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AZ-104 · Getting started

20 cards

Azure Administration End-to-End Workflow

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  1. Meet the management console

    Everything in this course eventually happens somewhere, and for most administrators that somewhere is the portal.

    The Azure portal is a web-based unified console for creating and managing Azure resources through a graphical user interface. An administrator can use it to build, manage and monitor anything from a web app to a complex cloud deployment.

    "Unified" is the important word. The portal is not a separate product per service: one console reaches storage, networking, identity, compute and monitoring, which is why an administrator can follow a solution end to end without changing tools halfway through.

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  2. Quick check

    What is the Azure portal?

    1. AA web-based unified console for creating and managing Azure resources through a graphical interface.

      Right. The portal is the graphical, web-based console used to build, manage and monitor Azure resources.

    2. BA local command-line tool that manages virtual machines only.

      The portal is a browser-based console rather than a locally installed tool, and it is not limited to virtual machines.

    3. CA resource provider that supplies every Azure resource type.

      Resource providers supply resource types; the portal is a management surface, not a provider.

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  3. Set the context before you change anything

    The most expensive portal mistakes are not wrong clicks. They are right clicks in the wrong place: the correct virtual machine created in a test subscription, or a policy applied while signed in to a partner's directory.

    After signing in, the account control can show account information and lets the administrator switch directories. Before starting a change, identify the working directory, subscription and target resource group so that the new item lands in the intended context.

    Question to answer first Where the answer is set
    Which directory am I in? The account control in the page header
    Which subscription will be billed and governed? The subscription selected for the work
    Which resource group will contain the result? The target group chosen during creation

    Make this a reflex. The check costs five seconds and it removes an entire class of incident.

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  4. Quick check

    An administrator signed in to the wrong directory. Which portal control switches it?

    1. AThe working pane that shows details for the current service.

      The working pane displays the details of whatever is in focus; it does not change directory.

    2. BThe service menu of the open resource.

      The service menu carries commands for the resource in focus rather than global account settings.

    3. CThe account control, which also shows account information.

      Right. The account control can show account information and lets the administrator switch directories.

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  5. Start from Home

    A new subscriber must create a resource before there is anything to manage. The portal expects that and puts the starting points in the obvious places.

    The portal Home page can create a resource in the current subscription or open a service. Create a resource is available from Home and the portal menu, and All services lists the available services. Guided wizards then collect the settings required by the selected service, so a first deployment does not require knowing every field in advance.

    Starting point What it is for
    Create a resource Begin a new deployment in the current subscription
    All services Browse the catalog when the service name is unknown
    Guided wizard Collect the settings the chosen service requires
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  6. Quick check

    What can an administrator do from the portal Home page?

    1. ACreate a resource in every subscription at once, with no context chosen.

      Creation happens in the current subscription; the portal does not deploy into every subscription simultaneously.

    2. BCreate a resource in the current subscription or open a service.

      Right. Home can create a resource in the current subscription or open a service.

    3. CEdit only the resources that already appear on a shared dashboard.

      Dashboards focus a view of selected resources; they do not limit what Home can reach.

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  7. Keep your progress in the app

    That’s 3 of 10 quick checks. In the app they stay answered, and every lesson remembers where you left off.

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  8. Find anything with global search

    Once an environment has a few hundred resources, browsing stops working. The portal's global search can find a resource, service, or documentation.

    That triple scope is what makes it the right first move when you know a name but not a location. Type the resource name and open it; type a service name and reach the service; type a concept and reach its documentation.

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  9. Quick check

    An administrator needs to find a named resource, an Azure service, and a documentation page. Which portal feature covers all three?

    1. AThe service menu of whichever resource is already open.

      A service menu is contextual to something already open, so it cannot locate a resource you have not found yet.

    2. BA customized subscription dashboard together with its pinned tiles and shared links.

      A dashboard shows resources somebody chose to pin; it is not a search across services and documentation.

    3. CThe portal's global search, which reaches resources, services and documentation.

      Right. Global search can find a resource, a service or documentation from anywhere in the portal.

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  10. Work in the contextual panes

    Once a resource is open, the interface becomes contextual. That single behavior explains most of the portal's layout.

    The service menu contains commands for the service or resource currently in focus, while the working pane shows its details. The command bar also changes with the current focus.

    Element Scope
    Account control Global: account information and directory switching
    Global search Global: resources, services and documentation
    Service menu Contextual: commands for the item in focus
    Working pane Contextual: details of the item in focus
    Command bar Contextual: changes with the current focus

    The efficient sequence follows from the table: use global search to locate the object, then use its service menu and working pane to configure it.

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  11. Quick check

    A virtual machine is open in the portal. Which element holds the commands for that virtual machine?

    1. AThe service menu, which carries commands for the service or resource in focus.

      Right. The service menu contains the commands for the service or resource currently in focus.

    2. BThe account control in the page header.

      The account control is a global element for account information and directory switching.

    3. CThe Microsoft Cloud product portfolio.

      Microsoft Cloud is a portfolio name, not an element of the portal interface.

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  12. Know the layer behind every request

    The portal is a surface, and something has to be underneath it. Azure Resource Manager receives requests from Azure APIs, tools, and SDKs, authenticates and authorizes them, and forwards them to the appropriate Azure service.

    Read that as three steps in order: receive, check, route. Nothing reaches a service before the caller's identity and permissions have been established.

    This explains why changing a resource through different supported tools produces consistent management capabilities. A tag added in the browser and the same tag added from a script arrive by the same path, pass the same checks and land on the same object.

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  13. Quick check

    A management request arrives from the Azure CLI. What does Azure Resource Manager do with it?

    1. AIt broadcasts the request to every Azure service and lets each one decide whether to answer it.

      Resource Manager routes a request to the service that owns the resource rather than broadcasting it to all of them.

    2. BIt authenticates and authorizes the request, then forwards it to the appropriate service.

      Right. Resource Manager receives requests from Azure APIs, tools and SDKs, authenticates and authorizes them, and forwards them to the appropriate service.

    3. CIt rewrites the request as a dashboard tile and contacts nothing.

      A dashboard is a portal view, and turning a management request into one would leave the requested change unmade.

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  14. Organize and observe the result

    Deployment is the beginning of the job, not the end of it. Resource Manager supports access control, locks and tags for securing and organizing resources after deployment. It also lets an administrator deploy, manage and monitor the resources for a solution as a group.

    Monitoring closes the operational loop by showing whether the deployed environment behaves as intended. In the portal, a dashboard provides a focused view of important resources in a subscription and can be customized, published, and shared.

    That last verb matters operationally: a published dashboard gives an on-call team one agreed picture instead of six personal ones.

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  15. Quick check

    An operations team wants one focused view of important subscription resources that it can customize and share. Which portal feature fits?

    1. AThe results page returned by a global search across the portal.

      Search results answer a query at a moment in time; they are not a curated view that can be published to colleagues.

    2. BThe service menu belonging to one individual resource.

      A service menu is scoped to a single item in focus rather than to a set of important subscription resources.

    3. CA customized portal dashboard.

      Right. A dashboard provides a focused view of important subscription resources and can be customized, published and shared.

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  16. Use the same capabilities without the browser

    The graphical portal is one management surface, not a separate management system. Capabilities available in the Azure portal are also available through PowerShell, the Azure CLI, REST APIs, and client SDKs.

    That parity is a direct consequence of the previous section: all of these send their requests to the same Resource Manager layer. The choice between them is a choice of working style, not of capability.

    Surface When it is the right choice
    Portal Guided interactive work, exploration, one-off changes
    PowerShell / Azure CLI Scripted and repeatable operations
    REST APIs / client SDKs Integration into other software and pipelines

    Choose the portal for guided interactive work, and a command or API surface when repeatability and automation matter.

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  17. Quick check

    Which group of tools exposes capabilities also available in the Azure portal?

    1. APowerShell, the Azure CLI, REST APIs, and client software development kits.

      Right. Those surfaces reach the same Resource Manager capabilities that the portal exposes.

    2. BFavorites, breadcrumbs, dashboards, and notifications.

      Those are navigation and display elements inside the portal, not separate management surfaces.

    3. CTags, resource locks, datacenters, and service menus.

      Those mix governance features, physical facilities and interface elements rather than naming management tools.

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  18. Declare the environment you want

    Scripts describe steps. When an environment has to be rebuilt identically and often, describing the destination beats describing the journey.

    ARM templates and Bicep files use declarative syntax to state the infrastructure to create instead of listing a sequence of programming commands. Resource Manager can redeploy a solution consistently and can use declared dependencies to deploy resources in the correct order.

    Approach What you write What you get
    Procedural commands Every step, in order, by hand A result that depends on who ran it and when
    Declarative template or Bicep file The infrastructure that should exist Consistent redeployment, with dependencies resolving the order

    Dependencies are the quiet advantage: you state that the application needs the network, and Resource Manager works out that the network is created first.

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  19. Quick check

    A team must deploy the same multi-resource environment repeatedly and keep the required creation order, stating the intended infrastructure rather than coding each step. What should it use?

    1. AA portal dashboard published and shared with the whole team.

      A dashboard displays resources that already exist; it deploys nothing and enforces no order.

    2. BAn ARM template or a Bicep file processed by Resource Manager.

      Right. ARM templates and Bicep files declare the infrastructure to create, and Resource Manager uses declared dependencies to deploy in the correct order.

    3. CA resource tag that somebody copies by hand after each deployment.

      A tag is a label applied after the fact, so it neither creates resources nor controls their order.

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  20. Key takeaways

    The typical journey is coherent: enter the correct context, locate or create a resource, configure it, organize and secure it, monitor the result, and automate repeatable work.

    • Use Home or the portal menu to create a resource in the current subscription, then use contextual service controls to configure it.
    • Global controls and contextual controls do different jobs: the account control and global search are global, while the service menu, working pane and command bar follow the item in focus.
    • Resource Manager provides the consistent management path behind portal, PowerShell, CLI, REST, and SDK requests, checking each caller before routing the request onward.
    • Dashboards focus monitoring on important subscription resources, and can be customized, published and shared.
    • Use declarative ARM templates or Bicep files when the deployment must be consistent and repeatable.
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  21. Quick check

    Which summary is accurate?

    1. AHome creates in the current subscription, Resource Manager routes every request, and Bicep declares deployments.

      Right. Those three statements match the creation entry point, the common management layer and the purpose of declarative files.

    2. BGlobal search only opens dashboards, Resource Manager applies to portal work alone, and ARM templates list procedural commands one by one.

      Global search also reaches resources, services and documentation, Resource Manager serves every supported tool, and ARM templates are declarative rather than procedural.

    3. CThe account control renames resources, dashboards replace the service menu, and the CLI exposes fewer capabilities than the portal by design.

      The account control handles account information and directory switching, dashboards do not replace contextual menus, and portal capabilities are also available from the CLI.

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  22. 10 quick checks · then the test

    In the app, finishing the quick checks opens this lesson’s 10-question test, and the ones you miss come back exactly when you’re about to forget them.

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