Getting Started with Microsoft Azure Labs

Microsoft Azure Labs is a fantastic way to get hands-on experience with Azure services. You can access a wide range of hands-on labs, tutorials, and exercises to help you learn Azure at your own pace.

To get started, you'll need to create an Azure account, which is free for the first 30 days. This will give you access to all the labs and resources you need to get started.

Azure Labs offers a variety of labs, from basic to advanced, covering topics such as storage, networking, and security. You can choose the labs that interest you the most and work through them at your own pace.

Remember, the labs are designed to be interactive, so you can try out different scenarios and experiment with different configurations. This is a great way to learn by doing, and you'll be able to apply your new skills to real-world projects.

To get started with Microsoft Azure Labs, you'll need an Azure account with permission to manage a lab, such as the Lab Creator, Owner, Contributor, or Lab Services Contributor Azure RBAC role. You can learn more about Azure Lab Services built-in roles and assignment scopes in the Azure documentation.

To create an Azure lab, you'll need an Azure lab plan. If you don't have a lab plan yet, follow the steps in Quickstart: Set up resources to create labs.

Once you have an Azure account and a lab plan, you can access the Hands-on Labs Library on the Microsoft Azure platform. Sign in to your account to get started with your learning journey.

To initiate your learning experience, simply click on the “Get Started” button. You can also opt to use filters to easily access the free labs, which are provided to help you get a sense of the lab environment.

The filters introduced in steps 3 to 10 are entirely optional and designed to simplify your lab selection process with a single click.

Here are the categories of cloud environments you can choose from:

Choose the category of the cloud environment you’d like to work with, based on your learning needs.

Microsoft Azure Labs offer a managed service that helps set up labs in the cloud efficiently. They provide a simplified user experience, allowing learners to access labs from anywhere and at any time. Instructors can easily create labs when needed, and Azure hands-on labs take care of the underlying infrastructure, ensuring it's available, scalable, and resilient.

Azure Labs also offer cost optimization and control, allowing instructors to establish lab schedules and operating hours to manage costs. Additionally, they provide embedded security features, such as private virtual networks and shared public IP addresses, to ensure secure access to lab resources. Instructors can also integrate Azure hands-on labs into their organization's workflows and tools, automating the provisioning of lab environments directly from their CI/CD tools.

Some popular Microsoft Azure hands-on labs include those that fall under AZ-900 Certification, which cover Azure concepts and services. These labs can be taken on to achieve self-paced learning on the Azure platform, and by grasping the skills, you'll be able to carry out Azure development activities more easily.

Azure Labs is a managed service that helps organizations set up labs in the cloud efficiently. It offers a convenient way to create and manage virtual labs.

To use Azure Labs, you need to have an Azure account with permission to manage a lab, such as the Lab Creator, Owner, Contributor, or Lab Services Contributor Azure RBAC role. This role is essential for accessing the necessary features and settings.

An Azure lab plan is also required to get started. If you don't have one yet, you can follow the steps in Quickstart: Set up resources to create labs.

Azure Labs allows instructors to create virtual machines in Windows and Linux, and invite learners to access the labs from anywhere at any time.

In AZ-204 Solutions, you'll get hands-on experience with developing solutions for Microsoft Azure. This includes writing code to access an Azure Storage account used by the web app, creating and deploying an Azure web app that includes Application Insights and App Service logs, and configuring security for virtual machines and databases.

You'll learn how to write code in Visual Studio to create a container with public blob access, upload test files to the container, and retrieve the URLs of the uploaded files. This is a crucial skill for any Azure developer.

Azure hands-on labs offer a secure sandbox environment for exam prep, where you can get the hands-on preparation you need to pass your Azure certification exams. This is perfect for anyone looking to advance their Azure skills.

In the AZ-204 Solutions hands-on lab, you'll create and deploy an Azure web app that includes Application Insights and App Service logs. You'll also learn how to configure monitoring for the web app, configure security for the storage account, and use the key vault to store connection strings for the web app.

Here's a breakdown of the skills you'll gain in the AZ-204 Solutions hands-on lab:

By completing the AZ-204 Solutions hands-on lab, you'll gain hands-on experience with developing solutions for Microsoft Azure and be well-prepared for your Azure certification exams.

In Microsoft Azure Labs, you can create a Batch account using an Azure Resource Manager template (ARM template). This template is a detailed, step-by-step guide that will walk you through the process of setting up a Batch account and associated storage.

The tasks included in this hands-on lab are launching the lab environment, exploring the ARM template, deploying the ARM template, and verifying your deployment. This comprehensive approach ensures that you have a thorough understanding of the process and can successfully create a Batch account.

Here are the specific tasks you'll complete in this lab:

By following these steps, you'll be able to create a Batch account and associated storage using an Azure Resource Manager template.

With Azure Lab Services, you can easily provide on-demand or scheduled access to preconfigured virtual machines to support your scenarios. This is super convenient for teaching a class, training professionals, or hosting a hackathon.

You can define your needs and the service will distribute the lab in the cloud to the recipients, giving them immediate access to virtual machines without needing to share your Azure subscription. This is a huge time-saver and helps keep your subscription secure.

Azure Lab Services also offers custom templates to quickly provision lab virtual machines and use repeatedly across labs. This feature is especially useful for educators who need to create multiple labs with the same configuration.

Here are some key features of Azure Lab Services virtual machines:

Preconfigured Virtual Machines are a game-changer for anyone looking to provide on-demand access to virtual machines. They can be easily distributed to invited users, giving them immediate access without the need to share your Azure subscription.

You can define your needs and the service will take care of the rest, provisioning lab virtual machines and making them available for use. This is especially useful for teaching a class, training professionals, or hosting a hands-on lab.

Custom templates can be used to quickly provision lab virtual machines and use them repeatedly across labs. This saves time and effort, making it easier to manage multiple labs and users.

The scheduling feature is also a great tool, allowing you to automatically shut down and start virtual machines and limit usage hours. This helps you manage your resources and ensure that your virtual machines are only being used when needed.

Here are some key benefits of using preconfigured virtual machines:

To create a private endpoint, you'll need to sign in to the Azure Portal.

You'll then review the contents of the ARM template to ensure it's configured correctly for your needs.

The ARM template will guide you through the deployment process, which involves deploying the template.

After deployment, you'll need to perform testing on the private endpoint to verify it's working as expected.

Conduct a validation test to ensure the private endpoint is properly configured.

Once you're done, remove the allocated resources to avoid unnecessary charges.

Here's a step-by-step breakdown of the process:

To create a public IP address instance, you'll need to use Terraform to deploy an isolated Docker container. This allows you to make your web application accessible via a public IP address.

You'll start by logging in to the Azure Portal, where you can examine the Terraform code and deploy it. This will create the necessary resources for your public IP address instance.

The deployment process involves several tasks, including confirming the success of your deployment and performing a validation test to ensure proper functionality. This ensures that your public IP address instance is working as expected.

To remove or delete the allocated resources when finished, you'll need to follow the steps outlined in the Terraform deployment process. This includes deleting the resources created during the deployment process.

Here's a step-by-step overview of the tasks involved in creating a public IP address instance:

By following these steps, you can create a public IP address instance using Terraform and make your web application accessible via a public IP address.

Microsoft Azure Labs offers a managed service that automatically provisions and manages your lab's infrastructure, so you can focus on preparing the right lab experience for your users.

With Lab Services, you can schedule designated usage times or set up recurring automatic shutdowns and start times to manage your lab budget effectively.

You can track individuals' hourly usage or limit usage by setting up quotas to keep costs under control.

Lab Services also enables you to scale your lab to hundreds of virtual machines, making it easy to manage large-scale lab environments.

Azure Hands-on Labs offers 12 months access to hundreds of labs, with more being added regularly, giving you a wealth of resources to explore and learn from.

Here are some key features of Azure Hands-on Labs Pricing:

Security and Access is a critical aspect of Microsoft Azure Labs. You can assign the Lab Creator role at the resource group level to prevent permission issues when creating a new lab plan. This ensures that the permissions propagate to the lab level without any issues.

To connect to a Linux lab VM, you can use the secure shell protocol (SSH), remote desktop protocol (RDP), or X2Go. Azure Lab Services automatically configures SSH for Linux VMs, making it easy for both lab users and lab creators to connect without extra setup.

Invite users to a lab by default requires them to be listed, but you can turn off restricted access if needed. To add users to a lab, you can enter email addresses manually, upload a CSV file with student information, or sync the lab with a Microsoft Entra group.

Unauthorized access can be a major issue in Azure, but there are steps you can take to prevent it.

If you're trying to create a new lab plan and you're getting an error message saying "You are not authorized to access this resource", it's likely because the permissions haven't propagated to the lab level yet. To avoid this, you can assign the Lab Creator role at the resource group level.

This will ensure that you have the necessary permissions to create lab plans without any issues.

Here are the steps to do this:

Note that the default limit for the total number of regions you can use for creating labs varies by offer category type. If you've reached this limit, you can only create labs in regions you're already using.

Azure Lab Services restricts access to a lab by default, only allowing listed users to register and use a lab VM.

To allow access for users to a lab, you need to follow a few simple steps. The first option is to turn off restricted access, but this is not always the best choice.

You can add users to a lab in multiple ways, including manually entering email addresses, uploading a CSV file, or syncing with a Microsoft Entra group.

To manually add users, select the Users page for the lab and choose Add users manually. On the Add users page, enter the lab user email addresses on separate lines or on a single line separated by semicolons.

Selecting Add will add the users and grant them access to the lab, but you'll still need to invite them to register.