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Welcome to this module on administering PaaS compute options in Microsoft Azure. This lesson focuses on the PaaS offerings that reduce operational overhead so you can concentrate on application development and deployment. In this module you’ll learn how to:
  1. Configure Azure App Service plans — choose performance tiers, scaling behavior, and cost characteristics for web apps, functions, and APIs.
  2. Configure Azure App Service — provision and operate a fully managed platform for web applications and APIs.
  3. Configure Azure Container Instances (ACI) — run containers without managing virtual machines or an orchestration control plane.
A slide titled "Learning Objectives" with a blue gradient panel on the left. It lists three items: 1) Configure Azure App service plans, 2) Configure Azure App services, and 3) Configure Azure Container Instances.

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Azure compute choices — when to use which

Azure provides several compute models that trade control for managed operations. Choose the model that best fits your application requirements and operational constraints:
  • Virtual Machines (VMs) — for full control of the operating system, networking, and installed software. VMs are IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service) and require OS and runtime management.
  • Azure App Service — a fully managed PaaS for web apps, mobile backends, and APIs. Azure manages OS patching, scaling, and the runtime so you can focus on application code.
  • Azure Container Instances (ACI) — run containers directly without managing VMs or a control plane. Ideal for simple services, development tasks, or short-lived batch jobs.
  • Azure Container Apps — managed microservice hosting with HTTP-based routing and autoscaling, offering a simpler abstraction than Kubernetes.
  • Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) — full Kubernetes API and ecosystem for production-grade container orchestration. (AKS is out of scope for this module.)
This lesson covers App Service plans, App Service instances, and Azure Container Instances. AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service) is not covered here and is out of scope for the AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator course objectives.

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Quick decision guide

  • Choose VMs when you need complete OS-level control and configuration.
  • Choose App Service for managed runtime, built-in deployment, and autoscaling for web apps and APIs.
  • Choose ACI for fast, single-container deployments with minimal operational overhead and pay-per-second billing.
  • Choose Container Apps when you want a managed microservices platform without Kubernetes complexity.
  • Choose AKS when you need Kubernetes features, extensibility, and ecosystem integration.

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Compare options at a glance

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What you’ll practice in this module

  • Creating and sizing App Service plans to meet performance and cost targets.
  • Deploying and managing App Service web apps and API apps.
  • Running containers with Azure Container Instances and understanding pricing and lifecycle.
  • Evaluating which PaaS compute option best fits typical application scenarios.
Throughout this module, we’ll walk through configuration steps, best practices for scaling and cost control, and real-world scenarios to help you choose the right PaaS compute option for your workloads.

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