Added engineering blog content on a-new-chapter-exploring-azure-resources (#78)

* Added engineering blog content on a-new-chapter-exploring-azure-resources

* Replaced Ashish image based on Arthur suggestion and modified content from checks suggestions

---------

Co-authored-by: srib_backbase <srib@backbase.com>

Author: Sri2614

_data/authors.yml

@@ -94,3 +94,13 @@ Venkata Ravi Majjari:
   name        : "Venkata Ravi Majjari"
   avatar      : "assets/images/avatars/venkataravi_majjari.jpg"
   bio         : "Senior QA Engineer - Customer Success"
+
+Sri Balaji:
+  name        : "Sri Balaji"
+  avatar      : "assets/images/avatars/sribalaji.jpeg"
+  bio         : "System Engineer - Customer Success"
+
+Ashish Arora:
+  name        : "Ashish Arora"
+  avatar      : "assets/images/avatars/ashish.jpg"
+  bio         : "DevOps Consultant - Customer Success"

_posts/2023-11-21-a-new-chapter-exploring-azure-resources.md

@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+---
+
+title: "A New Chapter: Exploring Azure Resources"
+excerpt: "Azure’s limitless potential sets the stage for a promising journey, where opportunities abound on the horizon."
+tags: DevOps, System Engineering
+authors:
+- Sri Balaji
+- Ashish Arora
+header:
+  teaser: /assets/images/post/azure-banner.png
+  teaser_alt: System Engineering
+category: System Engineering
+
+---
+
+![](/assets/images/post/azure-banner.png)
+
+
+## **Demystifying Cloud Computing: A Quick Introduction**
+
+**Introduction to Cloud Computing**
+- Cloud computing is a transformative technology that delivers various services over the internet. 
+- Instead of relying on local servers or computers, hosts these services remotely in data centers, commonly referred to as "the cloud."    
+- This model offers benefits like scalability, accessibility, and cost-efficiency. 
+
+**What is Cloud Computing** 
+- Cloud computing delivers on-demand computing services over the internet and enables you to pay for what you need. 
+- It includes several different deployment types and service models so that you can find the solution that best meets your business needs. 
+
+
+## **Types of cloud services**
+**Cloud computing has three main service models:** 
+
+- **Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):** Virtualized computing resources, allowing users to build and manage their own IT infrastructure.
+<br>
+    Example: amazon web services, microsoft azure, and google compute engine
+
+{% include
+  components/figure.html
+  url="/assets/images/post/cloud-iaas.png"
+%}
+
+- **Platform as a Service (PaaS):** A platform with development tools, databases, and runtime environments, simplifying application development and deployment.
+
+{% include
+  components/figure.html
+  url="/assets/images/post/cloud-paas.png"
+%}
+
+- **Software as a Service (SaaS):** Ready-to-use software applications accessible via the internet, eliminating installation and maintenance hassles.
+
+{% include
+  components/figure.html
+  url="/assets/images/post/cloud-saas.png"
+%}
+
+
+**Benefits of Cloud Computing:**
+  - Cloud computing offers cost efficiency, scalability, accessibility, and reliability. 
+  - It reduces IT costs, allows flexible resource scaling, promotes remote work, and ensures high uptime. 
+
+
+## **Cloud Showdown: Visualizing AWS and Azure Resources**
+
+{% include
+  components/figure.html
+  url="/assets/images/post/aws-azure.png"
+%}
+
+## **Exploring Azure Services: A Journey into Cloud Innovations**
+
+In the dynamic landscape of Cloud Technology, the transition to Microsoft Azure has paved the way for enhanced performance, scalability, and innovation. 
+
+- **Azure Virtual Machines (VMs):** Providing scalable compute resources tailored to Backbase BaaS workloads. 
+- **Azure Blob Storage:** Ensuring reliable and scalable object storage for data and media assets. 
+- **Azure Virtual Network:** Establishing a secure and scalable network infrastructure for seamless connectivity. 
+- **Azure SQL Database:** Powering Backbase BaaS with a fully managed and scalable relational database solution. 
+- **Azure Functions:** Enabling serverless computing for efficient and cost-effective execution of code. 
+
+**Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)** 
+-   AKS is a managed Kubernetes service provided by Microsoft Azure. 
+-   AKS simplifies the process of deploying and managing containerized applications using Kubernetes. 
+
+**Key aspects of Azure Kubernetes Service:** 
+
+- **Managed Kubernetes:** 
+    AKS provides a fully managed Kubernetes cluster, abstracting away the complexities of managing the underlying infrastructure. 
+
+- **Scalability:**
+    AKS supports the automatic scaling of applications based on demand. 
+
+- **Integration with Azure Services:** 
+    AKS allows you to easily connect your containerized applications to services such as Azure Active Directory, Azure Monitor, and Azure Container Registry. 
+
+- **DevOps Integration:** 
+    AKS integrates with popular DevOps tools, including Azure DevOps, Jenkins, and others, facilitating a streamlined continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline for containerized applications. 
+
+- **Monitoring and Diagnostics:** 
+    Azure Monitor provides monitoring and allows you to gain insights into the performance, health, and behavior of your containerized applications. 
+
+- **Security:**
+    AKS includes security features such as Azure Active Directory integration for identity and access management, network policies for controlling the flow of traffic between pods.
+
+
+**Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)** is Microsoft's cloud-based identity and access management service. 
+ 
+**Azure SQL** is Microsoft's managed relational database service on Azure.
+
+**Azure Container Registry (ACR)** is a secure, private Docker registry on Microsoft Azure. 
+
+**Azure Service Bus** is a fully managed message broker service in Microsoft Azure that enables applications to communicate asynchronously. 
+
+**Azure Key Vault** is a secure cloud service in Microsoft Azure for storing and managing sensitive information like secrets, encryption keys, and certificates. 
+ 
+**Azure Storage** is a scalable cloud storage service by Microsoft Azure, offering solutions for various data types.
+ 
+- Blob Storage - Storing unstructured data 
+- File Storage - File sharing 
+- Table Storage - NoSQL data 
+- Queue Storage - Used for messaging
+
+
+Azure provides a range of network components that enable the creation of secure, scalable, and well-connected applications and services.
+
+**Key Azure network components:** 
+
+- **Virtual Network (VNet)** is the fundamental building block for your private network in Azure. 
+
+- **Azure Virtual Network (VNet) Peering** is a feature that enables connecting Azure virtual networks seamlessly. 
+
+- **Subnet** enables you to segment and organize resources within a VNet. 
+
+- **Network Security Group (NSG)** is a set of rules for controlling inbound and outbound network traffic to network interfaces, VMs, and subnets. 
+
+
+- **Azure Firewall** is a fully managed, scalable firewall service that provides network-level protection for resources within a virtual network. 
+
+- **Azure Load Balancer** distributes incoming network traffic across multiple servers to ensure no single server is overwhelmed, optimizing availability and reliability. 
+
+- **Azure VPN Gateway** connects your on-premises networks to Azure through site-to-site VPNs or point-to-site VPNs, creating a secure and private connection. 
+
+- **Azure ExpressRoute** provides dedicated, private connections from on-premises data centers to Azure, offering more reliability and lower latency than internet-based connections.
+
+- **Azure Application Gateway** is a web traffic load balancer that enables you to manage and scale applications. 
+
+- **Azure DNS** is a scalable and reliable domain name system (DNS) hosting service. 
+
+- **Azure Private Link** allows secure and private access to Azure PaaS services and your own services by establishing connections within your Azure Virtual Network. 
+
+
+These components collectively allow you to build and manage complex network architectures in Azure, ensuring high performance, security, and connectivity for your applications and services. 
+
+
+## **Conclusion: Navigating Azure's Potential**
+
+Navigating Azure, we embark on a future defined by scalability, security, and optimized DevOps workflows. Azure’s flexibility, seamless integration, and collaborative ecosystem enhance efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and pave the way for continuous innovation. Azure’s limitless potential sets the stage for a promising journey, where opportunities abound on the horizon.