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Azure Container Apps Deployment Guide

examples/showcases/microsoft-kanban/DEPLOY.md

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Azure Container Apps Deployment Guide

This guide covers deploying the Kanban application (C# backend agent + Next.js frontend) to Azure Container Apps.

Prerequisites

1. Azure CLI

Install the Azure CLI:

After installation, verify:

bash
az --version

2. Azure Subscription

You need an active Azure subscription. Sign up for a free account at azure.microsoft.com.

3. GitHub Personal Access Token

The backend agent requires a GitHub token to access GitHub Models API.

Get your token:

bash
# If you have GitHub CLI installed
gh auth token

# Or create manually:
# 1. Go to https://github.com/settings/tokens
# 2. Click "Generate new token (classic)"
# 3. Select scopes: repo (full control)
# 4. Generate and copy the token

Set the token as an environment variable:

bash
export GITHUB_TOKEN="your_token_here"

4. Login to Azure

bash
az login

This will open a browser window for authentication.

Quick Deployment

1. Run the Deployment Script

From the project root:

bash
./scripts/deploy-azure.sh

The script will:

  1. Prompt for configuration (or use defaults)
  2. Create Azure resource group
  3. Create Azure Container Registry (ACR)
  4. Build and push Docker images
  5. Create Container Apps environment
  6. Deploy backend container app
  7. Deploy frontend container app
  8. Output URLs for both applications

2. Access Your Application

After deployment completes, you'll see:

Frontend URL: https://kanban-ui.xxx.azurecontainerapps.io
Backend URL:  https://kanban-agent.xxx.azurecontainerapps.io

Open the frontend URL in your browser to use the Kanban board.

Configuration Options

When running the deployment script, you can customize:

OptionDefaultDescription
Resource Groupkanban-demo-rgAzure resource group name
LocationeastusAzure region
ACR NamekanbandemoacrContainer registry name (must be globally unique)
Backend Appkanban-agentBackend container app name
Frontend Appkanban-uiFrontend container app name

Manual Deployment Steps

If you prefer to deploy manually or customize the process:

1. Create Resource Group

bash
az group create \
  --name kanban-demo-rg \
  --location eastus

2. Create Container Registry

bash
az acr create \
  --name kanbandemoacr \
  --resource-group kanban-demo-rg \
  --sku Basic \
  --admin-enabled true

3. Build and Push Images

Backend:

bash
az acr build \
  --registry kanbandemoacr \
  --image kanban-agent:latest \
  --file agent/Dockerfile \
  --context .

Frontend:

bash
az acr build \
  --registry kanbandemoacr \
  --image kanban-ui:latest \
  --file Dockerfile \
  --context .

4. Create Container Apps Environment

bash
az containerapp env create \
  --name kanban-env \
  --resource-group kanban-demo-rg \
  --location eastus

5. Deploy Backend

Get ACR credentials:

bash
ACR_USERNAME=$(az acr credential show --name kanbandemoacr --query username -o tsv)
ACR_PASSWORD=$(az acr credential show --name kanbandemoacr --query passwords[0].value -o tsv)

Deploy backend:

bash
az containerapp create \
  --name kanban-agent \
  --resource-group kanban-demo-rg \
  --environment kanban-env \
  --image kanbandemoacr.azurecr.io/kanban-agent:latest \
  --target-port 8000 \
  --ingress external \
  --registry-server kanbandemoacr.azurecr.io \
  --registry-username "$ACR_USERNAME" \
  --registry-password "$ACR_PASSWORD" \
  --secrets github-token="$GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  --env-vars GitHubToken=secretref:github-token

Get backend URL:

bash
BACKEND_URL=$(az containerapp show \
  --name kanban-agent \
  --resource-group kanban-demo-rg \
  --query properties.configuration.ingress.fqdn \
  -o tsv)

6. Deploy Frontend

bash
az containerapp create \
  --name kanban-ui \
  --resource-group kanban-demo-rg \
  --environment kanban-env \
  --image kanbandemoacr.azurecr.io/kanban-ui:latest \
  --target-port 3000 \
  --ingress external \
  --registry-server kanbandemoacr.azurecr.io \
  --registry-username "$ACR_USERNAME" \
  --registry-password "$ACR_PASSWORD" \
  --env-vars NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL="https://$BACKEND_URL"

Updating Deployed Applications

Update Backend

After making code changes:

bash
# Rebuild and push
az acr build \
  --registry kanbandemoacr \
  --image kanban-agent:latest \
  --file agent/Dockerfile \
  --context .

# Update container app
az containerapp update \
  --name kanban-agent \
  --resource-group kanban-demo-rg \
  --image kanbandemoacr.azurecr.io/kanban-agent:latest

Update Frontend

bash
# Rebuild and push
az acr build \
  --registry kanbandemoacr \
  --image kanban-ui:latest \
  --file Dockerfile \
  --context .

# Update container app
az containerapp update \
  --name kanban-ui \
  --resource-group kanban-demo-rg \
  --image kanbandemoacr.azurecr.io/kanban-ui:latest

Viewing Logs

Backend Logs

bash
az containerapp logs show \
  --name kanban-agent \
  --resource-group kanban-demo-rg \
  --follow

Frontend Logs

bash
az containerapp logs show \
  --name kanban-ui \
  --resource-group kanban-demo-rg \
  --follow

Log Analytics

Access detailed logs via Azure Portal:

  1. Navigate to your Container App
  2. Click "Log stream" in the left menu
  3. Or use "Logs" for advanced querying with KQL

Scaling

Container Apps auto-scale based on HTTP traffic. To configure:

bash
az containerapp update \
  --name kanban-ui \
  --resource-group kanban-demo-rg \
  --min-replicas 1 \
  --max-replicas 5

Cost Estimation

Azure Container Apps pricing (as of 2024):

ResourceCostNotes
Container AppsFree tier: 180,000 vCPU-seconds/monthShould cover demo usage
Container Apps (beyond free)~$0.000012/vCPU-secondAfter free tier
Azure Container Registry (Basic)~$5/month10 GB storage included
Estimated total~$5-10/monthFor demo with minimal traffic

Cost Optimization Tips

  1. Delete when not in use: Run az group delete --name kanban-demo-rg after demos
  2. Use free tier: Keep replicas at 1 to stay within free limits
  3. Monitor usage: Check Azure Cost Management dashboard

Teardown

Delete all resources:

bash
az group delete \
  --name kanban-demo-rg \
  --yes \
  --no-wait

This removes:

  • Container Apps environment
  • Both container apps (frontend + backend)
  • Container registry
  • All associated resources

Note: Deletion takes 5-10 minutes. Use --no-wait to run in background.

Troubleshooting

Issue: ACR name already exists

Error: The registry DNS name 'kanbandemoacr' is already in use.

Solution: ACR names must be globally unique. Try a different name:

bash
ACR_NAME="kanbandemoacr$(date +%s)"

Issue: Backend fails to start

Check logs:

bash
az containerapp logs show --name kanban-agent --resource-group kanban-demo-rg --tail 50

Common causes:

  • Missing or invalid GitHub token
  • Port misconfiguration
  • Dependencies not copied (check Dockerfile)

Issue: Frontend can't connect to backend

Verify backend URL:

bash
az containerapp show \
  --name kanban-agent \
  --resource-group kanban-demo-rg \
  --query properties.configuration.ingress.fqdn

Update frontend:

bash
az containerapp update \
  --name kanban-ui \
  --resource-group kanban-demo-rg \
  --set-env-vars NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL="https://<backend-fqdn>"

Issue: Container build fails

Check Docker locally:

bash
# Test backend build
docker build -t kanban-agent -f agent/Dockerfile .

# Test frontend build
docker build -t kanban-ui -f Dockerfile .

Common causes:

  • Missing dependencies in package.json
  • Incorrect COPY paths in Dockerfile
  • .dockerignore excluding required files

Issue: "az: command not found"

Install Azure CLI (see Prerequisites section).

Issue: Authentication errors

Re-authenticate:

bash
az logout
az login

Additional Resources

Security Considerations

Secrets Management

  • GitHub token is stored as a Container App secret (encrypted at rest)
  • Never commit tokens to version control
  • Rotate tokens regularly

Network Security

  • Both apps use HTTPS by default
  • Consider using Azure Virtual Network for production
  • Enable Azure AD authentication for production deployments

Access Control

Restrict access to Azure resources:

bash
az role assignment create \
  --assignee [email protected] \
  --role Contributor \
  --resource-group kanban-demo-rg

Support

For issues specific to: