Enterprise Azure Labs: AVD, EntraID and On-Prem ADDS (2025)

Create an Azure account and access Cloud Shell to explore the Azure portal, manage subscriptions, and launch a lab by creating a resource group using PowerShell or Bash.

Learn how to navigate the Azure portal home page, use favorites, dashboards, and all services to manage subscriptions, resource groups, and recent resources, and access Cloud Shell and support.

Master resource organization in the Azure portal by creating resource groups, specifying subscription, region, and tags, and linking storage accounts via Cloud Shell for labs.

Learn to create, manage, and delete Azure resource groups and storage accounts in the portal and Cloud Shell using PowerShell, with automation to prevent typos.

Create a Windows Server 2022 datacenter azure edition VM in west europe, configure disks and networking, set up a domain controller, connect via RDP, and export an arm template.

Explore Azure free subscription benefits, including 12 months of compute, storage, and container services, plus a $200 credit for 30 days and access to over 25 always free services.

Organize Azure assets using resource groups as containers to manage related resources, deploy together, and follow best practices for naming and tagging to track costs by department, environment, or application.

Understand Azure regions, region pairs and availability zones to optimize latency, data residency, and compliance. Compare pricing across regions to choose cost-effective placements while ensuring service availability and disaster recovery.

Discover how Azure availability zones deliver high availability and data protection by distributing resources across three separate zones within a region, enabling zone redundant services and resilient architectures.

Explore Azure's all services catalog to discover and manage hundreds of offerings by category. Deploy resources with guided options and monitor key services like virtual machines, storage, and databases.

Learn to monitor and control Azure subscription costs by using cost analysis, setting up monthly budgets, and receiving alerts at thresholds and forecasted spending.

Learn to integrate GitHub with Azure Cloud Shell to clone a repo, run PowerShell scripts for provisioning and removing VMs, and use Codespaces for in-browser coding.

Manage Azure resources with PowerShell and Cloud Shell by listing resource groups and resources, and deleting a resource group with what-if and force.

Define and configure an Azure VM OS using PowerShell by declaring variables for the resource group, location, and VM, then create public IP, VNet, and NIC.

Script a PowerShell workflow to configure an azure vm: create an NSG rule for RDP on TCP 3389, attach it to the NIC, and provision the Windows VM with credentials.

Script and configure an Azure VM operating system with PowerShell, setting the source image and edition, attaching a network interface, disabling boot diagnostics, and outputting VM details and public IP.

Learn to create Azure VMs with a PowerShell script, enforce 15-character naming, and build scalable labs by provisioning multiple VMs from one run.

Create a PowerShell resource removal script in GitHub Codespaces to delete an Azure VM and linked resources—NIC, public IP, NSG, VNet, and the resource group—and push changes to GitHub.

Demonstrate running a removal script in the Azure portal to delete a VM and its resources using cloud shell and PowerShell, then outline automating multi-VM deployments.

Deploy a multi-region Azure lab by automating resource groups, virtual networks, and six Windows Server 2022 VMs across UK West, East US, and Central India with PowerShell automation.

Demonstrates a multi-region Azure lab cleanup, removing virtual machines, network interfaces, public IPs, virtual networks, and resource groups across UK, West, East US, and Central India using a PowerShell script.

Explore how Azure Bastion enables secure access to Windows VMs in the Azure portal via TLS over 443, eliminating public IPs and avoiding direct RDP exposure.

Configure six Azure virtual machines across zones, assign static IPs, install Active Directory Domain Services, and promote the first server to the forest root domain controller for learned lessons.

Connect to the Azure virtual machine and set a static IPv4 address, then promote the server to a root domain controller via GUI, creating a new forest learn it lessons.com.

Configure a static ip on the domain controller using PowerShell, setting 10.0.0.5 with prefix 24 and gateway 10.0.0.1, and assign dns servers 10.0.0.5 and 10.0.0.4.

Troubleshoot network connectivity by resolving IP issues on the Ethernet interface and DNS. Remove and reconfigure IPs with net ip address and set DNS servers 127.0.0.1 and 10.0.0.4.

Learn how to troubleshoot Azure network connectivity by managing network interfaces, configuring public IP addresses, and attaching or detaching NICs to a virtual machine.

Add a second domain controller to learned lessons.com using the gui, configure dns to point to the first dc, and complete the promotion process.

Configure vnet peering between central India and UK West to connect the learned lessons root domain with the moom subdomain, then promote dc1 and dc2 as domain controllers.

Promote a secondary domain controller for the Moom dot learned lessons.com subdomain, configuring DNS and IP settings to support Active Directory domain controllers across three locations.

Verify and configure DNS settings across multi-region Active Directory, including DNS zones, forwarders to Azure DNS 168.63.129.16, and delegations for AMS and subdomains, with PowerShell validation.

Create and verify an AMS delegation in DNS, configure forward lookup zones and zone transfers, and validate forwarders and VNet peering for a multi-region lab DNS environment.

Configure active directory sites across UK West, West Europe, and Central India to optimize domain controller workload and improve replication using ds site.msc.

Configure active directory sites and subnets for a multi-region environment by creating site links, setting replication frequency to 15 minutes, and moving domain controllers via GUI and PowerShell.

Set up a West US resource group with a standardized name, then create a matching virtual network and a pooled host pool with breadth-first load balancer and a two-user limit.

Configure Azure virtual desktop host pools with breadth-first, depth-first, or resource-based load balancing; select session host images such as Windows 10/11 multi-session and Windows Server images, and size VMs.

Configure Azure Virtual Desktop host pools and desktop application groups to provide full desktop experiences, assign users or security groups for access, and enforce least-privilege with regular access reviews.

Configure Azure Virtual Desktop workspace by verifying host pools, creating the workspace, associating application groups, and assigning users through RBAC and app group assignments.

Learn to configure an AVD workspace, add applications, and connect via the RDP web client while enabling Microsoft Entra single sign-on and AAD joined session hosts for secure user access.

Explore Microsoft Entra ID as a cloud identity and access management service, and see how it serves as a directory for apps, with SSO, MFA, and hybrid integration.

EntraID enables centralized identity and access management with application access, user management, security features like MFA and conditional access, and seamless on-prem to cloud integration for real-world enterprise use.

Explore Microsoft Entra ID tiers, free, basic, and premium, and their Azure integration, including default directory provisioning with new subscriptions. Entra ID is a cloud native service for web-based apps.

Register a custom domain with a registrar, add it to your Azure tenant in the portal, verify ownership with a txt record, and configure dns to map to resources.

Explore how Microsoft Entra tenants relate to Azure subscriptions in a multi-tenant design, where a tenant can host multiple subscriptions and manage domains and permissions.

Create a new Microsoft Entra ID/Azure AD tenant, add a custom domain, and verify ownership with DNS records to enable federation with on-premises Active Directory.

Discover how the Microsoft Entra schema enables cloud identity with a lean object model, device class, and modern management, contrasting with on-prem AD DS and GPO-based management.

Compare Microsoft Entra ID and AD DS, contrasting cloud native versus on-premises deployment, flat versus hierarchical structures, REST APIs versus LDAP, and device objects versus computer objects for identity management.

Add a custom domain to the tenant, verify ownership with DNS records, and prepare federation with on-premises Windows Server Active Directory using Microsoft Entra ID.

Create an on-premises domain controller, install Microsoft Entra ID Connect, and synchronize on-prem AD with Azure Entra ID to enable identity integration for the Azure lab.

Explore Microsoft Entra ID as a cloud directory service unifying identity across Microsoft cloud services and external providers, enabling single sign-on and streamlined authentication for custom apps and web apps.

Explore EntraID p1 and p2 plans, comparing premium features such as self-service group management, advanced security reports with ML, MFA for on-prem apps, and conditional access with cloud app discovery.

Explore Microsoft Entra domain services core concepts, including policy management, domain joining, and Kerberos authentication in cloud and hybrid environments, with licensing and use-case considerations.

Compare Microsoft Entra ID with on-prem Active Directory, noting its cloud-based identity, REST APIs instead of LDAP, and reduced on-prem infrastructure, plus risk-based sign-ins with P2 licensing.

Establish on-premises active directory to Azure Active Directory connection with Microsoft Entra ID Connect, configure lab resources, and validate synchronization via a test user.

Deploy a Windows Server 2022 domain controller on Azure, configure on-premises Active Directory, and install Microsoft Entra Connect to synchronize with Entra ID.

Assign the global administrator role to John Doe in Entra ID, then disable NLA via VM run command for Azure AD join, reboot, and re-enable NLA.

Install and configure Microsoft Entra Connect to synchronize on-premises Active Directory with Azure Entra ID, set up credentials, and enable seamless sign-on for users.

Enable single sign-on with Microsoft Entra Connect by configuring Azure AD Connect, enabling password hash synchronization, and applying seamless sign-on in the Azure portal to sync on-premises Active Directory users.

Test SSO integration with Azure Virtual Desktop Access across on-premises active directory and Entra ID, provisioning hybrid resources and validating seamless sign-in to azure resources.

Install and configure the Azure PowerShell module, set an execution policy, import the module, and sign in to your Azure tenant. Verify your subscription and prepare for VM deployment.

Deploy an Azure VM with PowerShell by provisioning a resource group, configuring a virtual network and subnet, setting admin credentials, and deploying the VM with New-AzVM in East US.

Learn to manage Azure VMs from PowerShell: connect via RDP using the public IP, resize VMs with Get-Az VM size and Update-Az VM, and check power states with Get-Az VM.

Automate Azure VM management with PowerShell, including stopping, starting, restarting, and removing VMs and resource groups, and verify status with get azure vm status.

Complete a hands-on project to deploy and manage an Azure VM by creating a resource group, deploying a VM with a default configuration, stopping, starting, and deleting resources.

Deploy virtual machines from Azure Marketplace and custom images using Azure PowerShell by selecting image publishers, offers, and SKUs, then deploy Windows Server 2016 Data Center in East US.

Create a disk image from an existing VM and deploy an Azure VM from a custom or marketplace image using PowerShell, then manage AZ images with find and remove commands.

Provision a virtual machine from a disk image by creating a resource group, capturing the OS disk as custom images, deploying a second VM, and deleting resources.

Learn to manage Azure disks by creating, attaching, and snapshotting data disks, and deploy VMs from snapshots using PowerShell, while understanding OS and temporary disks and standard vs premium disks.

Learn to configure and attach a 128 GB data disk to an Azure virtual machine, update the VM, and initialize, partition, and format the disk as NTFS.

Provision a data disk and attach it to a virtual machine, then initialize and format it for the operating system, and validate by creating a text file on the disk.

Learn to deploy a new virtual machine from an Azure snapshot by capturing a vm disk, configuring snapshot parameters, and provisioning the os disk.

Create an Azure virtual machine from a snapshot by loading snapshot and disk configurations, attaching an OS disk, and configuring network with a public IP.

Create a resource group, deploy a virtual machine, snapshot it, and create a disk from the snapshot. Deploy a second virtual machine from the disk, then remove all resources.

Create and configure azure availability sets to distribute virtual machines across fault and update domains, enabling high availability and reliable load-balanced deployments with PowerShell.

Create an Azure availability set with a single command, then deploy two virtual machines into it, ensuring distribution across update and fault domains.

Create a resource group and an availability set, deploy two Windows VMs into the set, install IIS on both, and verify both VMs appear in the availability set.

Explore how Azure Load Balancer achieves high availability by distributing traffic across healthy virtual machines, configuring front end and back end pools, health probes, and traffic rules.

Configure a load balancer with a front end IP, back end pool, and health probe, then deploy VMs behind it with NICs attached and place them in an availability set.

Install IIS on two VMs behind an Azure load balancer, use unique default.htm to identify each VM, and manage backend pool membership via NIC updates.