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Azure basics flashcards

Subscriptions, resource groups, Entra ID, App Service, Container Apps, storage and databases: run real work on Microsoft Azure safely.

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Beginner friendly, starts from zero
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Azure basicsStart from zero · 1 of 11

What is Microsoft Azure, in one sentence?

Azure is Microsoft's cloud: a huge set of data centres where you rent computers, storage, databases and AI services over the internet and pay for what you use.

Rent from Microsoft by the minute.
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What you will learn

  1. Start from zero

    • What Azure is3 cards
    • Key words5 cards
    • Paying and safety3 cards

  2. Core basics

    • Structure and tools5 cards
    • Access control2 cards
    • Virtual machines and choosing services4 cards
    • Storage4 cards
    • Web apps2 cards

  3. Next steps

    • Identities and secrets3 cards
    • Databases2 cards
    • Containers and functions3 cards
    • Monitoring2 cards
    • Networking2 cards
    • Infrastructure as code2 cards
    • Governance basics2 cards

  4. Go deeper

    • Governance and identity security3 cards
    • Private networking and keyless CI4 cards
    • Resilience and Kubernetes3 cards
    • Cost control2 cards
    • Automation and limits2 cards
    • Careers and certification2 cards

Final test and certificate

10 questions drawn fresh from the whole topic, about 15 minutes. Sign in, score 80% or more and get a free certificate with your name and a public check link anyone can open, such as an employer or a teacher. Not signed in? Try a practice test from the cards.

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About these cards

  • Reviewed 26 October 2026
  • CoversAzure CLI 2.x current releaseBicepOctober 2026 portal
How these cards are made

Azure basics at a glance

Azure is Microsoft's cloud: you rent computers, storage and ready-made services in its data centres and pay for what you use.

Azure is like a large office park run by Microsoft. You rent rooms (servers), filing cabinets (storage) and services like a front desk, and the badge office (Entra ID) decides who gets in where.

Words you will meet

Subscription
An Azure account that groups resources and gets one bill
Resource
One thing you create, like a web app, a database or a storage account
Resource group
A folder that holds related resources so you manage them together
Region
A place in the world with Azure data centres, like Central India
Microsoft Entra ID
Microsoft's sign-in and identity service, formerly called Azure Active Directory
Role
A named set of permissions, like Reader or Contributor
Managed identity
A built-in identity for an app, so it can sign in without a password
Portal
The Azure website where you click to manage things

The steps

  1. 1. Start from zero (11 cards): What Azure is, why companies pick it, and the words Azure uses for accounts, folders, places and permissions.
  2. 2. Core basics (17 cards): Subscriptions and resource groups, the portal and Azure CLI, roles, virtual machines, storage accounts and your first web app.
  3. 3. Next steps (16 cards): Managed identities, Key Vault, databases, Container Apps, Functions, monitoring with KQL, networking and Bicep.
  4. 4. Go deeper (16 cards): Management groups and Azure Policy, keyless CI, private endpoints, AKS, resilience, cost control and certification paths.
All 11 cards in Start from zero
What is Microsoft Azure, in one sentence?
Azure is Microsoft's cloud: a huge set of data centres where you rent computers, storage, databases and AI services over the internet and pay for what you use.
Why do many companies pick Azure?
They already use Microsoft 365, Windows and Microsoft sign-in, so Azure fits their staff accounts, licences and tools. It also has regions in most countries for local data rules.
Where do people meet Azure in daily life?
Xbox online services, many company portals, hospital and school systems, and apps that sign you in with a work Microsoft account often run on Azure behind the scenes.
What is a subscription?
A subscription is an Azure account with its own bill and limits. Companies often have one per environment or team, so test spending and live spending stay separate.
What is a resource group?
A resource group is a folder for related resources, like a web app, its database and its storage. You can give access to, tag or delete the whole folder at once.
What are regions and availability zones?
A region is an area with Azure data centres, like Central India in Pune. Many regions have availability zones: separate buildings with their own power, so one can fail and the others keep going.
What is Microsoft Entra ID?
Entra ID, formerly Azure Active Directory, is Microsoft's identity service: it holds users and groups, checks passwords and MFA, and decides who can sign in to Azure and Microsoft 365.
What are roles and managed identities, simply?
A role is a set of permissions, like Reader (look only) or Contributor (change things). A managed identity is a built-in identity for an app so it can use other services without a stored password.
How does paying work, and how do beginners stay safe?
Each subscription is billed for what it uses. A free account gives starting credit and some free services. Set a budget alert and turn on MFA before building anything.
What is the shared responsibility model?
Microsoft secures the buildings, hardware and the platform. You secure what you configure: users and roles, network rules, your code and your data.
What do you need before starting, and what can you do after?
A Microsoft account, a card or student offer for sign-up, and basic terminal use. After this topic you can deploy apps, store data and keep access and costs under control.
Azure basics cheatsheet

CLI basics

  • az login Sign in
  • az account set --subscription NAME Choose subscription
  • az account show -o table Which one is active
  • az group create -n RG -l centralindia New resource group
  • az resource list -g RG -o table Everything in a group
  • --query "[].name" -o tsv Pick fields as plain text

Apps

  • az webapp up -n APP --runtime "PYTHON:3.12" Deploy to App Service
  • az webapp log tail -n APP -g RG Stream app logs
  • az containerapp up -n APP --source . Deploy a container app
  • az acr build -r REG -t img:1.0 . Build image in Azure
  • az webapp deployment slot swap --slot staging Release by swap

Identity and secrets

  • az role assignment create --assignee U --role R --scope S Grant access
  • az role assignment list --assignee U -o table What someone has
  • az webapp identity assign -n APP -g RG Managed identity on
  • az keyvault secret set --vault-name KV -n NAME --value V Store a secret
  • @Microsoft.KeyVault(VaultName=KV;SecretName=NAME) Secret reference in app settings

Storage

  • az storage account create -n NAME --sku Standard_ZRS New storage account
  • az storage blob upload ... --auth-mode login Upload with Entra sign-in
  • az storage blob upload-batch -d CONTAINER -s ./dist Upload a folder
  • az storage blob generate-sas --expiry 2026-10-27 Time-limited link
  • Hot / Cool / Cold / Archive Tiers from often to almost never read

Governance

  • az lock create --lock-type CanNotDelete Block deletion
  • az policy assignment create --policy ID --scope S Enforce a rule
  • az consumption budget create --amount 50 Monthly budget
  • az deployment group what-if -f main.bicep Preview a deployment
  • az vm list-usage -l centralindia -o table Check quotas
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