Azure Container Instances¶
Azure Container Instances (ACI) lets you run containers in the cloud without managing virtual machines or clusters. It is suitable for microservices, event-driven workloads, and prototyping.
Scenario¶
A financial services company needs to deploy microservices for transaction processing. Each service is containerized and must scale independently, integrate with Azure resources, and reduce operational overhead.
Challenges¶
| Challenge | Traditional VMs | Azure Container Instances |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Manual | Serverless |
| Scaling | Complex | Instant |
| Cost | High | Pay-per-use |
| Integration | Manual | Native Azure bindings |
| Availability | Variable | High |
Solution Overview¶
Azure Container Instances provides a way to deploy containers quickly. You specify CPU and memory, upload your image, and run it without setting up clusters or VMs. Use Azure Container Registry (ACR) for images and Azure Monitor for tracking performance.
Key Features:
- Rapid deployment
- Manual or automated scaling
- Integrated monitoring
- Credential management with Key Vault
- High availability
Implementation Steps¶
- Build and push images to Azure Container Registry (ACR).
- Create ACI instances with required CPU and memory.
- Configure environment variables and secrets from Key Vault.
- Connect to Azure Storage, Event Grid, or other services.
- Use Azure Monitor for health and performance tracking.
- Scale manually or automate scaling.
Benefits¶
- No infrastructure management
- Scalable resources
- Pay only for running containers
- Secure credential storage
- Integration with Azure services
Azure Resources¶
- Azure Container Instances (ACI)
- Azure Container Registry (ACR)
- Azure Storage Account
- Azure Key Vault
- Azure Monitor