Azure Introduction — Study Material

Microsoft Azure — Introduction

A structured guide to understand Azure cloud basics, core services, governance, security, pricing, and how to get started with hands-on practice.

1) What is Microsoft Azure?

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform that provides services to build, deploy, and manage applications through Microsoft-managed data centers.

What you can do with Azure

Host websites and APIs (App Service)
Run servers and containers (Virtual Machines, AKS)
Store files and data (Storage, SQL, Cosmos DB)
Build analytics and data pipelines (Data Factory, Synapse)
Secure identity and access (Entra ID / Azure AD)
Monitor and automate operations (Monitor, Automation)

Why companies use Azure

Benefit	Meaning (simple)
Speed	Provision infrastructure in minutes
Scale	Grow/shrink resources based on demand
Cost	Pay for what you use; optimize over time
Reliability	High availability via regions and zones
Security	Identity, encryption, policies, compliance tools

Diagram: Users connect to Azure cloud services (compute, storage, data/app services).

2) Cloud Basics

2.1 Service models: IaaS vs PaaS vs SaaS

Model	What you manage	Azure examples	Use when…
IaaS	You manage OS, runtime, apps; Azure manages hardware	Virtual Machines, Virtual Network	You need full control over servers
PaaS	You manage code and data; Azure manages OS/runtime	App Service, Azure SQL Database	You want faster development with less ops
SaaS	You just use the software	Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365	You want ready-to-use applications

2.2 Deployment models: Public, Private, Hybrid

Public Cloud
Shared provider infra; pay-as-you-go.

Private Cloud
Dedicated infra for one organization.

Hybrid Cloud
Mix of on-prem + cloud.

3) Accounts, Subscriptions, Resource Groups

Term	Meaning	Example
Tenant	Identity boundary (Entra ID directory)	company.onmicrosoft.com
Subscription	Billing boundary	Dev/Test subscription
Resource Group	Logical container for related resources	rg-ecommerce-dev
Resource	An Azure service instance	VM, Storage, Web App

4) Core Azure Services

Compute

Service	What it is	Typical usage
Virtual Machines	Server in the cloud	Lift-and-shift apps
App Service	Managed hosting for web apps/APIs	Websites, REST APIs
Azure Functions	Serverless compute	Event-driven tasks
AKS	Managed Kubernetes	Microservices, containers

Storage

Service	What it is	Typical usage
Blob Storage	Object storage	Images, backups
File Storage	Managed file shares	Shared folders
Disk Storage	Disks for VMs	OS/data disks

5) Regions & Availability

A Region is a geographic area with one or more datacenters. Availability Zones are separate locations within a region for higher resilience.

6) Security Basics

Concept	Meaning	Example
Entra ID	Identity for users/apps	Login to portal
RBAC	Role-based permissions	Reader vs Contributor
Key Vault	Store secrets/keys	DB password in Key Vault

7) Governance

RBAC = who can do what • Policy = what is allowed • Tags = labels for cost/ownership

8) Pricing Basics

Compute costs depend on size + hours
Storage depends on amount + redundancy
Outbound data transfer (egress) can add cost
Use budgets, alerts, tagging, right-sizing

9) Quick Start (Hands-on)

Create a Resource Group
Create a Storage Account and upload a blob
Create a simple App Service and deploy a page
Check metrics in Azure Monitor
Add tags and view Cost Management

10) Glossary

Term	Meaning
Resource Group	Logical container for resources
Subscription	Billing boundary
Region	Geographic area with datacenters
Availability Zone	Separate location within a region

Next topics:Azure StorageAzure NetworkingAzure ComputeAzure DevOps