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    Getting Started Guide for UKCloud for Microsoft Azure

    Overview

    UKCloud for Microsoft Azure provides you with new options to harness Microsoft Azure alongside other cloud platforms, including Oracle, VMware and OpenStack. This gives you the flexibility to accommodate diverse workloads within a low latency, accredited platform with native connectivity to non-cloud workloads in Crown Hosting and the networks that are vital to the public sector: from PSN Protected to HSCN and MCN.

    This Getting Started Guide provides you with the information you need to get up and running with UKCloud for Microsoft Azure.

    Intended audience

    To complete the steps in this guide you must have access to the UKCloud Azure Stack Hub portal.

    Introduction to UKCloud for Microsoft Azure

    At UKCloud, we understand that there is no "one cloud fits all" solution. There are usually many factors to consider when looking to move your applications to the cloud, including existing technology investment and skills. Additionally, while some applications can easily move to the public cloud, there are others that for various reasons (latency, connectivity, security, regulation) must run on-premises.

    Microsoft Azure Stack Hub is an extension of Azure that provides on-premises Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), enabling you to leverage the benefits of cloud in an on-premises environment. UKCloud for Microsoft Azure brings the advantages of the Microsoft Cloud platform to our assured UK-sovereign platform, helping you realise the benefits that a true hybrid cloud environment has to offer, while balancing the right amount of flexibility and control.

    With UKCloud for Microsoft Azure you can:

    • Leverage existing Azure investment, knowledge and skills

    • Use Azure Stack Hub alongside other technologies, for example, VMware, OpenStack or Oracle

    • Connect to government community networks, including PSN, HSCN, Janet and MCN

    • Meet specific compliance directives, such as data sovereignty or security

    The two main delivery models provided by UKCloud for Microsoft Azure are:

    • A multi-tenant IaaS and PaaS platform available in both UKCloud security domains (Assured OFFICIAL and Elevated OFFICIAL), connected to government community networks with UKCloud's award-winning support

    • Private cloud deployment of UKCloud for Microsoft Azure dedicated to a single customer

    What is Azure Active Directory and why is it required for UKCloud for Microsoft Azure?

    Azure Active Directory is Microsoft's cloud-based Directory and Identity Access Management Service. It provides Single Sign-On and core directory services via a high availability service with automated failover. AAD provides the identity store for UKCloud for Microsoft Azure, supporting features such as two-factor authentication and role based access control.

    Note

    If you do not have an existing Azure Active Directory, provide a preferred domain name and administrator email address, and UKCloud will create an Azure Active Directory Domain (subject to availability), free of charge.

    How can I get started with UKCloud for Microsoft Azure?

    Important

    By providing the information below, you agree to enter into a direct Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Customer Agreement (for more information see here (Europe/United Kingdom)). If you accept the terms of the agreement, when you provide the information below we are obliged to report your name, email address and date of acceptance to Microsoft.

    • I have an existing Azure Active Directory Domain
    • I do not have an existing Azure Active Directory

    If you've decided that UKCloud for Microsoft Azure is the right environment for you, contact your Service Delivery Manager (SDM) with the following information:

    • Contact email address, for example, onboardingukcloud3@ukcloud.com

    • Azure Active Directory Domain, for example, onboardingukcloud3csp.onmicrosoft.com

    • AAD administrator email address, for example, admin@onboardingukcloud3csp.onmicrosoft.com

    Once you've provided this information, UKCloud will set up your new UKCloud for Microsoft Azure environment.

    After submitting your details, you will receive an email asking for permission for UKCloud to be your Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (see example below).

    Microsoft Azure CSP invitation email

    Once you have received this, click the CSP Invitation URL link and enter your details to sign in.

    Microsoft Azure sign in page

    Accept the Microsoft Store for Business and your data agreement.

    Microsoft Store for Business Data Agreement

    After accepting the agreement you will be greeted with the following page. Tick the checkbox and click Accept, then contact your SDM so UKCloud can complete your onboarding process.

    Microsoft Azure authorize CSP page

    Next, you should receive a welcome email from your SDM containing the details of your new UKCloud for Microsoft Azure environment.

    Important

    If you have conditional access policies enabled for your Azure Active Directory, follow the instructions from the invitation email to allow us access to your AAD.

    You can find more information about conditional access policies here.

    If you've decided that UKCloud for Microsoft Azure is the right environment for you, contact your Service Delivery Manager (SDM) with the following information:

    • Contact name, for example, John Doe

    • Contact email address, for example, onboardingukcloud3@ukcloud.com

    • Contact phone number, 01252 303300

    • Billing address, for example, Hartham Park, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 0RP

    • Preferred Azure Active Directory Domain, for example, onboardingukcloud3csp.onmicrosoft.com

    Once you've provided this information, UKCloud will set up your new UKCloud for Microsoft Azure environment.

    After providing the above details, you should receive a welcome email shortly from your SDM containing the details of your new UKCloud for Microsoft Azure environment.

    Logging in to the UKCloud Azure Stack Hub portal

    To manage UKCloud for Microsoft Azure, you need to log in to the Azure Stack Hub portal. The portal provides access to all your Azure resources.

    To log in to the Azure Stack Hub portal:

    1. In your browser, go to the Azure Stack Hub portal.

    2. In the login dialog box, enter the email address for your account and click Next, or pick your account.

    3. Enter your password and click Sign in.

    4. After you log in, you'll see the main Azure Stack Hub portal home page.

      Azure Stack Hub portal home page

      On this page, you'll see:

      A. Favourites - quickly access your most used resources (see Customising your favourites)

      B. Dashboard - access information about your Azure resources (see Customising and adding dashboards)

      C. Settings - change your portal settings, for example, theme and language

      D. Notifications - view useful alerts about your Azure environment

      E. New - create new resources, such as virtual machines (see How to create a virtual machine from the Azure Marketplace)

    Understanding subscriptions, offers and plans

    Your UKCloud for Microsoft Azure environment is provisioned with a subscription that determines the services you have access to, and your quotas for those services.

    • A subscription is a mechanism for signing up to an offer.

    • An offer is a collection of one or more plans.

    • A plan is a collection of one or more services, with associated quotas.

    Customising your favourites

    In the Azure Stack Hub portal, down the left-hand side, you can see a list of your favourite resources. You can customise this list to include the resources that you access most frequently.

    1. In the favourites list, click the More services link.

      More services link

    2. In the list of resources available to your subscription, resources that are included in your favourites list are indicated by a yellow star icon.

      Favourite resources

      Tip

      You can use the Filter field to filter the list of resources. You can order the list By category or By name.

    3. Click the grey star icon next to the resource that you want to add to your list of favourites.

      Select favourite

      Tip

      To remove a resource from your favourites list, click the yellow star icon next to the service.

    4. When you're done close the list of resources.

      Close list of resources

    5. You can now see the newly added resource in your favourites list.

      New resource in favourites list

    6. You can reorder the resources in your favourites list by dragging and dropping them.

      Drag and drop favourites

    Customising and adding dashboards

    An Azure Stack Hub dashboard consists of tiles that provide access to the resources available to your subscription. You can create multiple dashboards to provide different views of your resources.

    To customise a dashboard:

    1. In the Azure Stack Hub portal, select the dashboard that you want to customise.

      Select dashboard

    2. Click the Edit dashboard option.

      Edit dashboard option

    3. Drag the tiles you want to add to the dashboard from the Tile Gallery onto the dashboard.

      Drag tiles onto dashboard

    4. To change the layout of a tile on the dashboard, hover your mouse over the tile, click the Context menu icon and select the new layout.

      Context menu icon

    5. Drag tiles to rearrange them on the dashboard.

    6. To delete a tile from the dashboard, hover your mouse over the tile and click the Unpin icon.

      Unpin icon

    7. When you're done, click Done customizing.

      Done customizing button

    8. To create a new dashboard, click the New dashboard option.

      New dashboard option

    9. Enter a name for the dashboard.

      Dashboard name

    10. Add and arrange tiles as described above and when you're done, click Done customizing.

    Granting users access to UKCloud for Microsoft Azure

    To work with UKCloud for Microsoft Azure, users must have the appropriate Azure Stack Hub permissions. We provide the following three groups to get you started:

    • AzureStackOperators - Members of this group have Owner permissions and have full access to all resources and can manage access to resources

    • AzureStackUsers - Members of this group have Contributor permissions and can create and manage all resources but cannot manage access to resources

    • AzureStackReadOnly - Members of this group have Reader permissions and can view everything but cannot be any changes

    To grant a user access to UKCloud for Microsoft Azure:

    1. Log in to the Azure portal as a global administrator:

      https://portal.azure.com

    2. Navigate to the Azure Active Directory.

      Tip

      You can find the Azure Active Directory by selecting All services and scrolling down to the Security + Identity section.

    3. Select Groups and then All groups.

    4. In the Name field, enter azurestack.

    5. Select the group to which you want to add the user depending on the level of permissions you want the user to have.

    6. Select Members then click Add members.

    7. Select the user that you want to add to the group and click Select.

    Configuring the Azure CLI

    Microsoft provide a cross platform Azure command line interface (CLI) tool which runs on macOS, Linux and Windows that you can use to manage your Azure resources. For example, you can use the Azure CLI to create virtual machines and deploy Azure Resource Manager templates.

    For more information, including steps for setting up the Azure CLI with UKCloud for Microsoft Azure, see:

    • Configure AzureCLI Environment

    Configuring the Azure Stack Hub PowerShell client

    You can use PowerShell to manage your Azure resources. For example, you can create virtual machines and deploy Azure Resource Manager templates.

    For more information, including steps and scripts for setting up Azure PowerShell with UKCloud for Microsoft Azure, see:

    • Configure PowerShell Environment

    Next steps

    In this Getting Started Guide, you've learned the basics about UKCloud for Microsoft Azure and the UKCloud Azure Stack Hub portal. For more information about UKCloud for Microsoft Azure, see the following articles in the Knowledge Centre:

    • Understanding UKCloud for Microsoft Azure

    • UKCloud for Microsoft Azure FAQs

    • How to create a virtual machine from the Azure Marketplace

    • How to create an Azure user group

    • How to use the Azure Stack Hub API

    Related videos

    • Microsoft Azure Stack Hub Portal overview video

    Related repositories

    • UKCloud Azure Stack Hub Repository

    Glossary

    This section provides a glossary of terms specific to UKCloud for Microsoft Azure.

    Azure Active Directory  The service that provides identify management within UKCloud for Microsoft Azure.

    Cloud operator  An entity that provides services, via subscriptions, on Azure Stack Hub. UKCloud is a cloud operator.

    Microsoft Azure  Microsoft's public cloud service.

    Microsoft Azure Stack Hub  An extension of Azure that provides cloud computing to an on-premises environment.

    Resource  An object within Azure Stack Hub, such as a virtual machine, network or storage.

    Resource group  A collection of resources, services and applications.

    Subscription  A mechanism for organising resources and services for tenants to consume.

    UKCloud for Microsoft Azure  A UKCloud IaaS and PaaS service that works as an extension of Microsoft's own Azure public cloud, delivered from our assured sovereign data centres.

    Tenant  An entity that consumes services from cloud operators in Azure Stack Hub.

    Feedback

    If you find a problem with this article, click Improve this Doc to make the change yourself or raise an issue in GitHub. If you have an idea for how we could improve any of our services, send an email to feedback@ukcloud.com.

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