Building on Azure

What you will be able to do

• Provision and size virtual machines and scale sets, and judge when a VM is the right compute option
• Run serverless and containerized workloads with Azure Functions and Azure Kubernetes Service
• Design a virtual network with subnets, network security groups, peering, and private endpoints
• Choose the right Azure storage service, tier, and redundancy option for a given workload
• Select and configure the right data service, from Azure SQL to managed PostgreSQL to Cosmos DB
• Automate deployments with ARM templates and Bicep so infrastructure is repeatable and reviewable
• Assemble compute, networking, storage, and data into one working, secure-by-default Azure solution

What is inside

4 modules, 8 lessons. Each module ends in a graded quiz and most carry an assignment.

1. 01

   Azure Compute: VMs, Functions, and AKS

   Azure offers three main ways to run code, and the wrong choice is expensive in either money or engineering time. This module builds from virtual machines, images, and scale sets up through serverless Azure Functions and container orchestration with Azure Kubernetes Service. You will learn the cost, control, and operations trade-offs so you can match each workload to the right compute service with confidence.

   2 lessons · 5 quiz questions

2. 02

   Virtual Network Design

   Every Azure workload sits inside a virtual network, and good network design is what keeps it both reachable and secure. This module builds a VNet from the address space up: planning CIDR ranges, carving subnets, and controlling traffic with network security groups. You then connect it to the wider world through peering, VPN and ExpressRoute, private endpoints, and load balancing, so the environment is segmented and secure by default rather than open and patched later.

   2 lessons · 5 quiz questions · assignment

3. 03

   Storage and Databases

   Compute is stateless, but your data is not. This module covers Azure storage accounts and their three workhorse services (blob, files, and disks), including the access tiers and redundancy options that control cost and durability. It then moves to the database layer: the relational Azure SQL family, the managed open-source engines Azure Database for PostgreSQL and MySQL, and the globally distributed NoSQL model of Azure Cosmos DB. By the end you can pick the right persistence service for a workload and defend the choice on durability, latency, and cost.

   2 lessons · 5 quiz questions

4. 04

   Infrastructure as Code with Bicep and ARM

   Infrastructure you build by clicking is hard to review, repeat, or roll back, and nearly impossible to reproduce exactly after an outage. This module teaches infrastructure as code on Azure. You start with the ARM template model that sits underneath every Azure deployment, then move to Bicep, the cleaner language that compiles down to ARM. By the end you can codify compute, network, storage, and data resources into a single parameterized, modular template and ship it through what-if previews and a pipeline the way production teams do.

   2 lessons · 5 quiz questions · assignment