Unit-2

Azure Services
Azure Virtual Machines
• Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) are a core component of Microsoft
Azure's Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering. They allow users to
create, configure, and manage virtualized computing instances in the
cloud. Azure VMs provide a scalable and flexible solution for running a
wide range of applications, from simple web servers to complex
enterprise applications.
Key features and aspects of Azure Virtual
Machines:
• Virtual Machine Types: Azure offers various VM types optimized for
different workloads, such as General Purpose, Compute Optimized,
Memory Optimized, and GPU-based VMs for specialized tasks like
machine learning and graphics processing.

• Operating System Support: You can deploy VMs running Windows

Server, various Linux distributions, and even custom images.
• VM Configuration: You can choose the number of CPU cores, amount
of RAM, and attach different types and sizes of disks to meet your
specific requirements.

• Networking: Azure VMs can be connected to Virtual Networks (VNets)

to facilitate communication with other Azure resources or on-
premises infrastructure. You can assign public IP addresses for
internet access or use private IPs for internal communication.
• Availability Sets and Availability Zones: To improve reliability, you can
place VMs in availability sets, which distribute them across fault
domains and update domains. Azure also offers Availability Zones,
which place VMs in physically separate data centers within the same
region for added redundancy.

• Auto Scaling: Azure VM Scale Sets allow you to automatically scale the
number of VM instances based on demand, helping to handle traffic
spikes and optimize costs.
• Managed Disks: Azure provides managed disks, which are
automatically replicated to ensure data redundancy and availability.

• Azure Marketplace: You can deploy pre-configured VM images from

the Azure Marketplace, which includes a wide range of applications
and operating system images.
• Backup and Disaster Recovery: Azure offers various backup and disaster
recovery solutions, allowing you to protect your VMs and data from
unexpected failures.

• Virtual Machine Extensions: Azure VMs support extensions, which are add-
ons that provide additional capabilities such as custom script execution,
diagnostics, and integration with Azure services.

• Management and Monitoring: Azure provides a variety of tools for

managing and monitoring VMs, including Azure Monitor, Azure
Automation, and Azure Update Management.
Azure App Service
• Azure App Service is a fully managed platform-as-a-service (PaaS)
offering by Microsoft Azure. It enables developers to build, host, and
scale web applications, RESTful APIs, and mobile app backends
without the need to manage the underlying infrastructure. Azure App
Service abstracts away the server and operating system management,
allowing developers to focus on writing code and delivering features.
Key features of Azure App Service include:
• Web Apps: Allows you to deploy and run web applications developed
using various programming languages and frameworks,
including .NET, Java, Node.js, Python, and PHP.

• Mobile Apps (formerly Mobile App Service): Provides a backend

infrastructure for mobile applications, supporting authentication,
push notifications, offline sync, and data storage.

• RESTful APIs: Enables the creation of RESTful APIs using various

technologies, which can be consumed by web or mobile applications.
• Automated Scaling: App Service can automatically scale your
application based on demand. It supports manual scaling and
autoscaling based on performance metrics or a schedule.

• Deployment Options: You can deploy your applications to App Service

using various methods, including Git, Azure DevOps, Docker
containers, or directly from Visual Studio.

• Custom Domains and SSL: You can associate custom domains with
your App Service and secure them using SSL certificates.
• Authentication and Authorization: App Service integrates with Azure
Active Directory and other identity providers to enable secure user
authentication and authorization.

• Integration with Azure Services: App Service can easily integrate with
other Azure services such as Azure SQL Database, Azure Cosmos DB,
Azure Storage, and more.

• Staging Slots: Allows you to deploy your application to staging slots before
swapping it to production, facilitating testing and seamless deployments.
• Monitoring and Diagnostics: App Service provides built-in monitoring
and diagnostics features, including application logging, performance
monitoring, and Application Insights integration.

• Backup and Restore: You can schedule backups of your App Service
applications and databases to protect against data loss.
• Hybrid Connections: Allows your App Service to securely access on-
premises resources.
Azure Storage
• Azure Storage is a cloud-based storage service provided by Microsoft
Azure. It offers a range of scalable and highly available storage
solutions to meet various data storage and retrieval needs for
applications and services in the cloud. Azure Storage is designed to be
secure, durable, and globally accessible, making it an integral part of
many Azure-based applications.
 Key components of Azure Storage are:
• Blob Storage: Azure Blob Storage is used to store unstructured binary
and text data, such as documents, images, videos, and backups. It is
commonly used for serving static content for web applications and
media files.

• File Storage: Azure File Storage provides fully managed file shares that
can be accessed via the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. It
allows you to set up shared file storage that can be accessed by
multiple virtual machines.
• Table Storage: Azure Table Storage is a NoSQL key-value store suitable
for storing structured data. It can handle large amounts of data and is
often used for simple, non-relational data storage needs.

• Queue Storage: Azure Queue Storage offers a reliable messaging

solution for decoupling application components. It allows applications
to communicate asynchronously by sending messages between
components.
• Disk Storage: Azure Disk Storage provides durable and high-
performance managed disks that can be attached to virtual machines
as OS disks or data disks. It is commonly used for persistent storage in
VMs.
Azure Functions
• Azure Functions is a serverless compute service provided by Microsoft
Azure. It allows developers to build event-driven, serverless
applications that automatically scale based on demand. With Azure
Functions, you can execute code in response to various events
without the need to manage infrastructure. This makes it easy to
focus on writing code to handle specific tasks or events, rather than
managing the underlying server environment.
Key features of Azure Functions include:
• Event-Driven Execution: Azure Functions can be triggered by various
events, such as HTTP requests, timers, queues, blobs, Cosmos DB
changes, Service Bus messages, and more. This event-driven approach
allows developers to respond to events in real-time and build
reactive, event-based architectures.

• Language Support: Azure Functions supports multiple programming

languages, including C#, JavaScript, Python, TypeScript, Java, and
PowerShell. This allows developers to use their preferred language for
building functions.
• Serverless Architecture: Azure Functions automatically scales up or
down based on the number of incoming events, ensuring that you only
pay for the compute resources used during execution. This serverless
model helps optimize costs and provides elasticity.

• Stateless and Stateless Execution: Azure Functions can be designed as

stateless or stateful. Stateless functions don't maintain state between
executions, making them suitable for most use cases. For stateful
scenarios, you can use Durable Functions, an extension to Azure
Functions that allows for managing durable workflows and stateful
execution.
• Integration with Other Azure Services: Azure Functions can easily
integrate with other Azure services, such as Azure Storage, Azure
Cosmos DB, Azure Service Bus, and more. This seamless integration
allows you to build complex applications with ease.

• Deployment Options: Azure Functions can be deployed using various

methods, including Azure Portal, Azure CLI, Visual Studio, Azure
DevOps, and GitHub Actions.
• Monitoring and Logging: Azure Functions provides built-in monitoring
and logging capabilities, including integration with Azure Monitor and
Application Insights, to help you monitor the performance and health
of your functions.

• Security and Authentication: Azure Functions supports authentication

and authorization through Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), API
keys, or other identity providers, ensuring secure access to your
functions.
Azure SQL Database
• Azure SQL Database is a fully managed relational database service
provided by Microsoft Azure. It is based on Microsoft SQL Server and
is designed to offer high-performance, secure, and scalable database
solutions in the cloud. Azure SQL Database eliminates the need for
database management tasks such as hardware provisioning, software
installation, and backups, allowing developers and database
administrators to focus on application development and data
management.
Key features of Azure SQL Database include:
• Managed Service: Azure SQL Database is fully managed by Microsoft
Azure, which means Microsoft handles tasks such as infrastructure
management, software patching, backups, and monitoring. This
allows users to focus on application development and data
management rather than database administration.

• High Availability: Azure SQL Database provides built-in high availability

features, such as automatic backups, point-in-time restore, and active
geo-replication. These features ensure that your database remains
available and protected against data loss.
• Scalability: Azure SQL Database offers elastic scalability, allowing you
to adjust the performance level (DTUs - Database Transaction Units or
vCores) of your database based on your application's needs. You can
easily scale up or down to handle varying workloads.

• Security: Azure SQL Database employs various security measures,

including encryption at rest and in transit, threat detection, auditing,
and role-based access control. It also integrates with Azure Active
Directory for authentication and identity management.
• Automated Patching and Upgrades: Microsoft automatically applies
patches and updates to the Azure SQL Database platform, ensuring
that your database is always running on the latest version.

• Integration with Azure Services: Azure SQL Database seamlessly

integrates with other Azure services like Azure Logic Apps, Azure
Functions, and Azure App Service, enabling you to build end-to-end
solutions.
• Compatibility: Azure SQL Database is built on the same SQL Server
technology, making it compatible with existing SQL Server
applications. Most T-SQL queries and applications can run on Azure
SQL Database with little to no modification.

• Advanced Data Services: Azure SQL Database includes additional data

services such as built-in machine learning, temporal tables, JSON
support, and support for Graph data.