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Azure Essentials Live Training

Code to Cloud | A hands-on journey from local development to Azure mastery

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Get Started in 60 Seconds

The fastest way to start — no installation required!

Click above to launch a fully-configured environment with all tools pre-installed.

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🆕 New to Azure? Start with the Wiki for Learners — it walks you through everything step by step. Not sure what a term means? Check the Glossary.

Don't want to install anything? Use Azure Cloud Shell — it runs in your browser with all tools pre-installed. Just sign in and paste commands from our copy-paste reference.

Quick Links

Link	Description
Wiki for Learners	Beginner-friendly step-by-step guides
Glossary	Plain-English definitions of Azure terms
Course Agenda	Full schedule with timings
Lesson Index	All 12 lessons at a glance
Discord Community	Get help and connect

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Local Setup (if not using Codespaces)

Prerequisites

Tool	Installation
Azure Account	Create free account
Azure CLI	Install v2.60+
Azure Developer CLI	Install azd v1.10+
VS Code	Download with Bicep extension
Git	Install

Setup Steps

💡 All commands below should be run from the project root folder (azure_essentials/). If you're not sure how to open a terminal, see the Scripts Guide for help.

# 1. Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/codetocloudorg/azure_essentials.git
cd azure_essentials

# 2. Run preflight checks
./scripts/bash/validate-env.sh        # macOS/Linux
.\scripts\powershell\validate-env.ps1 # Windows

See Prerequisites Guide for detailed platform instructions.

Deploy with Azure Developer CLI

Interactive Deployment (Recommended)

# macOS / Linux
./scripts/bash/deploy.sh

# Windows
.\scripts\powershell\deploy.ps1

Direct azd Commands

azd auth login
azd init
azd env set AZURE_LOCATION eastus
azd env set LESSON_NUMBER 03    # Deploy specific lesson
azd up

Resource Groups Created

Each lesson deploys to its own resource group:

rg-{name}-lesson03-storage      <- Lesson 03: Storage
rg-{name}-lesson04-networking   <- Lesson 04: Networking
rg-{name}-lesson05-compute      <- Lesson 05: Windows VM
rg-{name}-lesson07-containers   <- Lesson 07: Containers
...

Cleanup

azd down --force --purge    # Remove all resources

See SCRIPTS.md for all options.

Course Structure (12 Lessons)

Day 1: Foundations

#	Lesson	Time	Topic
00	Prerequisites	15 min	Setup
01	Introduction	55 min	Azure concepts
02	Getting Started	20 min	Subscriptions and resource groups
03	Storage	55 min	Blobs, files, queues
04	Networking	35 min	VNets, NSGs, load balancers
05	Windows Compute	30 min	VMs, App Service
06	Linux and K8s	25 min	Linux VMs, MicroK8s
07	Containers	25 min	ACR, Container Apps

Day 2: Advanced Services

#	Lesson	Time	Topic
08	Serverless	60 min	Functions, Logic Apps
09	Databases	60 min	SQL, Cosmos DB, Fabric
10	Billing	20 min	Cost management
11	AI Foundry	45 min	AI models, chatbots
12	Architecture	45 min	Design patterns

Cost and Region Information

Free Tier Compatible

Lessons	Resources	Cost
01-04	Storage, VNet, NSGs	FREE
05	App Service (F1)	FREE
06	Local MicroK8s	FREE
08	Functions (Consumption)	FREE

Low Cost (around $1-5/day)

Lesson	Resources	Est. Cost
07	Container Registry	~$0.17/day
09	Cosmos DB (Serverless)	Pay-per-use
11	AI Foundry	~$1-5/day

Recommended Regions (North America)

Region	Location	Notes
eastus	Virginia	Best availability
eastus2	Virginia	Good backup
centralus	Iowa	Good for Cosmos DB
westus2	Washington	West Coast
canadacentral	Toronto	Canadian learners

Repository Structure

azure_essentials/
├── README.md                 # This file
├── SCRIPTS.md                # Scripts guide
├── azure.yaml                # azd configuration
├── wiki/                     # Beginner-friendly guides
│
├── lessons/                  # Course content
│   ├── 00-prerequisites/
│   ├── 01-introduction/
│   └── ...                   # Through 12-architecture
│
├── infra/                    # Bicep templates
│   ├── main.bicep
│   └── modules/
│
├── scripts/
│   ├── bash/                 # macOS/Linux
│   │   ├── deploy.sh
│   │   └── validate-env.sh
│   ├── powershell/           # Windows
│   │   ├── deploy.ps1
│   │   └── validate-env.ps1
│   └── azure-cli/            # CLI reference
│
└── .devcontainer/            # Dev container config

Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

azd auth logout && az logout
azd auth login --use-device-code && az login --use-device-code

Quota Exceeded

1. Run azd down to remove resources
2. Wait a few minutes
3. Try a different region or request quota increase

Deployment Failures

azd show            # Check status
azd deploy --debug  # Detailed logs

More Help

• Troubleshooting Wiki - Common problems and fixes
• GitHub Issues - Report bugs
• Discord - Ask the community

Resources and Certifications

Continue Learning

• AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals - Entry certification
• AZ-104 Azure Administrator - Admin path
• AZ-204 Azure Developer - Developer path
• Microsoft Learn - Free training

Community

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Contributing

This is Code to Cloud Inc. intellectual property. For contributions:

1. Fork this repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Submit a pull request

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License

Copyright (c) 2024-2026 Code to Cloud Inc. | MIT License

Created by Kevin Evans and the Code to Cloud Inc. team. Built with love for the Azure community.