Glossary
Search Azure terms
Open a clear definition, then continue into exam context, architecture, commands, operational examples, common mistakes, and related concepts.
Search all
Commands
Learning guides
Concept graph
Compare
Search-first Azure knowledge base
Term results
Search for a term or click a category. Results render only after you ask for them, so the glossary does not dump every available term on first load. Each result includes Quick peek and Open full term page actions.
Start with a search or a category.
Try managed identity , resource group , az group , private endpoint , or click Databases to load all database-related terms.
Showing 50 of 374 matching terms. Narrow the search to reduce the list.
Integration
premium
API Management gateway
The API Management gateway is the component that receives API requests, applies policies, routes traffic to backends, and returns responses to callers.
API Management
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Integration
premium
API Management self-hosted gateway
An API Management self-hosted gateway is a containerized copy of the API Management gateway that runs where your APIs live, such as on-premises, another cloud, or an Azure Kubernetes environment. Azure API Management remains the place where teams define APIs, products, policies, and observability..
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: APIM self-hosted gateway, self-hosted API gateway
Quick peek
Open full term page
Integration
complete
API Management policy
An API Management policy is a rule the gateway runs while handling an API call. Policies can validate tokens, add or remove headers, rewrite URLs, limit rates, cache responses, transform payloads, choose a backend, or return a custom response. They are written as ordered XML statements and can.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: APIM policy, API policy in API Management
Quick peek
Open full term page
AI and Machine Learning
premium
Inference endpoint
Inference endpoint is the Azure concept that controls how applications invoke deployed machine learning models securely, reliably, and measurably in Azure. Teams see it when working with azure machine learning online endpoints, batch endpoints. It is not a model artifact, a training job, an Azure OpenAI deployment, or an application API gateway by itself; that distinction matters because bad assumptions create failed predictions, public exposure. Use the term when reviewing ownership, access, monitoring, cost, recovery, or performance. It keeps architects, operators, security reviewers, and support teams focused on the same resource, setting, or behavior.
Azure Machine Learning
Intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: ML inference endpoint, online endpoint, managed online endpoint, batch endpoint, scoring endpoint
Quick peek
Open full term page
Integration
verified
Product
An API Management product is the package developers subscribe to when they want to use one or more APIs.
API gateway
fundamentals
6 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Integration
field-manual-complete
Subscription key
A subscription key is an API Management credential that lets a caller access APIs tied to a subscription. It is not the same as an Azure subscription, even though the name is easy to confuse. The key is usually issued to a developer, app, partner, or product subscriber and sent with requests to APIM. It helps the gateway identify and allow callers, apply product rules, and support rotation. Treat it like a secret because anyone with the key can call the protected API until it is revoked or changed.
API gateway
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: APIM subscription key, API Management subscription key, Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key, API gateway key
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
learning-path-anchor
Cosmos DB dedicated gateway
Azure Cosmos DB dedicated gateway is provisioned server-side compute that fronts an account and enables the integrated cache for supported NoSQL workloads.
Azure Cosmos DB
fundamentals
3 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
premium
NAT Gateway
NAT Gateway means a managed Azure networking service that provides outbound internet connectivity for private resources in associated subnets. You see it when teams let virtual machines, containers, or private application workloads reach updates, APIs, package feeds, or external services. Think of it as an outbound source address and SNAT boundary, not a firewall for all network traffic. It matters because the setting changes how teams design, secure, operate, and troubleshoot the workload. Before changing it in production, know the owner, dependency, evidence, expected result, and rollback path.
Outbound connectivity
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Integration
premium
API Management backend
An API Management backend is the HTTP service that implements a frontend API and its operations behind the API Management gateway.
API Management
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Integration
premium
API Management operation
An API Management operation is one callable action inside an API, such as GET /orders or POST /claims. It tells Azure API Management which HTTP method, URL template, parameters, and display name should be exposed to consumers. The operation can map to a backend route, return a mock response, accept.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: APIM operation, API operation in API Management
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
premium
Application Gateway backend pool
the group of backend targets that an Application Gateway can forward matched requests to after a listener and routing rule select them.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Application Gateway backend pool, application gateway backend pool
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
premium
Application Gateway HTTP setting
the Application Gateway backend configuration that controls how the gateway connects to backend servers for HTTP or HTTPS requests.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Application Gateway HTTP setting, application gateway http setting
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
premium
Application Gateway listener
the Application Gateway component that waits for client requests on a frontend IP address, port, protocol, and optional hostname or certificate.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Application Gateway listener, application gateway listener
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
premium
Application Gateway routing rule
the Application Gateway component that connects a listener to a backend pool, backend settings, redirect, or path-based routing decision.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Application Gateway routing rule, application gateway routing rule
Quick peek
Open full term page
Security
premium
Application Gateway WAF policy
An Application Gateway WAF policy stores Web Application Firewall configuration for Application Gateway v2. It includes managed rules, custom rules, exclusions, and policy settings, and can be associated globally, with a listener, or with a path-based rule for targeted web request inspection.
Web application firewall
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Application Gateway WAF policy, WAF policy for Application Gateway, Azure WAF policy, regional WAF policy
Quick peek
Open full term page
Integration
premium
API
An API is a defined interface of operations that clients call, often represented in Azure API Management by frontend operations mapped to backend services.
API Management
beginner
3 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Dedicated gateway
Dedicated gateway is documented by Microsoft as part of the Azure Cosmos DB area in Azure.
Azure Cosmos DB
intermediate
11 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Integration
field-manual-complete
API Management
Azure API Management is a hybrid, multicloud API management platform with a gateway, management plane, and developer portal for the full API lifecycle.
API Management
intermediate
3 commands
Aliases: APIM
Quick peek
Open full term page
Integration
strict-validated
API Management named value
An API Management named value is a reusable name/value pair for policies, supporting plain values, encrypted secrets, policy expressions, and Key Vault references.
API Management policies
intermediate
3 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
AI and Machine Learning
premium
Face API
The Face API is an Azure AI service API that provides face detection, recognition, verification, identification, grouping, and related face analysis capabilities. Teams use it to build applications that detect faces in images, compare faces, verify identity scenarios, support liveness workflows, or organize face-related image data under approved responsible AI controls. It is not a general computer vision labeler, proof of identity by itself, a surveillance policy, or permission to use biometric capabilities without legal, privacy, and access review.
Azure AI services
intermediate
6 commands
Aliases: Azure AI Face, Azure Face API, Face service
Quick peek
Open full term page
Containers
premium
API server authorized IP ranges
API server authorized IP ranges are an AKS security setting that limits who can reach the Kubernetes control-plane endpoint. Instead of letting any public IP attempt a connection to the API server, the cluster allows only specified public CIDR ranges, such as corporate VPN, jump-host, automation,.
Azure Kubernetes Service
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: AKS API server authorized IP ranges, authorized API server IP ranges
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Cosmos DB MongoDB API
Cosmos DB MongoDB API means the Azure Cosmos DB API that lets many MongoDB applications use Cosmos DB through MongoDB-compatible drivers and tools. It is the practical label operators use when they decide how application data should be modeled, queried, protected, and monitored in Azure Cosmos DB. In plain English, it explains where developers, platform engineers, and support teams meet: the application wants fast data access, while the platform controls scale, cost, security, and recovery. A good glossary entry helps the team know which setting to inspect, which owner to involve, and which symptoms prove the design works.
Azure Cosmos DB
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Cosmos DB MongoDB API, cosmos db mongodb api
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Cosmos DB Table API
Cosmos DB Table API is the Cosmos DB API that supports applications written for Azure Table Storage-style key-value tables with Cosmos DB capabilities. It lets teams keep a familiar table model while using Cosmos DB account management, global distribution, throughput, and monitoring. You see it when applications use PartitionKey and RowKey entities, Azure Table SDKs, or migrations from Azure Table Storage. The production check is whether the table access pattern, partition key, throughput model, and consistency expectations fit Cosmos DB rather than basic storage tables. Document the decision in code, templates, metrics, and runbooks.
Azure Cosmos DB
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Web
premium
Serverless API deployment
Serverless API deployment in Azure commonly means publishing HTTP-triggered Azure Functions, often with zip deployment, run-from-package, Static Web Apps APIs, or API Management integration. The deployment packages code, configuration, identity, routing, and monitoring so an API endpoint can scale without dedicated server management.
Azure Functions
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: serverless API release, Azure Functions API deployment, HTTP trigger deployment, function API deployment
Quick peek
Open full term page
Integration
premium
API Management revision
An API Management revision is a safe working copy of an API for changes that should not break consumers. You create a revision, adjust operations, descriptions, policies, or backend settings, test the changes, and then make that revision current when it is ready. Existing consumers keep using the.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: APIM revision, API revision
Quick peek
Open full term page
Integration
premium
API Management version
An API Management version is a separate version of an API that helps teams handle breaking changes. Clients can keep using an older version while newer clients adopt the new version when ready. Versions can be identified through a path, header, or query parameter, depending on the versioning.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: APIM version, API version in API Management
Quick peek
Open full term page
Management and Governance
premium
API version
An API version is the version selector Azure uses when a tool, template, script, SDK, or REST call asks a resource provider to do something. It usually looks like a date, such as 2023-05-01, but it is not just a label and it is not the same as a product release number. Microsoft Learn anchors this term in Azure resource providers and types, but this field-manual definition is intentionally wider than an older short glossary entry because the page must teach what to inspect, what can break, who owns the.
Resource providers
fundamentals
4 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
premium
Application Gateway
Application Gateway is an Azure web traffic load balancer for HTTP and HTTPS applications. It routes requests by host name, path, listener, rule, backend pool, and health status, and can add TLS termination and Web Application Firewall controls when those features are configured.
Application delivery
fundamentals
4 commands
Aliases: Azure Application Gateway, App Gateway, regional layer 7 load balancer, HTTP application load balancer
Quick peek
Open full term page
Storage
premium
Azure Tables API
Azure Cosmos DB for Table provides an API for table-style key-value data where entities are identified by partition key and row key, supporting applications written for Azure Table storage that need premium capabilities.
Table Storage
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Azure Table API, Cosmos DB for Table API, Azure Table Storage API
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Cosmos DB API for Cassandra
Managed Cosmos DB API for Cassandra-style wide-column applications using familiar Cassandra drivers, CQL concepts, and Azure Cosmos DB operations.
Azure Cosmos DB
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Azure Cosmos DB for Apache Cassandra, API for Cassandra, Cassandra API
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Cosmos DB API for Gremlin
Managed Cosmos DB graph API for relationship-heavy workloads that model data as vertices, edges, properties, and Gremlin traversals.
Azure Cosmos DB
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Azure Cosmos DB for Apache Gremlin, API for Gremlin, Gremlin API
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Cosmos DB API for MongoDB
Managed Cosmos DB API for document applications that use MongoDB-compatible drivers, tools, commands, and connection patterns.
Azure Cosmos DB
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB, API for MongoDB, MongoDB API
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Cosmos DB API for NoSQL
Native Azure Cosmos DB API for JSON items, containers, SQL-style queries, SDKs, change feed, partitioning, and request-unit based operations.
Azure Cosmos DB
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL, API for NoSQL, Core SQL API, SQL API
Quick peek
Open full term page
Management and Governance
premium
Resource provider API profile
A resource provider API profile is a compatibility idea: instead of choosing every API version one by one, a profile represents a known set of Resource Manager API versions that tooling can target together. Microsoft Learn anchors this term in Azure resource providers and resource types, but this field-manual definition is intentionally wider than an older short glossary entry because the page must teach what to inspect, what can break, who owns the decision, and which evidence proves the Azure environment is behaving as intended. In field use, start with.
Resource providers
fundamentals
3 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
Quick peek
Open full term page
AI and Machine Learning
premium
Assistants API
Assistants API is the older assistant-building API pattern that organizes an AI workflow around assistants, threads, messages, runs, tools, and files. It helped developers build stateful assistants without inventing every orchestration object themselves. In 2026, it should be treated as a migration-sensitive term because Azure documentation marks the classic Assistants API as deprecated and.
Azure OpenAI
intermediate
2 commands
Aliases: Azure OpenAI Assistants API, OpenAI Assistants API, classic Assistants API, Assistants API v2
Quick peek
Open full term page
AI and Machine Learning
verified
Responses API
The Responses API is a newer Azure OpenAI interface for building AI interactions that need more than one simple prompt and answer. It creates model responses that can carry conversation state, call supported tools, stream output, and work with modern reasoning or multimodal workflows when the deployed model supports them. For developers, it is a single API surface that reduces the gap between chat completions and assistant-style orchestration. In Azure, you still need an Azure OpenAI resource, model deployment, authentication,
Azure OpenAI
intermediate
6 commands
Aliases: Azure OpenAI Responses API, OpenAI Responses API on Azure, responses endpoint, stateful responses API
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
verified
VPN Gateway
VPN Gateway is an Azure virtual network gateway that creates encrypted VPN tunnels between an Azure virtual network and on-premises networks, remote clients, or other VNets, using configurations such as site-to-site, point-to-site, and VNet-to-VNet connections. for hybrid networks.
Hybrid connectivity
fundamentals
6 commands
Aliases: Azure VPN Gateway, virtual network gateway for VPN, site-to-site VPN gateway, point-to-site VPN gateway
Quick peek
Open full term page
AI and Machine Learning
verified
Realtime API
The GPT Realtime API in Azure OpenAI supports low-latency conversational interactions where audio, text, and model responses can stream during the same session. Applications can use supported transports such as WebRTC, SIP, or WebSocket to build voice agents, assistants, and live interaction experiences.
Azure OpenAI
advanced
5 commands
Aliases: GPT Realtime API, Azure OpenAI Realtime API, realtime audio API, streaming voice API
Quick peek
Open full term page
Containers
learning-path-anchor
Target port
A target port tells Azure Container Apps where to deliver traffic inside your container. Public or internal ingress may expose an endpoint, but the app still has to listen on a specific port. If the container listens on 8080 and ingress targets 80, users may see timeouts, failed probes, or gateway errors. The setting is small, but it is often the difference between the app being deployed and the app being reachable. It should match the application startup command, Dockerfile, framework port, and health probes.
Azure Container Apps
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: container target port, Container Apps target port, ingress targetPort, container ingress port
Quick peek
Open full term page
Containers
premium
External ingress
External ingress in Azure Container Apps allows traffic from outside the Container Apps environment to reach a container app endpoint. Teams use it to publish a container app to callers outside the environment, including users, APIs, webhooks, partners, or front-end gateways that need a reachable HTTPS or TCP endpoint. It is not internal-only ingress, a custom domain certificate, a network security guarantee, or proof that authentication, authorization, rate limits, and backend health are configured correctly.
Azure Container Apps
intermediate
6 commands
Aliases: external Container Apps ingress, public ingress, internet-facing ingress
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
premium
Front Door
Azure Front Door is Microsoft’s global edge service for modern web applications. Microsoft Learn describes it as a cloud CDN that provides fast, reliable, and secure access to static and dynamic content through Microsoft’s global edge network worldwide.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Front Door, AFD, Azure Front Door Standard, Azure Front Door Premium, global edge
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
premium
Front Door origin group
A Front Door origin group is a logical grouping of origins that receives similar traffic and controls health probing and load balancing behavior.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Front Door origin group, AFD origin group, backend pool in Front Door, origin pool
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
premium
Front Door profile
Front Door profile is the top-level Azure Front Door Standard or Premium resource that groups edge endpoints, routes, origins, domains, rule sets, security associations, and delivery settings. Teams use it to manage a global application entry point without treating each endpoint, route, or origin as a separate product. In daily Azure work, it shows up when engineers review edge architecture, add a new website, tune routing, attach custom domains, configure WAF, or troubleshoot global traffic. It is not the same thing as a single endpoint, DNS name, backend app, CDN cache rule, or web application firewall policy.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Front Door profile, AFD profile, Front Door Standard/Premium profile
Quick peek
Open full term page
Databases
premium
Integrated cache
Integrated cache controls how read-heavy Cosmos DB API for NoSQL applications reduce latency and request-unit consumption by reusing cached point reads and query results. Teams see it in azure cosmos db accounts, dedicated gateway configuration. It is not Azure Cache for Redis, a client-side memory cache, analytical store, a materialized view, or a replacement for correct partitioning; confusing them can create unexpected RU spending, stale reads. Use the term when reviewing access, monitoring, cost, recovery, or performance. It keeps architects, operators, security reviewers, and support teams focused on the same setting, resource, or behavior.
Azure Cosmos DB
Intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Cosmos DB integrated cache, Azure Cosmos DB integrated cache, dedicated gateway cache, item cache, query cache
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
premium
Internet egress
Internet egress controls how workloads reach public endpoints for updates, APIs, package feeds, SaaS services, telemetry, and other internet-reachable dependencies. Teams see it in virtual networks, nat gateways. It is not inbound internet traffic, private endpoint traffic, ExpressRoute private peering, internal ingress, or Azure service-to-service traffic over private routes; confusing them can create data exfiltration paths, blocked updates. Use the term when reviewing access, monitoring, cost, recovery, or performance. It keeps architects, operators, security reviewers, and support teams focused on the same setting, resource, or behavior.
Outbound connectivity
Intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: outbound internet traffic, egress to internet, public egress, internet-bound traffic
Quick peek
Open full term page
Integration
premium
Developer portal
The developer portal is the Azure API Management portal where API consumers discover APIs, read documentation, sign in, subscribe to products, retrieve subscription details, and test API operations when allowed.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: API Management developer portal, APIM developer portal, developer portal in API Management, API consumer portal
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
premium
DNS zone
A DNS zone is an Azure DNS container for record sets that answer names under a domain. Public zones publish internet-resolvable records after registrar delegation, while private zones resolve only for linked virtual networks and support private endpoint and internal naming patterns.
DNS
fundamentals
4 commands
Aliases: Azure DNS zone, DNS zone, public DNS zone, private DNS zone, hosted zone
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
premium
Front Door origin
A Front Door origin is a backend application or service endpoint that Azure Front Door can route client requests to through an origin group.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Azure Front Door origin, AFD origin, origin server, backend origin
Quick peek
Open full term page
Networking
premium
Front Door route
Front Door route is the Azure Front Door configuration that decides which domain and path patterns send user requests to which origin group. Teams use it to connect edge endpoints and custom domains to backend applications while controlling accepted protocols, forwarding behavior, caching, and rule-set association. In daily Azure work, it shows up when engineers add APIs, split static and dynamic paths, migrate origins, route traffic between regions, or investigate why a request reached the wrong backend.
Application delivery and API edge
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: AFD route, Azure Front Door route, edge route
Quick peek
Open full term page
Monitoring and Observability
premium
HTTP 4xx
HTTP 4xx refers to client error responses, such as unauthorized, forbidden, not found, or bad request, observed by Azure applications and monitoring tools.
HTTP operations
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: HTTP 4xx, http 4xx
Quick peek
Open full term page
No glossary terms matched that search.
Try a service name, acronym, command group, or category such as RBAC , az group , App Service , Application Insights , Databases , or Azure AI Search .
Clear filters and show matches
Reset search