At StormWind Studios, we understand that hands-on experience is crucial for mastering cloud technologies. That’s why we’re excited to introduce the Azure Range, a dedicated sandbox environment built to provide you with real-world hands-on skills working directly with the Azure cloud platform.
Key Features of the Azure Range
The Azure Range offers direct access to a wide array of Azure services, allowing for a practical, unfiltered experience. Within this walled-off environment, you can work with essential resources like Azure virtual machines, web apps via App Service, storage accounts, containers and Kubernetes, virtual networks with firewalls, and load balancers. The platform includes a selection of purpose-built sandboxes, each pre-configured for specific learning scenarios.
- The Storage Sandbox features a storage account supporting containers, blobs, and file sharing, along with a Windows Server 2022 virtual machine for practical tasks like mapping drives. For network professionals, the Networking Sandbox provides two peered virtual networks (VNets) with non-overlapping address spaces, each containing an Ubuntu Linux VM, perfect for testing traffic flow and configuring network security groups (NSGs) or application security groups (ASGs).
- The Compute Sandbox offers a diverse set of compute resources, including a Linux virtual machine, an App Service Plan with a web application, and an Azure Container Instance (ACI) for running smaller containerized applications.
- Our most advanced option, the Firewall Sandbox, utilizes a Hub and Spoke VNet model with three distinct networks (Hub, Spoke 1, and Spoke 2) and an Azure Firewall to manage traffic routing between spokes, a common enterprise architecture pattern. Notably, VMs in this sandbox do not have public IP addresses and are accessed via an Azure Bastion host for enhanced security.
- Beyond these specialized environments, the Azure Range also provides a Base (Empty) Sandbox, which is an empty canvas where you can practice deployment. This flexibility extends to automated deployments using tools like ARM templates, Azure Bicep templates, or Terraform configurations.
Across all sandboxes, you have the freedom to add, change, or delete infrastructure as needed. Each sandbox instance typically runs for a set duration, such as 120 minutes, depending on your subscription level, and can be easily restarted if you wish to begin fresh. For secure access to the Azure portal or Azure CLI within the range, multi-factor authentication (MFA) is required. We recommend using an incognito browser window or an alternate browser to prevent any authentication conflicts with existing Azure sign-ins.
Who the Azure Range Is for and How It Helps
The Azure Range is designed to help IT professionals build confidence and acquire job-ready skills by providing a secure space for practical experimentation. It is particularly beneficial for those just starting their Azure journey, as it eliminates the common apprehension of accidentally impacting production environments or overspending on cloud resources.
If your team is watching a StormWind course, they can follow along with instructors directly in the Azure Range, applying what they learn in a live environment. It’s an invaluable tool for staff studying for Azure certification exams like AZ-104 or AZ-900, enabling them to explore specific resources and scenarios hands-on. Furthermore, the empty sandbox is perfect for developers or operations teams wanting to test their own deployment ideas or automate infrastructure provisioning without risk.
Why Azure Range Stands Apart
Unlike many other training options that rely on simulations or abstract concepts, the StormWind Azure Range provides direct access to real Azure cloud services. This means the skills gained are directly transferable to actual Azure environments. We provide the Azure sandbox and wall it off for you, creating a completely safe space for active learning and experimentation without any of the typical concerns associated with working in a live cloud environment.
Get Started with the Azure Range Today
Empower your team with practical, job-ready Azure skills through the StormWind Azure Range. To begin your journey, simply request access, and our team will provide you with the necessary credentials.
For more information or to request a demo for your team, please email support@stormwindlive.com.
