To start with Azure, first you need to visit Microsoft Azure and create a new free account or use your existing Hotmail account. The free account comes with a credit and you can use that credit for 12 months. You need to add your credit card information and verify it. Microsoft Azure won't charge you without the required action from the user's side:

When your account is created, log in into the Azure portal. Once your login is successful, you should see a screen similar to the following:

Let's understand the components and functionalities of each module in brief.

Azure components are divided into the following major components:

• Compute modules
• Data management modules
• Networking module
• Big data module
• Caching and messaging module
• Identity module
• Mobile service module
• Internet of things

Let's look over each of them.