Creating a web app in Azure - Practice Exercises

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Architecture

intermediate

Choosing the right Azure App Service plan for a web app

You want to deploy a web app on Azure that needs to handle sudden traffic spikes and requires automatic scaling. Which Azure App Service plan should you choose?

A Free plan with limited CPU and memory, no auto-scaling

B Basic plan with manual scaling only

C Standard plan with auto-scaling and load balancing

D Shared plan with limited resources and no SLA

💡 Hint

Consider plans that support automatic scaling and load balancing for traffic spikes.

The Standard plan supports auto-scaling and load balancing, which is essential for handling sudden traffic spikes. Free and Shared plans have limited resources and no SLA, and Basic plan requires manual scaling.

❓ Configuration

intermediate

Configuring environment variables for an Azure web app

You want to securely store and access a database connection string in your Azure web app without hardcoding it in your code. Where should you configure this connection string?

A In a text file uploaded to the web app's root directory

B Directly inside the source code as a constant string

C In the Azure Storage Blob container

D In the web app's Application Settings under Configuration in Azure Portal

💡 Hint

Think about secure and manageable ways to store sensitive configuration data in Azure.

Application Settings in the Azure Portal allow you to store environment variables securely and access them in your app code without hardcoding. Storing in source code or text files is insecure. Azure Blob Storage is for file storage, not config.

❓ service_behavior

advanced

Understanding deployment slots behavior in Azure App Service

You have two deployment slots: production and staging. You deploy a new version to staging and want to swap it with production. What happens to the app settings marked as 'slot setting' during the swap?

A Slot settings remain with their respective slots and do not swap

B Slot settings swap along with the code and content

C Slot settings are deleted during the swap

D Slot settings are merged between slots after the swap

💡 Hint

Consider how slot settings are designed to keep environment-specific configurations isolated.

Slot settings are configuration values that stick to their deployment slot and do not move during a swap. This allows environment-specific settings to remain consistent.

❓ security

advanced

Securing Azure web app with Managed Identity

You want your Azure web app to access an Azure SQL Database securely without storing credentials in the app code or configuration. What is the best way to achieve this?

A Enable a system-assigned Managed Identity for the web app and grant it access to the database

B Store the database username and password in Application Settings

C Use a shared access signature (SAS) token in the app code

D Create a service principal and hardcode its credentials in the app

💡 Hint

Think about Azure features that allow apps to authenticate securely without secrets.

Managed Identity allows the web app to authenticate to Azure SQL Database securely without storing credentials. Other options involve storing secrets or hardcoding credentials, which is less secure.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Optimizing cost and performance for a global Azure web app

You have a web app serving users worldwide. You want to reduce latency and optimize costs while maintaining high availability. Which architecture should you implement?

A Deploy the web app in a single Azure region with Standard plan and use Azure CDN for static content

B Deploy multiple instances of the web app in multiple Azure regions with Traffic Manager and use auto-scaling in each region

C Deploy the web app in multiple regions but disable auto-scaling to save costs

D Deploy the web app in a single region with Premium plan and rely on Azure Front Door for global routing

💡 Hint

Consider global distribution, load balancing, and scaling features for performance and cost.

Deploying multiple instances in multiple regions with Traffic Manager provides global load balancing and failover. Auto-scaling in each region ensures performance and cost optimization. Single region deployments increase latency for distant users.