Custom domains and SSL in Azure - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Custom domains and SSL setup on Azure App Service

📖 Scenario: You have created a web app on Azure App Service. Now, you want to make it accessible via your own domain name and secure it with SSL.This project guides you through configuring a custom domain and enabling SSL for your Azure web app.

🎯 Goal: Configure a custom domain www.example.com for your Azure web app named mywebapp and enable SSL using a free App Service Managed Certificate.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a resource group variable named resource_group with value myResourceGroup.

Create a web app variable named webapp_name with value mywebapp.

Create a variable custom_domain with value www.example.com.

Create a variable ssl_cert_name with value mywebapp-ssl-cert.

Add the custom domain www.example.com to the web app.

Create a free App Service Managed Certificate for www.example.com.

Bind the SSL certificate to the custom domain on the web app.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Many companies want to use their own domain names and secure their websites with SSL certificates to protect user data and improve trust.

💼 Career

Cloud engineers and DevOps professionals often configure custom domains and SSL certificates on cloud web hosting platforms like Azure App Service.

1

Set up resource group and web app variables

Create a variable called resource_group and set it to myResourceGroup. Then create a variable called webapp_name and set it to mywebapp.

Azure

# Create variables for resource group and web app name
# Your code here

Hint

Use simple string assignments for both variables.

2

Add custom domain variable

Add a variable called custom_domain and set it to www.example.com.

Azure

resource_group = 'myResourceGroup'
webapp_name = 'mywebapp'
# Create variable for custom domain
# Your code here

Hint

Assign the exact domain string to the variable.

3

Add SSL certificate name variable

Add a variable called ssl_cert_name and set it to mywebapp-ssl-cert.

Azure

resource_group = 'myResourceGroup'
webapp_name = 'mywebapp'
custom_domain = 'www.example.com'
# Create variable for SSL certificate name
# Your code here

Hint

Use the exact string for the SSL certificate name.

4

Configure custom domain and SSL binding

Use Azure CLI commands to add the custom domain custom_domain to the web app webapp_name in resource_group. Then create a free App Service Managed Certificate named ssl_cert_name for the custom domain. Finally, bind the SSL certificate to the custom domain on the web app.

Azure

resource_group = 'myResourceGroup'
webapp_name = 'mywebapp'
custom_domain = 'www.example.com'
ssl_cert_name = 'mywebapp-ssl-cert'
# Add custom domain to web app
# Create free SSL certificate
# Bind SSL certificate to custom domain
# Your code here

Hint

Use Azure CLI commands with the variables to add domain, create SSL cert, and bind SSL.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of adding a custom domain to an Azure web app?

easy

A. To increase the storage capacity of the web app

B. To use your own website name instead of Azure's default URL

C. To enable automatic backups of the web app

D. To improve the speed of the web app

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand what a custom domain is

   A custom domain lets you replace the default Azure URL with your own website name, making it easier for visitors to remember.

2. Step 2: Identify the purpose of using a custom domain

   Using your own domain improves branding and trust, not storage or speed.

3. Final Answer:

   To use your own website name instead of Azure's default URL -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Custom domain = Your own website name [OK]

Hint: Custom domain means your own website name, not Azure's URL [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing custom domain with storage or speed features
• Thinking custom domain automatically improves backups
• Assuming custom domain changes app performance

2. Which Azure CLI command is used to bind an SSL certificate to a web app's custom domain?

easy

A. az webapp domain bind

B. az webapp create ssl

C. az ssl certificate add

D. az webapp config ssl bind

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall Azure CLI commands for SSL binding

   The correct command to bind an SSL certificate to a web app is az webapp config ssl bind.

2. Step 2: Eliminate incorrect commands

   az webapp create ssl and az ssl certificate add are not valid commands. az webapp domain bind binds domains but not SSL certificates.

3. Final Answer:

   az webapp config ssl bind -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   SSL bind command = az webapp config ssl bind [OK]

Hint: SSL bind uses 'az webapp config ssl bind' command [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'az webapp domain bind' for SSL binding
• Confusing create and bind commands
• Trying non-existent commands like 'az ssl certificate add'

3. Given this Azure CLI command:
az webapp config ssl bind --certificate-thumbprint abc123 --name myapp --resource-group mygroup --ssl-type SNI
What will this command do?

medium

A. Bind the SSL certificate with thumbprint abc123 to the web app myapp using SNI SSL

B. Create a new SSL certificate with thumbprint abc123 for the web app myapp

C. Remove the SSL certificate from the web app myapp

D. List all SSL certificates for the web app myapp

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the command parameters

   The command uses az webapp config ssl bind with a certificate thumbprint, web app name, resource group, and SSL type SNI.

2. Step 2: Understand the command effect

   This command binds the existing SSL certificate identified by thumbprint abc123 to the web app myapp using Server Name Indication (SNI) SSL.

3. Final Answer:

   Bind the SSL certificate with thumbprint abc123 to the web app myapp using SNI SSL -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   SSL bind command with thumbprint = Bind SSL cert [OK]

Hint: Binding SSL uses thumbprint and 'az webapp config ssl bind' [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking the command creates or removes certificates
• Confusing listing certificates with binding
• Misunderstanding SNI SSL as removal

4. You tried to bind an SSL certificate to your Azure web app but got an error saying the certificate thumbprint was not found. What is the most likely cause?

medium

A. The SSL type SNI is not supported

B. The web app name is incorrect

C. The SSL certificate was not uploaded to the Azure resource group

D. The custom domain is not verified

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the error about missing certificate thumbprint

   The error means Azure cannot find the SSL certificate with the given thumbprint in the resource group.

2. Step 2: Identify the cause

   This usually happens if the certificate was not uploaded or imported into the Azure resource group before binding.

3. Final Answer:

   The SSL certificate was not uploaded to the Azure resource group -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Missing thumbprint error = Certificate not uploaded [OK]

Hint: Upload SSL cert before binding to avoid thumbprint errors [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming web app name causes thumbprint errors
• Thinking SNI SSL is unsupported
• Ignoring domain verification as cause

5. You want to secure your Azure web app with a custom domain and SSL. Which sequence of steps is correct?

hard

A. Add custom domain to web app, upload SSL certificate, then bind SSL certificate to domain

B. Bind SSL certificate to web app, then add custom domain, then upload SSL certificate

C. Upload SSL certificate, add custom domain, then bind SSL certificate to domain

D. Add custom domain, bind SSL certificate, then upload SSL certificate

Solution

1. Step 1: Add the custom domain to the Azure web app

   You must first add your custom domain to the web app so Azure knows which domain to secure.

2. Step 2: Upload the SSL certificate to Azure

   Next, upload the SSL certificate to the Azure resource group to make it available for binding.

3. Step 3: Bind the SSL certificate to the custom domain

   Finally, bind the uploaded SSL certificate to the custom domain on the web app to enable HTTPS.

4. Final Answer:

   Add custom domain to web app, upload SSL certificate, then bind SSL certificate to domain -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   Domain add -> cert upload -> cert bind [OK]

Hint: Add domain first, upload cert second, bind cert last [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Trying to bind SSL before uploading certificate
• Binding SSL before adding custom domain
• Uploading certificate after binding