What to use to Run applications in Azure

10 minute read

Learn what service from Azure you should use while creating your application in Azure. This article has quick short answer for when to use what in Azure service? Get free e-book on Design Distributed Systems. It is difficult to compare options available in Azure. The comparison with the features of the options provides you tools to choose the right service with your requirements.

Running Application in Azure Options

You can use various services from Azure to run your applications. It depends what exactly is your requirements. Below are the services available from Azure.

Azure Virtual Machines. (VMs)
Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS)
Container instances
Azure Web App for Containers
Azure Batch
Azure Service Fabric (Mesh)
Cloud ServicesX
Azure App Services Web Apps
Azure App Services WebJobs
Azure App Services Mobile Apps
Function Apps
Azure Logic Apps

Virtual Machines (VMs)

💁 Important

Azure Virtual Machines is under Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering from Microsoft Azure.

Managed Virtual Machine Service in Cloud
Starts and Stops in minutes
Many OS images are available.
- You can choose your own OS image (Linux Windows). Explore the full list of Azure VM types
- You can bring your own OS /Software License ( same money )
Many Sizes to choose from (CPU, Memory, Disk Type)
- General purpose
- GPU (for Intense work like video rendering etc.)
Configuration options
- Auto shutdown, Adding Disks, Adding VM to Networking
SLA 99.95% (Only if you run multiple instances)

Learn Getting Started with Azure Virtual Machine. To get guarantied 99.95% SLA you must need 2 or more VMs.

Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS)

💁 Important

Azure Kubernetes Service is under Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering from Microsoft Azure.

Run multiple containers that makeup your applications
Starts and stops in seconds
Managed version of the Kubernetes container orchestrator. It takes care of provisioning or de-provisioning the containers. It scales up and down and monitor containers.
Runs Linux and Windows Containers
You instantiate the container with images from
- Docker Hub or
- Azure Container Registry, here you can host your own images or upload from somewhere.
AKS runs in Azure on a cluster of VM so the availability is same as Azure VM.

Containers are light weight compare to VM. They starts and stops in Seconds however VMs in Minutes. Learn more about AKS.

Container Instances

💁 Important

Container Instances is under Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering from Microsoft Azure.

Run single containers that makeup your applications
Starts and stops in seconds
No container orchestrator needed
- Can work with orchestrators
Runs Linux and Windows Containers
You instantiate the container with images from
- Docker Hub or
- Azure Container Registry, here you can host your own images or upload from somewhere.
AKS runs in Azure on a cluster of VM so the availability is same as Azure VM.

Learn more about Azure Container Instances.

Azure Web App for Containers

💁 Important

Azure Web App for Containers is under Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering from Microsoft Azure.

You can run container in Azure Web App for Container as Service. This allows you to run container on App Services.
Starts and stops in seconds
No container orchestrator needed
Runs Linux and Windows Containers
Use App Service Features
- Easy to setup Continuous Deployments from source control
- Use Deployment Slots which allows you deployment with no downtime
- Scale and automatic Scale by adding rules.
You instantiate the container with images from
- Docker Hub or
- Azure Container Registry, here you can host your own images or upload from somewhere.

Azure Batch

💁 Important

Azure Batch is under Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering from Microsoft Azure.

Allows you to run your job across many Virtual Machines at massive scale (thousands of VMs). You can use it to run a calculating job that needs lots of compute power or rendering video files.
Orchestrates running your job in parallel
- Scaling across machines
- Stages data for your job so you can insert data into your job.
- Create job pipelines with tasks so you can determine what steps need to be done with the output.
Runs your job on Linux and Windows based VMs
Can run containers. So you can run your application in container in Azure Batch. It will run it on as many VMs as needed.

Learn more about Azure Batch

Azure Service Fabric (Mesh)

💁 Important

Azure Service Fabric (Mesh) is under Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) as well as Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering from Microsoft Azure.

Run your applications reliably and resilient.
Orchestrates running your app over multiple nodes
- Keeps it available
- Keeps it performant by scaling
- Performs rolling upgrades
Can run
- Any executable (type of apps)
- Reliable services (that persist state)
- Actor-based applications (that shares the state)
- And orchestrate containers
Runs in the cloud and on-premises
In production you must need minimum 5 VMs to run it reliably.
Can run serverless as Service Fabric Mesh service. You can spin up Service Fabric without using 5 VMs.

Did you know Azure Service Fabrics is a technology that Microsoft uses itself to run many of their own Azure Services, like Azur e SQL Databases? Learn more about Azure Service Fabrics

Cloud Services

💁 Important

Cloud Services is under Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering from Microsoft Azure.

Run your applications in VMs and manages in the form of Web worker or Worker roles.
Abstracts the VM so that you don’t have to deal with OS or network.
- It provides scaling
You package your app and deploy it using VS template
- To run as an HTTP-based application as web worker role, or
- To run as a background job as worker role.
Enable you to have some control over the VM
- RDP into the VMs you can create task to install things in VMs.

Did you know Azure Cloud Services was one of the first Platform-as-a-Service offering from Azure and takes care the management of VMs for you? Learn more about Azure Cloud Services

Azure App Services Web Apps

💁 Important

Azure App Services Web Apps is under Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering from Microsoft Azure.

Runs your app in a Webserver-as-a-service like IIS or Tomcat
.Net, Java, PHP, Node.js and Python
App Service features
- Continuous Deployment
- Custom Domains
- Deployment Slots no downtime
- (automatic) scaling
- Authentication/ Authorization
- WebJobs
- Hybrid connections to on-premise resources ( like connect your own data-center database)
SLA 99.95% even you run only one instance.

Learn more about Azure Web Apps

Azure App Services WebJobs

💁 Important

Azure App Services WebJobs is under Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering from Microsoft Azure.

Runs your background task in App Services
Runs inside your App Service
- Consumes resources
- Is dependent on your App Services ( If WebJob as a part of a Web App the WebJob will stop if Web App is stopped )
Can be triggered
- Continuously
- On a schedule ( like every 10 mins)
- By outsider resources
  - New message on a queue (WebJob SDK has in-build code to connect to Queues)

Learn more about Azure App Services WebJob

Azure App Services Mobile Apps

💁 Important

Azure App Services Mobile Apps is under Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering from Microsoft Azure.

Run your app as a backend for mobile clients
You can create backend app using .Net or Node.js
Mobile clients connect with the SDK
- iOS, Android, Windows, Xamarin Forms
Unique features offered by Mobile Apps that is not in Web Apps
- Offline sync which enables the mobile app to loose connection to backend still continue working and sync back when connected to backend eventually )
- Push notifications which enables you to send notifications to your mobile app like you get when you receive new email.
All of the App Service features
- Deployment Slots
- (Automatic) scaling
SLA 99.95%

Learn more about Azure App Services Mobile Apps

Function Apps

💁 Important

Function Apps is under Serverless or Logic as a Service offering from Microsoft Azure.

This is also part of Azure App Services
Executes small pieces of code like execute whenever file get uploaded.
Can be triggered
- Continuously
- On a schedule ( like every 10 mins)
- By outsider resources
  - Web Hooks
  - New messages in a queue
Have bindings
- Incoming Azure Blob value
- Outgoing Azure Storage Queue Message
All of the App Service features
- Deployment Slots
- Continuous Deployment
- (Automatic) scaling
Can run in consumption mode (serverless)
- Pay only for their execution
- Scale automatically

In consumption mode Azure Functions become ideal after 5 mins of non-running. Learn more about Azure Functions

Azure Logic Apps

💁 Important

Azure Logic Apps is under Serverless or Logic as a Service offering from Microsoft Azure.

Execute a pipeline of tasks in a process
Replaces for BizTalk Services
Can be triggered
- Continuously
- On a schedule ( like every 10 mins)
- By outsider resources
  - Web Hooks
  - New messages in a queue
After being triggered Azure Logic app goes on to execute a process by calling connectors which are basically APIs.
- Many connectors to resources
  - Like connectors to Office 365, Twitter, SendGrid, or your own APIs.
Only run in consumption mode (serverless)
- Scales automatically

Learn more about Azure Logic Apps

When to use What?

Based on high level application requirement

When	Use these Azure Service
Full control & responsibility, Stay vendor agnostic (run anywhere vendor agnostic)	VMs, Container Instances, Kubernetes Service, Web App for Containers, Azure Batch, Service Fabric (Mesh)
Azure manages your app, You manage scaling and configuration	Batch, Cloud Services, Mobile App, Web App, Service Fabric
Be able to RDP in VMs	Batch, Cloud Services, Service Fabric(Mesh)
Azure manage your app, including scaling, You manage configuration	Azure Function App, Logic App

Comparing Container Options and VMs

Scenarios	VM	Container Instances	Kubernetes Services	WebApp for Containers	Batch	Service Fabric
Lift-and shift your app to the cloud	✔️
Simple apps (without orchestrator)	✔️	✔️
Complex apps (with orchestrator)			✔️			✔️
Run orchestrated microservices						✔️
Run anywhere						✔️
Run web app on Linux with App Service features				✔️
Repetitive jobs (on massive scale)					✔️

Where to Run your Background Tasks?

Scenarios	Cloud Services	Web Jobs	Functions	Batch
Short-running tasks	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
Long-running tasks	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
Resource intensive tasks				✔️
Pay all month	✔️	✔️
Pay only for what and when you run			✔️
Need to deploy a complete app to run	✔️			✔️
Can deploy only the code necessary to run		✔️	✔️

Where to Run your Applications?

Scenarios	Web App	Mobile App	Cloud Services	Service Fabric	Functions	Logic App
Host web applications	✔️		✔️	✔️
Host your own APIs	✔️		✔️	✔️	✔️
Host backend for mobile apps (push notification, offline sync)		✔️
Automate one step of a process					✔️
Automate a complete process						✔️
Feature deployment slots, Auth	✔️	✔️	✔️		✔️
Run (micro) services at massive scale				✔️	✔️

Thanks for reading my article till end. I hope you learned something special today. If you enjoyed this article then please share to your friends and if you have suggestions or thoughts to share with me then please write in the comment box.

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