MS Azure Development Services

Setting Up an Azure Subscription

Getting started with Microsoft Azure begins with creating an account and setting up your first subscription. A subscription acts as the central container for all your Azure services, resources, billing, and access control. Here’s how to do it step-by-step:

1. Create an Azure Account: Visit the official Azure website and click on “Start free” or “Sign up.” You’ll be prompted to log in with your Microsoft account or create one. If you don’t already have a Microsoft account, you’ll be guided through setting one up first.
2. Provide Verification Details: Azure requires a phone number and a credit or debit card for identity verification. This process ensures that you are a real user. No initial charges will be made. Free trial users receive $200 in Azure credits for 30 days to explore services.
3. Select a Subscription Type: Azure offers different subscription models—Free, Pay-As-You-Go, and Enterprise Agreements. Each model caters to different needs. The Free and Pay-As-You-Go subscriptions are ideal for individuals or small businesses, while Enterprise Agreements are suited for large organizations with custom pricing.
4. Access the Azure Portal: Once your account is active, you’ll be redirected to the Azure portal (portal.azure.com). This dashboard gives you full control over your resources, billing, and user permissions. Familiarize yourself with the layout and available tools.
5. Review Default Directory and Tenant: Azure automatically creates a default directory in Azure Active Directory (AAD). This directory is linked to your subscription and is critical if you plan to manage access for multiple users or integrate with Office 365.
6. Organize with Management Groups and Subscriptions: For larger environments or organizations, consider creating multiple subscriptions under a single management group. This approach allows better segmentation of billing, security policies, and access control based on departments, projects, or regions.
7. Enable Cost Management: Inside the Azure portal, navigate to the “Cost Management + Billing” section. Set budgets, define cost alerts, and analyze usage trends. This helps you avoid unexpected charges and optimize resource allocation across teams.
8. Set up Resource Groups: A resource group is a container that holds related resources. Organize your VMs, databases, and web apps within these groups. Create them based on projects, lifecycles, environments (like dev, test, prod), or departments.
9. Apply Tags: Tags are key-value pairs that help organize resources across subscriptions. Use consistent tagging conventions (e.g., Environment: Production, Owner: JohnDoe, CostCenter: IT) to improve searchability, reporting, and automation.
10. Review Compliance & Legal Settings: Understand where your data resides by selecting the correct region and reviewing Azure’s compliance offerings. Ensure that you meet regulatory standards like GDPR, HIPAA, or FedRAMP depending on your industry.

Creating and Managing Virtual Machines

Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) provide Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), allowing you to run Windows or Linux VMs in the cloud with full control. Here’s a comprehensive process for setup and management:

1. Navigate to VM Creation: In the Azure portal, go to “Create a resource” > “Compute” > “Virtual Machine”. This will open a guided wizard to create your VM.
2. Choose Basic Settings:
   • Subscription & Resource Group: Choose your subscription and resource group.
   • VM Name: Use a descriptive naming convention (e.g., web-server-prod-01).
   • Region: Select a data center location close to your user base to reduce latency.
3. Select Image and Size:
   • OS Image: Choose from available operating systems like Windows Server, Ubuntu, Red Hat, etc.
   • VM Size: Pick from various VM families depending on workload needs. Azure provides cost and performance estimates to help guide your decision.
4. Configure Administrator Account:
   • For Linux VMs, provide a username and either an SSH public key or password.
   • For Windows VMs, set a strong password for the administrator account.
5. Set Inbound Port Rules:
   • Choose to open ports like SSH (22) or RDP (3389) during setup. You can configure this later using Network Security Groups (NSGs).
6. Disks:
   • Choose between Standard HDD, Standard SSD, and Premium SSD for your OS and data disks. Consider Premium SSDs for production environments needing high performance.
   • Attach additional disks post-deployment via the Disks pane in VM settings.
7. Networking:
   • Assign the VM to a Virtual Network (VNet) and subnet.
   • Configure a public IP address if needed.
   • Attach NSGs to control traffic to and from your VM.
8. Management Options:
   • Enable boot diagnostics, guest OS diagnostics, and auto-shutdown.
   • Configure backup, identity (managed identities), and update management for lifecycle automation.
9. Review + Create: Review all settings and click “Create” to deploy the VM. Azure will provision the infrastructure and notify you once the VM is ready.
10. Manage the VM:

• Use the portal, Azure CLI, or PowerShell to manage VM lifecycle operations like start, stop, resize, or redeploy.
• Monitor performance using built-in monitoring tools.

1. Automation & Scaling:

• Use Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS) to manage a group of VMs with autoscaling.
• Schedule VMs to shut down during off-hours to optimize cost.

Deploying Web Apps with Azure App Service

Azure App Service is a fully managed Platform as a Service (PaaS) that simplifies web app development, deployment, and scalability. Here’s how to effectively deploy and manage your web application:

1. Navigate to App Services: In the portal, go to “App Services” and click on “Create” to begin a new web app deployment.
2. Fill Basic Details:
   • Choose your subscription and resource group.
   • Enter a globally unique name for your web app.
   • Select the runtime stack (e.g., .NET, Node.js, Python, Java).
   • Pick a data center region near your target users.
3. Select Hosting Options:
   • Choose or create an App Service Plan, which determines available resources, features, and pricing tiers.
   • Plans range from Free and Shared (dev/test) to Standard and Premium (production workloads).
4. Enable Monitoring and Diagnostics:
   • Turn on Application Insights during setup to monitor availability, performance, and failures.
5. Deploy the App:
   • Use Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Bitbucket, or FTP for continuous integration and deployment.
   • Alternatively, deploy using Azure CLI or Visual Studio.
   • For containerized apps, deploy using Docker images or container registries.
6. Manage App Settings:
   • Define environment variables and connection strings in the App Service Configuration tab.
   • Use Key Vault references to store and retrieve secrets securely.
7. Custom Domains and SSL:
   • Add custom domains and enable HTTPS using Azure-managed SSL certificates.
   • You can also upload and bind your own certificates.
8. Scaling:
   • Set up autoscaling rules based on CPU, memory, request count, or custom metrics.
   • Manual scaling is also available through the portal.
9. Authentication and Authorization:
   • Integrate identity providers like Azure AD, Facebook, Google, and Twitter.
   • Configure access policies using the Authentication blade.
10. Monitoring and Logs:

• Use built-in diagnostics tools, App Service logs, and Application Insights.
• Stream logs live or access historical data via Azure Monitor.

1. Backup and Restore:

• Schedule automatic backups and restore apps from previous snapshots to minimize downtime.

Setting Up Azure Storage Accounts

Azure Storage is a robust, scalable cloud storage solution for diverse data types. Here’s how to configure and manage it:

1. Create a Storage Account:
   • In the Azure portal, click “Storage accounts” > “Create.”
   • Select your subscription and resource group.
   • Choose a unique name, region, and performance tier (Standard or Premium).
2. Choose Redundancy Option:
   • Select from options like LRS (Locally Redundant), ZRS (Zone), GRS (Geo), or RA-GRS (Read-Access Geo).
   • The choice affects data durability, availability, and disaster recovery capabilities.
3. Access Keys and SAS Tokens:
   • Azure generates two access keys for full permissions.
   • For granular, time-limited access, create Shared Access Signatures (SAS).
   • Consider using Azure AD for role-based access control.
4. Blob Storage:
   • Ideal for storing unstructured data (images, videos, backups).
   • Organize data into containers and define access levels (private, blob, container).
   • Use lifecycle management policies for archiving or deleting old data.
5. Table Storage:
   • A NoSQL key-value store for structured data.
   • Suitable for large datasets needing fast read/write performance.
6. Queue Storage:
   • Enable asynchronous communication between app components via message queues.
   • Decouple front-end and back-end processing.
7. File Shares:
   • Azure Files supports SMB protocol, allowing on-premises and cloud VMs to access shared folders.
   • Azure File Sync can cache files on-prem for hybrid scenarios.
8. Security and Encryption:
   • All data is encrypted at rest with Microsoft-managed keys by default.
   • Optionally, use customer-managed keys stored in Azure Key Vault.
9. Monitoring and Metrics:
   • Use Azure Monitor to track storage capacity, transactions, latency, and errors.
   • Set alerts and export logs for auditing.
10. Integrations:

• Access storage via REST APIs, SDKs, PowerShell, and Azure CLI.
• Use tools like Azure Storage Explorer for GUI-based access.

Configuring Azure Virtual Networks (VNet)

A Virtual Network (VNet) acts as a private, isolated network in Azure. Here’s how to design and manage VNets effectively:

1. Create a VNet:
   • Navigate to “Networking” > “Virtual Network” > “Create.”
   • Define address space using CIDR blocks (e.g., 10.0.0.0/16).
   • Subdivide into subnets (web, app, DB) for logical separation.
2. DNS Settings:
   • Azure provides default DNS resolution.
   • Override this with custom DNS servers for domain-joined environments.
3. Network Security Groups (NSGs):
   • Control traffic flow using inbound/outbound rules.
   • Apply NSGs at subnet or NIC level for flexibility.
4. User Defined Routes (UDRs):
   • Customize routing to direct traffic through firewalls or network appliances.
   • Useful for creating hub-and-spoke network topologies.
5. Service Endpoints and Private Link:
   • Secure Azure services like Storage and SQL inside your VNet.
   • Use Private Link for private IP-based connectivity to Azure PaaS services.
6. Peering VNets:
   • Enable seamless connectivity between VNets across regions.
   • Peering is non-transitive; use hub VNets for routing across spokes.
7. VPN Gateway:
   • Establish Site-to-Site or Point-to-Site VPN connections to your on-prem network.
   • Use certificates or RADIUS for authentication.
8. ExpressRoute:
   • Offers a private, dedicated link to Azure. Ideal for latency-sensitive applications.
   • Supports QoS and dual-homing for redundancy.
9. Monitoring:
   • Use Network Watcher to track topology, troubleshoot, and capture traffic logs.
   • Enable flow logs and connection monitors.
10. Best Practices:

• Plan IP ranges carefully to avoid overlap.
• Implement layered security.
• Regularly review access rules and audit logs.

Monitoring and Alerts with Azure Monitor

Azure Monitor provides full-stack observability for your cloud and hybrid environments. Here’s how to use it for proactive management:

1. Access Azure Monitor:
   • Search for “Monitor” in the portal.
   • Get visibility across applications, VMs, containers, and networks.
2. Metrics:
   • Track time-series data such as CPU usage, disk I/O, or request rates.
   • Visualize using interactive charts and dashboards.
3. Logs (Log Analytics):
   • Centralize telemetry using Kusto Query Language (KQL).
   • Query event logs, performance counters, and custom data.
4. Enable Diagnostics:
   • Turn on diagnostic settings for each resource.
   • Send logs to Log Analytics, Storage, or Event Hub.
5. Application Insights:
   • Integrate with App Service or custom apps.
   • Collect telemetry for availability, performance, and usage patterns.
6. Set Up Alerts:
   • Define metric or log-based conditions.
   • Trigger actions via Action Groups (email, webhook, ITSM tools).
7. Workbooks:
   • Create dynamic dashboards using metrics, logs, and visualizations.
   • Share across teams for collaborative troubleshooting.
8. Smart Detection & Anomalies:
   • Leverage machine learning to detect issues automatically.
   • Get notified of performance anomalies without manual configuration.
9. Network Monitoring:
   • Use tools like Traffic Analytics and Connection Monitor.
   • Diagnose latency, packet drops, and routing issues.
10. Costs & Budgeting:

• Set spending thresholds and receive alerts.
• Correlate resource usage with billing data.

1. Integrations:

• Export data to Power BI, Logic Apps, or custom dashboards.
• Integrate with external tools like Splunk or ServiceNow.

1. Governance:

• Combine Monitor with Azure Policy to enforce compliance and maintain operational governance.