From hereafter, we will be dealing directly with the Azure platform. While the current section will deal with registration, the next one will be a practical approach to Machine Learning Studio. Although I could do all of this without being charged a single penny, you could be if either the rules changed or you missed something.
If you are not confident about signing in and toying around Azure, feel free to just read the next steps and not put them into practice. We won't deal with big data and or heavy computation, so even for the full price, what this chapter will be teaching is unlikely to be expensive. On the other hand, mistakes do happen, and cloud mistakes can turn out to be uneconomical.
If you never used Azure before, that is great news. New users qualify to the free-tier usage. The free tier is not appropriate for large-scale production, but might be enough for learning and testing. Visiting the website is a good start: https://azure.microsoft.com.
On the home page, you can see a cool world map telling where they have data centers. If you scroll all the way down, you will see lots of renowned companies that trust Azure. At the bottom of the webpage, there is a menu where you can change language and currency on the bottom of the webpage.
If you have never joined Azure before, you can sign in for free by visiting the following link: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/.
Click Start free to begin, and then log into a Microsoft account—create one if you don't have one. To properly proceed with registration, a credit card will be needed. Don't worry; you may not be charged. Depending on the region you're in, your bank may charge a confirmation fee.
Once you sign in a Microsoft account, you can sign up for Azure. Registration is divided into four sections:
- About you
- Identity verification by phone
- Identity verification by credit card
- Agreement
As the bullet points suggest, you shall need a phone to complete the registration. The About you section will ask you for personal information. Country and Region is used for billing, and it may not be possible to change it later. Provide precise information and hit Next.
In the Identity verification by phone section, provide a phone number. Any phone that you have access to will do, but you insert a personal one. Choose whether to be texted or called. You will receive a call or message with the confirmation code. Make sure you got it right and click Next.
The third section is Identity verification by credit card. Azure won't charge you for this, but your bank can charge you a small fee depending on the region you're in. Additionally, be careful, because you can be charged automatically if you go over the limits set for the free tier.
Last, but not least, there is the Agreement section. Read the terms, and if you agree with them, check the square that says that. You can also check the last square to receive offers and updates in your email.
After going through all these steps, a new user will end up with a brand-new Azure account free trial mode. The conditions for the free trial may change from time to time. By the time I was writing this chapter, a free trial came with 200,00 USD credit or one month's free experience, whichever came first.
Azure, like the majority of clouds, works in a pay-as-you-go system. At the end of the month, you will be automatically billed for whatever you have consumed. Save time to extensively research pricing. There are lots you could be charged for. Data transfer, data storage, pull requests, and running time are some examples.
Be cautious while working or learning in the cloud. Launching multiple instances, forgetting to terminate or pause a machine over a very long period or having your account stolen might culminate in a surprisingly expensive credit card bill. There are ways to avoid surprises and enhance security.
The very first thing I did when I logged into my Azure account was to enroll on a live demo. By that time, the demo happened twice every Thursday. It lasted about an hour—really cool; you can send your questions and have them answered in real-time. Try to participate in one.
This section has provided a brief explanation regarding how to register in Azure. It also gave away some tips regarding pricing and learning. The next section is about to land some drills that are supposed to walk the reader through Azure Machine Learning Studio and teach them how to use R with it.