Azure services Commonly Used by DevOps Engineers

Azure services Commonly Used by DevOps Engineers

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5 min read

Compute:

Azure Virtual Machines (VM) – Run virtual servers for hosting applications.

Azure App Services – Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) for hosting web apps and APIs. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) – Managed Kubernetes for container orchestration. Azure Functions – Serverless compute to run event-driven code.

Networking:

Azure Virtual Network (VNet) – Set up private networks and manage IP addresses. Azure Load Balancer – Distributes incoming traffic across multiple virtual machines. Azure VPN Gateway – Secure connection between on-premises networks and Azure.

Azure Traffic Manager – Global DNS load balancing for high availability.

Storage:

Azure Blob Storage – Store unstructured data like images, videos, and documents. Azure Storage Account – General-purpose storage for blobs, files, queues, and tables.

Azure Backup – Backup service for long-term data retention.

Security:

Azure Active Directory (AD) – Identity and access management service.

Azure Key Vault – Securely store and access secrets like API keys and certificates.

Database:

Azure SQL Database – Managed relational SQL database.

Monitoring and Management:

Azure Monitor – Comprehensive solution for collecting, analyzing, and acting on telemetry from your cloud resources.

Azure Resource Manager (ARM) – Infrastructure-as-code for managing Azure resources.

Content Delivery: Azure CDN – Content Delivery Network for delivering content to users globally.

Developer Tools and DevOps:

Azure DevOps – Set of development tools for CI/CD, version control, and project management.

Azure Logic Apps – Workflow automation for integrating apps and services.

Azure API Management – Manage, secure, and scale APIs.

Here’s a comparison of AWS and Azure services, mapping similar functionalities across the two cloud platforms:

1. Compute:

FunctionalityAWS ServiceAzure Service
Virtual ServersEC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud)Azure Virtual Machines (VM)
Serverless ComputeAWS LambdaAzure Functions
Managed KubernetesAmazon EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service)Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Platform-as-a-ServiceAWS Elastic BeanstalkAzure App Service
Container ServiceAmazon ECS (Elastic Container Service)Azure Container Instances (ACI)

2. Storage:

FunctionalityAWS ServiceAzure Service
Object StorageAmazon S3 (Simple Storage Service)Azure Blob Storage
Block StorageAmazon EBS (Elastic Block Store)Azure Disk Storage
File StorageAmazon EFS (Elastic File System)Azure File Storage
General-purpose StorageAWS Storage GatewayAzure Storage Account
BackupAWS BackupAzure Backup

3. Networking:

FunctionalityAWS ServiceAzure Service
Private NetworkAmazon VPC (Virtual Private Cloud)Azure Virtual Network (VNet)
Load BalancerElastic Load Balancing (ELB)Azure Load Balancer
CDN (Content Delivery)Amazon CloudFrontAzure CDN
VPN GatewayAWS VPNAzure VPN Gateway
DNS ServiceAmazon Route 53Azure DNS
Traffic ManagementAWS Global AcceleratorAzure Traffic Manager

4. Security & Identity:

FunctionalityAWS ServiceAzure Service
Identity and Access ManagementAWS IAMAzure Active Directory (AD)
Key ManagementAWS KMS (Key Management Service)Azure Key Vault
Web Application FirewallAWS WAFAzure WAF (Web Application Firewall)
DDoS ProtectionAWS ShieldAzure DDoS Protection

5. Database:

FunctionalityAWS ServiceAzure Service
Managed Relational DatabaseAmazon RDSAzure SQL Database
NoSQL DatabaseAmazon DynamoDBAzure Cosmos DB
Data WarehouseAmazon RedshiftAzure Synapse Analytics (formerly SQL Data Warehouse)
CachingAmazon ElastiCacheAzure Cache for Redis
Managed Database MigrationAWS Database Migration Service (DMS)Azure Database Migration Service

6. Monitoring & Management:

FunctionalityAWS ServiceAzure Service
Monitoring & AlertsAmazon CloudWatchAzure Monitor
Automation & OrchestrationAWS Systems ManagerAzure Automation
Resource ProvisioningAWS CloudFormationAzure Resource Manager (ARM)
Cost ManagementAWS Cost ExplorerAzure Cost Management + Billing

7. Developer & DevOps Tools:

FunctionalityAWS ServiceAzure Service
CI/CD PipelineAWS CodePipelineAzure DevOps Services
Source Code RepositoryAWS CodeCommitAzure Repos
Artifact RepositoryAWS CodeArtifactAzure Artifacts
Serverless WorkflowAWS Step FunctionsAzure Logic Apps
API ManagementAmazon API GatewayAzure API Management

8. Analytics:

FunctionalityAWS ServiceAzure Service
Big Data ProcessingAWS EMR (Elastic MapReduce)Azure HDInsight
Real-time Data StreamingAmazon KinesisAzure Stream Analytics
Data LakeAWS Lake FormationAzure Data Lake

9. Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning:

FunctionalityAWS ServiceAzure Service
Machine Learning PlatformAmazon SageMakerAzure Machine Learning
AI Services (Pre-built Models)AWS AI Services (e.g., Rekognition, Lex, Polly)Azure Cognitive Services

10. Miscellaneous:

FunctionalityAWS ServiceAzure Service
Message Queue ServiceAmazon SQS (Simple Queue Service)Azure Queue Storage
Notification ServiceAmazon SNS (Simple Notification Service)Azure Notification Hubs
Event StreamingAmazon EventBridgeAzure Event Grid

Key Differences:

  • Compute: AWS EC2 and Azure VMs are quite similar, but Azure tends to focus more on integrating with other Microsoft products (e.g., Windows, Active Directory).

  • Networking: Both AWS and Azure provide extensive networking solutions, but AWS has a broader global infrastructure.

  • Monitoring & Management: AWS CloudWatch and Azure Monitor have feature parity, but AWS tends to have deeper integration across its services for detailed telemetry.

  • Database: AWS has more database offerings like DynamoDB and Aurora, while Azure excels with its SQL-based solutions and Cosmos DB for NoSQL.

Both platforms offer a vast array of services with overlap in functionality, but each has its own unique features and ecosystems