Stage 5 of the Cloud Resume Challenge (Azure Edition) focuses on securing your website with HTTPS and improving global performance using Azure CDN (Content Delivery Network).
This stage helped me understand not just how to enable HTTPS, but also how CDN, caching, and compression come together to make a website faster and more reliable.
Below is my step-by-step process, what I learned, and how I handled the challenges that came up along the way.
Step-by-Step Procedure
Step 1: Understanding the Goal
The main goal of this stage was to add HTTPS and improve the performance of my static website hosted on Azure Storage.
My current site was already live at:
https://myresumejic.z19.web.core.windows.net/
However, this endpoint does not support HTTPS by default.
To fix this, Azure recommends placing a CDN (Content Delivery Network) in front of your static site to handle HTTPS requests and deliver cached content faster to users.
Step 2: Learning What a CDN Does
Before jumping into the setup, I took some time to understand what a CDN actually does.
A CDN:
- Stores cached copies of your website on global edge servers closer to users.
- Provides HTTPS and SSL/TLS certificates automatically.
- Reduces latency, so pages load faster.
- Offloads requests from the origin (Azure Storage).
I also learned that enabling compression helps reduce file sizes for text-based files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), while caching makes frequently requested content load instantly from the nearest server.
Step 3: Attempting to Create the CDN Profile
After understanding the concept, I opened the Azure Portal and searched for:
Front Door and CDN profiles → + Create
I entered the following details:
-
Name:
myresumejic-cdn - Tier: Standard Microsoft
-
Origin:
myresumejic.z19.web.core.windows.net
Tip:
“I also enabled file compression on my CDN endpoint to reduce load time and bandwidth. Azure automatically uses Gzip and Brotli for text-based content, which complements caching for optimal performance.”
Then I clicked Review + Create, but Azure immediately displayed this message:
Microsoft.CDN is not registered for the subscription.
NB: I missed saving the screenshot; however, it is a red note under the subscription selection box.
Step 4: I had to Register the CDN Resource Provider
Azure requires each service to be registered under a resource provider namespace.
Here’s how I fixed it:
- I navigated to Subscriptions - My Subscription - Settings - Resource Providers.
- I searched for
Microsoft.CDN. - I clicked Register.
- After about a minute, the status changed from Not Registered to Registered.
This allowed me to continue with the CDN setup.
After this stage, you should back to stage 3 again and create the CDN Profile.
Step 5: Hitting Another Error — Account Restriction
This time, the deployment failed again, but with a new message:
Free Trial and Student account is forbidden for Azure Front Door resources.
That’s when I realized that Azure merging the CDN service with Front Door, and currently Free Trial or Student subscriptions are restricted from creating these resources.
Step 6: Making an Informed Decision
After researching and reading documentation, I confirmed this is a general limitation.
So, I made the decision to pause HTTPS setup temporarily and move forward with the next stages of the challenge (backend and database).
Note:
“Azure Front Door (CDN) is currently restricted on Free Trial and Student subscriptions. To keep progressing, I’ve decided to continue to the backend stages first and will enable HTTPS later once I migrate to a Pay-As-You-Go plan or Azure Static Web Apps. This doesn’t affect the functionality of the Cloud Resume Challenge — it’s only a temporary pause on the HTTPS stage.”
This decision allowed me to stay productive and continue the challenge without losing momentum.
What I Learned
Azure Resource Providers
Every major Azure service belongs to a namespace that must be registered before use.
Example:Microsoft.CDNfor CDN/Front Door,Microsoft.Storagefor Blob,Microsoft.Webfor App Services.Azure Subscription Tiers Have Limits
Free and Student accounts cannot use some premium global services (like Front Door/CDN).CDN Concepts: Caching & Compression
I learned how caching and compression work together to speed up content delivery and reduce bandwidth costs.Adaptability Is Key
Cloud engineering often involves service limitations — being able to research and find workarounds is just as important as completing the setup.
Tips for Others Doing This Stage
-
Tip 1: Register all needed providers early (
Microsoft.CDN,Microsoft.Web,Microsoft.Network,Microsoft.Storage). - Tip 2: If your free subscription blocks Front Door/CDN, continue the challenge and complete backend stages first.
- Tip 3: Consider using Azure Static Web Apps — it provides free HTTPS and global delivery out of the box.
- Tip 4: Always document what went wrong and how you fixed it. That’s how you build true cloud troubleshooting experience.
Reflection
Although I couldn’t enable HTTPS in this stage, I learned valuable lessons about Azure’s architecture, resource provider registration, subscription limitations, and the logic behind CDN performance settings.
I also realized that real cloud work isn’t always about reaching the goal on the first try — it’s about learning, adapting, and moving forward intelligently.
Next, I’ll begin Stage 6, where I’ll integrate my frontend with a backend visitor counter using Azure Functions and Cosmos DB.
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