Get started with Microsoft Foundry

In this exercise, you’ll create and explore a Microsoft Foundry project.

This exercise should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Create a Microsoft Foundry project

Microsoft Foundry uses projects to organize models, resources, data, and other assets used to develop an AI solution. Projects are associated with an Azure Microsoft Foundry resource, which provides the cloud services required to support AI app and agent development on Azure.

1. In a web browser, open Microsoft Foundry at https://ai.azure.com and sign in using your Azure credentials. Close any tips or quick start panes that are opened the first time you sign in, and if necessary use the Foundry logo at the top left to navigate to the home page.

2. If it is not already enabled, in the tool bar the top of the page, enable the New Foundry option. Then, if prompted, create a new project with a unique name of your choice, using the default options. After creating or selecting a project in the new Foundry portal, it should open in a page similar to the following image:

   

   The project has an endpoint and key, which can be used to securely access models, agents, and other assets in the project from client applications. The project is also associated with a specific region, which may affect the specific models and services available to it.

View Azure resources for Microsoft Foundry

Microsoft Foundry projects are based on resources in your Azure subscription. Let’s take a look at those.

1. On the project home page, in the toolbar at the top left, select your project name. Then in the resulting menu, select View all projects to see all of the projects to which you have access (you may only have one!)

   

   Each project has a parent resource, in which services and configuration can be applied to multiple child projects.

2. Note the name of the parent resource for your project. Then, open a new browser tab and navigate to the Azure portal at https://portal.azure.com and if prompted, sign in using your Azure credentials.

3. In the Azure poral home page, in the search box at the top of the page, search for your Microsoft Foundry parent resource.

   

4. Select the Foundry resource that matches your parent resource name to open it.

5. In the page for your Foundry resource, view the Resource Visualizer page to see the relationship between the resource and its child project(s).

   

6. Select the child project you created in this resource to open its page in the Azure portal.

   

   While most tasks to develop and manage AI projects can be performed in the Microsoft Foundry portal, it’s important to understand that projects and the services they use are implemented as resources in Microsoft Azure; where they may be subject to enterprise governance and security policies.

7. Close the browser tab containing the Azure portal and return to the Microsoft Foundry portal. Then use the “back arrow” icon next to the All projects page header to return to the home page for your project.

Explore the Microsoft Foundry portal

The Microsoft Foundry portal is where you create and manage agents and AI services for your applications.

Note: The Microsoft Foundry portal is subject to continual improvement and expansion. The interface shown in this exercise may not match the interface of your portal exactly.

1. On the Home page for your project, note the Start building menu.

   

   You can use this menu to:

   • Create agents that use a generative AI model, instructions, and tools to intelligently automate tasks and information gathering.
   • Create workflows that combine multiple agents in an orchestrated process.
   • Browse models in the Foundry model catalog.

2. View the Discover page.

   

   This page surfaces the latest models and services and enables you to find starting points for AI application development.

3. View the Build page.

   

   This page is where you develop AI solutions. Here you can:

   • View and manage the agents in your project.
   • View and manage the workflows in your project.
   • View and manage the models in your project.
   • Fine-tune base models to respond to queries based on your application’s specific needs.
   • Add and configure tools that agents can use to perform tasks.
   • Manage knowledge for your agents based on Foundry IQ data sources in your enterprise.
   • Connect and manage data indexes for AI agents and generative AI apps.
   • Create evaluations to compare model performance.
   • Define and manage guardrails to ensure compliance with responsible AI policies for generative AI content and behavior.

4. View the Operate page.

   

   On this page, you can operate your AI solution by:

   • Managing assets like agents, models, and tools in your project.
   • Manage compliance with security policies.
   • View and manage quota configuration that defines limits for usage of models and other assets in your project.
   • Perform admin tasks to manage your projects.

5. View the Docs page.

   

   This page provides access to Microsoft Foundry documentation.

Get AI assistance

As you would expect in a platform for developing cutting edge AI solutions, Microsoft Foundry provides AI-based assistance.

1. In the toolbar, use the AI chat icon to open the Ask AI pane.

   

2. Enter a prompt such as What can I do with Microsoft Foundry? and review the response.

   If you have any questions about some of the things you’ve explored in this exercise, this is the place to ask them!

Summary

in this exercise, you explored a Microsoft Foundry project and familiarized yourself with the Microsoft Foundry portal.

Clean Up

If you have finished exploring Microsoft Foundry, you should delete the resources created in this exercises to avoid unnecessary utilization charges.

1. Open the Azure portal at https://portal.azure.com and view the contents of the resource group where you deployed the project used in this exercise.
2. On the toolbar, select Delete resource group.
3. Enter the resource group name and confirm that you want to delete it.