Chapter 3, Part 3: Microsoft Azure
Introduction
Welcome to the continuation of the third installment of Paul’s Tutorial Series! As mentioned in my previous article, this tutorial is all about exploring cloud providers.
More specifically, I wanted to look at first user experience across them, so I decided to sign-up to (6) cloud providers, and capture my experience spinning up a free-tier VM right after sign up.
The (6) cloud providers I tested are, in alphabetical order:
- Alibaba Cloud
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Microsoft Azure (Azure)
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
- IBM Cloud
- Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)
This means that this third chapter of my tutorial series will have 6 parts, one for each cloud provider.
While I walk you through every part of this chapter, I will measure the following:
- Configuration of the default VM offered in free tier
- Approximate number of clicks needed from post-signup page to having a VM up and running
- Number of screens needed in a replay to publish this tutorial
- Spin-up time
- Usability score (from my perspective, in a scale of 1 to 5)
Today’s Tutorial: Microsoft Azure
Let’s dive into Azure, by clicking on the image below:
Azure has a solid flow of creating a first VM. The thing that can throw people off is perhaps the existence of resource groups or the fact there is not “real” free tier. Overall, a good experience nonetheless, as rated here:
| Config of default free tier VM | 1 vCPU / 0.5GB RAM |
| Approximate number of clicks from signup to VM | 10-15 |
| Number of draft replay screens | 40 |
| Spin-up time | < 20s |
| Paul’s usability score (1-5) | 3.5 |
Next week, we tackle Google Cloud Platform. See you then!
Do you want to learn more about Azure? Check out this link.
Do you want to learn how to build replays like this? Book time with me.
Do you have suggestions? Comments? Tech you want me to have a look out? Reach out to me on LinkedIn / Twitter
About Paul’s Tutorial Series
What is it? Every week, I chose a piece of tech that picked my interest, and create an easy to consume tutorial showcasing this tech.
Why do I do it? I’m a huge nerd passionate about tech.
Who is this for? Anyone really. The goal is tech evangelization, without ulterior motive, just love.
What’s the topic for this week? How to create a VM in Azure and how does it compare to other cloud providers.
* Photo by Mathew Schwartz
