Azure is a cloud computing service provided by Microsoft. It provides different services such as Software as a Service, Platform as a Service and Infrastructure as a Service. It achieves this through self-managed global infrastructure consisting of data centres, networks, satellite ground stations etc. In this post, let's understand how the global infrastructure plays a vital role in supporting the cloud service offered by Azure.

   Azure Global Infrastructure consists of two key components - Physical infrastructure and Connective network components. The physical infrastructure comprises more than 200+ data centres spread across the world, arranged into regions which are interconnected by low latency, high speed, and one of the largest fibre networks. The Connective components consist of about 1,75,000 miles of optical fibre network, Azure DNS servers and networking components like switches, routers, hubs etc. Now, let us dive deep into the azure global infrastructure and learn more about it.

Azure Datacentres

   Azure data centres are the smallest unit in Azure global infrastructure. These can be considered as physical buildings that are located around the globe, housing groups of servers that are interconnected with a high-speed network. These servers provide several cloud services such as computing, storage, database, IoT etc. Data centres are equipped with their own power, cooling and networking capabilities.

   Microsoft is continuously innovating new ways to improve the efficiency of its data centres. In 2018, Microsoft deliberately sank a data centre into the sea to test the feasibility of underwater data centres. After 2 years, it was retrieved from the sea floor and found that the concept of an underwater data centre is feasible, as well as logistically, environmentally and economically practical. Maybe soon we may see more underwater data centres from different cloud providers.

Azure Regions

   Azure regions are a collection of data centres that are deployed within a specified network latency perimeter. These data centres are connected by low latency, high speed, dedicated networks managed by Microsoft. Most of the cloud resources that you deploy in Azure allow you to choose the resource region. Some of the regions in Azure are Central US, North Europe and South India.

   It’s recommended that you select the right region when deploying cloud resources. When choosing a region, you should consider several factors such as compliance, data residency, service availability and pricing. You can check the Guide to choose Right Azure Region for You.

Azure Geography

   Azure geography is a discrete marketplace, consisting of one or more regions. Geographies allow customers to select regions that are near them and thus help to keep their data and application close, thus by maintaining data residency and compliance regulations. Geographies are fault-tolerant, highly available and can withstand complete region-wide service disruptions such as natural calamities or network failures. In Azure, India geography has 3 regions: Central India, South India and West India.

Azure Availability Zones

   Azure availability zones are locations with regions that comprise several data centres equipped with independent networking, power and cooling. The physical separation of the zones within the regions ensures that the data and applications are protected from facility-level failures and are highly available. Most of the services in Azure are zone redundant. These zone redundant services replicate the data and apps across Azure availability zones to protect from a single point of failure.

Azure Global Network

   Azure global network consists of all the components in networking that forms the Microsoft WAN (Wide Area Network), Point of Presence, OFC cables, Edge locations and more. It’s operating along more than 1,75,000 miles of fibre cables and across 140 countries. Check out the Azure infrastructure map for more details.