Azure Interview Questions

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform that provides a wide range of services including computing, analytics, storage, and networking. Core services include:\n\n• Virtual Machines for compute\n• Storage accounts for data storage\n• Azure SQL Database for managed databases\n• App Service for web applications\n• Virtual Networks for networking\n• Azure Active Directory for identity management\n\nAzure enables organizations to build, deploy, and manage applications through Microsoft-managed data centers worldwide.

Azure Resource Manager (ARM) is the modern deployment model that replaced the Classic model:\n\n• ARM provides resource grouping, role-based access control, and tagging\n• Supports JSON templates for infrastructure as code\n• Enables parallel deployment and dependency management\n• Classic model is legacy with limited management capabilities\n\nARM offers better security, management, and deployment features. Microsoft recommends migrating from Classic to ARM for all new deployments.

Azure Resource Groups are logical containers that hold related Azure resources for an application or project:\n\n• Provide lifecycle management for grouped resources\n• Enable bulk operations like deployment, updates, and deletion\n• Support role-based access control at group level\n• Allow cost tracking and billing organization\n• Facilitate resource tagging and metadata management\n\nResource Groups simplify management by treating related resources as a single unit, making deployment and maintenance more efficient.

A highly available web application architecture in Azure should include:\n\n• Application Gateway with Web Application Firewall for load balancing\n• Virtual Machine Scale Sets across multiple Availability Zones\n• Azure SQL Database with geo-replication for data redundancy\n• Azure Storage with geo-redundant storage (GRS)\n• Azure CDN for global content delivery\n• Application Insights for monitoring and diagnostics\n\nImplement auto-scaling policies, health probes, and disaster recovery procedures. Use Traffic Manager for multi-region failover and Azure Backup for data protection.

Azure networking components work together to provide secure connectivity:\n\n• Virtual Network (VNet): Isolated network environment in Azure cloud\n• Subnets: Logical divisions within VNet for resource organization\n• Network Security Groups (NSGs): Virtual firewalls with inbound/outbound rules\n• Application Security Groups: Logical grouping for security policies\n\nVNets enable secure communication between Azure resources. Subnets segment networks for better security and management. NSGs control traffic flow with allow/deny rules based on source, destination, port, and protocol.

Azure VM disaster recovery implementation involves:\n\n• Azure Site Recovery for automated replication and failover\n• Cross-region VM replication with RPO of 30 seconds\n• Recovery plans with automated failover procedures\n• Regular disaster recovery drills and testing\n• Azure Backup for VM backup and restore capabilities\n\nConfigure replication policies, network mapping, and compute settings. Implement monitoring and alerting for replication health. Document and test recovery procedures regularly to ensure business continuity.

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is a cloud-based identity and access management service:\n\n• Provides single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication\n• Integrates with on-premises AD through Azure AD Connect\n• Supports hybrid identity scenarios with password hash sync\n• Enables conditional access policies and identity protection\n• Offers application proxy for secure remote access\n\nAzure AD Connect synchronizes identities between on-premises and cloud. Implement federation with ADFS for seamless authentication and maintain consistent security policies across environments.

Azure cost optimization strategies include:\n\n• Right-sizing VMs based on actual usage patterns\n• Using Reserved Instances for predictable workloads (up to 72% savings)\n• Implementing auto-shutdown for development environments\n• Leveraging Azure Hybrid Benefit for Windows and SQL licenses\n• Using Azure Cost Management for monitoring and budgeting\n• Implementing resource tagging for cost allocation\n\nRegularly review Azure Advisor recommendations, use spot instances for fault-tolerant workloads, and implement lifecycle management for storage accounts to reduce costs.

Azure offers multiple storage types for different scenarios:\n\n• Blob Storage: Object storage for unstructured data, documents, media\n• File Storage: Managed file shares accessible via SMB protocol\n• Queue Storage: Message queuing for application communication\n• Table Storage: NoSQL key-value store for structured data\n• Disk Storage: Persistent disks for virtual machines\n\nChoose based on access patterns, performance requirements, and cost considerations. Use hot/cool/archive tiers for blob storage optimization and implement lifecycle policies for automatic tier transitions.

Azure monitoring and alerting implementation involves:\n\n• Azure Monitor for centralized monitoring and metrics collection\n• Log Analytics workspace for log aggregation and analysis\n• Application Insights for application performance monitoring\n• Azure Alerts for proactive notification on metric thresholds\n• Azure Dashboards for visualization and reporting\n• Action Groups for automated response to alerts\n\nConfigure diagnostic settings, create custom metrics, and implement automated remediation using Azure Automation. Use KQL queries for advanced log analysis and set up appropriate alert rules for critical resources.

Microservices architecture in Azure using containers:\n\n• Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) for container orchestration\n• Azure Container Registry for private container images\n• Application Gateway with ingress controller for routing\n• Azure Service Bus for asynchronous communication\n• Azure API Management for API gateway functionality\n• Azure Monitor and Application Insights for observability\n\nImplement service mesh with Istio for advanced traffic management, security, and observability. Use Azure DevOps for CI/CD pipelines, implement blue-green deployments, and use Azure Key Vault for secrets management. Design for fault tolerance with circuit breakers and retry policies.

Azure data lake architecture implementation:\n\n• Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 for scalable data storage\n• Azure Data Factory for data ingestion and ETL pipelines\n• Azure Databricks for big data processing and machine learning\n• Azure Synapse Analytics for data warehousing and analytics\n• Azure Stream Analytics for real-time data processing\n• Power BI for data visualization and reporting\n\nImplement data governance with Azure Purview, use Delta Lake format for ACID transactions, and implement proper security with Azure AD integration. Design data partitioning strategies and implement automated data lifecycle management policies.

Zero-trust security implementation in Azure:\n\n• Azure AD Conditional Access for identity-based access control\n• Azure AD Privileged Identity Management for just-in-time access\n• Azure Security Center for security posture management\n• Azure Sentinel for security information and event management\n• Network segmentation with micro-segmentation strategies\n• Continuous monitoring and threat detection\n\nImplement device compliance policies, use Azure AD Identity Protection for risk-based authentication, enable just-in-time VM access, and implement application-level security with Azure AD Application Proxy. Regularly audit and review access permissions.

Multi-region Azure deployment with automated failover:\n\n• Azure Traffic Manager for DNS-based load balancing and failover\n• Azure Front Door for global load balancing with health probes\n• Azure Site Recovery for automated VM failover\n• Azure SQL Database with auto-failover groups\n• Azure Storage with geo-redundant replication\n• Azure Resource Manager templates for consistent deployment\n\nImplement health monitoring with custom health endpoints, configure failover policies with appropriate thresholds, and use Azure Automation for orchestrated failover procedures. Test disaster recovery scenarios regularly and maintain runbooks for manual intervention when needed.

Infrastructure as Code implementation in Azure:\n\n• ARM templates for declarative infrastructure definition\n• Azure DevOps pipelines for automated deployment\n• Parameter files for environment-specific configurations\n• Nested templates for modular and reusable components\n• Azure Resource Manager deployment modes (incremental/complete)\n• Integration with Azure Key Vault for secure parameter handling\n\nImplement template validation and testing in CI/CD pipelines, use Azure Resource Manager Tools extension for development, implement proper versioning and change management. Consider using Bicep as a domain-specific language for simpler template authoring and maintenance.