Azure AI Portal: A Step-by-Step Setup Guide

To get started with the Azure AI Portal, you'll need to sign up for an Azure account. This will give you access to a wide range of AI tools and services.

First, navigate to the Azure portal and click on the "Sign up" button. You can sign up for a free account, which is a great way to get started with Azure without any upfront costs.

Once you've signed up, you can create a new resource group in the Azure portal. A resource group is a way to organize your Azure resources, and it's a good idea to create one as soon as you start using the portal.

To create a new resource group, click on the "Resource groups" tab and then click on the "Create" button. Give your resource group a name, and then click on the "Create" button again to create it.

To get started with the Azure AI portal, you'll need an Azure account with an active subscription. You can create one for free.

First, create an Azure AI Search service for any tier and any region. You can use a free service for this purpose. Make sure the search service doesn't have network access controls in place, as the portal controller uses the public endpoint to retrieve data and metadata from the built-in sample data source hosted by Microsoft.

You'll also need to familiarize yourself with the wizard, which you can find more information about under Import data wizards in the Azure portal.

To manage your resources, go to the Azure portal and look for the "All resources" or "Resource groups" section in the left pane.

To create an Azure AI services multi-service resource, you'll need to use the az cognitiveservices account create command. This command adds a new billable resource to the resource group you created earlier. The multi-service resource enables access to various Azure AI services with a single set of credentials.

You can choose from different resource kinds, but be sure to create one with the kind of AIServices. For example, the Azure AI services multi-service resource is listed under Azure AI services > Azure AI services in the portal.

To create a new Azure AI services resource, select the link to create an Azure AI services resource: https://portal.azure.com/#create/Microsoft.CognitiveServicesAIServices. You'll need to provide project details, such as subscription, resource group, region, name, and pricing tier.

Here's a quick reference table for the Azure AI services resource kinds:

Note that some services, like Custom Vision, have different resource kinds for prediction and training. Be sure to choose the correct kind for your needs.

To create a hub in Azure AI Studio, you need either the Owner or Contributor role on the resource group or on an existing hub. If you're unable to create a hub due to permissions, reach out to your administrator.

A hub in Azure AI Studio is a one-stop shop where you manage everything your AI project needs, like security and resources, so you can develop and test faster. To do this, go to Azure AI Studio and sign in with your Azure account.

Select a project, it doesn't matter which one you choose, and then select the Management center from the left menu. Next, select All resources, the down arrow next to + New project, and then select + New hub.

In the Create a new hub dialog, enter a name for your hub and modify the other fields as desired. By default, a new AI services connection is created for the hub. Note that if you don't see (new) before the Resource group and Connect Azure AI Services entries, an existing resource is being used.

Here are the steps to create a hub with a separate entity:

This will allow you to prevent any unexpected charges by deleting the entities after the tutorial.

To create a resource group in Azure, you'll need to choose an Azure location. This can be done using the Get-AzLocation command in Azure PowerShell, which retrieves a list of available locations for your subscription.

Most Azure AI services can be accessed from several locations, so choose the one closest to you. If you're not sure which locations are available for the service, you can check the documentation.

You can create a new resource group using the New-AzResourceGroup command in Azure PowerShell. Replace the Azure location "westus2" with one of the available locations for your subscription.

To create and subscribe to a new Azure AI services resource, use the New-AzCognitiveServicesAccount command. This command adds a new billable resource to the resource group you created earlier.

To get the usage for your resource, use the Get-AzCognitiveServicesAccountUsage command.

Here's a step-by-step guide to creating a resource group:

Choosing a region is a crucial step in setting up your Azure AI services. You'll want to pick a region that's close to you, unless you have specific requirements that dictate otherwise.

Azure AI Search is currently unavailable for new instances in some regions, so be sure to check the supported regions list before making a decision. This will save you time and frustration down the line.

You might also want to consider choosing a region that minimizes or voids bandwidth charges, which can be a significant cost savings. This is especially important if you're using multiple Azure services.

To help you choose the right region, here are some key considerations:

Some regions offer cross-region among all three services (Azure AI Search, Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Vision multimodal). Here are a few examples:

Remember to confirm region choice before installing, as region status can change quickly.

In resource management, creating and loading an index is a crucial step in organizing your data. The Import data wizard supports the creation of a skillset and AI-enrichment into indexing.

To streamline this process, you can use the Import data wizard. This tool enables you to create a skillset and integrate AI-enrichment into indexing, making it easier to manage your resources.

Updating Azure Application Insights and Azure Container Registry is a crucial step in managing your resources. You can configure these resources during hub creation or update them later.

To update Azure Application Insights, navigate to the Properties for your hub in the Azure portal and select Change Application Insights. This will allow you to update your Application Insights resource.

You can use the Azure portal, Azure SDK/CLI options, or infrastructure-as-code templates to update both Azure Application Insights and Azure Container Registry. The Azure portal is a convenient option for updating these resources.

Here are the tools you can use to update Azure Application Insights and Azure Container Registry:

Updating these resources may break lineage of previous jobs, deployed inference endpoints, or your ability to rerun earlier jobs in the workspace. Be sure to consider this when making updates.

To set up a secure connection to your Azure AI service, you'll need to configure authentication. This can be done using either key-based authentication or Azure roles, depending on your needs.

For key-based authentication, you'll need to copy the search service endpoint from the Overview page and use the Keys page to set authentication options. Most quickstarts and tutorials use API keys for simplicity, but Azure roles are recommended for production workloads.

You can store credentials in either your Azure Key Vault or a Microsoft-managed credential store. Storing in Azure Key Vault gives you additional control over secret lifecycle, but requires you to manage your own Key Vault instance.

Deleting a Studio Hub is a straightforward process that can be done from the Azure AI Studio portal or the Azure portal.

To delete a hub, select the hub and then select Delete hub from the Hub properties section of the page. This action will delete all associated projects.

Deleting a project also deletes all nested endpoints for the project.

You can optionally delete connected resources, but make sure that no other applications are using this connection.

To configure authentication for your new service, you'll need to provide a URL endpoint and an authenticated connection.

You can use either key-based authentication or Azure roles to connect to your service.

First, locate the search service endpoint on the Overview page and copy the URL endpoint on the right side of the page.

To set authentication options, use the Keys page, where you can copy API keys or consider using Azure roles for production workloads.

You can choose to store credentials in your Azure Key Vault, which gives you control over secret lifecycle, or use a Microsoft-managed credential store (preview), where Microsoft manages the vault on your behalf.

The choice between these options depends on your specific needs and preferences.

Here's a summary of the two options:

After your hub is created, you won't be able to switch between these two options.

Azure AI Portal offers a range of pricing options to suit different needs and budgets. You can choose from various tiers, including Free, Basic, Standard, and Storage Optimized.

The Free tier is perfect for short-term evaluation of the product for non-production applications. You can have one free search service per Azure subscription. Free services that are inactive for an extended period of time can be deleted by Microsoft to make room for other services.

The pricing tiers have different capacities and limits. Basic and Standard are the most common choices for production workloads, but many customers start with the Free service. Among the billable tiers, key differences are partition size and speed, and limits on the number of objects you can create.

You can use a pricing calculator to estimate your expected monthly costs for using any combination of Azure products. This can help you plan your budget and make informed decisions about your Azure AI Portal subscription.

Azure AI Search is offered in multiple pricing tiers, each with its own computing characteristics, feature availability, and region availability. You can review the tier descriptions to determine which one best suits your needs.

Here's a summary of the pricing options:

You can also subscribe to a trial subscription to try Azure AI Search for free. This is a great way to evaluate the product and its features before committing to a paid subscription.

Azure AI Search is an information retrieval and search platform designed to optimize retrieval-augmented generation within Gen AI applications.

It allows organizations to store, index, and search their own data, delivering current information to AI models.

This platform uses cutting-edge technology including semantic ranking, vector, and hybrid search to surface the most relevant information.

Azure AI Search is a key feature of the Azure AI Portal, enabling businesses to unlock the full potential of their AI applications.

The Azure AI Portal offers robust service and support to help you get the most out of your AI projects.

You can access the Azure AI Portal's support resources through the Azure portal's navigation menu, where you'll find a dedicated section for AI and Machine Learning.

Microsoft provides extensive documentation and tutorials to help you learn and troubleshoot AI and machine learning services, including the Azure Machine Learning service.

Reviewing the Service Level Agreement (SLA) for Azure AI Search is crucial to understand the level of service you can expect.

The SLA for Azure AI Search provides a guarantee of service uptime, with a commitment to 99.9% availability.

This means that you can expect your Azure AI Search service to be available at least 99.9% of the time, unless otherwise stated in the SLA.

The SLA also outlines the responsibilities of Microsoft, such as providing timely support and maintenance, as well as your responsibilities, such as ensuring that your data is properly formatted and indexed.

It's essential to review the SLA to understand what is included and what is not, so you can plan accordingly.

Azure AI Search SLA is subject to change, so it's crucial to regularly review the agreement to stay up-to-date.

After provisioning a service, you can continue in the portal to create your first index. This is a crucial step in setting up your service and getting started.

Quickstart guides, like the one mentioned in the article, can be super helpful in making the process smoother. They provide step-by-step instructions to ensure you don't miss any important details.

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