Level: Beginner Module: 01 — Azure Fundamentals Focus: Understanding Microsoft Azure, cloud computing, Azure architecture, subscriptions, tenants, regions, resource groups, and resources.
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing resources over the internet instead of requiring an organization to own and maintain all the physical computing infrastructure itself.
These resources can include:
Instead of buying a physical server and installing it in your organization, you can rent computing resources from a cloud provider.
Imagine that you want electricity for your house.
You could build your own power station:
Buy land
↓
Build power station
↓
Buy generators
↓
Buy fuel
↓
Hire technicians
↓
Maintain equipment
↓
Generate electricityOr you can connect to the electricity grid and pay for what you consume.
Cloud computing works in a similar way.
Instead of:
Buy server
↓
Install server
↓
Configure server
↓
Maintain server
↓
Replace failed hardware
↓
Upgrade hardwareyou can use:
Cloud provider
↓
Azure
↓
Use computing resources
↓
Pay according to usageThe cloud provider operates the underlying physical infrastructure.
Microsoft Azure is Microsoft’s cloud computing platform.
Azure provides hundreds of cloud services that organizations can use to build, deploy, store, secure, analyze, and manage applications and data.
Examples include:
| Area | Azure services/examples |
|---|---|
| Compute | Virtual Machines, App Service |
| Storage | Blob Storage, Azure Files |
| Databases | Azure SQL, Azure Database for PostgreSQL |
| Networking | Virtual Network, VPN Gateway |
| Identity | Microsoft Entra ID |
| Security | Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Key Vault |
| Data engineering | Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake |
| Analytics | Synapse Analytics, Power BI |
| AI/ML | Azure Machine Learning |
| Monitoring | Azure Monitor |
| DevOps | Azure DevOps, GitHub integration |
Azure therefore isn’t one application.
It is a large ecosystem of cloud services.
Organizations may use Azure because they want to:
Suppose a clinical research organization has its own server room.
ORGANIZATION
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ Server Room │
│ │
│ ┌──────┐ ┌────────┐ │
│ │Server│ │Storage │ │
│ └──────┘ └────────┘ │
│ │
│ Networking │
│ Backup │
│ Power │
│ Cooling │
│ Security │
└─────────────────────────┘The organization is responsible for:
With Azure:
AZURE
┌────────────────────┐
│ Microsoft │
│ Azure Infrastructure│
│ │
│ Servers │
│ Storage │
│ Networking │
│ Datacenters │
└────────────────────┘
│
▼
Your Azure resourcesMicrosoft manages the underlying Azure infrastructure, while you manage the parts of the environment that your chosen service exposes to you.
This is an important concept.
Moving to Azure does not eliminate your responsibility.
Azure follows different responsibility models depending on the service.
For example, with an Azure Virtual Machine, you may still be responsible for:
Microsoft manages the underlying physical infrastructure.
Therefore:
Cloud security is a shared responsibility.
One of the most important concepts in cloud computing is:
IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS
IaaS means that the cloud provider provides infrastructure such as:
You have significant control over the environment.
Azure Virtual Machines.
You might create:
Azure
│
└── Virtual Machine
│
├── Windows/Linux
├── Applications
├── Database software
└── Your dataYou are responsible for much of the configuration and management inside the VM.
IaaS is similar to renting an empty house.
You get the structure, but you have to furnish and manage much of it yourself.
PaaS provides a managed platform on which you can run applications or databases without managing the underlying infrastructure yourself.
Examples include:
For example:
Your application
↓
Azure App Service
↓
Microsoft-managed infrastructureYou focus more on your application and data rather than maintaining the physical server and much of the underlying platform.
PaaS is similar to renting a fully serviced apartment.
The infrastructure is already there and much of the maintenance is handled for you.
SaaS is software that you use over the internet.
Examples outside Azure include:
You generally don’t manage the servers or operating system running the software.
You simply use the application.
SaaS is similar to staying in a hotel.
You use the service without managing the building.
| Feature | IaaS | PaaS | SaaS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure management | Provider | Provider | Provider |
| OS management | Usually customer | Provider | Provider |
| Application management | Customer | Customer | Provider |
| Data | Customer | Customer | Customer |
| Level of control | High | Medium | Lower |
| Example | Azure VM | Azure App Service | Microsoft 365 |
A useful way to remember them:
IaaS → You manage more
PaaS → Azure manages more
SaaS → Provider manages almost everythingBefore creating Azure resources, you need to understand the hierarchy.
A simplified view is:
Microsoft Entra Tenant
│
▼
Subscription
│
▼
Resource Group
│
▼
ResourcesEach level has a different purpose.
A Microsoft Entra tenant represents an organization’s identity environment in Microsoft cloud services.
It contains identities such as:
For example:
Organization
│
▼
Entra Tenant
│
┌───┼────────┐
│ │ │
Users Groups ApplicationsMicrosoft Entra ID is Microsoft’s cloud identity and access management service.
You will study this much more deeply later.
An Azure subscription is a major boundary for Azure resource management and billing.
Think of a subscription as an account/container under which Azure resources are created and billed.
For example:
Organization
│
├── Production Subscription
│
├── Development Subscription
│
└── Testing SubscriptionOrganizations may use separate subscriptions for:
A resource group is a logical container for Azure resources.
For example:
Subscription
│
▼
Clinical-Research-RG
│
├── Azure SQL Database
├── Storage Account
├── Data Factory
├── Key Vault
└── ApplicationResources in a resource group can be managed together.
A resource group is primarily a management and organizational boundary, not a physical server or physical location.
A resource is an individual Azure service instance that you create and manage.
Examples:
For example:
Resource Group
│
├── VM
├── Storage Account
├── PostgreSQL
└── Key VaultEach is an Azure resource.
Imagine we are building a cloud platform for a clinical research organization.
Microsoft Entra Tenant
│
▼
Clinical Research Azure Subscription
│
┌────┴─────┐
▼ ▼
Development Production
Resource Resource
Group Group
│ │
│ ├── Azure SQL
│ ├── Data Lake
│ ├── Data Factory
│ └── Key Vault
│
├── Test Database
└── Test StorageThis hierarchy will become extremely important as you become an Azure administrator or architect.
Azure operates data centers around the world.
A region is a geographic area containing one or more Azure datacenters.
Examples of regions include locations in:
When creating an Azure resource, you may need to select a region.
For example:
User
│
▼
Azure Portal
│
▼
Create Resource
│
▼
Select Region
│
▼
Create ResourceRegion selection can affect:
For example, if your users are primarily in East Africa, network latency may be an important consideration when selecting where workloads are hosted.
For regulated data, you must also consider organizational policies and applicable legal/regulatory requirements.
Some Azure regions contain Availability Zones.
Availability Zones are physically separate locations within an Azure region, designed to provide additional resilience against failures affecting one location.
Conceptually:
Azure Region
│
┌──────────┼──────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3
│ │ │
VM-A VM-B VM-CIf an application is designed to use multiple availability zones, a failure affecting one zone may not necessarily take down the entire application.
Do not confuse these concepts.
A geographic Azure location.
Region
├── Datacenter(s)
└── Availability ZonesA physically separate location within a supported Azure region.
The Azure Portal is the web-based graphical interface for managing Azure.
You can use it to:
Think of it as the control center for Azure.
Azure Cloud Shell provides a browser-accessible command-line environment for working with Azure.
You can use:
az group listor
Get-AzResourceGroupCloud Shell is useful because you don’t necessarily need to install all Azure command-line tools on your computer before starting.
The Azure CLI allows you to manage Azure resources from the command line.
For example:
az group listThis lists resource groups you have access to.
You can also create a resource group:
az group create \
--name MyResourceGroup \
--location eastusThe CLI becomes extremely important when you move from manually clicking through the portal to automation.
You should eventually become comfortable with both.
Good for:
Good for:
As an Azure professional:
Don’t become dependent on the Portal. Learn the command line.
Azure Resource Manager, commonly called ARM, is the management layer through which Azure resources are created, updated, and organized.
Conceptually:
You
│
├── Azure Portal
├── Azure CLI
├── PowerShell
├── APIs
└── Infrastructure as Code
│
▼
Azure Resource Manager
│
▼
Azure ResourcesThis concept will become important when we study Infrastructure as Code and automated deployments.
Suppose a research organization wants to migrate a PostgreSQL database to Azure.
The organization currently has:
Clinical Site
│
▼
PostgreSQL Server
│
├── Participant data
├── Visit data
├── Laboratory data
└── Study dataA possible Azure environment could eventually look like:
Azure Subscription
│
▼
Clinical-Production-RG
│
├── Azure Database for PostgreSQL
│
├── Storage Account
│
├── Data Factory
│
├── Key Vault
│
├── Virtual Network
│
└── Azure MonitorNotice that Azure is not simply “a server in the cloud.”
It can provide an entire ecosystem around the data.
Later in this course, you will learn how to build something like:
REDCap / EDC
│
▼
Data Extraction
│
▼
Azure Data Factory
│
▼
Azure Data Lake
│
├──────────────┐
▼ ▼
Databricks Azure SQL
│ │
└───────┬──────┘
▼
Power BI
│
▼
Research DashboardThis is where your existing data-management experience becomes very valuable.
When dealing with research or other sensitive data, security becomes a major consideration.
Important Azure security concepts include:
Later we will study these systematically.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Cloud computing | Computing resources delivered over a network |
| Azure | Microsoft’s cloud computing platform |
| Tenant | Identity boundary associated with an organization |
| Subscription | Azure resource and billing management boundary |
| Resource group | Logical container for Azure resources |
| Resource | Individual Azure service instance |
| Region | Geographic Azure location |
| Availability Zone | Physically separate location within a supported Azure region |
| IaaS | Infrastructure as a Service |
| PaaS | Platform as a Service |
| SaaS | Software as a Service |
| Azure Portal | Web interface for Azure |
| Azure CLI | Command-line management tool |
| ARM | Azure Resource Manager |
If you remember nothing else from this lesson, remember these:
It provides computing, storage, networking, databases, security, analytics, AI and many other services.
The provider manages some parts of the environment, while the customer remains responsible for other parts.
IaaS → Infrastructure
PaaS → Platform
SaaS → SoftwareTenant
↓
Subscription
↓
Resource Group
↓
ResourcesRegion
↓
Availability ZonesThe Portal is excellent for learning and visual management.
The CLI becomes increasingly important for automation and professional administration.
If you have an Azure account, log into the Azure Portal.
Your first task is simply to explore.
Look for:
Do not create expensive resources yet.
For now, become familiar with the environment.
From the Azure Portal, open Cloud Shell.
Select Bash if prompted.
Run:
az account showThis displays information about the currently active Azure subscription.
Then run:
az group listThis lists resource groups that your account can access.
Try:
az account listThis lists subscriptions available to your account.
If you have an Azure subscription suitable for experimentation, create a resource group.
Example:
az group create \
--name QuantLean-Azure-Lab \
--location eastusThen verify it:
az group show \
--name QuantLean-Azure-LabFinally:
az group list \
--output tableYou should see your resource group in the list.
Azure resources can incur charges.
For learning, always check pricing, free-tier eligibility, quotas, and whether a resource should be deleted after the exercise.
Imagine that you are asked:
A clinical research organization wants to move its PostgreSQL database, Excel/CSV datasets and research reports to Azure.
Answer these questions:
Would you use IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS for the database?
What Azure resource could be used for object/file storage?
Why might you use a resource group?
What is the difference between a subscription and a resource group?
Why does Azure region selection matter?
What would you use to manage identities and access?
Do not worry if you don’t know all the answers yet.
These questions are designed to show you what you will learn next.
Try answering these without looking back at the notes.
What is cloud computing?
What is Microsoft Azure?
What is the difference between IaaS and PaaS?
Give one example of an Azure IaaS service.
What is an Azure subscription?
What is a resource group?
What is an Azure resource?
What is an Azure region?
What is an availability zone?
What is the purpose of Azure CLI?
What does RBAC stand for?
Complete the hierarchy:
Tenant
↓
__________
↓
__________
↓
ResourcesAn Azure interview may ask:
Q: What is Azure?
A strong answer should explain that Azure is Microsoft’s cloud platform providing services for computing, storage, networking, databases, security, analytics, AI and application hosting.
Q: What is the difference between IaaS, PaaS and SaaS?
You should be able to explain the differences in terms of who manages infrastructure, operating systems, applications and data.
Q: What is a resource group?
You should explain that it is a logical container used to organize and manage related Azure resources.
Q: What is an Azure region?
You should explain that it is a geographic Azure location containing one or more datacenters and that region selection can affect latency, availability, compliance and other considerations.
Because you intend to teach others, try explaining this lesson without looking at your notes.
Imagine someone asks:
“Martin, I don’t understand what Azure is. Explain it to me in five minutes.”
Explain:
If you can explain those concepts clearly to another person, you have understood the foundation.
Azure is Microsoft’s cloud computing platform.
Cloud computing allows organizations to consume computing resources without necessarily owning and operating the underlying physical infrastructure themselves.
The three fundamental cloud service models are:
IaaS
Infrastructure as a Service
PaaS
Platform as a Service
SaaS
Software as a ServiceThe basic Azure organizational hierarchy is:
Microsoft Entra Tenant
↓
Subscription
↓
Resource Group
↓
ResourcesAzure resources operate within geographic regions, and some regions support multiple availability zones for resilience.
Azure can be managed through:
In the next lesson we will go deeper into:
We will also start building your Azure laboratory environment, which will become the foundation for the practical projects throughout this course.
Do not try to memorize hundreds of Azure services.
Instead, learn to answer four questions whenever you encounter an Azure service:
What problem does this service solve?
Where does it fit in the architecture?
Who manages what?
When would I use it instead of another service?
That mindset is what will eventually move you from “someone who has studied Azure” to “someone who can design and work with Azure.”