April 4, 2018 at 17:18How to use Azure for free (life hack for students)
Today we will share an interesting life hack on how you can use our Azure platform for free without problems with truncated functionality. After all, everything is simple - you need to be a student.
I give the floor to the author.
Hello everybody. My name is Ilya, and I am one of the veterans of Microsoft Student Partners. I want to talk about all of the available offers for using Azure for students.
Quite a lot of time has passed since Azure entered the market, but earlier students were forced to pay the full cost of all the services they used if they heard about new technologies and wanted to try them. And to help students, Microsoft in 2015 released a special offer for students. It had both a number of advantages (a subscription is created 1-2 minutes and no credit card data is needed when creating), and its disadvantages (only a free website and SQL database up to 30 mb in size were available from the services). Frankly, this is not even enough to prototype any student project. Over 3 years, the number of services has increased to 6, but age restrictions of 16+ have appeared.
So, Azure for Students Starter is an ideal solution for people who want to get acquainted with cloud technologies. However, the presented technology stack is not enough for full development.
If this offer is interesting, then you can familiarize yourself with it here .
Most recently, a new offer from Azure Free Account has appeared. It includes the use of about 30 of the most diverse Azure services, but it has some limitations. Firstly, all services are limited by resources (750 hours of computing on virtual machines per month, 10 applications with Azure App Service), and if their use exceeds the limit, then the “golden parachute” in the form of $ 200 saves (money is given out for the first 30 days). Secondly, part of the services (the same databases and virtual machines) will be available for free only 12 months. Also, to activate this account you need credit card information.
In addition to limited services, there are 25 unlimited free services (for example, Azure Active Directory, Azure Service Fabric and cognitive services).
Here is some of them:
As a result, Azure Free Account is a proposal that is much more technologically advanced than the previous one. It gives $ 200 for the first month, but it requires credit card information. This offer is suitable for teachers who want to demonstrate Azure's abilities and do not get out of limits.
More details can be read here .
Students can be attracted to the first sentence, since it has almost no obligations, but it is not very rich in technology. On the other hand, the second proposal is more attractive from a technological point of view, but to activate it, you must enter credit card information. Moreover, starting $ 200 is given for only 30 days.
Why am I doing this? Moreover, Azure for Students is a symbiosis of the first two sentences! It has a large technology stack (the same as in the Azure Free Account) intertwined with a starting $ 100 (no time limit) and lack of credit card information. To get it, you need to have three things:
Microsoft Imagine is a student support program for technical (and not only) universities. It provides free software (in particular, Visual Studio and Windows Server) and access to student Azure.
In order to receive it, you must confirm your student status (mail on the university domain / Microsoft activation code / Shibboleth account). Shibboleth and university mail are not very common in Russia, and the Microsoft activation code can be obtained only at official student events of Microsoft or Microsoft Student Partners. There are two ways to activate: either through the Microsoft Imagine portal, or through the site . After that, you need to provide contact information on the Azure portal.
After that, you will be taken to the setup page of your Azure account and your account will be ready.
To summarize, Azure for Students is the best cloud offer for students. It includes many different services and can serve as a great start for any student project. And in order to understand how to use Azure in real projects, I advise you to attend the Russian Final of the international Imagine Cup competition, which will be held on April 14 in Moscow and participate in a technology quest. And, if you are a student or high school student, you can also get a verification code for Microsoft Imagine there.
If you have any questions about Azure or student events, write me in private messages.
Microsoft invites you to become a spectator of the Russian final of the international technology competition of student projects Imagine Cup 2018. This year we are gathering the best students for the 16th time to choose a winner!
On April 14, we invite you to the territory of Red October, to Digital October, where the finalists will present their innovative projects.
Do not forget to register .
I give the floor to the author.
Hello everybody. My name is Ilya, and I am one of the veterans of Microsoft Student Partners. I want to talk about all of the available offers for using Azure for students.
Azure for Students Starter
Quite a lot of time has passed since Azure entered the market, but earlier students were forced to pay the full cost of all the services they used if they heard about new technologies and wanted to try them. And to help students, Microsoft in 2015 released a special offer for students. It had both a number of advantages (a subscription is created 1-2 minutes and no credit card data is needed when creating), and its disadvantages (only a free website and SQL database up to 30 mb in size were available from the services). Frankly, this is not even enough to prototype any student project. Over 3 years, the number of services has increased to 6, but age restrictions of 16+ have appeared.
So, Azure for Students Starter is an ideal solution for people who want to get acquainted with cloud technologies. However, the presented technology stack is not enough for full development.
If this offer is interesting, then you can familiarize yourself with it here .
Azure free account
Most recently, a new offer from Azure Free Account has appeared. It includes the use of about 30 of the most diverse Azure services, but it has some limitations. Firstly, all services are limited by resources (750 hours of computing on virtual machines per month, 10 applications with Azure App Service), and if their use exceeds the limit, then the “golden parachute” in the form of $ 200 saves (money is given out for the first 30 days). Secondly, part of the services (the same databases and virtual machines) will be available for free only 12 months. Also, to activate this account you need credit card information.
In addition to limited services, there are 25 unlimited free services (for example, Azure Active Directory, Azure Service Fabric and cognitive services).
Here is some of them:
- 10 sites, mobile, or API applications using Azure App Service with 1 GB storage
- 30,000 Face Transaction API per month and 20 per minute
- 750 hours of Azure B1S Virtual Machine on Linux or Windows
- 2 million characters in the Translator Text API
- 100 Machine Learning modules and access to 10 GB storage for 1 hour for each experiment
As a result, Azure Free Account is a proposal that is much more technologically advanced than the previous one. It gives $ 200 for the first month, but it requires credit card information. This offer is suitable for teachers who want to demonstrate Azure's abilities and do not get out of limits.
More details can be read here .
Azure for students
Students can be attracted to the first sentence, since it has almost no obligations, but it is not very rich in technology. On the other hand, the second proposal is more attractive from a technological point of view, but to activate it, you must enter credit card information. Moreover, starting $ 200 is given for only 30 days.
Why am I doing this? Moreover, Azure for Students is a symbiosis of the first two sentences! It has a large technology stack (the same as in the Azure Free Account) intertwined with a starting $ 100 (no time limit) and lack of credit card information. To get it, you need to have three things:
- Live ID (account in Windows 10)
- Phone (to verify your Azure account)
- Microsoft Imagine Membership (Free)
How to become a member of the Microsoft Imagine program?
Microsoft Imagine is a student support program for technical (and not only) universities. It provides free software (in particular, Visual Studio and Windows Server) and access to student Azure.
In order to receive it, you must confirm your student status (mail on the university domain / Microsoft activation code / Shibboleth account). Shibboleth and university mail are not very common in Russia, and the Microsoft activation code can be obtained only at official student events of Microsoft or Microsoft Student Partners. There are two ways to activate: either through the Microsoft Imagine portal, or through the site . After that, you need to provide contact information on the Azure portal.
Activation via Microsoft Imagine
Activation through Student Azure Website
After that, you will be taken to the setup page of your Azure account and your account will be ready.
To summarize, Azure for Students is the best cloud offer for students. It includes many different services and can serve as a great start for any student project. And in order to understand how to use Azure in real projects, I advise you to attend the Russian Final of the international Imagine Cup competition, which will be held on April 14 in Moscow and participate in a technology quest. And, if you are a student or high school student, you can also get a verification code for Microsoft Imagine there.
If you have any questions about Azure or student events, write me in private messages.
Imagine Cup 2018. Russian final in Moscow
Microsoft invites you to become a spectator of the Russian final of the international technology competition of student projects Imagine Cup 2018. This year we are gathering the best students for the 16th time to choose a winner!
On April 14, we invite you to the territory of Red October, to Digital October, where the finalists will present their innovative projects.
Do not forget to register .