Azure Account Setup

Before You Start: What Are You Deploying?

This track teaches Azure deployment mechanics. Before diving in, consider what you're deploying:

Deploying a frontend/static site? Simpler platforms like Vercel may be all you need.

Deploying a complete SaaS product? You'll also need:

• User authentication and sessions
• Subscription billing (Stripe integration)
• Transactional email and notifications
• Multi-tenant data architecture

Your options for the backend:

1. Build it yourself — this track + our SaaS Starter template
2. Use a backend platform — services like StackForDevs provide auth, billing, and notifications as APIs, so you only deploy your frontend

This track focuses on deployment infrastructure. Make sure you know what you're deploying before proceeding.

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What is Microsoft Azure?

Azure is Microsoft's cloud computing platform, offering 200+ services including:

• App Service - Managed web app hosting (our recommended path)
• Azure Container Apps - Serverless containers
• Azure Functions - Serverless functions
• Virtual Machines - Full server control
• Azure SQL - Managed databases
• Blob Storage - File/object storage

Your Application
      ↓
Microsoft Azure
      ↓
60+ Azure Regions Worldwide

Why Choose Azure?

Azure vs Other Clouds

Step 1: Create Your Azure Account

1.1 Go to Azure

Visit azure.microsoft.com/free and click Start free.

1.2 Sign In with Microsoft Account

Use an existing Microsoft account or create one. This becomes your Azure identity.

1.3 Identity Verification

1. Enter your phone number for verification
2. Receive and enter verification code
3. Enter credit card for identity verification

1.4 Accept Terms and Sign Up

Review and accept the subscription agreement.

1.5 Welcome to Azure

You now have:

• $200 free credit for 30 days
• 12 months of popular free services
• Always-free services (55+ services)

Step 2: Understand the Azure Portal

2.1 The Portal Dashboard

Access the portal at portal.azure.com.

Key areas:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ☰ Menu  │  Search bar                     │  ? ⚙ 🔔 User      │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Favorites          │                                           │
│ ├─ All services    │        Dashboard / Resource View          │
│ ├─ Resource groups │                                           │
│ ├─ App Services    │                                           │
│ ├─ Subscriptions   │                                           │
│ └─ Cost Management │                                           │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

2.2 Key Portal Sections

2.3 Navigation Tips

• Use the search bar (top) for quick access to any service
• Pin favorites to the left sidebar
• Use breadcrumbs to navigate back
• Resource groups help organize related resources

Step 3: Understand Azure Organization

Subscriptions

A Subscription is a billing container:

• Ties to a payment method
• Has spending limits
• Contains resource groups
• Can have multiple (dev, staging, prod)

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# List subscriptions (after installing Azure CLI)
az account list --output table

Resource Groups

A Resource Group is a container for related resources:

• Web app + database + storage = one resource group
• Delete the group = delete all resources
• Apply policies at group level

Subscription
└── Resource Group: myapp-production
    ├── App Service: myapp-web
    ├── Azure SQL: myapp-db
    └── Storage Account: myappstorage

Regions

Azure has 60+ regions worldwide. Choose based on:

• Proximity to users - Lower latency
• Compliance - Data residency requirements
• Service availability - Not all services everywhere
• Cost - Varies by region

Common regions:

Step 4: Create Your First Resource Group

Via Portal

1. Search for "Resource groups" in the portal
2. Click + Create
3. Configure:
   • Subscription: Your subscription
   • Resource group: myapp-dev
   • Region: East US (or nearest)
4. Click Review + create → Create

Via CLI (Preview)

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# Create resource group
az group create --name myapp-dev --location eastus

Naming Conventions

{company}-{app}-{environment}-{resource-type}

Examples:
- contoso-webapp-prod-rg (resource group)
- contoso-webapp-prod-app (app service)
- contoso-webapp-prod-sql (database)

Step 5: Set Up Cost Management

5.1 View Current Spending

1. Search for "Cost Management" in the portal
2. Click Cost analysis
3. See spending by:
   • Service
   • Resource group
   • Time period

5.2 Create a Budget

1. In Cost Management, click Budgets
2. Click + Add
3. Configure:
   • Name: Monthly Budget
   • Reset period: Monthly
   • Amount: Your limit (e.g., $25)
4. Set alert thresholds:
   • 50% - Early warning
   • 80% - Approaching limit
   • 100% - At budget
5. Add notification email

5.3 Spending Limits

The free account has automatic spending limits:

• Uses $200 credit first
• Services stop when credit exhausted
• Upgrade required to continue (pay-as-you-go)

Step 6: Understand Azure Pricing

Free Tier Highlights

First 30 days ($200 credit):

• Explore any Azure service
• Credit applies to all services

12 Months Free:

Always Free:

Common Costs

Step 7: Enable Required Resource Providers

Azure services must be registered in your subscription:

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# Register common providers
az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Web
az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Storage
az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Sql
az provider register --namespace Microsoft.ContainerRegistry

# Check registration status
az provider show --namespace Microsoft.Web --query "registrationState"

Most providers register automatically when you first use a service.

Step 8: Understand Azure RBAC

Role-Based Access Control

Control who can do what:

Service-Specific Roles

• Website Contributor - Manage web apps
• SQL DB Contributor - Manage SQL databases
• Storage Blob Data Contributor - Read/write blobs

Assign Roles

1. Go to your resource group
2. Click Access control (IAM)
3. Click + Add → Add role assignment
4. Select role and user/group

Step 9: Set Up Azure Active Directory (Optional)

For team/organization use:

1. Search for "Azure Active Directory"
2. Create users or sync from on-premises AD
3. Set up groups for team access
4. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Step 10: Verify Your Setup

Check Subscription

1. Go to Subscriptions
2. Verify status is "Active"
3. Check remaining credits

Check Resource Group

1. Go to Resource groups
2. Verify your group exists
3. Check region is correct

Check Cost Management

1. Go to Cost Management
2. Verify budget is created
3. Check alert emails are configured

Common Setup Issues

"Subscription not found"

1. Check you're signed in with correct account
2. Verify subscription is active
3. Check if subscription has spending limit reached

"Resource provider not registered"

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# Register the provider
az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Web

# Wait for registration (can take a few minutes)
az provider show --namespace Microsoft.Web --query "registrationState"

"Access denied"

1. Check your role assignment
2. Verify you're in the correct subscription
3. Ask Owner to grant appropriate role

Azure CLI Preview

Install the Azure CLI for command-line management:

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# macOS
brew install azure-cli

# Windows
winget install Microsoft.AzureCLI

# Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)
curl -sL https://aka.ms/InstallAzureCLIDeb | sudo bash

Login:

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az login

This opens a browser for authentication.