virtual networks, Point-to-Site Connection for individual devices, and VNet-to-VNet Connection between virtual networks. A private tunnel encrypts traffic, and the gateway type (policy-based or route-based) determines traffic encryption methods. Additionally, site-to-site VPN connections enable bidirectional private communication between Azure and on-premises networks, and Local Network Gateway represents the on-premises location for Azure Virtual Network connections. The Point-to-Site (P2S) VPN ensures secure access to cloud resources for individual users. For high-availability, active/standby or active/active deployment, ExpressRoute failover, and zone-redundant configurations are available to maintain continuous network connectivity.

Azure ExpressRoute provides a secure method to extend on-premises networks into the Microsoft Cloud using a private connection. It utilizes an ExpressRoute Circuit to connect to Microsoft cloud services like Azure and Microsoft 365, offering reliability, faster speeds, consistent latencies, and higher security than typical internet connections. The ExpressRoute Circuit is a dedicated private connection provided by a connectivity provider, utilizing either layer 2 or 3 circuits for a secure link between on-premises networks and Azure. This dedicated private connection offers enhanced security, reliability, and performance by bypassing the public internet.

ExpressRoute connectivity can be established through any-to-any (IP VPN) networks, point-to-point Ethernet networks, or virtual cross-connections at colocation facilities. These dedicated private connections ensure data remains within a controlled and secure environment, providing benefits such as organizational control, latency reduction, enhanced security, customization, and isolation.

In this video, we explore how the Domain Name System (DNS) works to translate human-readable website names into machine-understandable IP addresses. The process is likened to a scenario where Ethan wants to call his Mom without knowing her phone number. The video illustrates how DNS queries, DNS resolvers, root servers, and authoritative DNS servers work together to find and provide the IP address for a given website. Just as Ann eventually finds and shares Ethan's Mom's phone number, the DNS eventually enables the browser to connect to the web server using the obtained IP address.

DNS translates domain names into IP addresses for computer identification on networks. Azure DNS is a DNS hosting service in the Microsoft Azure infrastructure that has several benefits. It utilizes Azure's network for robust performance and secures DNS hosting. Azure DNS simplifies DNS management and allows customization to suit specific needs. It provides flexibility in DNS record management with Alias Records. Anycasting in Azure DNS routes DNS queries to the closest server for fast performance, improving network efficiency. Azure DNS hosts DNS domains on a global network of servers and routes requests based on latency and availability for quick responses. Azure Resource Manager (ARM) provides several compelling management features, including Azure RBAC, Activity Logs, and Resource Locking. DNS and Azure DNS ensure secure and reliable network communications within the Azure infrastructure.