Azure Container Apps: Serverless Container Platform Guide

Azure Container Apps is a fully managed serverless container service that enables you to run microservices and containerized applications on a serverless platform. This guide explores its features, deployment patterns, and best practices.

Service Overview

Key Features

Deployment Patterns

Basic Deployment

import { ContainerApp, ContainerAppEnvironment } from '@azure/arm-appcontainers';

const containerApp = {
  location: 'eastus',
  managedEnvironmentId: environment.id,
  configuration: {
    ingress: {
      external: true,
      targetPort: 80
    }
  },
  template: {
    containers: [
      {
        name: 'myapp',
        image: 'mcr.microsoft.com/azuredocs/containerapps-helloworld:latest',
        resources: {
          cpu: 0.5,
          memory: '1Gi'
        }
      }
    ],
    scale: {
      minReplicas: 1,
      maxReplicas: 10
    }
  }
};

Advanced Configuration

# container-app.yaml
properties:
  managedEnvironmentId: /subscriptions/.../environments/myenv
  configuration:
    activeRevisionsMode: Multiple
    secrets:
      - name: redis-password
        value: mypassword
    ingress:
      external: true
      targetPort: 80
      transport: http
      allowInsecure: false
  template:
    containers:
      - name: myapp
        image: myregistry.azurecr.io/myapp:latest
        env:
          - name: REDIS_HOST
            value: redis.internal
          - name: REDIS_PASSWORD
            secretRef: redis-password
    scale:
      minReplicas: 1
      maxReplicas: 10
      rules:
        - name: http-rule
          http:
            metadata:
              concurrentRequests: "100"

Scaling Strategies

HTTP Scaling

Event-driven Scaling

const eventDrivenScale = {
  scale: {
    minReplicas: 0,
    maxReplicas: 10,
    rules: [
      {
        name: "azure-queue",
        azureQueue: {
          queueName: "myqueue",
          queueLength: 100
        }
      }
    ]
  }
};

Networking and Security

Network Integration

Security Configuration

# security-config.yaml
properties:
  configuration:
    secrets:
      - name: ssl-cert
        value: base64-encoded-cert
    ingress:
      external: true
      targetPort: 443
      transport: http2
      allowInsecure: false
      customDomains:
        - name: app.example.com
          certificateRef: ssl-cert
    dapr:
      enabled: true
      appPort: 3000
      appProtocol: http

Monitoring and Logging

Application Insights Integration

const monitoringConfig = {
  configuration: {
    monitoring: {
      enabled: true,
      appInsightsInstrumentationKey: process.env.APPINSIGHTS_KEY
    }
  }
};

Log Analytics

Best Practices

Performance Optimization

1. Container Image Optimization

   • Use multi-stage builds
   • Minimize image size
   • Implement layer caching
   • Use production-ready base images

2. Resource Management

   • Set appropriate resource limits
   • Configure auto-scaling thresholds
   • Monitor resource usage
   • Implement graceful shutdown

High Availability

1. Multi-region Deployment

   const regions = ['eastus', 'westus'];
   for (const region of regions) {
     const containerApp = {
       location: region,
       // ... configuration
     };
     // Deploy to each region
   }
   

2. Traffic Management

   # traffic-split.yaml
   properties:
     configuration:
       ingress:
         traffic:
           - revisionName: myapp-v1
             weight: 90
           - revisionName: myapp-v2
             weight: 10
   

Troubleshooting Guide

Common Issues

References

1. Azure Container Apps Documentation
2. Container Apps Pricing
3. DAPR Documentation
4. Azure Monitor Documentation
5. Networking Best Practices
6. Security Guidelines

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• Azure Functions v4 - Serverless alternatives to Container Apps