Basics of Azure

General Principles of Cloud Computing

• Most cloud computing services typically revolve around one (or more) of the following:

  • Compute power
  • Storage
  • Networking
  • Analytics
• Compute power can refer to servers used for computation such as running web applications
• Storage typically refers to files or databases
• Networking refers to secure connections between the cloud provider and your company
• Analytics can refer to visualizing telemetry and performance data

Describing the Component of Compute Power

• Compute power refers to the ability of a server to process some set of instructions

  • This could include processing a program
• CPUs and GPUs provide compute power

• Cloud services typically offer compute power in three different ways:

  • A virtual machine
  • A container
  • Serverless

• Virtual machines are more heavyweight, but are more isolated

  • Since, they try to emulate hardware

• Containers are more lightweight, but are less isolated

  • Since, they try to emulate the operating system
• Serverless computing refers to functions offered by cloud platforms

• VMs and containers are charged while they're running in most cloud models

  • This happens even if the applications on them are idle
• Serverless functions are only charged when they're executed

• Serverless functions are ideal for automated tasks

  • For example, email confirmations
  • However, we're limited to only using the functions offered by the API used in serverless computing

Defining the Benefits of Cloud Computing

• Flexible pricing model

  • They typically follow a pay-as-you-go or consumption-based pricing model
  • No upfront infrastructure costs
  • No need to manage costly infrastructure
  • Ability to seamlessly scale up or out when needed
  • Ability to stop paying for unnecessary resources

• Scalable

  • Ability to scale vertically based on demand or workload
  • Ability to scale horizontally based on demand or workload

• Saves development time

  • We can focus on building and deploying applications

• Reliable

  • We want to ensure fault tolerance
  • Data backups are available
  • Distaster recovery is ensured

• Secure

  • Ensures physical security
  • Ensures digital security

Defining Azure Expenditures

• Roughly, there are two types of expenses:

  • Operational expenditures
  • Capital expenditures
• Capital expenditure (or CapEx) refers to spending related to acquiring and maintaining fixed assets
• Operating expenditure (or OpEx) refers to spending related ot activities not directly associated with the production of goods or services

• The following are examples of capital expenditures:

  • Computer equipment
  • Buildings
  • Office equipment
  • Furniture
  • On-premises datacenter (servers, storage, etc.)
  • Owning software

• The following are examples of operational expenditures:

  • Payroll
  • Sales commissions
  • Employee benefits
  • Rent
  • Utilities
  • Leasing software

References

• Documentation for Azure Functions
• Principles of Cloud Computing in Azure