Microsoft Azure is a comprehensive cloud computing platform offering over 200 services spanning compute, storage, networking, databases, AI, and developer tools. Azure operates across 60+ global regions and provides infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and serverless computing models for building, deploying, and managing applications. At its core, Azure uses resource groups as logical containers to organize resources, while subscriptions define billing boundaries and access control hierarchies. Understanding Azure's shared responsibility model is critical—Microsoft secures the physical infrastructure and host OS, while you secure your data, identity access, applications, and network controls depending on the service model you choose. The hierarchical organization (Management Groups → Subscriptions → Resource Groups → Resources) enables governance at scale through Azure Policy, RBAC, and cost management boundaries.
What This Cheat Sheet Covers
This topic spans 14 focused tables and 97 indexed concepts. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.
Table 1: Compute Services
| Service | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
az vm create --name myVM --image Ubuntu2204 | • IaaS service providing on-demand Windows or Linux VMs with full control over OS and applications • supports multiple VM series (General Purpose, Compute Optimized, Memory Optimized, GPU, Storage Optimized) and flexible scaling options. | |
az webapp create --name myapp --runtime "PYTHON:3.11" | • Fully managed PaaS for hosting web apps, RESTful APIs, and mobile backends • supports .NET, Java, Node.js, Python, PHP with built-in autoscaling, deployment slots, and CI/CD integration. | |
func new --template HttpTrigger --name ProcessOrder | • Serverless compute service that runs event-driven code without managing infrastructure • supports triggers (HTTP, Timer, Queue, Event Grid, Blob) and bindings (input/output data connections) • three hosting plans: Consumption (pay-per-execution), Premium, and Dedicated. | |
az aks create --name myCluster --node-count 3 | • Managed Kubernetes service for deploying and managing containerized applications at scale • automatically handles control plane management, patching, and upgrades • supports system node pools (run critical system pods) and user node pools (run application workloads). |