One of the many reasons why Microsoft’s cloud service, Azure, tops the charts year after year is its vast customizability. Because, let’s face it, working with one of the most rapidly evolving cloud technologies isn’t easy—and the faster the industry evolves, so do any gaps in the functionality of the solution.
This inevitable dynamic has made space for software creators, including Microsoft themselves, that build third-party applications to alleviate these issues, providing a solution that professionals across the Microsoft ecosystem can use and making their day-to-day a little easier.
The best news is that some of these tools are free to download and use. Here is a round-up of some of the best tools to use if you work with Microsoft Cloud.
Free tool #1: Azure App Service Migration Assistant
Microsoft offers a number of add-ons that simplify otherwise complicated processes. For instance, when it comes to migration, turning to tools that have been developed in-house at Microsoft is a must.
Are you looking at migrating your web apps to Azure? Make sure you run them through Microsoft’s Azure App Service Migration Assistant. This tool assesses your web apps for free, ensures they are migration-ready and that they’ll be fully supported by the Microsoft Azure App Service.
Free tool #2: Microsoft pricing calculator
Microsoft’s own Azure Pricing calculator is a free and easy–to–use web-based tool which can indicate how much an Azure solution will cost you, according to which services you’re looking at including.
This tool is particularly helpful for freelance professionals who are implementing Azure solutions for their clients since estimating the total cost of your operations will be a lot easier, once you know how much the solution itself costs. Plus, adjusting the estimate (in case any changes need to be made to the initial request) will be as easy as the click of a button!
Free tool #3: AzCopy
AzCopy is a widespread solution for one of the most frustrating tasks faced by cloud professionals who are working with Azure—copying data to and from Azure, using the Azure Portal.
This command-line utility allows users to copy blobs or files to and from a storage account. Among its range of features and capabilities, AzCopy can create containers and file shares, upload and download files and directories, and copy containers, directories, and blobs between storage accounts.
Free tool #4: ManageEngine
ManageEngine Free Azure Performance Monitor is an essential tool for system administrators and developers for resource utilization of Web/Worker Role occurrences. The tool connects easily with the Windows Azure environment and displays performance metrics of Cloud Services running on Windows Azure. It can also track crucial information, such as CPU Utilization, Memory Utilization, and Event Logs.
Free tool #5: Service Bus Explorer
This open-source tool created by Microsoft allows its users to connect to a messaging namespace (such as Service Bus) to manage their messaging entities via a GUI.
Service Bus Explorer also includes handy features, such as the import/export function, and allows users to test a number of items, including topics and queues, as well as notification and event hubs.
Free tool #6: Veeam's Backup
There’s no doubt that Microsoft Azure is a highly reliable cloud computing platform. But, as with all technologies, there’s still a risk involved, albeit a small one, of data loss. With that in mind, you should always secure and protect your data.
This is where Veeam’s Backup for Microsoft Azure comes in. It offers free backup for up to 10 Azure VMs, enabling fast and flexible recovery, from individual files and folders to instant recovery out of Azure.
Free tool #7: Jenkins
When combined with Azure, Jenkins can provide a fitting solution for continuous integration and delivery for software projects. Thanks to its numerous features, including several plugins, users can build, automate, and eventually deploy projects built on this popular open-source automation server.
Jenkins is fully supported on Microsoft Azure. Once implemented, users can monitor their Azure Jenkins deployment using Azure Monitor logs and Azure CLI. With the speed at which the industry is moving, being able to develop apps gives businesses a competitive edge, making Azure Jenkins an increasingly popular combination.
Free tool #8: Terraform
HashiCorp Terraform is an incredibly useful open-source software tool that allows users to manage cloud infrastructure by turning it into code.
Terraform runs on template-based configuration files—saving its users time, resources, while reducing the probability of errors. This is because the same templates can be deployed to create, develop and test production environments, even across different cloud providers.
In conclusion
For every issue or challenge encountered, the cloud ecosystem seems to develop a solution—and the above are just some of the many free solutions available to Microsoft cloud professionals.
If you can name it, you can probably find it—and there’s a high probability that it will be free—making it easier to build and manage effective cloud solutions.
