In this blog, I will share some quick tips including Q&A’s and useful links from Day 11 of our recently launched new batch of Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect(AZ-303/AZ-304)
On Day 11 we covered Containers, Azure Container Instances, Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure Service Fabric, Function as a Service (FaaS), Choosing an Azure Compute Solution.
We also covered hands-on Lab 14, Lab 15 out of our 25+Extensive labs (AZ-304).
The Previous week in Day 10 Live Session, we covered Azure Monitor, Workbooks, Azure Alerts, Log Analytics, Network Watcher, Azure Service Health, Azure Application Insights.
So, here are some of the Q/A asked during the Live session from Module: Design a Compute Solution
Container
Containers are a software package into a logical box with everything that the application needs to run. That includes a thin layer of blog operating system, application code, runtime, system tools, system libraries, and etc.
Virtual Machines
Virtual Machines (VM) is one of several types of on-demand, scalable computing resources that Azure offers. Typically, you choose a VM when you need more control over the computing environment than the other choices offer.
Q1. Is it possible to install more than one application in a specific container?
Ans. You can have multiple processes, but to get the most benefit out of one container, avoid one container being responsible for multiple aspects of your overall application. You can connect multiple containers using user-defined networks and shared volumes.
Q2. Where will the Container instance run if no dedicated VM/Node is present?
Ans. Whenever you provision a container, it will be running on a shared infrastructure. There is a VM behind the scenes but you will not see that Instance. This VM is not a dedicated VM, there will be multiple containers from multiple customers running inside it.
Azure Container Instances (ACI)
Azure Container Instances (ACI) is Microsoft PaaS (Platform as service) solution that offers the fastest and simplest way to run a container in Azure, without having to manage any underlying infrastructure. You can deploy Azure Container Instances using Azure Portal, CLI, Powershell, or ARM Template.
Q3. For which scenarios can we use ACI?
Ans. There are a number of scenarios where we can use ACI. If you want to get a test instance of something running in the cloud, with ACI, you can quickly spin up a container, do your testing and then delete it when you are done. And here, you will have to only pay for a few hours of usage.
Read More: About Azure Virtual Desktop.
Service-level Agreements
Service-level agreements (SLAs) describe Microsoft’s commitments for uptime and connectivity. The service offers comprehensive SLAs which covers the guarantees for throughput, consistency, availability and latency.
Q4. Does MS do auto calculation or do we have to use a 3rd party product whenever there is an SLA breach?
Ans. You don’t have to calculate. You can follow up on the notification on the service health and let MS support take care of this. Also, if you have premier support with Microsoft you can automate the ticket creation also using Support API. In certain scenarios, if there is a mass outage with a large subset of customers affected, Microsoft will perform a bulk credit to all customers without the need to open tickets.
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is a managed Kubernetes service in which the master node is managed by Microosft and end-users manages worker nodes. Users can use AKS to deploy, scale, and manage Docker containers and container-based applications across a cluster of container hosts. As a managed Kubernetes service AKS is free – you only pay for the worker nodes within your clusters, not for the masters.
➝Read more about Azure Kubernetes Service (AJKS).
Q5. Is App Service for Container and AKS a PaaS Service?
Ans. Yes, Azure App Service is considered an excellent Platform as a Service (PaaS), offering an application platform for developers to build Web, mobile and API applications and AKS is also a managed service more of a PaaS.
Q6. Can I have different VM sizes in a single cluster?
Ans. Yes, you can use different virtual machine sizes in your AKS cluster by creating multiple node pools.
Azure Service Fabric
Azure Service Fabric is a distributed systems platform that makes it easy to package, deploy, and manage scalable and reliable microservices and containers. Service Fabric also addresses the significant challenges in developing and managing cloud-native applications.
Q7. Is Service Fabric Auto Scaling based on your Thresholds?
Ans. It is based on our metrics selected for scaling. Scaling Events will happen based on those selected metrics.
Q8. What is the difference between Service Fabric and AKS?
Ans. The biggest difference between the two is that AKS only works with Docker-first applications using Kubernetes. Service Fabric is geared toward microservices and supports a number of different runtime strategies. Service Fabric can deploy Docker and Windows Server containers.
Function as a Service (FaaS)
Function as a service (FaaS) is a true serverless architecture. It is an event-driven serverless compute architecture. It hides the complexity of building and maintaining the underlying infrastructure typically associated with developing and launching an application. It allows customers to develop, test, run and manage their services or individual components without even considering the complexities of the underlying infrastructure.
Q9. What are some examples of FaaS?
Ans. Azure Function is one of the key FaaS providers in the cloud industry. Azure Function is an event-driven serverless compute service which allows the developer to write, deploy and manage their code without caring for the underlying infrastructure.
Choose an Azure Compute Service
Azure offers a number of ways to host your application code. The term compute refers to the hosting model for the computing resources that your application runs on. The following flowchart will help you to choose a compute service for your application.
➝Read more about Compute Decision Tree.
Quiz Time (Sample Exam Questions)!
With our Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect training program, we cover 220+ [AZ-303] & 200+[AZ-304] sample exam questions to help you prepare for the certification AZ-303 & AZ-304.
Note: Download the 25 Sample Exam-Questions of Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect.
Check out one of the questions and see if you can crack this…
Ques: You are designing a container solution in Azure that will include two containers. One container will host a web API that will be available to the public. The other container will perform health monitoring of the web API and will remain private. The two containers will be deployed together as a group. You need to recommend a compute service for the containers. The solution much minimizes costs and maintenance overhead.
What should you include in your recommendation?
A. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
B. Azure Container Instances
C. Azure Container registries
D. Azure Service Fabric
The right answer will be revealed in my next week’s Blog.
Here is the answer to the question shared last week.
Ques: You are analyzing the company virtual network and think it would help to get a visual representation of the networking elements. Which feature can you use?
A. Network Watcher Flows
B. Network Watcher Next Hop
C. Network Watcher Views
D. Network Watcher Topology
Answer: D. Network Watcher Topology
Explanation: Network Watcher’s Topology feature provides a visual representation of your networking elements.
Feedback
We always work on improving and being the best version of ourselves from the previous session hence constantly asking for feedback from our attendees.
Here’s the feedback that we received from our trainees who had attended the session…
Here 2106 is in YYMM format, representing the trainees from the batch of June 2021.
Related/References
- AZ 303/304: Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect: Step By Step Activity Guides (Hands-On Labs)
- [Recap] Day 8: Manage Workloads in Azure [Azure Solutions Architect]
- [Recap] Day 9: Container-Based Applications & Application Infrastructure [Azure Solutions Architect]
- Top 10 Best Practices for Azure Security in 2021
- Tips To Prepare Exam AZ-304: Microsoft Azure Architect Design
- Exam AZ-305: Azure Solutions Architect Expert Certification
Next Task For You
Begin your journey toward Mastering Azure Cloud and landing high-paying jobs. Just click on the register now button on the below image to register for a Free Class on Mastering Azure Cloud: How to Build In-Demand Skills and Land High-Paying Jobs. This class will help you understand better, so you can choose the right career path and get a higher paying job.
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