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What is Azure API App, features and compare with Web App
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With Azure API App, we can easily build, deploy and consume API on the cloud without managing underlying infrastructure. The key features of API Apps – authentication, CORS and API metadata. Features of Azure API App 1. Faster deployment of scalable Rest API’s 2. Support of Authentication with Azure AD and call Microsoft API’s 3. Consume APIs with CORS support 4. Swagger Support 5. Develop APIs with .NET, PHP, Node.js, Python or Java 6. Easily integrate with other Azure service like API management, Azure SQL, Logic apps and many more 7. Configure CI/CD to deploy your API’s 8. For Pricing refer to Azure App Service plan pricing. 9. Secure Platform that scales automatically 10. Monitor your App, configure alerts and do Auto scaling
Azure Web App vs API App1. Web Apps is a website which you can see in the browser whereas API is a service used in Web App. E.g: ASP.NET MVC application is Web App having UI with data where Web API return only data via end points for integrations to exchange data. 2. Now API APPs and Web Apps under the umbrella of APP Services if there is no difference, only icon difference in Azure Portal. 3. If you want to import API definition in Azure API management, you can do only with API App under App service.
Now, all of web, Mobile and API Apps are collectively coming under Azure App Services.
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Why to use Azure App Service?
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Azure App Service is a full managed Platform as a Service (PaaS) which enables to build and deploy web applications, Restful API’s, mobile back ends without managing underlying infrastructure with the choice of your programming language like .NET, .NET Core, Java, PHP, Python or Ruby. Application can run and scale on both windows and Linux environments.
Below are few features of Azure App service and based on this you can choose the service.
- Built-in Auto scale support – App service can be configured to scale up/down or scale in/out automatically based on your usage. Scale up/down increase the cores and RAM where as in/out increases or decreases the number of instances that are running your app.
- High Availability – Deploy your apps anywhere in Microsoft global data centers and with the right plan App service provides high availability for your application.
- IDE Integration – you can create, deploy and debug your azure app service application using visual studio, visual studio code, Java IDEs’ like Maven, Eclipse, IntelliJ.
- Continuous Integration and Deployment support – In the Azure portal, App service provides continuous integration and deployment with sources like Azure DevOps, GitHub, Bitbucket, FTP or local Git Repo from your local machine. Connect your application with the sources and App service will automatically synchronize your changes in the future.
- Deployment Slots – when you deploy your web app you can use separate deployment slot(staging) instead of production slot to test your changes with standard tier and above. Deployment slots have its own separate host names and you can swap content and configurations between deployment slots including the production slot. The swap operation warms up necessary worker processes to match your production scale with no downtime.
- Authentication – App service provides built-in authentication and authorization capability so your users can login to the App and access data based on the permissions with minimal changes to your code. You can use third party identity providers Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Twitter and GitHub.
- Multi language and Framework support – you can develop your application or APIs with .NET, PHP, Node.js, Python or Java of your choice even you can write power shell script to run back ground jobs. Easily manage your apps in App service by writing Power shell or Azure CLI scripts.
- Integrate with other services and SaaS Platforms – Easily integrate with other Azure service like API management, Azure SQL, Logic apps (SaaS connectors) and many more. You can access your on-premises data using Hybrid connection or Azure virtual network configuration with app service.
- API and Mobile scenarios - App service provided CORS support for Rest API’s and supports mobile apps scenarios like authentication, push notifications and offline data synchronization.
- Serverless Functions – you can use Azure App Service to run Azure functions with out managing underlying infrastructure. You will pay only for the compute time when your code is executed.
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What is an Azure portal?
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Azure Portal is a web application that provides an interface to manage your Azure resources. You can build, manage and monitor from simple to complex cloud deployments. Azure Portal has a presence across all Microsoft data centers and provides high availability and resilience in nature. Also, Azure Portal supports most well-known browsers and there is a mobile App for IOS and Android.
Let’s see few features • Create 200+ Azure resources from marketplace • Manage your subscriptions, costs and billing • Create dashboards to see focused view of your resources • In-built cloud shell to create or manage your azure service from browser • Monitor your services and workloads • Azure Active Directory – mange your user, groups and apps • Create support requests to reach out to Microsoft • Have your own portal settings like appearance, themes , language choice and configure notifications
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What tiers does Azure API Management offer?
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Azure API management comes in 2 different sets of tiers. - First one is consumption tier which is built per number of API executions and it is easier to start with even if your application is just picking the API traffic because Microsoft offers one million API executions for free every month. It does not incur any fixed costs.
- The other set of tires are the so-called dedicated tiers( called Developer, Basic, Standard, and Premium) where you are billed on an hourly basis, a fixed price and the offer more features than consumption tiers.
Note – You might incur additional charges for API management when using virtual networks, availability zone, and multi-region writes.
Azure API management is an azure service so your provisions in the azure cloud and route all the API calls through the azure cloud but Microsoft also offers self-hosted components like API gateway or the developer portal that you can host in other clouds like AWS, GCP or on-premises. References:
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What are the different hosting plans for Azure functions
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While creating Azure Functions, we must choose a hosting plan for the App. There are 3 basic plans named App Service Plan(dedicated), Consumption, and Premium plans and all these plans are available in Windows and Linux VM’s.
Let's look at what plan provides which features and based on these features and your needs you can select the right plan.
| Feature/Plan | Consumption | Premium | Dedicated | | Scaling | Automatically based on incoming requests | Automatically with pre-warmed instances so that no delays | Predictive scaling or Manual | | Scale Out Max# instances | Windows - 200
Linux - 100
| Windows - 100
Linux - 20-100 | 10-20 | | Cold start | With Idle scenario, scale goes to 0 and we have latency to scale | With Pre-warming feature there is no latency | NA - function app runs continuously | | Default Plan | Yes | No | No | | VNET connectivity | No | Yes | Yes | | App timeout(Min) | 5 mins | 30 mins | 30 mins | | App time out(Max) | 10 mins | unlimited | unlimited | | Billing | Pay only for the time when App runs | Pay as per runs plus pre warms | Pay as per App Service Plan | | When to consider | - Scale automatically
- Pay only when you run
| - App requires continuous run
- You need more CPU, memory and high GB seconds than consumption plan
- More execution time than consumption plan
- VNET connectivity
| - Want to re-use existing App Service Plan
- Predictive scaling and cost requirements
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Other than these 3 basic plans, we have App Service Environment(ASE) and Kubernetes isolation plans, do refer Microsoft documentation.
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As developer, why to consider .NET for Azure functions
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As a Serverless solution, Azure Functions provides ready to code environment to developers with Visual studio and Visual Studio Code IDE's. With this, developers are able to focus on piece of code that is important to them. When you get started with .NET Programming for Azure functions, you do not need to setup server or maintain infrastructure by yourself, you get control over the App start up, configuration process and many of other features out of the box.
As a .NET developer with no change in habits, you can leave current .NET behaviors like dependency injection and incorporate middleware into your Function App. On top of that Azure Function app make your code available in the cloud with CI/CD with Azure DevOps and Github Actions. You can run your code with highly scalable on demand computer resources and easily integration with other azure services such as Azure storage, Eventgrid, CosmosDB and many more Azure Services.
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What are the differences between Azure functions and Azure logic apps
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Azure function and Azure logic apps both are serverless workloads. Let's look at a few differences below.
| Azure Functions | Azure logic Apps | | Execute event-driven serverless code functions with an end-to-end development experience | Automate the access and use of data across clouds | | serverless compute services | Serverless workflows | | Code first approached - imperative | Design first - declarative | | Uses App Insights for monitoring | Uses Azure Monitor logs and Azure Portal | | Managed with Rest API and Visual studio | Managed with Azure Portal, Rest API, Visual studio and PowerShell | | Execute locally or in cloud | Run any where | | Lot of binding types and extend your own bindings | Lot of connectors or build your own | | We can call Azure logic apps from Functions | We can call Functions from logic app | | Write code for each activity to execute | In built read made actions(app connectors) available to integrate from the collection |
Based on above comparisons and your requirement factors you can choose any of the service.
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What are the common usages of Azure functions?
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Azure Functions are great solution to build scalable systems and below are a few usage scenarios - To send emails or notifications
- Processing the file data - When the blob is added or updated you can run Azure functions
- Integration with the different systems
- Run batch processes on schedule time - Using Timer Trigger you can schedule jobs
- Database backups and cleanups - To administer your DB activities
- IoT data processing - using Azure Event Hub biding you can collect data from IOT devices
- Build APIs and microservices - Using the HTTP trigger endpoint you can build APIs
There are many more ways, based on your need you can evaluate other features of Azure functions and implement.
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What is Azure Functions
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Azure functions is a logical unit of code that lets you execute your code in a server less environment without worrying about application infrastructure. It provides updated infrastructure and your application runs at a scale automatically whenever there is a load.
You can develop your function code using C#, Java, JavaScript, Powershell, and Python languages of your choice. Package managers like Nuget and NPM are supported so you can use popular libraries in your application logic.
Azure functions are surrounded by triggers and bindings. A function is triggered by a specific type of event.
Once the functions are developed and deployed to azure, then you can pay per use pricing model. The plans will be App Service Plan, Consumption Plan, and Premium plans.
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Who should be using Azure functions?
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- Azure functions provide ready-to-code environments and easy-to-code programming models as a Serverless solution.
- It helps developers to focus on coding and delivering key value to your organization without the need to set up servers and maintain infrastructure by themselves.
- If you are a .NET developer, you want to get started on .NET programming while taking advantage of cloud-based highly scalable, on-demand resources needed to run your applications, Azure functions are a way to go.
- Azure functions focus on event-driven scenarios, and it simplified the integration with many Azure services like Event Grid, and cosmos DB and with a broader range of events and bindings which allows one to connect other azure services with ease declaration.
- Supports the latest version of. NET. Always azure functions team works with the latest .NET features from the preview mode.
Start building apps with Azure functions. |
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