Deploy a Scalable Web App on Azure using Terraform

INTRODUCTION

This guide walks you through deploying a static website on Azure using Terraform. You’ll use Azure Storage for hosting the website and Azure CDN for global scalability and performance. By the end, you’ll have a fully automated infrastructure-as-code setup.

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Prerequisites
Azure Account: Create a free account .
Terraform Installed: Download here.
Azure CLI: Installation guide.
Git (optional): To clone the sample code.

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Step 1: Set Up Azure Authentication
Authenticate Terraform to manage Azure resources

az login  #Log in to Azure via CLI
az account set --subscription="YOUR_SUBSCRIPTION_ID"

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Step 2: Project Structure
Create a directory with the following structure:

terraform-azure-webapp/
├── main.tf           # Terraform configuration
├── variables.tf      # Input variables
├── outputs.tf        # Output URLs
└── www/              # Sample website files
    ├── index.html
    └── style.css

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Step 3: Write Terraform Configuration

• variables.tf

• main.tf

• outputs.tf

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Step 4: Create Sample Website Files
Add the following files to the www/ directory:

• www/index.html

• www/style.css

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Step 5: Deploy Infrastructure
Run Terraform commands:

terraform init #Initialize providers/modules

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terraform plan # Preview changes

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terraform apply # Deploy resources (type "yes" to confirm)

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After deployment, Terraform will output:

• storage_website_url: Direct URL to the storage-hosted website.

• cdn_endpoint_url: CDN-accelerated URL.

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Step 7: Clean Up Resources
Avoid unnecessary costs by destroying resources:

terraform destroy

Summary
In this project, we:

1. Used Terraform to automate Azure infrastructure deployment.
2. Hosted a static website on Azure Storage with HTTPS support.
3. Accelerated content delivery globally using Azure CDN.
4. Practiced infrastructure-as-code principles for reproducibility.

This setup provides a foundation for scalable web apps, with Terraform ensuring consistency and reducing manual errors.