In this blog, we are going to cover Microsoft Azure Core services for beginners which build infrastructure in the Azure backend, you will learn these services in detail in the AZ-305: Azure Solutions Architect Certification Overview
Azure is a platform for Cloud computing services offered by Microsoft. It provides 600+ Services in its Cloud computing platforms. These services help to build, test, deploy, and manage applications on the Azure Platform. Azure offers infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, and software as a service along with that Azure enables ML and AI-supported applications.
We are going to cover an overview of each of the following services.
- Azure Service Architecture
- Azure Compute Service
- Storage Service
- Azure function
- Network Service
- Azure Security Service
- Data Platform Service
- AI & ML Service
- Container Service
- FAQs
Azure Service Architecture
Andriod (Linux), iOS, and Windows can work on offered cross-platform to run applications on Microsoft Azure. Azure offers Developer services, management and security, Compute and many more service to create intelligent applications which are smarter and engaging to people. The following is the Architecture of Azure Services offered by Microsoft.
1.) Azure Compute Service
Azure Compute service is responsible for hosting services for applications and running the application on workload with making sure of Availability of live application. Microsoft Azure Compute service provides the infrastructure base for execution of any application and running in a real-time environment. Deployment, hosting, management, and running the application can only be possible with Azure Compute.
1.1 Virtual Machine
Azure Virtual Machine is a Scalable Computing resource that host the Operating system like macOS, Linux, and Windows. you can access Virtual machines within seconds for deployment or development of your applications.
- Deployment of Workload with different types
- Stop or start is options for Virtual machine which can save Cost while User is not using Virtual machine resources.
- Monitoring Option like CPU Utilization or Network monitoring.
Virtual Machine scale set is used for deploying a set of identical Virtual machines (Windows or Linux) for providing Load balancing to the Application. it ensures high availability and increases the performance of the Application by having an extra resource for high load traffic. to learn more about the Virtual Machine Scale set check this blog.
1.2 Azure App Service
Azure App Service is a part of Software as a Service. Azure app service helps to run applications on the cloud. Users can develop the applications in different languages like .NET, NET Core, JAVA, Ruby, Python, etc. In-app service you can use features like load balancing and auto-scaling. An App Service plan is nothing but a bunch of virtual machines running behind the scenes but they are completed abstracted from you as an App Service plan.
1.3 Azure Functions (Serverless Computing)
The Azure Function is offered in the Serverless computing part where it allows to decrease code and solve high-level infrastructure with less infrastructure. where management of servers and OS is managed by the Service provider and Ensure that services are up and running as per SLA. Users only have to manged the deployment and development of Applications they are hosting on systems. it reduced the time developers waste on setting up the infrastructure for their application environment and increase the performance of the team as which boost productivity as well as decrease the cost.
if you want to learn more about Azure Compute Services then please check out the details blog on Azure compute.
2.) Azure Storage Service
2.1 Azure Blobs :
It stores Text and Binary Data that support Big Data Analytics using Data lake Storage Gen2. blob Storage provides access to an image file, pdfs, or documents directly to the browser using a single link. Blob enables streaming of audio, video, and distributed access of files as well as log file management.
2.2 Azure Files
Microsoft Azure File storage is a type of Azure service that was designed to support the needs of the Azure VM environment. That storage is, in essence, a network share. You can store files there that can be accessed from different Virtual Machines. It is similar to Amazon EFS and is its direct competitor.
2.3 Azure Queues
Queue Storage is a type of storage that is built to connect components of your application. It allows you to build flexible applications with decoupled and independent components that rely on asynchronous message queuing.
- This service used for the storage and retrieval of messages
- This service is good when you want to decouple components of an application
- A single message in the queue can be up to 64kb in size
- You can store millions of messages in the queue
2.4 Azure Tables
Microsoft Azure Table Storage was made to store structured NoSQL data. The storage is very scalable and, at the same time, very cheap to keep data in. However, it set off more expensive when you access files frequently.
- Structured NoSQL data are stored in Azure Table
- It is a key attribute store
- It is a cost-effective option for the storage of table-like data for applications
If you want to learn more about Azure storage services Please check out our blog on Azure Storage and its services
3.) Azure Network Service
3.1 Virtual Network
Azure Virtual Network is similar to Local Network in On-premise infrastructure which uses IP address and Subnet to identity applications and Runs based on NAT, Rules and Network Security. its a backend Private network of Azure Infrastructure.
- It enables many types of Azure resources, such as Azure Virtual Machines (VM), to securely communicate with each other, the internet, and on-premises networks.
- It is similar to a traditional network that you’d operate in your data center but brings with it additional benefits of Azure’s infrastructure such as scale, availability, and isolation.
- There are some major key components of Azure virtual Networks like Subnet, Network security group, Application security group.
3.2 Load balancer
Azure Load Balancer allows you to distribute traffic to your backend virtual machines. An Azure load balancer provides high availability for your application. The Azure load balancer is a fully managed service itself.
- Load balance internal and external traffic to Azure virtual machines.
- Increase availability by distributing resources within and across zones.
- Use health probes to monitor load-balanced resources.
- Employ port forwarding to access virtual machines in a virtual network by public IP address and port.
3.3 Application Gateway
Azure Application Gateway provides an Azure load balancer on the transport level for applying Routing Rules for supporting load balancing and traffic management.
- Application Gateway supports Secure socket layer termination security which makes a more secure way of load balancing.
- supports HTTP-based load balancing and Creates sessions based on Cookies.
3.4 Traffic manager
Azure Traffic Manager is a global DNS Server hosted in Azure. It is an external DNS solution. It extends the functionality of DNS beyond simple name, IP resolution by adding load balancing and advanced features such as geo-fencing, weighted, performance name resolutions.
- Higher Application Availability
- Improvement of Performance in Running Applications.
- Perform Service maintenance without downtime
- Combination of Hybrid Applications
- Distribute Traffic for Complex deployments
To know more about Traffic manager check this blog on Azure Traffic Manager
If you want to learn in-depth about Network services offered by Microsoft then please check this Amazing blog on Virtual Networks in Azure
4.)Azure Function
Azure Functions is a serverless computing service provided by Microsoft Azure that allows developers to build, deploy, and run event-driven applications and microservices without the need to manage the underlying infrastructure. Azure Functions supports multiple programming languages and integrates seamlessly with various Azure services, enabling developers to create scalable and efficient applications.
Here are some key highlights and updates related to Azure Functions:
Language Versions Support: Azure Functions continues to ensure that customers have access to the latest language versions for various languages. As of the provided information, it supports .NET 7, Python 3.10, NodeJS 18, Java 17, and PowerShell 7.2 across all supported SKU’s.
Durable Functions: Durable Functions is a key feature of Azure Functions that allows developers to build stateful workflows and coordination patterns. In the provided updates, Durable Functions added support for Java, making it available in all Azure Functions languages. Additionally, there were performance improvements for NodeJS and the introduction of Identity-based connections when using Azure Storage.
Programming Model Improvements: Azure Functions aims to provide a first-class development experience for developers regardless of the language they are using. One of the recent improvements is the introduction of a new programming model for Python.
Integration with Event Sources: Azure Functions excels in integrating with various Azure services and event-based systems. It has added support for multiple event sources, including SQL Server, Kafka, the latest version of Cosmos DB, Azure Table, and more
To know more about Azure function check this blog on Azure Function
5.) Azure Security
5.1 Application security group
Application Security Group is a way of grouping virtual machines based on Applications running on VM’s for Managing the security. Application security group after grouping the virtual machines, its been added to the network security group for applying inbound and outbound rules. This Virtual machine group is on a Logical base based on the Virtual network’s IP address and Subnet assignments.
- ASG provides a fine-grained Network security policy based on workloads and application centralization.
- Applies Granular Security traffic Controls.
- AGS allows the security definition, provides moniker names and protects from potential attacks on the network.
5.2 Azure Firewall
Azure Firewall is a dedicated Cloud-based network protection service that protects Azure Virtual Network resources. It’s a fully stateful firewall as a service that ensures high- availability and unrestricted cloud scalability. Users can create, enforce and manage logs of applications in virtual networks or assigned subscriptions.
- Azure Firewall supports Azure Monitoring which allows for collecting logs and archive them in a storage account and manages the event hub with providing a high level of security.
- It supports Built-in high availability
- Azure Firewall allows up to 250 public IP address assignments in a single firewall.
5.3 Security Center
Azure Security center is a bunch of tools for securing cloud and on-premise workload to increase the security in the cloud. Security centers ensure that every application and service hosted on the cloud must be secure from threats, viruses, and cyber attacks. it is a unified infrastructure security management system that includes a hybrid cloud as well as supports on-premise infrastructure as well.
Please check out this blog on Azure Secure Network Connectivity
6.) Data Platform Service
6.1 Azure Cosmos DB
Azure Cosmos DB is a database service offered by Microsoft Azure with global distribution. It provides low latency and a high level of availability to manage database service up running.
- support of documents, key-value type, and all kind of NoSQL data models.
- It’s a fully managed service where users don’t need to manage Virtual machines or configure software or upgrade the software.
- Support five well-defined consistency levels.
- Turnkey global distribution service.
6.2 SQL Database
Azure SQL Database allows hosting Microsoft SQL Server workloads on Azure Infrastructure. Azure SQL Database is a fully managed service provided by Azure. it’s always updated and runs on the current version of the SQL Server database engine with 99.99% availability.
SQL database allows software upgrades, Backup of SQL database, patching the errors, and monitoring for ensuring high availability. There are some Advantages of the Azure SQL database like high Security, High Availability, Low price, and a fully managed platform for databases.
6.3 NoSQL Database
NoSQL is a database service that is used for handling large, indeterminted, unrelated, or rapidly increasing or changing datasets. it supported schema dictated data and users can scale data horizontally by adding new servers. It provides agility and enables handling of data with flexibility which can operate at any scale. there are certain data models like key-value, document, columnar, and graph which are non-relationally work in NoSQL Database in azure.
Check out this detailed blog on Azure SQL Database
7.) AI & ML Services
7.1 Azure synapse Analytics
Azure Synapse analytics provide an unmatched time of insights with unrestricted analytics. it offers an unlimited analysis of information and supports big data analysis with a large database. it can be integrated with Azure Machine learning and Power BI.
Azure synapse analytics allows integration of mathematical models and statistical modeling with parallel analysis. the following are the feature provided by Azure Synapse Analytics.
- Integration of Apache Spark.
- Allowing of Connection with multiple data sources.
- Azure Synapse provides SQL Cluster and SQL on Demand based analysis.
7.2 HDInsight
HDInsight is a powerful Data Analysis that supports many open source frameworks like Hadoop for data science, Apache Kafka and R. HDInsight offers cost-effective and faster processing of a larger amount of datasets.
- Data Monitoring in a single platform for all the clustering services running a Large amount of data.
- The worldwide availability of services makes it more relevant to Data analysis and big data integration. HDInsight available in multiple regions like China and Germany as well.
7.3 Event Hubs
Azure Event Hub is also a big data-supported platform service. it processes limitless events every second and it also provides a real-time analytics data provider which shares the information in between data processing as well as final results with multiple parameters. you can use the Event hub for creating a live dashboard for live data analysis, Filtering datasets, and Analytics pipeline services.
Also Check: Our blog post on Azure Managed Services. Click here
8.) Container Services
Container services are providing small containers of particular services or providing microservice architecture which enables faster delivery and high results. it enables Continous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) tools for the development of Application which enables low cost and faster service by removing unnecessary services which are not in use.
8.1) Container instances
Running Application in Container without adding any virtual machine or full operating system service integration. it helps in the development and real-time production environment setup for applications.
- It dilutes the management of the operating system by adding containers that do not require any management. if any container fails then it automatically detects and launches a similar service container without any delay in service processing.
- Docker container is a tool that creates containers with the help of container instance service.
8.2) Container Registry
Azure Container Registry is a private Azure registry with a collection of docker container images. Moreover, it enables faster Global replication of images which enables multiple regions-based single registry images. Container Registry supports Many Azure services such as Azure Active Directory authentication process, RBAC, and virtual network.
8.3) Azure Kubernetes service
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is a managed Kubernetes service in which the master node is managed by Azure and end-users manages worker nodes. As a managed Kubernetes service AKS is free – you only pay for the worker nodes within your clusters, not for the masters. You can create an AKS cluster in the Azure portal, with the Azure CLI, or template-driven deployment options such as Resource Manager templates and Terraform.
Learn more about Azure Kubernetes Service
Conclusion
In This Article, we have covered Microsoft Azure Core services for Beginners. you can use portal.azure.com for Azure service. there more services that are advance like Azure DevOps, Azure applications, Azure active directory, etc. to learn more about services and implementation please register for our master class of Azure solution architect exam.
FAQs
What are the core products available in Azure?
Among them there are core Azure services which you must be aware of as a customer before working on the platform. Azure core resources or services are broadly classified into four categories which are compute, networking, storage, and database. Networking is crucial for your cloud deployment to be successful.
What are Azure Functions core tools?
Azure Functions Core Tools lets you develop and test your functions on your local computer. Core Tools includes a version of the same runtime that powers Azure Functions. This runtime means your local functions run as they would in Azure and can connect to live Azure services during local development and debugging.
What are the three types of Azure services?
Here are the different Azure cloud service types: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS)
References/Related
- Azure Solution Architect Expert | AZ-305 Certification Step By Step Activity Guides (Hands-On Labs)
- Case Study: Deploy A Container Instance In Azure Using The Azure Portal
- Azure Storage Account [Official Microsoft]
- Core Cloud Service: Azure Compute Options
- AZ-305: Azure Solutions Architect Certification Overview
- Job Oriented Azure Cloud Program: Step-by-Step Hands-on Lab & Projects
- Virtual Networks In Microsoft Azure: VNet Peering, ExpressRoute, VPN Gateway
Next Task For You
Interested in preparing the exam for Azure Certifications as well? Check out this blog post to know all about exam preparation AZ-305: Azure Solutions Architect Certification Overview.
We will discuss this in detail in our Azure Solution Architect FREE class, just click on the Register Now button below to register for a FREE class on Mastering Azure Cloud in which we cover Azure Cloud in details
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