Azure Tutorial with Examples.
Microsoft Azure tutorial: Virtual Machines, AKS, Azure Functions, Entra ID, Blob Storage and the wider Microsoft cloud ecosystem.
Architecture at a glance
Click any box to open the lesson that teaches it
Azure architecture at a glance
az CLI → Entra ID → VNet → VMs / Functions → Blob / SQL, watched by Monitor
How it fits together (5 steps)
- Every call starts from the az CLI, confirmed against the right subscription before anything runs, inside a resource group that holds everything created below so it can be deleted as one unit.
- That call only works as far as its Entra ID role assignment allows: a role scoped to the wrong resource group gets a real authorization error until the scope is fixed — RBAC roles are separate from Entra ID's own identity-management roles.
- Compute lives inside a VNet, where a subnet's NSG has to allow a port before anything reaches it, independently of what the VM's own NSG allows. VMs run a server you SSH into once port 22 is open; Functions run the same kind of code with no server to manage, at the cost of a cold start on the first invocation.
- Both call the data layer: Blob Storage holds objects in a container across hot, cool and archive tiers, and Azure SQL runs a managed database you can restore to a point in time.
- Two services wrap the whole stack: Bicep and ARM templates deploy every resource above as one declarative file that validates before anything is created, and Azure Monitor collects the metrics and KQL-queried logs that watch it while it runs. Cost Management and the Well-Architected Framework's five pillars are the last check before calling it production-ready.
Beginner
Start here — no prior experience needed
Introduction to Azure
Understand Azure's subscription and resource-group model, then log in with the CLI and confirm which subscription your commands will actually hit.
Entra ID: Users, Roles, and RBAC
Create a role assignment scoped too narrowly, hit a real authorization error, then fix the scope and watch the same command succeed.
Azure Virtual Machines Fundamentals
Create a Linux VM with az vm create, open port 22 through its network security group, and connect over SSH using the generated key pair.
Azure Blob Storage Fundamentals
Create a storage account and container, upload and download a blob with az storage blob, and compare hot, cool, and archive access tiers.
Intermediate
For developers with core concepts down
Azure Virtual Network Basics
Build a VNet with two subnets, apply an NSG, then walk the exact debugging sequence for a VM that can't reach the internet.
Azure SQL Basics
Provision an Azure SQL Database and logical server, connect with sqlcmd past a firewall error, then restore to a point in time after a bad delete.
Azure Functions Fundamentals
Write an HTTP-triggered function, deploy it with func and az functionapp, invoke it twice, and see the timing gap between cold start and a warm call.
Bicep and ARM Templates Basics
Write a minimal Bicep file, deploy it with az deployment group create, then read the exact error output from a deployment that fails validation.
Azure Monitor Basics
Read a VM's CPU metrics, query its logs with Kusto (KQL) in Log Analytics, and wire both into an alert rule that fires on a real threshold breach.
Advanced
Production-grade patterns for experienced engineers