Top 25 Azure Interview Questions and Answers

 

1.  What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is a service used for storing and accessing data over the internet. It allows the users to access the data from a remote server rather than store all their data on physical disks such as the hard disk of a personal computer.

2. What is Microsoft Azure?

Microsoft Azure, or simply Azure, is a cloud computing platform launched by Microsoft in Feb 2010. It is a highly advanced and flexible cloud service that provides service development, data storage, service hosting, and service management facilities.

3. What are some important applications of Microsoft Azure?

Some of the important applications of MS Azure are Infrastructure Services, Mobile Apps, Web Applications, Cloud Services, Storage, Media Services, etc.

4. What is Microsoft Azure as PaaS?

Azure is a Platform as a Service (PaaS type of cloud computing service developed by Microsoft. In these types of services, all the hardware and software are offered by a third party or simply, the platform is the actual service provided to the user.

 

As a PaaS, Azure incorporates an operating system, programming language execution environment, database, and web services for the users.

5. What is Azure Databricks?

Databricks is a Data Analytics platform that is available with MS Azure. The purpose of the platform is to provide the data developers with the required tools and infrastructure to advance data analytics. For this purpose, it two main applications i.e., Azure Databricks SQL Analytics and Azure Databricks Workspace.

 

Azure Databricks’s objective is to integrate several services such as security, compute, analytics, and storage earlier offered by individual cloud providers.  This way, it helps in creating an alliance of data and AI workloads.

6. What is Azure Diagnostics?

Azure Diagnostics is an API (Application Programming Interface) used to collect diagnostic data from applications operating in Azure. If you want to collect diagnostics data from multiple instances at once, you first have to enable Azure Diagnostics for cloud service roles.

7. What is Azure Service Fabric?

Azure Service Fabric is a shared platform designed by Microsoft. It aims to help the development, deployment, and management of highly scalable and customizable applications. 

8. What is Azure Data Lake?

Azure Data Lake is a cloud platform that carries big data analytics. It features unlimited data storage capacity for structured, semi-structured, or unstructured data of all types and sizes.

9. Explain the crucial benefits of a Traffic Manager.

The traffic manager helps the users in improving overall performance while providing the fastest updates or maintenance. Plus, it allows instant configuration on Windows Azure Portal.

10. What is Azure Data Factory?

Azure Data Factory is Azure’s cloud ETL service for serverless and cloud-based data integration and data transformation. It offers a code-free UI for intuitive authoring, prompt monitoring, and administration. In addition, the service aims to formulate data-driven workflows for the preparation and execution of data movements.

11. What is the use of Azure Active Directory?

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is an identity management and multi-factor authentication service offered by Azure. It allows you to grant your employees access to specific products and services within the network and protect the users from cyberattacks.

12. What are the different cloud deployment models?

Cloud deployment models are a type of virtual computing environment that authorize you to decide how much data is to be shared and decide who gets access to the whole system.

There are usually four types of deployment models, i.e., – 

 

Public cloud: As the name suggests, it is accessible by the public and enables cloud services across the public internet and server. This model is excellent for organizations with growing and fluctuating demands and companies with low-security concerns. 

Private cloud: Here, the cloud computing services are offered either over the private internal network or the internet platform available to the selected users. A private cloud model is integrated with a company’s data center and managed by its IT team. It is beneficial for companies looking for cost efficiency and wanting more control over their data and resources.

Hybrid cloud:  It is a combination of two or more cloud architectures, and within this cloud system, the internal or external providers can offer resources.

Community Cloud: It is similar to the public cloud with only one difference, i.e., it allows access to a limited set of users who share similar goals and use cases.

13.  Name three types of Disks used by VMs.

• Operating system disk
• Temporary disk
• Data disk

14. What is a Fault Domain?

A fault domain is a group of hardware that share a common power source, or basically, a single point of failure. Each fault domain consists of some racks and virtual machines that are distributed across the Azure platform.

15. What is Enterprise Warehousing?

Enterprise warehousing is a scenario in which data is generated by an organization that has access at a single point within the globe. It allows linking the serving to a single position with the support of periodic handling.

16. What are the types of services you can build with the Service Fabric?

With Azure Service Fabric, you can build two types of services – 

 

1. Stateless Services:  In these services, no state is saved, and the longer-term state is stored in some external database. This is the most common application/data layer approach to building services.
2. Stateful Services: As the name suggests, the state is stored in this type of service. The main benefit of this service is that it eliminates the need for an external database.

17. What are the differences between a Subscription Administrator and a Directory Administrator?

When you sign up for Azure, you are assigned the role of a Subscription Administrator by default. As a Subscription Admin, you can use a personal Microsoft account or a work or institution’s account to manage all the services in the Azure Portal. Plus, you can add others as co-admins if the job requires them to sign in and access services.

 

Azure Directory Administrator, on the other hand, has to manage the directory and identity-related features. Therefore, if you are an Azure DA, you will have access to several features in the Azure portal, and your responsibilities and tasks will depend on your role. For example, you might have to create or edit users, assign roles to others, reset passwords, and maintain user licenses and domains.

18. What are the services used to manage resources in Azure?

• Application Insights
• Azure Portal
• Azure Resource manager
• Log Analytics

19. Explain some of the drawbacks of using Microsoft Azure.

1. The first major drawback of Azure is that it does not allow cloud computing if you are not able to connect to the Internet.
2. Secondly, it is a web-based application and needs a lot of bandwidth to download large documents.
3. And lastly, web-based applications are sometimes slower as compared with a similar software program on the computer.

20. What is the main difference between the repository and the powerhouse server?

The primary difference between repository and powerhouse servers is that while the repository servers manage the integrity, consistency, and uniformity, the powerhouse servers handle the integration of numerous aspects of the database repository.

 21. Name the three main components of the Windows Azure platform?

Here are the three main components of Azure – 

• Compute
• Storage
• AppFabric

22. What is a VNet?

VNet is a representation of one’s own network in the cloud.  Therefore, the primary responsibility of VNEt is to isolate your instances launched in the cloud from other resources. 

 

It is used to enable multiple types of Azure resources, such as Azure Virtual Machines (VM), to enable secure communication.

23. Explain the concept of the table in Azure.

A table in Azure is a cloud-based NoSQL datastore that allows you to store large amounts of structured and non-relational data. 

 

Azure Table features a schemaless design where you can store a collection of entities in one table. Plus, every entity contains a set of properties, and each property represents a name-value pair.

 

24. What is Blob?

BLOB stands for Binary Large Object, and it is a file of any type and size. These files are addressable using the following URL format.

 

There are two types of BLOBs in the Azure Blob Storage, i.e., Block Blob and Page Blob. 

25. What is Windows Azure compute emulator?

Azure Storage Emulator is a tool that you can use for building and testing your app before deploying it to Azure without creating an Azure subscription or incurring any costs. In addition, it is also used to emulate Azure Blob, Queue, and Table services for local development objectives.

Top 50+ Azure Interview Questions and Answers

1. What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is a model of computing in which users can access and use shared computing resources over a network, typically the internet, rather than having to build and maintain their own physical infrastructure. These resources may include applications, data storage, and processing power.

Cloud computing allows users to access and use these resources on a pay-per-use or subscription basis, rather than having to purchase and maintain their own hardware and software. This can be more cost-effective and flexible than maintaining in-house computing resources.

There are several types of cloud computing, including:

1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): This type of cloud computing provides users with access to computing infrastructure, such as servers, storage, and networking.
2. Platform as a Service (PaaS): This type of cloud computing provides users with access to a platform for developing, testing, and deploying applications.
3. Software as a Service (SaaS): This type of cloud computing provides users with access to applications that are hosted and managed by the cloud provider.

Cloud computing can be beneficial for businesses and organizations because it allows them to scale their computing resources up or down as needed, without having to invest in new hardware or software. It can also help reduce costs and improve efficiency by allowing users to pay only for the resources they use.

2. What is Microsoft Azure?

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform and infrastructure created by Microsoft for building, deploying, and managing applications and services through a global network of Microsoft-managed data centers. It provides a range of cloud services, including those for computing, analytics, storage, and networking, as well as services for the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML).

Azure offers a variety of tools and services for building, deploying, and managing applications, including support for a range of programming languages, frameworks, and tools. It also provides a range of services for storing, analyzing, and managing data, as well as services for networking, security, and identity management.

Azure is designed to be a flexible and scalable platform that can meet the needs of a wide range of users, from small businesses to large enterprises. It offers a range of pricing and service options, including pay-as-you-go and subscription-based pricing, to meet the needs of different types of users.

Overall, Microsoft Azure is a comprehensive cloud computing platform that provides a range of tools and services for building, deploying, and managing applications and services in the cloud.

3. Explain the Importance of the role and how many types of roles are available in Windows Azure?

Roles are a very important concept in Windows Azure, and learning them is the base for further programming.

Three types of roles in Windows Azure are:

• Web Role: It is used to deploy website by using langue which is supported by the IIS platform customized to run the web apps.
• Worker Role: It helps you to execute the process that runs in the background.
• VM Role: It helps you to schedule the windows services and task.

4. Why should you use Azure CDN?

There are several reasons why you might choose to use Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN) for your web application or content:

1. Improved performance: Azure CDN can help improve the performance of your web application or content by caching it on servers located around the world. This allows users to access your content from a nearby location, reducing the time it takes to load and improving the user experience.
2. High availability: Azure CDN can help ensure that your content is always available, even in the event of a network or server outage.
3. Low latency: Azure CDN is designed to minimize latency, or the time it takes for content to be delivered to users. This is especially important for applications that require real-time data or interactions.
4. Security: Azure CDN offers a range of security features to protect your content and users, including SSL/TLS support, DDoS protection, and web application firewall (WAF) capabilities.
5. Cost-effective: Azure CDN is a pay-as-you-go service, so you only pay for the resources you use. This can be a cost-effective option compared to managing your own content delivery infrastructure.

Overall, Azure CDN is a powerful and flexible tool that can help improve the performance, availability, and security of your web application or content.

5. Name some important applications of Microsoft Azure

Here are some examples of important applications of Microsoft Azure:

1. Web and mobile applications: Azure provides a range of services for building and hosting web and mobile applications, including support for popular programming languages and frameworks.
2. Data analytics and business intelligence: Azure offers a range of services for storing, processing, and analyzing data, including tools for real-time analytics and data visualization.
3. Internet of Things (IoT): Azure provides tools and services for building and managing IoT solutions, including support for data ingestion, device management, and real-time analytics.
4. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML): Azure offers a range of tools and services for building and deploying AI and ML models, including support for popular frameworks like TensorFlow and PyTorch.
5. Hybrid cloud: Azure provides tools and services for building and managing hybrid cloud environments, allowing users to seamlessly integrate on-premises infrastructure with the cloud.
6. Disaster recovery: Azure offers a range of tools and services for building and implementing disaster recovery plans, including support for backup and recovery, as well as failover and failback capabilities.

Overall, Microsoft Azure is a versatile platform that can be used for a wide range of applications, including web and mobile development, data analytics and business intelligence, IoT, AI and ML, hybrid cloud, and disaster recovery.

6. What is Azure as PaaS?

Azure is a cloud computing platform and infrastructure created by Microsoft. It provides a range of cloud services, including computing, analytics, storage, and networking, which users can access and use to build, deploy, and manage applications and services.

As a Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering, Azure provides users with a platform for developing, testing, and deploying applications without the need to manage the underlying infrastructure. This can be more cost-effective and efficient than maintaining in-house infrastructure for these purposes.

With Azure, users can build and deploy applications using a variety of programming languages, tools, and frameworks. They can also take advantage of Azure’s wide range of services and features, such as virtual machines, databases, analytics tools, and more, to create and run their applications.

Azure also offers a range of security and compliance features to help users protect their applications and data. These include data encryption, access control, and compliance with various industry regulations and standards.

Overall, Azure is a comprehensive cloud computing platform that provides users with a range of tools and resources for building and deploying applications in the cloud.

7. Explain the crucial benefits of Traffic Manager

Traffic management offers many advantages for the user:

• Increase the performance
• No Downtime required for update or Maintenance
• You can easily configure Azure Traffic manager on Windows Azure portal.

8. What are Break-fix issues in Microsoft Azure?

In, Microsoft Azure, all the technical problem is called break-fix issues. This term uses when “work involved in support a technology when it fails in the normal course of its function.

9. Explain Diagnostics in Windows Azure

Windows Azure Diagnostic offers the facility to store diagnostic data. In Azure, some diagnostics data is stored in the table, while some are stored in a blob. The diagnostic monitor runs in Windows Azure as well as in the computer’s emulator for collecting data for a role instance.

10. State the difference between repetitive and minimal monitoring.

Verbose monitoring collects metrics based on performance. It allows a close analysis of data fed during the process of application.

On the other hand, minimal monitoring is a default configuration method. It makes the user of performance counters gathered from the operating system of the host.

11. What is the main difference between the repository and the powerhouse server?

The main difference between them is that repository servers are instead of the integrity, consistency, and uniformity while powerhouse server governs the integration of different aspects of the database repository.

12. Explain command task in Microsoft Azure

In Microsoft Azure, the Command task is a type of activity that can be used in Azure Data Factory (ADF) pipelines to execute command-line scripts or applications. The Command task allows you to run any command or script that can be run from the command line, such as batch scripts, PowerShell scripts, or executable files.

To use the Command task in ADF, you will need to specify the command or script that you want to run, as well as any input parameters or arguments that are required by the command or script. You can also specify the working directory for the command or script, as well as any environment variables that you want to set before the command or script is run.

The Command task can be useful in a variety of scenarios, such as when you need to run a custom script or application as part of your data integration process, or when you want to perform certain operations that are not directly supported by ADF. It can also be useful for debugging or testing purposes, as it allows you to run arbitrary commands or scripts to help troubleshoot issues or verify the behavior of your pipeline.

13. What are unconnected lookups?

In Microsoft Azure, an “unconnected lookup” is a feature of Azure Data Factory (ADF) that allows you to perform a lookup operation on a dataset that is not directly connected to the pipeline in which the lookup is being performed. This can be useful in situations where you need to perform a lookup on data that is not part of the current pipeline, or when you want to perform a lookup on data that is not yet available.

To perform an unconnected lookup, you will need to create a new lookup activity in your ADF pipeline and specify the dataset that you want to use for the lookup. You can then reference the output of the lookup activity in the rest of your pipeline by using the output parameters of the lookup activity.

Unconnected lookups can be useful in a variety of scenarios, such as when you need to perform a lookup on reference data that is not part of the current pipeline, or when you want to perform a lookup on data that is not yet available but will be later in the pipeline. They can also be useful for debugging or testing purposes, as they allow you to perform a lookup on a specific dataset without having to create a new pipeline or modify the existing pipeline.

14. Explain Cmdlet command of Microsoft Azure

A cmdlet is a command which is utilized as a part of the Microsoft PowerShell environment. The cmdlet is called by the Windows PowerShell to automate the scripts which are in the command line.

15. What is the use of the Migration Assistant tool in Azure Websites?

Migration Assistant tool helps you to examine your IIS installation. It helps you to recognize which site can be migrated to the cloud. It is also featuring components which are either not migrated or unsupported on the Azure platform.

16. What is the use of Azure Active Directory?

Azure Active Directory is an identify and access management system. It is very much similar to the active directories. It allows you to grant your employee in accessing specific products and services within the network.

17. What is HDInsight in Microsoft Azure?

HDInsight is a could service which that makes it easy. It is fast and cost-effective to process a massive amount of data using with the help of open-source frameworks like Spark, Hadoop, Hive, Storm and R. HDInsight offers various type of scenarios which includes ETL, data warehousing, and Machine Learning.

18. Explain role instance in Microsoft Azure

A role instance is a virtual instance on which the application code and role configuration run. A role can have multiple instances, which are defined in the service configuration file.

19. Explain the term ‘service fabric’ in Azure

Service fabric is a middleware platform which gives more scalable outcome. It mostly renders with a more managed and reliable enterprise.

20. Explain Availability Set

It is a logical grouping of Virtual Machines. It allows the Azure cloud to build understand how the application for a user is built to provide availability and redundancy.

21. Name the types of web application which can be deployed with Azure

ASP.Net, PHP, WCF are a type of web application which can be deployed with SQL Azure.

22. How many customers subscriptions allowed in managed disks?

In Microsoft Azure, the number of subscriptions that are allowed to create managed disks is not limited. You can create managed disks in any subscription that you have access to, provided that you have the necessary permissions and resources.

Managed disks are a type of storage that is managed by Azure and used to store virtual machine (VM) disks. They offer a number of benefits over unmanaged disks, including automatic storage tiering, backup and restore capabilities, and integration with Azure features such as Azure Site Recovery and Azure Monitor.

To create a managed disk in Azure, you will need to specify the type of disk (standard or premium), the size of the disk, and the resource group that you want to use to store the disk. You will also need to specify a name for the disk and choose a location for the disk. Once you have created the managed disk, you can attach it to a VM or use it to store data.

23. Explain the service definition file

A service definition file is a configuration file that is used to define the properties and settings of a Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service. It is an XML file that contains information about the service, such as the service contract, the data contracts, the endpoint configuration, and the behaviors of the service.

The service definition file is typically used in conjunction with a service host application, which is responsible for hosting the service and exposing it to clients. The service host application reads the service definition file and uses the information contained in it to configure the service and make it available to clients.

The service definition file is an important part of the overall WCF service architecture, as it allows you to define the service contract, the data contracts, and the endpoint configuration in a central location. This can make it easier to manage the service and ensure that it is consistently configured across different environments or deployments.

24. State the difference between copy and shortcut

Copied means transferring an object from one to another folder which takes double space. The shortcut is a dynamic Link on an object which saves the space which shows changes in the original object.

25. Name the services which are used to manage resources in Azure

• Application Insights
• Azure Portal
• Azure Resource manager
• Log Analytics

26. Explain enterprise warehousing

Enterprise warehousing is the phenomenon where the data is developed by the organization having access at a single point throughout the globe. The warehousing allows serving to get linked to a single point with the assistance of periodic handling.

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27. What are the important drawbacks of using Microsoft Azure?

• Cloud computing is not possible if you are not able to connect to the Internet.
• Azure is a web-based app which needs a lot of bandwidth to download, as do large documents.
• Web-based applications can sometimes be slower compared accessing similar software program on your desktop PC.

28. What is MOSS?

Microsoft SharePoint Server (MOSS) that consist of a complete version of the portal platform. It allows a user to manage, share and even create the document.

29. What is the step you need to perform when drive failure occurs?

When there is an instance that the drive has failed, the following step should be performed:

• The drive should be not mounted, which allows the object Azure storage to function without fail.
• The second scenario is replacing the drive in which the desired step will remounting, formatting the drive.

30. What it’s the difference between PROC MEANS and PROC SUMMARY?

• PROC MEANS: It refers to the subgroup of statist created in the persistence of the BY statement.
• PROC SUMMARY: It is the support statistic giving all varieties of information running simultaneously.

Azure Interview Questions

31. State the difference between a library and a list

The library is an interface which allows to manage and store a document which can be created using Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.

On the other hand, the list is the representation of the item in a tabular format using column and rows. It can be attached with documents.

32. Can you create VM by using Microsoft Azure Resource Manager in a Virtual Network?

No, it is not possible to create a virtual machine using the Azure Resource Manager.

33. What is the use of VNET?

With the help of VNET, you can represent your network within the cloud. It could insulate the instance logically which are launched within the cloud.

34. What the important requirements when creating a new Virtual Machine?

The length of the user name should not more than 20 characters, and it should not end with a period.

35. Name various power states of a Virtual Machine.

Various power states of a Virtual Machine are: Running, Starting, Stopping, Deallocating, etc.

36. Explain lookup transformation

Lookup transformation helps you to finds outsource qualifier. It may be either active/passive lookup transformation.

37. What are the three main components of the Windows Azure platform?

Three most important components of the Windows Azure platform are:

• Compute
• Storage
• AppFabric

38. Explain cspack in Microsoft Azure

Cspack is a command-line tool which generates a service package file. It also helps you to prepares an application for deployment, either in compute emulator or Microsoft Windows Azure.

39. What is the purpose of using an application partition scheme in Azure?

An application partition aims to reduce the replication traffic within a specific domain area.

40. Explain Azure Service Level Agreement

The Service ensures that when you send two or more roles instances for each role, access to your cloud service will be maintained 9 out of 10 times. Moreover, identification re-correction activity will be stared when the procedure of a role instance is not running.

41. What do you mean by the network security groups?

A network security group allows you to manage the network traffic to NIC or subnets etc. If it is connected in the best possible way, then the network load will be distributed wisely.

42. What happens when you exhaust the maximum failed attempts by authenticating yourself using Azure AD?

We use a more method to lock accounts. This is based on the IP address of the request and the passwords entered by the user.

43. Explain the concept of the table in Windows Azure

A table is one kind of Azure store. In which you can store your information.

Below given are the key concepts of the table:

• Tables allow structure data storage
• There can be 0 to n table in a storage account.
• An element has an essential key and properties as a key-value pair.

44. What is the use of Temp Drive in VM?

Temp Drive is used for Paging in Azure. However, it is a short drive, and you should not use it for storage.

45. Explain guest OS in Microsoft Azure

Guest OS is an operating system which runs on the virtual machine which allows you to hosts an instance of a role.

46. When will you find the list of built-in app with ADD?

The Azure Active Directory has more than 2500 built-in app. It allows you to access the application more securely.

47. Are data disks provide support within scale sets?

Yes, a scale allows you to define an attached data disk configuration which applies to all VMs In the set. Other options for data storing are:

• Azure files
• Azure Data services
• OS drive
• External data service

48. State the difference pricing model of Microsoft Azure

Here, are different pricing model of Microsoft Azure:

BYOL Model: It brings your license model. It is just right to access model. You can obtain it outside of the Azure Marketplace. This model is not charged any fees.

Free Software Trial: It is a full-featured version which is promotionally free for a limited period of time. However, for excessive use, you need to pay fees.

Usage-based: This is a widely used model of Microsoft Azure. Here, user are changed for only that service which is used by them.

Monthly fee: Here, you need to pay a fixed monthly payment for a subscription.

49. What is csrun?

Csrun is a command-line tool that deploys a packaged application to the Windows Azure compute emulator and manages the running service.

50. Name two blobs used in Microsoft Azure

Two types of blobs offer in Azure are:

1. Block Blob
2. Page Blob