The Azure Portal is a web-based application that allows users to manage and monitor their Azure resources. It is an essential tool for IT professionals and systems engineers who work with Microsoft's cloud services. While the Azure Portal itself is not exclusive to the Windows environment, it is highly relevant for managing Windows-based virtual machines, storage, and other resources in the Azure ecosystem. This article will guide you through the basic steps of using the Azure Portal to manage Windows resources effectively.

Examples:

1. Creating a Windows Virtual Machine via Azure Portal:

   • Step 1: Log in to the Azure Portal.
   • Step 2: Click on "Create a resource" in the left-hand menu.
   • Step 3: Select "Windows Server" from the list of available resources.
   • Step 4: Fill in the necessary details such as subscription, resource group, and instance details.
   • Step 5: Choose the size of the VM based on your requirements.
   • Step 6: Configure the settings for disks, networking, management, and monitoring.
   • Step 7: Review and create the VM.

   # Example PowerShell script to create a VM
   New-AzVm `
    -ResourceGroupName "myResourceGroup" `
    -Name "myVM" `
    -Location "East US" `
    -VirtualNetworkName "myVnet" `
    -SubnetName "mySubnet" `
    -SecurityGroupName "myNetworkSecurityGroup" `
    -PublicIpAddressName "myPublicIpAddress" `
    -OpenPorts 3389

2. Monitoring a Windows Virtual Machine:

   • Step 1: Navigate to the "Virtual Machines" section in the Azure Portal.
   • Step 2: Select the VM you want to monitor.
   • Step 3: Click on "Monitoring" in the menu to view metrics like CPU usage, disk I/O, and network traffic.
   • Step 4: Set up alerts to notify you of any critical issues.

   # Example PowerShell script to monitor VM metrics
   $metrics = Get-AzMetric `
    -ResourceId "/subscriptions/{subscription-id}/resourceGroups/myResourceGroup/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/myVM" `
    -MetricName "Percentage CPU"
   $metrics.Data

3. Managing Storage Accounts:

   • Step 1: Go to the "Storage accounts" section in the Azure Portal.
   • Step 2: Click on "Add" to create a new storage account.
   • Step 3: Fill in the necessary details such as subscription, resource group, and storage account name.
   • Step 4: Choose the performance and replication options based on your needs.
   • Step 5: Review and create the storage account.

   # Example PowerShell script to create a storage account
   New-AzStorageAccount `
    -ResourceGroupName "myResourceGroup" `
    -Name "mystorageaccount" `
    -Location "East US" `
    -SkuName "Standard_LRS"