Azure container services overview

Introduction

The current post presents an overview of the Azure container services, as of early May 2022. Generally speaking, containers are an evolution to virtualization solutions and fall under the Azure Compute Services category. Given the dynamic nature of public clouds, this list will most likely change soon in the near future but nevertheless acts as a general point of reference when discussing Azure containers services. You find an overview of all Azure service categories at https://stefanos.cloud/blog/azure-service-categories/.

App Configuration

Fast, scalable parameter storage for app configuration

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

Deploy and scale containers on managed Kubernetes

Azure Red Hat OpenShift

Deploy and scale containers on managed Red Hat OpenShift

Azure Container Apps

Build and deploy modern apps and microservices using serverless containers

Azure Functions

Execute event-driven serverless code with an end-to-end development experience

Web App for Containers

Run containerized web apps on Windows and Linux

Azure Container Instances

Launch containers with hypervisor isolation

Azure Service Fabric

Deploy and operate always-on, scalable, distributed apps

Azure Container Registry

Build, store, secure, and replicate container images and artifacts

Azure container services architecture considerations

Microsoft provides a handful of useful resources for architecting Azure container solutions in the Azure Architecture Center. Such an example is the architecture blueprint of Azure Hybrid Containers available at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/hybrid/hybrid-containers.

Becoming certified in Azure container services

The most relevant certifications begin with Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900 exam) and continue with the following exams and certifications:

• AZ-400 Create and manage containers using Docker and Kubernetes (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/az-400)
• Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/windows-server-hybrid-administrator/)
• Azure Administrator Associate (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/az-104)

Microsoft offers free MS Learn courses on Azure container services:

• Introduction to Docker containers: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/modules/intro-to-docker-containers/
• Administer containers in Azure: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/administer-containers-in-azure/
• AZ-400 Create and manage containers using Docker and Kubernetes: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/az-400-create-manage-containers-using-docker-kubernetes/

You can also download the free AKS book provided by Microsoft at https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/kubernetes-ebook-collection/.

References

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/product-categories/containers/