Lab: Exploring Azure Core Architectural Components

This hands-on lab introduces the physical and logical hierarchy of Microsoft Azure. You will practice organizing resources, navigating regions, and understanding the container-based architecture that underpins the AZ-900 curriculum.

[!WARNING] Remember to run the teardown commands at the end of this lab to avoid any potential ongoing charges, although the resources used here are generally free-tier compatible.

Prerequisites

Before starting this lab, ensure you have:

An active Azure Subscription (Free Trial, Pay-As-You-Go, or Student account).
Azure CLI installed on your local machine, or access to the Azure Cloud Shell.
Basic understanding of cloud resource organization.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lab, you will be able to:

Identify and select Azure Regions for resource deployment.
Create and manage Resource Groups as logical containers.
Navigate the Azure Hierarchy (Management Groups, Subscriptions, Resource Groups).
Apply Tags to resources for governance and cost tracking.

Architecture Overview

The following diagram illustrates the logical hierarchy you will interact with in this lab:

Loading Diagram...

Spatial Relationship

This TikZ diagram represents how Availability Zones exist within a single Region, providing isolation from datacenter failures.

\begin{tikzpicture}[node distance=2cm] \draw[thick, blue] (0,0) rectangle (6,4) node[pos=.5, above=1.5cm] {Azure Region}; \draw[fill=gray!20] (0.5,0.5) rectangle (2,2.5) node[pos=.5, text width=1cm, align=center] {Zone 1}; \draw[fill=gray!20] (2.25,0.5) rectangle (3.75,2.5) node[pos=.5, text width=1cm, align=center] {Zone 2}; \draw[fill=gray!20] (4,0.5) rectangle (5.5,2.5) node[pos=.5, text width=1cm, align=center] {Zone 3}; \end{tikzpicture}

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Authenticate and Set Context

First, we must ensure we are connected to the correct Azure environment and subscription.

bash

az login
# List your subscriptions to confirm access
az account list --output table

▶Console alternative

Navigate to

portal.azure.com

and sign in. Use the search bar to find "Subscriptions" to see your active accounts.

Step 2: Choose a Deployment Region

Azure has over 60 regions. We will identify the regions available to your account to ensure data residency compliance.

bash

# List all regions and filter for a specific one like 'eastus'
az account list-locations --query "[?name=='eastus']" --output table

[!TIP] Choosing a region physically close to your users reduces latency.

Step 3: Create a Resource Group

All Azure resources must reside in a Resource Group. This is the unit of lifecycle management.

bash

az group create --name "brainybee-lab-rg" --location "eastus"

▶Console alternative

Search for

Resource groups

in the top search bar. 2. Click

+ Create

. 3. Select your Subscription. 4. Name it

brainybee-lab-rg

. 5. Select

(US) East US

as the Region. 6. Click

Review + create

, then

Create

Step 4: Apply Governance Tags

Tags are name/value pairs that help you categorize resources for billing or management.

bash

az group update --name "brainybee-lab-rg" --set tags.Environment=Lab tags.Project=AZ900

Checkpoints

Verification Task	Command / Action	Expected Result
Verify Resource Group	`az group exists -n brainybee-lab-rg`	Should return `true`
Check Tags	View "Tags" tab in Portal	See `Environment: Lab`
Region Check	`az group show -n brainybee-lab-rg --query location`	Returns `"eastus"`

Troubleshooting

Problem	Potential Cause	Solution
`SubscriptionNotFound`	Logged into the wrong account.	Run `az account set --subscription <ID>`
`RegionNotAvailable`	Some subscriptions have regional quotas.	Try a different region like `westeurope` or `centralus`.
Permissions Error	Your role does not allow RG creation.	Ensure you are an "Owner" or "Contributor" on the subscription.

Teardown

To ensure no costs are incurred and to keep your environment clean, delete the resource group. This automatically deletes all resources contained within it.

bash

az group delete --name "brainybee-lab-rg" --no-wait --yes

[!IMPORTANT] The --no-wait flag returns you to the prompt immediately, but the deletion continues in the background. It may take 1-3 minutes to fully complete.

Cost Estimate

Resource Group: $0.00 (Free logical container)
Azure CLI/Portal: $0.00
Total Estimated Cost: $0.00 for the duration of this lab.