Azure Interview Questions and Answers for 2 years experience

1. What are the core Azure services you have worked with?

   • Answer: I have extensive experience with Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Storage (Blob, Queue, Table), Azure Active Directory, Azure SQL Database, Azure App Service, and Azure Networking (Virtual Networks, Load Balancers, and VPN Gateways). I've also worked with Azure Monitor for logging and monitoring, and have some familiarity with Azure DevOps for CI/CD pipelines.

2. Explain the different types of Azure storage accounts.

   • Answer: Azure offers several storage account types, each optimized for different workloads: Blob storage for unstructured data like images and videos; Queue storage for asynchronous messaging; Table storage for structured NoSQL data; File storage for file shares; and Archive storage for long-term, infrequent access data. The choice depends on the application's needs for scalability, performance, and cost.

3. Describe the different Azure VM sizes and when you would choose one over another.

   • Answer: Azure offers a wide range of VM sizes, categorized by vCPU, RAM, and storage. Factors influencing choice include application requirements (compute-intensive, memory-intensive, I/O-intensive), budget, and scalability needs. For example, a D-series is general purpose, while an F-series is optimized for compute, and an E-series for memory.

4. How do you manage access control in Azure?

   • Answer: Azure's access control is primarily managed through Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC). This allows granular control, assigning specific permissions (like reader, contributor, owner) to users, groups, or service principals at various scopes (subscription, resource group, individual resource). I also utilize Azure Active Directory for user authentication and authorization.

5. What is Azure Resource Manager (ARM)?

   • Answer: ARM is the deployment and management service for Azure. It uses JSON templates to define infrastructure as code, enabling automation, consistency, and version control for deployments. This allows for repeatable and reliable deployments, reducing manual intervention and improving efficiency.

6. Explain Azure Availability Zones.

   • Answer: Availability Zones are physically separate locations within an Azure region, providing high availability and fault tolerance. Distributing resources across zones protects against regional outages; if one zone fails, resources in other zones remain operational. This is crucial for business continuity.

7. What are Azure Regions?

   • Answer: Azure Regions are geographical locations where Microsoft operates data centers. Choosing the right region is crucial for performance, latency, compliance, and data sovereignty. Considerations include proximity to users, regulatory requirements, and disaster recovery strategies.

8. How do you monitor the performance of your Azure applications?

   • Answer: I leverage Azure Monitor, which provides comprehensive monitoring capabilities. This includes metrics, logs, and traces. I set up alerts for critical thresholds to proactively identify performance bottlenecks. Application Insights is also frequently used for in-depth application performance monitoring.

9. What are Azure Virtual Networks (VNets)?

   • Answer: VNets are essentially private networks in the cloud. They provide isolation and security for your Azure resources, allowing you to create a customized network topology with subnets, security groups, and routing. This is fundamental for network segmentation and security.

10. Explain Azure Load Balancers.

    • Answer: Azure Load Balancers distribute network traffic across multiple VMs, ensuring high availability and scalability. They can be configured for various protocols (TCP, UDP, HTTP, HTTPS) and offer features like health probes to ensure only healthy VMs receive traffic. This is essential for building resilient and scalable applications.

11. Describe Azure Traffic Manager.

    • Answer: Azure Traffic Manager is a DNS-based traffic load balancer that directs user requests to the most appropriate endpoint based on various criteria like geographic location, performance, or health. It improves application availability and responsiveness by routing users to the closest and most performing endpoint.

12. What is Azure App Service?

    • Answer: Azure App Service is a platform as a service (PaaS) offering for hosting web applications, APIs, and mobile backends. It handles much of the infrastructure management, allowing developers to focus on application code. It supports various programming languages and frameworks and provides features like auto-scaling and deployment slots.

13. How do you deploy applications to Azure?

    • Answer: I utilize various deployment methods including Azure DevOps for CI/CD pipelines, ARM templates for infrastructure as code deployments, and the Azure portal for manual deployments. The choice depends on the complexity of the application and the need for automation.

14. Explain Azure Functions.

    • Answer: Azure Functions is a serverless compute service that allows you to run code in response to events without managing servers. It supports various programming languages and triggers (HTTP requests, timers, queues, etc.), making it ideal for event-driven architectures and microservices.

15. What is Azure Cosmos DB?

    • Answer: Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed, multi-model database service. It offers scalability, high availability, and low latency, supporting various data models like document, key-value, graph, and column-family. It's a good choice for applications requiring high throughput and global reach.

16. What is Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)?

    • Answer: AKS is a managed Kubernetes service that simplifies the deployment, management, and scaling of containerized applications. It handles the complexities of Kubernetes, allowing developers to focus on applications instead of infrastructure.

17. What are Azure Resource Groups?

    • Answer: Resource groups are containers that hold related Azure resources. They provide a logical way to organize resources, manage access control, and deploy and delete resources together. This simplifies management and improves organization.

18. Explain Azure Security Center.

    • Answer: Azure Security Center provides a centralized view of the security posture of your Azure resources. It offers vulnerability assessments, threat detection, and security recommendations, helping you enhance the security of your cloud environment.

19. What are Azure Logic Apps?

    • Answer: Azure Logic Apps is a serverless platform for building automated workflows by connecting various applications and services. It simplifies integration tasks and enables automation of business processes without needing extensive coding.

20. How do you manage Azure costs?

    • Answer: I use Azure Cost Management tools to track spending, set budgets, and receive alerts. I also optimize resource usage by right-sizing VMs, utilizing reserved instances, and taking advantage of Azure's cost optimization recommendations.

21. Explain Azure DevOps.

    • Answer: Azure DevOps is a suite of collaborative development tools for planning, building, testing, and deploying software. It supports various development methodologies (Agile, Scrum) and provides features like source code management, CI/CD pipelines, testing tools, and release management.

22. What are Azure Service Bus Queues and Topics?

    • Answer: Azure Service Bus Queues provide reliable asynchronous messaging, where messages are processed by a single consumer. Topics enable publish-subscribe messaging, allowing multiple subscribers to receive messages from a single publisher.

23. Explain Azure Event Hubs.

    • Answer: Azure Event Hubs is a highly scalable data ingestion service that can handle a massive volume of data streams. It's often used for real-time analytics and processing large datasets from various sources.

24. What is Azure Data Factory?

    • Answer: Azure Data Factory is a cloud-based ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) service that enables you to create data pipelines to move and transform data between various data stores.

25. Describe Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2.

    • Answer: Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 is a scalable, secure, and cost-effective storage service for large amounts of data. It integrates with other Azure analytics services like Azure Synapse Analytics and HDInsight.

26. What are Azure Machine Learning services?

    • Answer: Azure Machine Learning is a cloud-based platform for building, training, and deploying machine learning models. It offers tools for data preparation, model training, model deployment, and model management.

27. Explain Azure Cognitive Services.

    • Answer: Azure Cognitive Services are pre-trained AI models that provide intelligent capabilities like speech recognition, language understanding, computer vision, and decision-making. They can be easily integrated into applications to add AI functionalities.

28. What is Azure Bot Service?

    • Answer: Azure Bot Service is a platform for building and deploying intelligent bots that can interact with users through various channels like text, voice, and messaging apps. It provides tools for bot development, deployment, and management.

29. How do you ensure high availability for your Azure applications?

    • Answer: High availability is achieved through various strategies including using multiple availability zones, load balancing, redundancy in storage, and implementing proper failover mechanisms. I also utilize Azure Monitor's alerting capabilities to promptly address potential issues.

30. What are some common Azure security best practices?

    • Answer: Employing least privilege access control via RBAC, regularly patching VMs and applications, utilizing network security groups and virtual network firewalls, implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA), and regularly reviewing security logs are key security best practices.

31. Explain the concept of Azure Hybrid Cloud.

    • Answer: Azure Hybrid Cloud combines on-premises infrastructure with Azure cloud services, providing a seamless integration between the two environments. This allows organizations to leverage the benefits of both cloud and on-premises solutions.

32. Describe your experience with Azure automation.

    • Answer: I have experience automating various tasks using Azure Automation, ARM templates, and Azure DevOps pipelines. This includes infrastructure provisioning, application deployments, and ongoing operational tasks, which greatly improves efficiency and reduces manual errors.

33. How do you troubleshoot Azure networking issues?

    • Answer: I use a combination of Azure portal diagnostics, network monitoring tools, and Azure CLI commands to troubleshoot networking issues. I analyze network traffic, check security group rules, and verify routing tables to identify and resolve problems.

34. What are some common challenges you've faced working with Azure, and how did you overcome them?

    • Answer: I've encountered challenges with managing costs, optimizing resource utilization, and troubleshooting complex networking issues. I overcame these by using Azure's cost management tools, right-sizing VMs, using reserved instances, and systematically troubleshooting network configurations, often leveraging online documentation and community forums for support.

35. Describe your experience with Azure Backup and Recovery Services.

    • Answer: I have experience using Azure Backup to protect VMs, databases, and other resources. I understand the importance of implementing disaster recovery plans and have experience setting up and testing recovery procedures using Azure Recovery Services vault.

36. Explain Azure Policy.

    • Answer: Azure Policy helps enforce organizational standards and compliance requirements across Azure resources. It enables setting rules that govern resource creation and configuration, ensuring consistency and security.

37. What is your experience with Azure Monitor's Log Analytics?

    • Answer: I've used Log Analytics to analyze logs from various Azure services, creating custom dashboards and alerts for performance monitoring and troubleshooting. I'm proficient in using Kusto Query Language (KQL) to query and analyze log data.

38. How do you manage Azure subscriptions?

    • Answer: I understand the importance of proper subscription management and use Azure's tools to manage access control, billing, and resource governance within subscriptions. This includes the use of management groups for centralized management of multiple subscriptions.

39. What is your experience with Azure API Management?

    • Answer: I have experience creating and managing APIs using Azure API Management. This includes defining API policies, setting up authentication and authorization, and monitoring API usage. I'm familiar with concepts like API gateways and API lifecycle management.

40. Explain Azure CDN.

    • Answer: Azure CDN (Content Delivery Network) caches content closer to users, improving website performance and reducing latency. It's a key component for delivering content globally with high availability and low latency.

41. Describe your experience with Azure IoT Hub.

    • Answer: I've worked with Azure IoT Hub to connect and manage IoT devices. This includes setting up device provisioning, managing device twins, and processing telemetry data from connected devices. I am also familiar with Azure IoT Edge for deploying code to edge devices.

42. What is your experience with Azure Blockchain Service?

    • Answer: I have some basic understanding of Azure Blockchain Service and its capabilities to help build and deploy blockchain applications. While not extensively hands-on, I understand its core functionalities and integration with other Azure services.

43. How do you handle Azure resource tagging?

    • Answer: I utilize Azure resource tagging to organize and categorize resources, making it easier to manage costs, track resources, and enforce compliance policies. I create consistent tagging strategies across my resources.

44. Explain Azure Front Door.

    • Answer: Azure Front Door is a global load balancer that offers high availability, low latency, and security for web applications. It routes traffic to the optimal backend based on factors like geolocation and health.

45. What is your experience with Azure Batch?

    • Answer: I have experience using Azure Batch for running large-scale parallel and high-performance computing workloads. I understand how to configure jobs, pools, and tasks to efficiently process large datasets or run computationally intensive applications.

46. Describe your experience with Azure Container Registry (ACR).

    • Answer: I utilize ACR to store and manage container images. I understand the importance of container image security and best practices for managing container registries. I've worked with integrating ACR with AKS and other container orchestration platforms.

47. What is your experience with Azure Database for PostgreSQL?

    • Answer: I have experience working with Azure Database for PostgreSQL, managing databases, configuring backups, and ensuring high availability for applications leveraging this service. I am familiar with its different deployment options and performance tuning strategies.

48. What is your experience with Azure Database for MySQL?

    • Answer: I have experience working with Azure Database for MySQL similar to my experience with PostgreSQL. I can manage databases, configure backups, and ensure high availability. I'm familiar with different deployment options and performance tuning strategies.

49. What is your experience with Azure SQL Database Managed Instance?

    • Answer: I am familiar with Azure SQL Database Managed Instance, which provides a highly compatible environment for on-premises SQL Server databases migrating to Azure. I know how to manage the instance, configure backups, and ensure its high availability. I understand its benefits and limitations compared to standard Azure SQL Database.

50. What is your experience with Azure Synapse Analytics?

    • Answer: I have experience with Azure Synapse Analytics for building data pipelines and performing large-scale data analytics. I'm familiar with its different components, including Spark pools, dedicated SQL pools, and serverless SQL pools, and how they integrate with other Azure services.

51. How familiar are you with Azure's compliance certifications?

    • Answer: I'm familiar with Azure's adherence to various compliance standards such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, and others. I understand the importance of choosing the right Azure region and services to meet specific compliance requirements.

52. What are your preferred tools for managing Azure resources?

    • Answer: I primarily use the Azure portal, Azure CLI, and PowerShell for managing Azure resources. I also utilize ARM templates for infrastructure as code and Azure DevOps for automated deployments.

53. Describe your experience with Azure automation accounts.

    • Answer: I have experience creating and managing Azure automation accounts to automate repetitive tasks, such as patching VMs, monitoring resource health, and managing deployments. I can use runbooks and hybrid runbooks to integrate with on-premises systems.

54. How do you approach solving a problem in Azure when you are unfamiliar with a specific service?

    • Answer: I would start by researching the service's documentation, leveraging Microsoft's official documentation and online forums like Stack Overflow. I would then try to break down the problem into smaller, manageable components, focusing on understanding the service's core functionalities and capabilities before attempting a solution.

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