Create the Application Hosting Environment
The Azure management portal is used to create, configure, monitor, and manage all the Azure services to which you have access and subscribe. To get started, you must first log in (portal.azure.com). Figure 12.23 shows the Azure Startboard (home page) of the management portal. The left side of the screen is a toolbar that you can use to navigate the various sections of the portal, including notifications and billing. Notice also that the bottom left holds the New button; you use this to create new Azure services.
FIGURE 12.23 The Azure portal dashboard is where you go to manage and create sites, services, and storage items.
The center area of the portal Startboard shows the health of all Azure data centers, an update on your current billing cycle, and links to other areas of Azure. This dashboard is configurable. Think of it like the Windows 8 start screen. You can resize icons, move them around, pin different ones to this page, and so on. For example, Figure 12.23 shows the right-click action on the Feedback icon. You can unpin this item from the dashboard or customize its size (small, normal, wide). You can also move it around inside the dashboard grid.
You create a new item in the Azure management portal by first clicking the New button (upper left of Figure 12.23). The New button unfolds the New window pane, as shown in Figure 12.24. This provides quick access to creating common items such as web apps and databases. Items are organized by category. In this example, we have selected the Web Apps group.
As an example, we will click the Web Aps link to set up a new website for hosting our code. Figure 12.25 shows creating a new web app. You start by choosing a temporary, azurewebsites.net URL. You can configure your domain name system (DNS) later to use your actual domain name. Your temporary domain name must be unique across other Azure sites. The tool verifies this and gives you a green check mark if all is well. You then select your app service plan, resource group, subscription, and location. Figure 12.25 shows selecting the East US default service plan for the Azure free trial. Finally, at the bottom of the screen is the Create button; use it to create and provision your hosting environment for a website. Notice, too, you can choose to add this website to your Startboard (portal home page).
FIGURE 12.25 You create a new Azure new website by indicating a temporary URL, location, and subscription options.