This guide will help you:
- Create an Azure account
- Activate your free subscription
- Log in to the Azure Portal
- Log in using Azure CLI
- Verify everything works
If you already know AWS, think of this as:
Create AWS account → Login to Console → Configure AWS CLI.
1. What Is Azure?
Microsoft Azure is Microsoft’s cloud computing platform.
Just like:
Amazon Web Services AWS provides cloud services, Azure provides cloud services.
You do NOT install Azure on your computer.
Azure runs in Microsoft’s data centers.
What you install locally is:
- Azure CLI (optional, for command line usage)
2. Create an Azure Account (Free Trial)
Step 1 – Open Azure Website
Go to:
https://azure.microsoft.com/free
Click:
Start free
Step 2 – Sign In or Create Microsoft Account
If you do not have a Microsoft account:
Click Create one
Use:
- Gmail
- Outlook
- Any valid email
Create password and verify email.
Step 3 – Activate Free Trial
Azure will ask for:
- Phone number (verification)
- Credit card (for identity verification only)
- Basic personal information
Important:
You will receive:
- $200 free credit (30 days)
- 12 months of limited free services
Azure will NOT charge you automatically unless you upgrade.
3. Understanding Tenant vs Subscription (Very Important)
Azure has two separate layers:
Tenant → Identity layer (Microsoft Entra ID)
Subscription → Billing and resources layer
In AWS:
These are combined into one account.
In Azure:
You can log in but still have NO subscription.
If CLI says:
“No subscriptions found”
It means:
You logged in successfully but did not activate Free Trial.
4. Log In to Azure Portal (Browser Method)
After activating free trial:
Go to:
Sign in with your Microsoft account.
You should see:
- Azure Dashboard
- Your subscription name
- Available services
Verify Subscription in Portal
In search bar, type:
Subscriptions
Click it.
You should see something like:
Azure subscription 1
Status: Enabled
If you do not see a subscription:
You did not complete free trial activation.
5. Install Azure CLI (Mac Students)
Azure CLI allows managing Azure from terminal.
If you use Mac:
Open Terminal and run:
brew update
brew install azure-cli
Verify installation:
az version
If version appears → installed correctly.
Equivalent in AWS:
aws --version
6. Log In Using Azure CLI
In terminal, run:
az login
This will:
- Open browser automatically
- Ask you to sign in
- Connect CLI to your Azure account
After login, Azure CLI may ask:
Select a subscription and tenant (Type a number or Enter for no changes)
If your subscription has a * next to it, simply press:
Enter
Verify CLI Is Connected
Run:
az account show --output table
You should see:
- Subscription name
- Subscription ID
- Tenant ID
- State: Enabled
If you see “Enabled”, your environment is ready.
7. Confirm You Have Access
Run:
az group list --output table
If no error appears, CLI is working.
8. Common Errors and Solutions
Error:
No subscriptions found
Solution:
Go back to https://azure.microsoft.com/free
Activate free trial.
Error:
Login opens browser but nothing happens
Try device login:
az login --use-device-code
Follow instructions in terminal.
Error:
Subscription not selected
Run:
az account list --output table
az account set --subscription "Azure subscription 1"
9. What You Should Have After This Setup
By the end of this guide you must have:
✔ Azure account created
✔ Free Trial activated
✔ Azure Portal accessible
✔ Azure CLI installed
✔ CLI login successful
✔ Active subscription visible
If any of these fail, fix it before moving to next lecture.
10. Comparison with AWS Setup
AWS Setup:
- Create AWS account
- Login to console
- Configure AWS CLI
Azure Setup:
- Create Microsoft account
- Activate Free Trial (Subscription)
- Login to portal
- Install Azure CLI
- Run az login
The difference:
Azure separates identity and subscription.
Important Reminder
Azure charges for running resources.
After each lab, you must delete resources.
Later in the course, you will learn how to delete everything safely using Resource Groups.
End of Setup Guide.
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