Chapter 2: Getting Started with the Azure Cloud

In the first chapter, we covered the history of, and the ideas behind, virtualization and cloud computing. After that, you read about the Microsoft Azure cloud. This chapter will help you take your first steps into the world of Azure, get access to Azure, explore the different Linux offerings, and deploy your first Linux virtual machine.

After deployment, you will need access to your virtual machine using Secure Shell (SSH) with password authentication or using an SSH key pair.

To take the first steps on your journey into the Azure cloud, it is important to complete all the exercises and examine the outcomes. In this chapter, we will be using PowerShell as well as the Azure CLI. Feel free to follow whichever you're comfortable with; however, learning both won't hurt. The key objectives of this chapter are:

• Setting up your Azure account.
• Logging in to Azure using the Azure CLI and PowerShell.
• Interacting...