Introduction
In my journey to becoming an Azure Administrator, I recently completed Lab 09b - Implement Azure Container Instances (ACI) from the AZ-104 certification series. This lab focused on deploying and managing containerized applications in Azure using Azure Container Instances (ACI).
I learned how to deploy a simple Docker container, test its deployment, and access logs to ensure everything was running smoothly. In this post, I will walk you through the key takeaways and steps I followed during this lab.
Lab Overview
The purpose of this lab was to explore Azure Container Instances (ACI), a service that allows you to quickly run containers without managing the underlying infrastructure. I created a Docker container instance, tested it, and reviewed the log entries. ACI is a great solution for lightweight, short-lived applications or workloads that need to scale quickly, with minimal management overhead.
Skills Practiced:
✅ Deploying Docker containers to Azure Container Instances
✅ Configuring and testing container instances
✅ Verifying container instance logs
✅ Managing ACI resources
Task 1: Deploy an Azure Container Instance Using a Docker Image
The first task involved deploying a simple Docker container using a sample image. Here's what I did:
1️⃣ Signed into the Azure portal – Azure Portal.
2️⃣ In the Azure portal, I searched for and selected Container Instances, then clicked + Create to start the deployment process.
3️⃣ In the Basics tab, I provided the following details:
Subscription: My Azure subscription
Resource group: az104-rg9 (or created a new one)
Container name: az104-c1
Region: East US
Image Source: Quickstart images
Image: mcr.microsoft.com/azuredocs/aci-helloworld:latest
4️⃣ I left the default options for networking and monitoring, unchecking container instance logs.
5️⃣ I then reviewed and created the container instance.
6️⃣ Once the deployment was successful, I could access the container through the provided DNS name label in the format dns-name-label.region.azurecontainer.io.
📌 Insight:
Azure Container Instances are a simple and effective way to run Docker containers in the cloud without the need for managing infrastructure. You can choose from various pre-configured images or use your own container images.
Task 2: Test and Verify Deployment of an Azure Container Instance
Once the container was deployed, I needed to verify that it was running properly. Here's what I did:
1️⃣ On the Overview blade of the container instance, I confirmed that the Status was marked as "Running."
2️⃣ I copied the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) provided for the container instance and pasted it into a browser.
3️⃣ I was able to see the "Welcome to Azure Container Instance" page in my browser.
4️⃣ I refreshed the page a few times to generate HTTP GET requests, which I later verified in the logs.
5️⃣ To view the logs, I navigated to the Logs section of the container instance blade and confirmed that the logs showed the HTTP requests from the browser.
📌 Insight:
Testing and verifying container deployments is crucial to ensure that the application is accessible and functioning as expected. Azure Container Instances provide an easy way to view logs for debugging and monitoring the behavior of your containers.
Key Learnings
1️⃣ Azure Container Instances (ACI)
Azure Container Instances provide a fast and simple way to run containers without managing virtual machines or other infrastructure. ACI is ideal for short-lived, event-driven applications or batch jobs.
2️⃣ Docker and ACI Integration
ACI makes it easy to deploy Docker containers using either public or private Docker images. You can scale applications quickly and only pay for the compute resources used during the lifecycle of the container.
3️⃣ Easy Access and Testing
Once deployed, container instances are accessible via a public DNS name. Azure makes it easy to access logs and monitor the status of the containers to ensure the application is running smoothly.
4️⃣ Management and Cost Efficiency
ACI does not require you to provision any underlying infrastructure, which means there is less complexity to manage and lower operational costs. You only pay for the compute time that your containers are running.
Conclusion
Completing this lab reinforced my understanding of Azure Container Instances and how they can be used to deploy lightweight, scalable containerized applications without the need for managing virtual machines. ACI is a powerful tool for organizations that want to move to the cloud without the overhead of infrastructure management. This lab gave me the practical skills to create, test, and manage Docker containers in Azure, which is a key part of modern cloud-native application deployment.
🚀 Stay tuned for my next blog post on Lab 09c - Implement Azure Container Apps!
🔗 Follow my journey as I continue mastering Azure Administration! 🚀
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