▷ Microsoft azure, what it is and what utilities it has [best explanation]

Companies, and we users, are increasingly concerned about the security of our files. With the enormous development of recent years not only in computer infrastructure with virtualization, but also in the Internet and the services that this network of networks offers, we have reached a point where everything is based on the blissful cloud.

Microsoft Azure is precisely a service that is entirely based on the cloud, so for those who are not too clear about what this concept is, the best thing to do is to start there.

What is the cloud

Something we see, but do not know where it is, that is the cloud, although of course it is in one place or in many, and its components have a physical location, not only in our hearts.

The cloud comes to refer to the term that is normally used to describe the global network of servers, interconnected with each other through the Internet. All servers located at different points throughout the world and interconnected through a network, whether by cable or air, form what is known as the cloud or a huge computing ecosystem.

Obviously each of these servers is physically located somewhere, some hard disk and will have its own hardware. The term cloud being refers precisely has made being connected with others remotely, what's more, to access and manage them, we will need a client computer that may be located at the other end of the world. And it is to this concept of remote what we call cloud.

Each server connected to the cloud has certain characteristics and performs certain functions, for example, storing databases, providing multimedia services, connecting thousands of players in a game, etc. So, each of us uses our computer to connect to the Internet and request, without us noticing, content from the cloud. We will have three types of cloud on the Internet:

Public Cloud: The public cloud is basically the one we access to download free content through the pages of companies, brands and anything. Private Cloud: This cloud normally refers to the servers that we find dedicated to the LAN environment, such as companies and work centers. Where certain information is available that only the members of a certain network will be able to access. Hybrid Cloud: it is the mixture of the two. We can have an organization that has a private cloud that shares certain information to another public cloud, this means that we only have partial access to certain data that the company wants to share.

Well we already know what the cloud is, now we have to see what Microsoft Azure is

What is Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is a tool that Microsoft has created, through which we will be able to create our own services in the cloud. We refer to services in the sense of having a database that is not located on our computer, having our files stored in a remote directory, and thus with everything that we can think of doing on the Internet.

The objective of this platform is to provide a platform integration service for users and, above all, companies in the most secure way possible, without having to manage their own servers, with the risk that this entails if we do not have enough knowledge or security means.

But of course, if we have everything stored in this cloud, how can we access it from our desktop? Obviously this has an answer, and it is through a centralized control panel in which we can access from our Web browser with our users and password of an account previously created in this service.

Surely no one escapes that being something from Microsoft, you will have to pay for it. Yes, it is a paid platform, although we will have a free license for up to one year to work on a specific project such as web development, applications, games, etc. After this period we will have different methods and ways to pay for the services we are using from Azure. Let's say it is like a hosting service, you pay according to the amount of resources and power you want to use.

Among other things we can:

Create virtual machines with remote access to them, including Linux distributions. Create Active Directory objects to have a credential store in the cloud. Store databases that we can access through our SQL client or Visual Studio. Applications of different services as compilers of applications in java, Python, etc. Application execution service, internet of things, and electronic commerce, from anywhere we connect. Having machine learning services to monitor the progress of our company through applications.

And many other features.

In addition to this, Microsoft Azure is also integrated with services from other companies such as VMware and its virtualization service. And is that the key to working in the cloud is precisely working with all our favorite services or the need to hire other means besides the one we already have.

Azure Active Directory

One of the most interesting applications we have is the possibility of implementing an access and credential management service located in the cloud. In this way we will not need to have a Windows Server with Active Directory installed in our company to provide authentication services to physical workstations.

In addition to Windows users, we can also create identities for Office 365 for example or have access to applications that the company has located in the cloud.

Virtualized service in Azure

Another quite interesting option is the possibility of creating and managing virtual machines directly on this platform. From the Azure control panel we can both create Linux or Windows machines, and access them as if we were in Hyper-v.

Of course, with the free 12-month subscription that we can have, we can only run 14 virtual machines.

Other cloud service platforms

As usual, not only does Microsoft Azure exist as a means of cloud computing, we will have other interesting alternatives such as Amazon Aws or Google Cloud. Both services are also paid, and it has a collection management for services very similar to Azure, so in this sense they are similar.

Amazon is the first to begin this journey offering this type of cloud services back in 2004. Its modular development has allowed a large number of services to be implemented little by little, including governments putting their delicate corruption files in their hands. Later Google Cloud and Azure appeared, providing a great desire for cloud computing solutions and also with better prices than Amazon.

Advantages of the cloud and future

We have talked about the basic characteristics of Microsoft Azure and that there are other platforms that offer similar services, but what really are the advantages that we get with such a service?

Scalable computing

If these cloud services are characterized in any way, it is that they are capable of providing customers with just the power they need and the time they need to use it. We can gradually acquire computers with more computing performance, either through virtual machines or through dedicated servers. Everything will be based on what we want to pay and the time we are going to use it.

Storage capacity

Undoubtedly one of the great advantages of these services is the enormous storage capacity that we can acquire without the need to buy any physical equipment. We will save on space, infrastructure and maintenance, we can also hire or eliminate as we need.

Security

Another of the fundamental pillars is the security they offer. Both Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS and Google Cloud have strong security that we would not be able to achieve unless we paid capital.

Big Data and Machine Learning

In the management and analysis of large volumes of data, Google is undoubtedly the leader. With its MapReduce engine, to manage the processes of large server clusters, it has provided the development of application packages as important as Apache Hadoop. Free for the most part and with the ability to provide predictive data analytics service with Spark, large database management with HBase and many other solutions, they provide predictive analytics services for business analytics for virtually any business.

We have no doubt that the future is this, in a few years, almost all of us will have at least one cloud-based service from one of these giants. Especially companies will be the ones that should take more advantage of this due to the flexibility that supposes for them to contract only what they need, if extra expenses in infrastructures or maintenance personnel. The cloud friends, the cloud, the day a storm appears in it, to know where we will go.

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What do you think about cloud computing, using Azure or other such services? Tell us what you think about this topic.