Azure App Service

Azure App Service enables you to build and host web apps, mobile back ends, and RESTful APIs in the programming language of your choice without managing infrastructure. It offers auto-scaling and high availability, supports both Windows and Linux, and enables automated deployments from GitHub, Azure DevOps, or any Git repo. Learn how to use Azure App Service.

Overview

It is an HTTP-based service for hosting web applications, REST APIs, and mobile back ends. You can develop in your favorite language, be it .NET, .NET Core, Java, Ruby, Node.js, PHP, or Python. Applications run and scale with ease on both Windows and Linux-based environments.

App Service not only adds the power of Microsoft Azure to your application but you can also take advantage of its DevOps capabilities.

Power of Microsoft Azure, such as security, load balancing, autoscaling, and automated management.

DevOps capabilities, such as continuous deployment from Azure DevOps, GitHub, Docker Hub, and other sources, package management, staging environments, custom domain, and SSL certificates

With App Service, you pay for the Azure compute resources you use. The compute resources you use is determined by the App Service plan that you run your apps on.

Why use App Service?

Here are some key features of App Service:

  • Multiple languages and frameworks - App Service has first-class support for ASP.NET, ASP.NET Core, Java, Ruby, Node.js, PHP, or Python. You can also run PowerShell and other scripts or executables as background services.

  • DevOps optimization - Set up continuous integration and deployment with Azure DevOps, GitHub, BitBucket, Docker Hub, or Azure Container Registry. Promote updates through test and staging environments. Manage your apps in App Service by using Azure PowerShell or the cross-platform command-line interface (CLI).
  • Global scale with high availability - Scale up or out manually or automatically. Host your apps anywhere in Microsoft’s global datacenter infrastructure, and the App Service SLA promises high availability.
  • Connections to SaaS platforms and on-premises data - Choose from more than 50 connectors for enterprise systems (such as SAP), SaaS services (such as Salesforce), and internet services (such as Facebook). Access on-premises data using Hybrid Connections and Azure Virtual Networks.
  • Security and compliance - App Service is ISO, SOC, and PCI compliant. Authenticate users with Azure Active Directory or with social login (Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft). Create IP address restrictions and manage service identities.
  • Application templates - Choose from an extensive list of application templates in the Azure Marketplace, such as WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.
  • Visual Studio integration - Dedicated tools in Visual Studio streamline the work of creating, deploying, and debugging.
  • API and mobile features - App Service provides turn-key CORS support for RESTful API scenarios, and simplifies mobile app scenarios by enabling authentication, offline data sync, push notifications, and more.
  • Serverless code - Run a code snippet or script on-demand without having to explicitly provision or manage infrastructure, and pay only for the compute time your code actually uses (see Azure Functions).

Besides App Service, Azure offers other services that can be used for hosting websites and web applications. For most scenarios, App Service is the best choice. For microservice architecture, consider Service Fabric. If you need more control over the VMs that your code runs on, consider Azure Virtual Machines.