Microsoft Azure
Deploy and manage cloud workloads on Microsoft Azure - App Service, Azure Functions, Azure DevOps pipelines, Container Apps, and Cosmos DB.
skill: Microsoft Azure category: DevOps tags: [Azure, Microsoft, Azure Functions, App Service, Azure DevOps] readingTime: 6
Azure is the enterprise cloud of choice for Microsoft-stack companies (.NET, SQL Server, Active Directory). Azure's strengths are enterprise compliance, hybrid cloud (Azure Arc), and Microsoft ecosystem integration. Use App Service for web apps, Container Apps for microservices, and Azure DevOps for CI/CD in Microsoft-heavy organizations.
Workflow
- Deploy web apps with App ServiceAzure App Service is a PaaS that runs web apps, REST APIs, and mobile backends without managing infrastructure.
- Write Azure FunctionsAzure Functions is Azure's serverless compute - triggered by HTTP, timers, queues, or events. The Flex Consumption plan scales to zero.
- CI/CD with Azure DevOps PipelinesAzure Pipelines provides multi-stage CI/CD with approval gates, environments, and native Azure integrations.
- Manage secrets with Key VaultKey Vault centralizes secrets management with audit logging, rotation, and RBAC - no secrets in code or config files.
- Deploy microservices with Container AppsAzure Container Apps runs containers with built-in Dapr, KEDA auto-scaling, and revision management - Kubernetes without the operational overhead.
Output Format
Azure setup: App Service or Container Apps, Azure Functions, Azure Pipelines CI/CD, Key Vault secrets, and Managed Identity.
Resource Group → App Service Plan → Web App
Key Vault → Managed Identity → secretref
Azure Pipelines: Build → Deploy (with approval gates)
Container Apps: image + KEDA scaling + ingressExamples
Input
Output
Edge Cases & Gotchas
- App Service plan sizing - Free/Shared plans have no custom domains or SSL. B1 is the minimum for production. P1v3 gives dedicated cores. Match plan to traffic patterns.
- Azure Functions cold starts - Consumption plan has cold starts. Flex Consumption plan is better. Premium plan keeps instances warm - use for latency-sensitive functions.
- Container Apps revision limits - Container Apps keeps up to 100 revisions. Clean up old revisions to avoid hitting limits: az containerapp revision deactivate.
- Active Directory integration - Azure AD authentication can be enabled on App Service/Functions with zero code - configure in the Azure portal under Authentication for enterprise SSO.
When to Break These Rules
- Use AWS if your team's existing infrastructure is AWS-centric - multi-cloud adds operational overhead without proportional benefit.
- Use Kubernetes (AKS) instead of Container Apps for complex microservices requiring custom Kubernetes operators or advanced networking.
Reference Files
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-apps/