Azure Local Operator Training¶
Under Construction
This training curriculum is actively being developed. Module framework is in place. Lab guides, slide decks, IaC templates, and the AI tutor are in progress.
Overview¶
A comprehensive, hands-on training curriculum for infrastructure operators managing Azure Local clusters through the Azure Arc management plane. The curriculum covers everything from initial cluster planning and cloud deployment through day-2 operations, security, hybrid integration, and advanced workloads (AKS, AVD, IoT Operations, AI Foundry Local).
Azure Local is the successor to Azure Stack HCI. This curriculum is built around the modern, cloud-first management model — Azure Portal and Azure Arc are the primary interfaces. Windows Admin Center (WAC) is covered in its situational role (operator fallback, Dell OMSWAC for AX hardware). SCVMM is a placeholder for enterprise coexistence scenarios.
This is a workshop-first curriculum. Most modules include hands-on labs, IaC templates, and demo scripts — not just slides.
Who Is This Training For?¶
| Audience | Description |
|---|---|
| Infrastructure Operators | Day-to-day cluster and VM management, storage, networking, monitoring |
| System Administrators | Windows Server / Hyper-V admins transitioning to Azure Local |
| Cloud Administrators | Azure admins extending cloud management to on-premises infrastructure |
| DevOps / Platform Engineers | Teams deploying AKS clusters and containerized workloads on Azure Local |
| VDI Administrators | Teams deploying Azure Virtual Desktop on Azure Local |
| Edge / IoT Operators | Teams deploying IoT Operations and AI Foundry Local workloads at the edge |
Prerequisites¶
- Azure fundamentals — Azure Portal, resource groups, subscriptions, RBAC
- Windows Server basics — Active Directory, DNS, DHCP
- Networking fundamentals — VLANs, subnets, IP addressing, switching
- Virtualization concepts — Hyper-V or any hypervisor
- PowerShell basics — ability to run and understand PowerShell commands
Curriculum — 21 Modules¶
The curriculum is organized into 21 modules across five learning tracks: Foundations, Deployment, Operations, Workloads, and Adoption. Foundations come first — learn what Azure Local is and the technology underneath, then deploy, then operate, then workloads.
Foundations — what Azure Local is and the technology underneath¶
| # | Module | Level | Duration | Hands-on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Introduction to Azure Local | L100 | 2h | Pres + demo |
| 01 | Azure Arc — Infrastructure Deep Dive | L300 | 3h | Demo |
| 02 | Compute (Hyper-V + Failover Clustering + Arc VMs) | L200-300 | 5h | Lab |
| 03 | Storage | L300 | 4h | Lab |
| 04 | Core Networking | L300 | 4h | Lab |
| 05 | Software Defined Networking (Arc-managed) | L300 | 4h | Lab |
Deployment — plan, deploy, and configure for workload use¶
| # | Module | Level | Duration | Hands-on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06 | Planning & Sizing | L200 | 2h | Design exercise |
| 07 | Deployment (S2D / SAN / hybrid, AD / local identity, Portal / ARM / cloud-managed) | L200-300 | 5h | Lab |
| 08 | Post-Deployment Configurations (RBAC, storage paths, VM images, logical networks) | L300 | 4h | Lab |
Operations — run it¶
| # | Module | Level | Duration | Hands-on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09 | Management | L200 | 3h | Lab |
| 10 | Security & Compliance | L300 | 5h | Lab |
| 11 | Observability & Monitoring | L200-300 | 3h | Lab |
| 12 | Troubleshooting | L300 | 4h | Lab/Demo |
| 13 | Business Continuity & DR (BCDR) | L300 | 4h | Lab |
| 14 | Day-2 Operations & Lifecycle | L300 | 4h | Lab |
Workloads — add workloads¶
| # | Module | Level | Duration | Hands-on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | AKS on Azure Local | L300 | 4h | Lab |
| 16 | Azure Virtual Desktop on Azure Local | L300 | 4h | Lab |
| 17 | IoT Operations on Azure Local | L300 | 3h | Lab |
| 18 | Azure AI Foundry Local | L300 | 3h | Lab |
Adoption — bring existing estates in¶
| # | Module | Level | Duration | Hands-on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Migration (VMware / Hyper-V → Azure Local) | L300 | 3h | Lab/Demo |
| 20 | SCVMM on Azure Local (Optional / Placeholder) | L300 | 2h | Presentation |
Total curriculum content: ~75 hours of presentation + lab time, delivered as multi-day workshops, online live sessions, or on-demand with the AI tutor.
Delivery Programs¶
Delivery programs are curated subsets of the 21 modules for specific audiences and time windows. Program agendas will be published here as they're finalized.
The three delivery formats are:
| Format | Description |
|---|---|
| In-Person Workshop | Multi-day on-site delivery with dedicated lab environment per participant |
| Online Live | Scheduled virtual delivery via Teams/Zoom, same content, same labs |
| On-Demand Self-Paced | Module library with AI-narrated video, hands-on labs, and the interactive AI tutor (Claude-powered) that teaches modules and guides through labs |
Hands-On Labs¶
Every lab supports three target environments, all deployed from the lab building solutions we provide:
- Azure (cloud-hosted) — nested-virt Azure Local lab inside an Azure VM (Bicep)
- Physical Hyper-V server — student's or customer's existing physical host running the lab as nested VMs
- Actual Azure Local hardware — student's or customer's own Azure Local cluster
Any of the three can be deployed by the student (self-guided / on-demand) or by the lab moderator (in-person workshops). See Lab Environment Setup for full lab list and setup instructions.
Contributing¶
This training curriculum is an open-source project. Contributions are welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md in the repository root for details.