Azure 2.5 : What is Azure RDFE (Red Dog Front End) ?

Azure Portal Service passes service package to “Red Dog Front End” (RDFE).

RDFE converts service package to native “RD” version. RDFE sends service to Fabric Controller (FC) based on target region.

FC queues request in repository, than deploys and activates service.

XLS –Xlocation

Xlocation redirects the request to a particular datacenter as per the user’s initial selection.

It has a mapping table which correlates requests and the corresponding datacenter. 

For example if an application needs to be deployed in US South West, then XLS will redirect it to Chicago Datacenter

Azure 2.4 : Azure Unified Fabric controller,Fabric Agent & Guest Agent

UFC (Fabric controller of 1st Cluster of Azure Datacentre)

There will be 5 FCs in each cluster. One will be Primary, others are secondary.

Fabric Agent lies in every Blade

Guest Agent lies in every VM

Request Flow path UFC -> FC -> FA -> GA

Azure 2.3 : what is Azure Fabric Controller (FC) ?

1.Azure Fabric Controller (FC) is the part of the  Azure platform that monitors and manages servers and coordinates resources for software applications.

2.Azure Fabric Controller functions as the kernel of the Azure operating system. It provisions, stores, delivers, monitors and commands the virtual machines (VMs) and physical servers that make up Azure.

Datacenters are divided into “clusters”
–Approximately 900 rack-mounted server per cluster (we call them “nodes”)

Each cluster is managed by a Fabric Controller (FC)

 FC is responsible for:
–Blade provisioning
–Blade management
–Service deployment 

UFC is Unified Fabric Control, it Manages and controls Fabric controllers in the Data center .It is the 1st Fabric Controller in the Datacenter

Azure 2.2 : Azure datacentre Clusters -(Backend)

There are 3 Types of Azure Backend Clusters

1)Compute Cluster

2)SQL Cluster

3)Storage Cluster

Azure  cluster is Made of

§A Pair of AGG Switches

§2 Pairs of Load Balancers

§20 Racks

§44 Blades per rack

§Total 880 Blades in single cluster

§12-15 Virtual Machines can be created in each Blade

Azure Rack Architecture :
TOR - Top of the Rack. L3 Switch - which connects to Network interface cards of all blades in rack
Digi - Serial connector to all blades used to push basic Operating system/Maintainance Operating System to blades
PS1 & PS2 - Power Strips - Can be controlled remotely . Any Blade in the rack can be turned on and turned off using it.

Azure 2.1 Azure Datacentre Architecture Overview

Datacentre Architecture

Basic Azure Datacentre consists of the following things and the connectivity is shown below:

§Edge router

§Core Router

§Access Routers(Nexus 7k )

§3 Aggregator Switch`s per each Nexus Router

§2 Load Balancers per Aggregator

§Racks(10-20)

§One TOR, One DIGI and 44 Nodes per Rack

Azure 2.0 Azure Regions and Data Centers

Azure has more global regions than any other cloud provider. As for today there are 140 datacenters across 54 regions.

Please follow below link for latest updates on regions and datacenters

Courtesy : https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/regions/

Azure 1.2 Deployment Model: What is Public,Private & Hybrid cloud ?

Public cloud:
The cloud infrastructure is owned by an organization(Microsoft) that sells cloud services.
Private cloud:
The cloud infrastructure is owned, or leased by a single enterprise and is operated solely
for that enterprise.
Hybrid cloud:
public and private clouds that are integrated and bound together to enable data and
application portability.

Azure 1.1 Service Model : What is IAAS ,PAAS & SAAS ?

IAAS (Infrastructure as a Service)
Basic compute power and storage resources are provided by service provider
Need to manage many components apart from your application
You have more control
ex : Azure VNets, Azure VM… etc.

PAAS (Platform as a Service)
Your application under Managed Infrastructure
Need to manage only your application
You have limited control
ex: Azure App services, Azure cloud services… etc.

SAAS (Software as a Service)
Cloud applications/On demand applications ready for use
You don’t have control at all
ex: Azure Active Directory ,office365… etc.

Difference between IAAS, PAAS and SAAS

Azure 1.0 What is Cloud Computing & Types of cloud ?

In the simplest terms, cloud computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the
Internet instead of your computer's hard drive. The first use of “cloud computing” in its modern context occurred on August 9, 2006, when then Google CEO Eric Schmidt introduced the term to an industry Conference.

Types of Cloud

1. Service Model : (SaaS, Pass and IaaS )
2. Deployment Model : (Private Cloud , Public and Hybrid )