App Services Guide

Welcome to the comprehensive guide for Microsoft App Services. This document will walk you through the various aspects of developing, deploying, and managing your applications using App Services, a fully managed platform that enables you to build and host web applications, mobile backends, and RESTful APIs in the programming language of your choice without managing infrastructure.

What are App Services?

Azure App Services is a cloud-based platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering that provides a robust environment for building and scaling web applications, mobile backends, and APIs. It supports a wide range of programming languages and frameworks, including .NET, .NET Core, Java, Ruby, Node.js, PHP, and Python. Key benefits include:

Key App Services Offerings

Web Apps

App Services Web Apps is the primary service for hosting web applications. You can deploy your web applications using various methods, including Git, FTP, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, and Docker containers.

Tip: For optimal performance, consider using deployment slots to test new versions of your application in production with zero downtime.

API Apps

API Apps are designed for building and consuming RESTful APIs. They offer features like Swagger integration, OAuth support, and hybrid connectivity to on-premises data sources.

Mobile Backends (with Azure Mobile Apps)

The Azure Mobile Apps service provides a backend for your iOS, Android, and Windows apps. It offers features such as data sync, push notifications, and authentication.

Container Apps

App Services also supports hosting containerized applications. You can deploy single containers or multi-container applications using Docker Compose. This allows for greater flexibility and portability of your applications.

Getting Started with App Services

To get started with Azure App Services, you'll need an Azure subscription. You can then create an App Service Plan, which defines the region, operating system, and pricing tier for your hosted applications.

Here's a simplified example of creating a Web App using the Azure CLI:


# Log in to your Azure account
az login

# Create a resource group
az group create --name MyResourceGroup --location eastus

# Create an App Service plan (e.g., Free tier)
az appservice plan create --name MyFreePlan --resource-group MyResourceGroup --sku F1 --is-linux

# Create a Web App
az webapp create --name MyAwesomeWebApp --resource-group MyResourceGroup --plan MyFreePlan --deployment-source-url https://github.com/Azure-Samples/nodejs-docs-hello-world --deployment-source-branch main --runtime "NODE|16-LTS"

Common Scenarios

Deploying a Static Website

You can host static websites (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) directly in App Services. This is a cost-effective way to serve front-end applications.

Hosting a .NET Core Application

App Services provides excellent support for .NET Core applications. Deploy your applications as self-contained or framework-dependent deployments.

Building Microservices

Use App Services to host individual microservices, leveraging features like auto-scaling and managed infrastructure to ensure reliability and performance.

Note: For production workloads, consider using pricing tiers beyond the Free or Shared options to access features like custom domains, SSL, and enhanced scaling capabilities.

Best Practices