Create a Windows Azure Lab

I've been experimenting with Microsoft's new cloud services, Windows Azure. The service is very versatile and practical. Basically, it's an online platform (or Portal as Microsoft calls it) you can create virtual machines, virtual networks, highly available redundant storage, databases, cloud services, web sites, web apps, active directory and the list goes on... So how and why would you use it? It was the first question I asked to myself and when I got my answer and experimented with it, I was totally blown away by the easy usage of it. You can instantly create a Lab environment to test new products. Takes about 10-15 minutes to create a couple of virtual machines connected together. So yeah, if you don't have a Hypervisor machine at home, go ahead and create your lab. But it's meant to be used by enterprises!!! Because all these resources are highly available and redundant. Microsoft spreads out it's datacenters pretty much all over the world and they give you the choice in what region you would like to create your resources. And of course... All these comes with a price! Good news is, it's free for a full month and Microsoft gives you 220$ of credit to spend on your infrastructure needs. All you need is a Windows ID.  I never review any product or service, I write technical articles when I spend hours to find a solution or when I find really cool trick that will make your professional IT life easier :) So if you are interested in Windows Azure, I invite you to look at the following links.

Windows Azure Website
http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/

Windows Azure Free Trial
http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/pricing/free-trial/

Windows Azure Virtual Machine Pricing
http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/

Windows Azure Virtual Machines Documentation
http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/documentation/services/virtual-machines/

How to create your first Windows Azure Lab ?

Instead of writing a new article, I'll provide the links to a really cool article about how to create your very first Windows Azure Lab.

Part - 1
http://blogs.technet.com/b/chrisavis/archive/2013/07/31/build-a-lab-in-windows-azure-for-learning-powershell.aspx

Part - 2
http://blogs.technet.com/b/chrisavis/archive/2013/08/01/build-a-lab-in-windows-azure-for-learning-powershell-part-2-of-3-create-base-virtual-machines.aspx

Part - 3
http://blogs.technet.com/b/chrisavis/archive/2013/07/30/build-a-lab-in-windows-azure-for-learning-powershell-3.aspx