Day 14: Azure Az-900 Series: Everything About Azure App Service(Part 1)

6 min readMay 7, 2024

Azure App Service is a powerful tool offered by Microsoft that allows you to effortlessly deploy and manage web applications on the Azure cloud platform. It eliminates the complexities of managing underlying infrastructure, freeing you to focus on building exceptional applications. This guide dives into the core functionalities of Azure App Service, making it easy to understand even for beginners.

Before delving into App Service itself, let’s establish a common ground. Azure App Service falls under the category of Platform as a Service (PaaS). In simpler terms, PaaS takes care of the grunt work — server maintenance, security patches, operating system updates, and the like. This allows you to concentrate on developing and deploying your applications without getting bogged down by infrastructure management.

Imagine you have a web application, an API, or even a mobile backend that you want to run on the cloud. Azure App Service comes to the rescue! It provides a robust environment for hosting these applications, supporting various programming languages like .NET, .NET Core, Java, Ruby (although support is limited as of this writing), Node.js, PHP, and Python. You can choose between Windows or Linux environments based on your preference.

Here’s a glimpse into what App Service takes care of for you:

Security: App Service handles security patches for the operating system and underlying languages, ensuring your application stays protected.
Load Balancing: Traffic distribution across multiple servers is automated, guaranteeing optimal performance for your application.
Autoscaling: App Service scales your application resources up or down dynamically based on demand, eliminating the need for manual intervention.
Integrations: Seamless integration with various DevOps tools like Azure DevOps, GitHub, Docker Hub, and more streamlines your development workflow.
Simplified Management: App Service offers a user-friendly interface for managing deployments, setting up custom domains, attaching SSL certificates, and more.

Azure App Service Plans Explained (but not really)

Azure App Service offers a lot of great features, but the pricing structure can be a little confusing at first. Here’s a breakdown of the different plans, but be warned — it’s not always super clear.

Free Tier: An exceptional option for getting your feet wet or experimenting with small-scale applications. It offers limited resources but is a fantastic way to test the waters before committing to a paid plan. (F1 tier)
Shared Tier: A step up from the free tier, it provides more resources but still shares resources with other users, potentially impacting performance during peak usage times. (Shared tier) — (Although the video mentioned a “Shar” tier, it likely refers to the Shared tier). This tier is not available on Linux-based systems.
Dedicated Tier: This tier offers isolated instances specifically for your application, resulting in superior performance and enhanced security. It comes in various sub-tiers with varying compute power, memory, and storage capacities. (Basic, Standard, Premium, Premium v2, Premium v3 tiers)
Isolated Tier: This tier is designed specifically for App Service Environments (ASEs), providing the highest level of isolation and security for mission-critical applications. (Isolated tier)

While the plan names and their placement might seem illogical, the core concept remains — higher tiers offer more resources, isolation, and enhanced features at a correspondingly higher cost.

Pro Tip: It’s recommended to commence with the free tier or a lower-priced plan and scale up as your application matures and demands more resources.

Runtimes

Imagine a runtime as a set of instructions your program needs to follow to run properly. In Azure App Service, runtimes are like pre-built toolkits that include your chosen programming language and all the essential libraries it needs. When you deploy your application, you pick the right runtime based on your development environment. Here are some of the languages that App Service supports:

.NET
Node.js
Python (and more!)

Important Note: App Service updates its supported runtimes regularly to keep everything compatible and secure. Keeping your applications up-to-date with the latest runtimes is essential for optimal performance and security.

App Service’s Toolbox

Azure App Service offers more than just basic deployments. It has some cool features to help you manage your applications more efficiently:

Deployment Slots: Imagine needing to test changes to your application before making them live on the real website. Deployment slots come to the rescue! They allow you to create separate environments for testing and production. This way, you can tinker with your application in the test environment to make sure everything works perfectly before pushing it out to the world and potentially causing problems (we’ve all been there!).

Deployment Swapping: After testing your changes in the separate environment, deployment swapping lets you seamlessly switch them over to the live website. Think of it like switching outfits — you test the new clothes in the dressing room (staging environment) and then, once you’re happy with how they look, you can easily swap them for your old clothes (production environment). With deployment swapping, you can smoothly transition your tested changes to the live website with minimal downtime.

Scaling Up for Big Success

Imagine your application becomes super popular and tons of people start using it. Azure App Service can handle that! It has special features designed for large applications:

App Service Environments (ASEs): If your application is massive and needs the ultimate in security and performance, ASEs are the way to go. Think of them as giant, high-security fortresses specifically designed to house your application. They offer features like super-strong isolation and the ability to scale up the resources dramatically to handle even the biggest bursts of traffic.

Choosing the Perfect Plan

With all these different plans and features, you might be wondering which one is right for you. Well, the best plan depends on the size and needs of your application. Here’s a quick guide to help you choose:

Free Tier or Shared Tier: Perfect for small applications or testing purposes.
Dedicated Tier: A solid choice for applications that are growing and need more power and security.
Isolated Tier (within an ASE): The best option for mission-critical applications that require top-notch security and the ability to handle massive amounts of traffic.

Remember: You can always start with a smaller plan and upgrade later if your application takes off! There’s no need to commit to a giant mansion right away if your app is still just a tiny bungalow.

Azure App Service takes the complexity out of deploying and managing your web applications, APIs, and mobile backends in the cloud. By letting it handle the behind-the-scenes stuff, you can focus on what you do best: creating fantastic applications. With its wide range of features, scalability options, and user-friendly interface, Azure App Service is your one-stop shop for building and deploying cloud applications with ease.

Thank you for reading! Let’s connect on LinkedIn.