How does Azure works ?
Azure like other cloud platform, relies on a technology know as Virtualization.
Within each rack or cluster most of the servers run cloud management software know as fabrics controller . The Fabric controller is a distributed application with many responsibilities.
It allocates services , monitor the health of the server and the services running on it and heals servers when they fail.
So, Very simple azure is a huge collection of servers and networking hardware along with a complex set of distributed applications that orchestrate the configuration and operation of the ritualized hardware and software on those servers. And it is this orchestration that makes Azure so powerful- users are no longer responsible for maintaining and upgrading hardware .
Azure does all this behind the scene.
Azure Services :
Azure offers a large collection of services including platform as a service (PaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), database as a service (DBaaS), and many others .
What is Software as a Service? (SaaS)
• SaaS is a software delivery methodology that provides licensed multi-tenant access to software and its functions remotely as a Web-based service.
• Usually billed based on usage
• Usually multi tenant environment
• Highly scalable architecture
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• IaaS is the delivery of technology infrastructure as an on demand scalable service
• Usually billed based on usage
• Usually multi tenant virtualized environment
• Can be coupled with Managed Services for OS and application support
IaaS is not Managed Hosting
• Traditional managed hosting is a form of web hosting where a user chooses to lease entire server(s) housed in an off-site data center.
• Term based contracts based on projected resource requirements
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
• PaaS provides all of the facilities required to support the complete life cycle of building and delivering web applications and services entirely from the Internet.
• Typically applications must be developed with a particular platform in mind
• Multi tenant environments
• Highly scalable multi tier architecture
All in blue is managed by Microsoft and things in yellow are managed by ourself/consumer .
Azure Service Oriented Archetecture :
Azure AD : Identiry as services .
Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is Microsoft’s multi-tenant, cloud-based directory, and identity management service that combines core directory services, application access management, and identity protection into a single solution.
Azure Container Services :
Azure Container Service allows you to quickly deploy a production ready Kubernetes, DC/OS, or Docker Swarm cluster.
for more information goto :
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-service/
Application Insights : Monitoring solution of Azure
Application Insights is an extensible Application Performance Management (APM) service for web developers on multiple platforms. Use it to monitor your live web application
Storage Account : Microsoft services to deal with storage
Azure Storage is Microsoft's cloud storage solution for modern data storage scenarios. Azure Storage offers a massively scalable object store for data objects, a file system service for the cloud, a messaging store for reliable messaging, and a NoSQL store
for more information goto :
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-introduction
Azure SQl Database/Cosmos DB : For Database related services.
Azure SQL Database is the intelligent, fully managed relational cloud database service which provides the broadest SQL Server engine compatibility, so you can migrate your SQL Server databases without changing your apps.
A globally distributed multi-model database, with support for NoSQL choices, with industry-leading performance and SLAs --- Azure uses Cosmos DB
Azure Recovery Service : Ensure application availability with cloud-based disaster recovery .
Understanding Azure Globle infrastructure :
Azure Presence
Regions
A region is a set of datacenters deployed within a latency-defined perimeter and connected through a dedicated regional low-latency network.
With more global regions than any other cloud provider, Azure gives customers the flexibility to deploy applications where they need to. Azure is generally available in 42 regions around the world, with plans announced for 12 additional regions.
Geographies
A geography is a discrete market, typically containing two or more regions, that preserves data residency and compliance boundaries.
Geographies allow customers with specific data-residency and compliance needs to keep their data and applications close. Geographies are fault-tolerant to withstand complete region failure through their connection to our dedicated high-capacity networking infrastructure.
Availability Zones
Availability Zones are physically separate locations within an Azure region. Each Availability Zone is made up of one or more datacenters equipped with independent power, cooling and networking.
Availability Zones allow customers to run mission-critical applications with high availability and low-latency replication.
Azure Region Pairs :
Microsoft operates Azure Regions all over the world. Each Azure Region is strategically placed within a specific geography, and almost all the Azure Regions are located within the same general geography as at least 1 other Region; it’s pair.
Azure Region in an Azure Region Pair are directly connected to each other and the are far enough apart to be isolated from regional disasters .
