Azure Interview Questions and Answers for experienced
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What are the different Azure service tiers? Explain the key differences between them.
- Answer: Azure offers several service tiers, primarily categorized by performance, scalability, and cost. These include Free, Shared, Basic, Standard, Premium, and sometimes specialized tiers for specific services. The key differences lie in CPU, memory, storage capacity, I/O performance, availability guarantees (SLAs), and pricing. Free tiers are limited and best for testing; Shared tiers share resources, impacting performance; Basic offers a basic level of performance; Standard provides a balance of performance and cost; Premium offers the highest performance and scalability, often with enhanced features like dedicated hardware or faster SSDs. Specialized tiers might cater to specific workloads like high-performance computing or database replication.
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Explain Azure Resource Manager (ARM). What are its benefits?
- Answer: Azure Resource Manager (ARM) is a deployment and management service that provides a management layer for Azure resources. It uses JSON templates to define infrastructure as code (IaC), allowing for consistent and repeatable deployments. Benefits include: improved organization and management of resources; simplified deployments with templates; role-based access control (RBAC) for enhanced security; infrastructure as code capabilities for automation and version control; and support for complex deployments with dependencies.
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Describe Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) and its role in Azure security.
- Answer: Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is Microsoft's cloud-based identity and access management (IAM) service. It provides single sign-on (SSO) access to Azure services and other cloud applications, manages user identities, and enforces security policies. In Azure, it's crucial for securing resources by controlling who can access what. It facilitates features like multi-factor authentication (MFA), conditional access policies, and integration with on-premises Active Directory via Azure AD Connect.
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What are Azure Virtual Machines (VMs)? Explain different VM sizes and their implications.
- Answer: Azure VMs are virtual computers that run in the Azure cloud. They provide a highly customizable environment for various workloads. VM sizes (e.g., A-series, D-series, E-series, F-series, etc.) determine the resources allocated to the VM, including vCPU cores, RAM, and storage. Choosing the right size depends on the application's resource requirements; a larger VM provides more resources (CPU, memory, etc.) and generally higher performance but at a higher cost. Smaller VMs are suitable for less demanding workloads.
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Explain Azure Storage services. What are the different types and when would you use each?
- Answer: Azure offers various storage services: Blob storage (for unstructured data like images, videos, and documents); File storage (for file shares accessible via SMB); Queue storage (for asynchronous communication); Table storage (for NoSQL key-value store); and Disk storage (for VM persistent storage). The choice depends on the data type and access patterns. Blobs are good for large files; Files are suitable for applications needing file shares; Queues are used for messaging; Tables are for structured data that doesn't need relational database features; and Disks provide persistent storage for VMs.
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What is Azure DevOps and how can it be used in a CI/CD pipeline?
- Answer: Azure DevOps is a comprehensive DevOps platform providing tools for planning, developing, testing, and deploying software. It facilitates CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery) pipelines by automating the build, test, and deployment processes. Developers commit code to a repository (e.g., Git), triggering automated builds. Tests are executed, and upon success, the application is automatically deployed to various environments (development, testing, production) using tools like Azure Pipelines and Azure Release Management.
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Explain Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). What are its benefits over self-hosting Kubernetes?
- Answer: AKS is a managed Kubernetes service that simplifies deploying, managing, and scaling Kubernetes clusters. Benefits over self-hosting include: reduced operational overhead (Microsoft manages the Kubernetes control plane); scalability and high availability; automatic updates and patching; integration with other Azure services; and cost-effectiveness (paying only for the resources consumed).
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Describe Azure Functions. What are their use cases?
- Answer: Azure Functions is a serverless compute service that lets you run code without managing servers. You write code in various languages (e.g., C#, Java, Python) as functions triggered by various events (HTTP requests, timers, messages from queues, etc.). Use cases include: processing data in real-time, responding to HTTP requests, integrating with other services, performing background tasks, and building microservices.
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What are Azure Logic Apps? Explain their role in integration.
- Answer: Azure Logic Apps is a serverless integration platform that allows you to create workflows by connecting various services and applications. You can build workflows visually using a designer, integrating services like Azure services, on-premises applications, and SaaS applications. They play a crucial role in connecting different systems and automating processes, acting as a glue between diverse applications.
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