Azure
7 items
Series Posts
Part 0: The Azure Ascent: A Backend Engineer's Journey to Cloud Mastery
Welcome to the Azure Ascent—a comprehensive 6-part tutorial series for experienced backend engineers. Follow Marcus as he builds CloudVault, a fintech platform, from the ground up on Azure. This series combines deep conceptual explanations with 40+ production-ready Java code examples, taking you from fundamentals through enterprise-grade deployment.
Part 1: Part 1: The Summit Awaits — Azure Fundamentals & Core Concepts
Marcus begins his Azure journey by understanding the platform's organizational model. We explore subscriptions, resource groups, regions, and the Azure Resource Manager. Learn how Azure's architecture differs from AWS and why these foundational concepts matter for your designs.
Part 2: Part 2: Building the Engine — Azure Compute Services
CloudVault needs to deploy its microservices. Marcus explores four compute options—Virtual Machines, App Service, Azure Functions, and Containers. We build a production-ready Java Spring Boot API and learn when to use each service for different workloads.
Part 3: Part 3: Storing the Treasures — Azure Data & Storage Services
CloudVault's data is growing fast. Marcus explores Azure's data services—SQL Database for relational data, Cosmos DB for globally distributed workloads, and Blob Storage for files. We design a multi-tier data architecture and implement production-ready Java code for each service.
Part 4: Part 4: Connecting the Dots — Azure Networking & Security
Marcus designs a secure, multi-tier architecture for CloudVault. We explore Virtual Networks, Network Security Groups, Azure Key Vault for secrets management, and identity/access control with Azure AD. Learn how to design networks that protect your data while enabling communication between services.
Part 5: Part 5: The Intelligent Layer — Azure AI & Machine Learning
CloudVault wants to add intelligent features to their platform. Marcus explores Azure AI Services (Vision, Language, Speech), Azure OpenAI for LLMs, and Azure Machine Learning. We integrate AI capabilities into a Java backend application and understand when to use pre-built APIs vs. custom models.
Part 6: Part 6: Automating the Climb — Azure DevOps & Deployment
Marcus faces his final challenge—automate everything. We build a complete CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions, implement Infrastructure as Code with Bicep, set up monitoring with Application Insights, and establish production-ready deployment practices including blue-green and canary deployments.