Azure: Day 1 - Basics of Cloud Concepts

Jun 26, 2024

Azure: Day 1 - Basics of Cloud Concepts

Introduction

  • Presenter: Abishek
  • Series: Azure 0 to Hero
  • Video Goal: Understand the basics of cloud concepts, common vocabulary, and terminology in cloud computing.
  • Pre-requisite Knowledge: Essential before starting on any cloud platform (AWS, Azure, GCP).
  • Purpose: Build a foundational understanding of cloud concepts and keywords.

Navigating the Series

  • Notes: Uploaded to corresponding folders (e.g., Day One).
  • Repository: Follow and watch for updates.
  • Revision: MD files serve as reference materials.

Understanding Cloud Computing

  • Applications: Developed on developers' machines, deployed on servers for public access (e.g., Instagram, Twitter).
  • Servers: Computers with local storage, CPU, and RAM dedicated to running applications/processes.
  • Data Center: Collection of servers connected via racks, cables, switches, and routers. Essential for application deployment.

Types of Cloud Models

Private Cloud

  • Setup: Owned and managed by the organization.
  • Challenges: High initial costs, maintenance, security, and continuous upgrades. Often used by financial institutions.

Public Cloud

  • Providers: Amazon (AWS), Microsoft (Azure), Google (GCP).
  • Services: Rent servers from cloud providers' data centers.
  • Benefits: Reduced overhead, maintenance, and cost. Managed security and electricity supply.

Hybrid Cloud

  • Combination: Mix of private and public cloud services.
  • Use Case: Sensitive data on private cloud, rest on public cloud.

Multicloud

  • Definition: Uses multiple cloud services from different providers (e.g., AWS + Azure).
  • Difference: Different from hybrid cloud, not to be confused.

Core Cloud Concepts

Cloud Computing

  • Definition: Running applications on the cloud and accessed by users.
  • Participants: System administrators, cloud engineers, devops engineers.
  • Essence: Integrates the tasks of various engineers and cloud platform mechanisms.

Key Terms to Know

  1. Virtualization: Divides servers into smaller, logical servers called virtual machines using a software called hypervisor.
  2. API (Application Programming Interface): Programmatic way to access cloud services or applications. Often used in scripting or automation.
  3. Regions and Availability Zones: Geographical layout for cloud providers. Provides redundancy and disaster recovery.
  4. Load Balancer: Distributes application traffic across multiple servers for optimal resource use and high availability.
  5. Scalability: Ability to scale resources up/down based on demand.
  6. Elasticity: Auto-scaling to adjust resource capacity dynamically.
  7. High Availability: Ensuring applications are available with minimal downtime.
  8. Disaster Recovery: Backup and recovery solutions in the event of a failure.

Detailed Concepts

Virtualization and Virtual Machines

  • Purpose: Efficient utilization of server resources by creating logical servers (VMs).
  • Hypervisor: Software that enables this division.
  • Cloud Providers: Use virtualization for efficient resource allocation.

APIs

  • Function: Allows programmatic access to applications/resources.
  • Example: Requesting virtual machines through API vs. user interface.

Regions and Availability Zones

  • Region: A geographical area with multiple data centers (availability zones).
  • Availability Zones: Ensures redundancy within a region.
  • Importance: Prevents single point of failure within a geographical region.

Load Balancer

  • Role: Balances traffic across multiple servers/VMs.
  • Configuration: Can allocate traffic based on set algorithms.
  • Health Checks: Monitors server health and reroutes traffic as needed.

Scalability

  • Static vs. Dynamic: Manual and autoscaling (elasticity).
  • Objective: Handle varying loads without performance degradation.
  • Vertical vs. Horizontal: Increasing resource capacity within a VM vs. adding more VMs.

High Availability

  • Goal: Minimize application downtime through robust infrastructure design.

Disaster Recovery

  • Plan: Strategies for backup and recovery in case of a disaster.
  • Method: Geographical redundancy, backups, and replicas for vital data.

Conclusion

  • Next Steps: Moving to specifics like creating accounts, deploying VMs, etc.
  • Community Engagement: Comment feedback encouraged.
  • Summary: Building foundational cloud knowledge needed for subsequent lessons.