Embarking on a journey from GCP (Google Cloud Platform) to the Microsoft Azure, I find myself at the crossroads of technological transition. Having honed my skills within the realms of GCP, I will soon be working in a company where Microsoft Azure is used. As I embark on this transformative journey, I invite you to join me through this blog, where I document my experiences, insights, and challenges encountered along the way. Whether you’re a seasoned GCP enthusiast looking to explore Azure’s vast horizons or a curious newcomer eager to delve into the world of cloud computing, there’s something here for everyone.
How to Decide?
Azure and GCP boast numerous AI tools, with Azure excelling in Microsoft products and GCP in Google products like Google Sheets and Analytics.
Why Azure
Beyond its robust security, Azure offers a secure environment for leveraging OpenAI services, making it ideal for innovation while protecting proprietary data.
Notable users of Microsoft Azure:
- Bosch
- Audi
- ASOS
- HSBC
- Starbucks
- FedEx
- Walmart
- HP
- Mitsubishi Electric
- Renault
Why GCP
GCP is tailored for data processing and AI development, offering seamless integration with Google’s suite of services like Google Workspace, making it the go-to platform for navigating Google’s digital realm.
Notable users of Google Cloud Platform:
- Toyota
- Equifax
- Nintendo
- Spotify
- Target
- Paypal
- UPS
- Grap
Entities
| Type | Description | GCP | Azure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entity | Org | Organization | Management Group, Tenant |
| Entity | Org | Folder | Subscription |
| Entity | Org | Project | Resource Group |
| Entity | Org | Service Account | Service Principal |
| Entity | Org | Workload Identity | Managed Identity |
| Entity | Org | User | User |
| Entity | Org | Service | Resource |
Container Application
- Unopinionated Containers: any container image, no restrictions
- Opinionated Containers: specific base image or programming model required
- Container Instance => for Single Container, Conctainer Apps => for Microservices
Azure
| x | Full Custom Infra | Custom Infra | Managed Infra | Full Managed Infra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unopinionated Containers | VM | AKS | Container Instances | Container Apps |
| Medium | x | ARO (Azure Redhat OpenShift) | x | Spring Apps |
| Opinionated Containers | x | App Services | x | Azure Functions (Event-Driven-Func), Web App Container (API App) |
GCP
| x | Full Custom Infra | Custom Infra | Managed Infra | Full Managed Infra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unopinionated containers | Compute Engine | GKE | x | Cloud Run |
| Medium | x | x | x | x |
| Opinionated Containers | x | App Engine | x | Cloud Functions |
Another Services
| Type | Description | GCP | Azure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compute | IaaS | Compute Engine | Virtual Machines |
| Compute | PaaS | App Engine | App Services |
| Compute | FaaS | Cloud Functions | Azure Function |
| Compute | CaaS | GKE | AKS |
| Compute | CaaS | Cloud Run | Container Apps |
| Networking | Cloud Network | Cloud Virtual Network | VNet |
| Networking | Load Balancer | Cloud LB | Load balancing |
| Networking | CDN | Cloud CDN | Azure CDN |
| Storage | Object Storage | Cloud Storage | Azure Blob and Data Lake Storage |
| Storage | Disk Storage | Cloud Persistent Disks | Azure Disk Storage |
| Storage | File Storage | Filestore | Azure Files, Azure NetApp Files |
| Storage | Queue Storage | Cloud Storage | Azure Queue Storage |
| Storage | NOSQL DB (Low Performance) | Datastore | Table Storage |
| Storage | NOSQL DB (High Performance) | BigTable | Cosmos DB |
| Storage | SQL DB | SQL | SQL Database |
| Storage | Disk | Persistent Disk | Azure Disk |
| BigData | DWH | BigQuery | SQL Warehouse |
| BigData | Butch Data Processing | Dataproc | Data Factory |
| BigData | Stream Data Processing | Dataflow | Stream Analytics |
| BigData | Event Data Processing | PubSub | IoT Hub |
| Developer | Deployment | Deployment Manager | Resource Manager |
| Developer | Git Repo | Source Repositries | Azure Repos |
| Developer | Artifact Repo | Artifact Registry | Container Registry |
| Developer | DevOps | Cloud Build | Azure DevOps |
| Observability | Tracing | Cloud Trace | Service Bus |
| Observability | Logging | Cloud Logging | Log Analysis |
| Observability | Debugfing | Cloud Debugger | Visual Studio |
| Security | Key Management | KMS | Key Vault |
| Security | Identity Access Management | IAM | Active Directory |
| Security | Identity Access Management (New) | IAM | Entra Id |
| Security | Security Check | Security Scanner | Azure Security Center |
Storage Account
A storage account offers four types of storage
- blob storage (Unstructured data)
- file storage (File Shares)
- table storage (Structured or semi-structured data)
- queue storage (Large numbers of messages)
Cloud CLI
Create a Project
# GCP
gcloud projects create $PROJECT_ID --name="Happy project"
# Azure
az group create -l $LOCATION -n $RESOURCE_NAME
Set a Project
# GCP
gcloud config set project $PROJECT_ID
# Azure
az account set --subscription $SUBSCRIPTION_NAME
Check the Currently Active Configuration
# GCP
gcloud config list
# Azure
az account show