Course Overview
This training builds operational competency for managing Azure infrastructure in production environments. Specifically, the focus remains on day-to-day administration, troubleshooting, and the operational practices that keep environments stable, secure, and cost-effective. As a result, it bridges the gap between Azure fundamentals and the real-world skills required to run production workloads confidently without constant vendor escalations.
Delivery & Duration
Two primary formats are available to align with team expertise and operational requirements. Both are delivered online (live) or in-person.
- The 2-Day Foundation: Comprehensive coverage of all eight modules with focused demonstrations and guided exercises. Suitable for teams needing operational knowledge with limited hands-on time.
- The 3-Day Implementation Workshop: Same eight modules with extended hands-on labs and troubleshooting scenarios. Participants work through realistic production situations and build operational muscle memory.
- Modular Delivery: Sessions can be split into 4-hour blocks to minimize impact on operational duties.
Prerequisites: IT infrastructure fundamentals (virtualization, networking basics, storage concepts). No Azure-specific experience required.
Program Curriculum
Module 1: Networking Fundamentals for Infrastructure Operations
- Virtual Networks & Subnets: Basic connectivity for infrastructure administrators.
- Network Security Groups: Implementing traffic control for common scenarios.
- Service Endpoints & Private Endpoints: Understanding secure service access patterns.
- Load Balancing Basics: When to use Azure Load Balancer vs. Application Gateway.
- Connectivity Troubleshooting: Using Network Watcher for diagnostics.
Module 2: Storage Management
- Storage Services: Choosing between blob, files, and disks for real-world use cases.
- Performance Tiers: Understanding hot, cool, archive, and premium storage tradeoffs.
- Managed Disks: Sizing, performance, and cost optimization strategies.
- Storage Access Control: Managing permissions and secure access patterns.
- Lifecycle Management: Automated tier transitions and retention policies that scale.
Module 3: Compute Operations
- Virtual Machines: Sizing decisions, availability strategies, and performance troubleshooting.
- VM Scale Sets: Implementing auto-scaling and managing stateless workloads at scale.
- App Services: Understanding PaaS compute for appropriate workload placement.
- Windows & Linux Management: Patching strategies, extensions, and operational best practices.
- Availability Architecture: Choosing between availability sets, zones, and regions for actual requirements.
Module 4: Resource Organization & Governance
- Resource Groups: Structuring for lifecycle management and access control.
- Management Groups: Hierarchies that support multiple teams and environments.
- Naming Conventions: Standards that last beyond the initial deployment.
- Tags & Metadata: Organizational patterns that prevent chaos at scale.
- Azure Policy Basics: Implementing guardrails that enforce standards automatically.
Module 5: Identity & Access Control
- Entra ID Fundamentals: Understanding Azure’s identity platform for infrastructure operations.
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Structuring permissions that scale without security gaps.
- Managed Identities: Eliminating credential management for Azure resources.
- Service Principals: When and how to use them for automation scenarios.
- Access Control Patterns: Designing permission structures that survive organizational changes.
Module 6: Monitoring & Troubleshooting
- Azure Monitor: Building actionable alerts without alert fatigue.
- Log Analytics: Using Kusto queries for real troubleshooting scenarios.
- Application Insights: Infrastructure perspective on application performance monitoring.
- Diagnostic Settings: Capturing the right data for operational visibility.
- Troubleshooting Methodology: Systematic approaches for isolating performance and connectivity issues.
Module 7: Cost Management & Optimization
- Tagging Strategies: Implementing cost allocation that works across teams.
- Budgets & Alerts: Proactive cost control without blocking operations.
- Reservation Planning: When to commit to reserved capacity for cost savings.
- Rightsizing Decisions: Identifying waste without breaking production workloads.
- Cost Allocation: Building accountability into daily operations.
Module 8: Backup & Disaster Recovery
- Azure Backup: Implementing and testing backup policies for production workloads.
- Recovery Procedures: Ensuring backups work when needed, not just on paper.
- Site Recovery Basics: Understanding disaster recovery capabilities and limitations.
- Operational Procedures: Building runbooks for backup validation and recovery scenarios.
Key Takeaways
Upon completion, participants will be equipped to:
- Operate Independently: Manage Azure infrastructure confidently without constant vendor support.
- Troubleshoot Effectively: Use Azure’s native tools to diagnose and resolve common operational issues.
- Control Costs: Implement operational practices that prevent budget surprises and identify optimization opportunities.
- Structure Access: Design RBAC and resource organization that scales without creating security gaps.
- Monitor Proactively: Establish alerts and monitoring that predict problems before they become outages.
- Ensure Recoverability: Implement backup and disaster recovery strategies appropriate for production workloads.
Engagement Details
Delivery Format: Online (live) or in-person
Duration: 2-day foundation or 3-day implementation workshop
Customization: Training depth and content focus can be adjusted based on team requirements and specific business context
Investment: Starting from €1,200 per day. Final quote based on format, duration, number of participants, and specific requirements (provided following brief discussion).
Next Steps
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