Microsoft Azure Container Apps: Serverless Containers Launched

Azure Container Apps: A New Serverless Option

During the Ignite conference, Microsoft unveiled the preview of Azure Container Apps, a completely managed serverless container service. This new offering expands Microsoft’s suite of container infrastructure services, working alongside Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).

Microsoft emphasizes that Azure Container Apps is specifically designed for microservices. It provides the capability to rapidly scale applications based on factors like HTTP traffic, event triggers, or the execution of prolonged background processes.

Comparison to Competitor Services

The functionality of Azure Container Apps bears a strong resemblance to AWS App Runner, Amazon’s serverless container service also geared towards microservices.

Similarly, Google provides a range of container-focused services, notably Cloud Run, which serves as its serverless platform for containerized applications.

Developer Flexibility and Underlying Technology

Microsoft states that developers can utilize their preferred programming languages and frameworks when building applications for Azure Container Apps. Deployment is then streamlined through this new service.

The service’s infrastructure is built upon open-source projects, including Microsoft’s Dapr application runtime. Its scaling capabilities are powered by Kubernetes Event-Driven Autoscaling (KEDA), a project backed by Microsoft, Red Hat, Codit, Vexxhost, and Snyk.

Positioning within the Azure Ecosystem

Roanne Sones, Microsoft’s corporate VP for Azure Edge and Platform, described the Azure Container Apps experience as akin to a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering relative to AKS, which represents Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).

Sones explained that many customers, starting with IaaS, would ideally prefer a PaaS solution if it were available. PaaS allows developers to focus solely on their application and its consumption, without managing underlying infrastructure.

Azure Container Apps abstracts away much of the infrastructure complexity inherent in AKS, reducing the need for intricate design and lifecycle management.

The Rise of Serverless Containers

The emergence of serverless container services from all major cloud providers reflects a growing demand for both granular control for experienced operations teams and fully managed solutions for those seeking simplified deployment.

Despite advancements in tooling, managing Kubernetes clusters remains a significant undertaking for infrastructure teams.

The core promise of containers – effortless scaling and developer freedom from infrastructure concerns – is fully realized through serverless platforms. For many teams prioritizing speed to market, serverless represents the optimal path to production.