This project provides a practical introduction to cloud computing through the setup and exploration of a Microsoft Azure environment. The objective was to gain hands-on experience with core Azure services, cloud governance, identity management, resource deployment, and cost monitoring using the Azure Free Tier.
Through this project, I developed foundational skills relevant to Cloud Engineering, DevOps, and Cloud Administration by working directly within the Azure Portal.
- Create and configure a Microsoft Azure Free Tier account.
- Explore and navigate the Azure Portal.
- Understand Azure governance concepts such as Subscriptions and Resource Groups.
- Gain exposure to Identity and Access Management (IAM) through Azure Active Directory and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).
- Identify the most suitable Azure region for resource deployment.
- Deploy a cloud resource and understand the deployment workflow.
- Explore Azure Cost Management tools to monitor cloud spending.
- Created a Microsoft Azure Free Tier account.
- Completed identity verification and account setup.
- Activated an Azure subscription for cloud resource management.
- Explored the Azure Portal dashboard.
- Reviewed available services and navigation menus.
- Used the global search feature to locate Azure resources and services.
- Identified the active Azure subscription.
- Created a Resource Group to serve as a logical container for cloud resources.
Resource Group Name: cloud-project-rg
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Explored Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory).
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Reviewed user management features.
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Studied Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) concepts including:
- Owner
- Contributor
- Reader
The selected deployment region was:
South Africa North
South Africa North is the Azure region geographically closest to Nigeria and provides lower network latency compared to regions located in Europe or North America.
A test resource was successfully deployed to gain experience with Azure provisioning workflows.
Deployed Resource: Virtual Machine (or Storage Account)
The deployment process included:
- Resource configuration
- Validation checks
- Resource creation
- Deployment monitoring
Accessed Azure Cost Management + Billing and reviewed:
- Cost Analysis
- Budget configuration
- Spending alerts
This helps ensure cloud usage remains within Free Tier limits.
The Shared Responsibility Model defines security responsibilities between Microsoft Azure and the customer.
Azure is responsible for the security of the cloud, including:
- Physical data centers
- Hardware infrastructure
- Networking infrastructure
- Hypervisor security
The customer is responsible for security in the cloud, including:
- User access management
- Password and identity security
- Data protection
- Resource configuration
- Operating system updates (for virtual machines)
For the deployed resource, I am responsible for managing access permissions and securing the workload, while Microsoft secures the underlying infrastructure.
azure-cloud-project/
│
├── screenshots/
│ ├── azure-dashboard.png
│ ├── resource-group.png
│ ├── deployed-resource.png
│ └── cost-management.png
│
├── README.md
│
└── report.pdf
- Azure Portal Dashboard
- Active Azure Subscription
- Resource Group Creation
- Resource Deployment
- Cost Analysis / Budget Configuration
- Cloud Computing Fundamentals
- Microsoft Azure Administration
- Resource Management
- Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
- Cost Monitoring and Governance
- Cloud Security Fundamentals
Femi Olayiwola
Industrial Chemist | Aspiring Data Analyst | Cloud & DevOps Learner
GitHub Repository created as part of a cloud computing foundational project using Microsoft Azure.