azure docker container registry and deployment

Azure Docker Container Registry is a secure and private storage solution for your Docker container images. It's a managed service that allows you to store and manage your container images in a central location.

By using Azure Docker Container Registry, you can easily share and manage your container images across different environments and teams. This makes it a great tool for collaboration and scalability.

Azure Docker Container Registry supports both Docker and OCI (Open Container Initiative) image formats. This means you can use it with a variety of tools and frameworks.

To deploy your containers, you can use Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) or Azure App Service. Both options provide a scalable and secure way to run your containers in the cloud.

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To get started with Azure Docker, you'll need to have some basic requirements met. You should have a basic knowledge of building applications with ASP.NET Core framework.

You'll also need to have the .Net Core runtime installed on your computer, which allows you to run and develop .Net Core applications.

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To use Docker with Azure, it's essential to have Docker Desktop installed on your local machine. You can follow Docker's tutorial for Windows or macOS if you're not sure how to do this.

To deploy your application to Azure, you'll need to have a Microsoft Azure account. This will give you access to Azure's cloud services and features.

You'll also need to have a CircleCI account, which is a continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) tool that integrates with Azure.

Finally, you'll need to have a GitHub account, where you can store and manage your code repository.

Here's a quick rundown of the prerequisites:

To create an Azure Container Registry, go to the Azure portal homepage and click Create a resource. Then select Containers > Container Registry.

You can use any name you want for the registry, just remember to use it instead of the example name "dockerdotnetcoreapi" as you follow the tutorial.

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On the registry creation page, enter the details required for the registry, and click Review + Create. You will be redirected to a page where you can review the registry information.

Enable Docker access in the Azure Container Registry, as this is crucial to the deployment process, allowing you to remotely log into the Azure container registry through the CLI and push images to it.

Here are some additional resources to learn more about container registries:

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A custom Dockerfile is included in the cloned project to build a container image. This Dockerfile has the required commands to install all the project's dependencies, build the project, and run it.

The Dockerfile is a multi-stage Dockerfile that combines development and production instructions into a single file, reducing complexity in the process. It uses the .NET SDK to install any required dependencies and build the project before publishing it to a folder named out.

The Dockerfile has two main stages: Build and Serve. The Build stage installs dependencies and builds the project, while the Serve stage uses the ASP.NET Core runtime image to run the application from the specified working directory, which is app in this case.

Here are the main commands used in the Dockerfile:

By using a custom Dockerfile, you can create a container image that is tailored to your specific application needs, making it easier to deploy and manage your application in Azure.

Deploying a Docker image to Azure is a straightforward process. You can use Azure Cloud Shell, PowerShell, or the portal itself to deploy an image.

To deploy an image, you can use the Azure portal. In the portal, use the search bar to look for container instances or use this direct link. Select Create to start the container wizard.

You can also deploy an image using Azure Cloud Shell. To launch a container, use the following code in Cloud Shell: `az container create --resource-group MyContainerProject --name FirstAppInstance --image mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/core/samples:aspnetapp`

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When deploying a container, you need to specify the maximum resource amount the container can consume. You can do this by clicking on the Change size hyperlink and selecting a more relevant size.

Here are the different container registries supported by Azure:

After deploying the container, you can expose the container directly to the internet or select which ports to expose. The default configuration exposes the container directly to the internet. Change the network type to private for internal exposure on the Azure subnets.

To automate deployment, you can use CircleCI. You can add the pipeline configuration for CircleCI by updating the .circleci/config.yml file with the required content. This will automate testing and run the commands to build and push the container image to the Azure Container Registry.

To set up continuous deployment on Azure, click the web app name, then go to the Deployment section and click Deployment Center.

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You'll then scroll down to the Settings tab and turn on continuous deployment by selecting the radio button for it. Click Save.

With continuous deployment selected, the web app will trigger a new deployment of the .NET Core application each time the Docker image is rebuilt on Azure Container Registry.

To automate deployment using CircleCI, add the pipeline configuration for CircleCI by opening the .circleci/config.yml file at the root of your project.

Update the file with the content that pulls in the Docker orb from CircleCI and uses its executor to install the tools required for Docker to build and push the image to the Azure Container Registry.

Log into your CircleCI account, search for the deploy-dotnet-azure-instance project, and click the Set Up Project button.

You'll be prompted about whether you have already defined the configuration file for CircleCI within your project, so enter the branch name and click the Set Up Project button to complete the process.

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In Azure Docker, environment variables play a crucial role in fixing credential issues. To create these variables, you'll need to click the Project Settings button and then click Environment Variables.

Add the necessary variables, such as DOCKER_USER and DOCKER_PASS, which represent the username and password for the container registry, respectively.

Here's a list of the required environment variables:

To fix credential issues, you need to create environment variables. Click the Project Settings button, then click Environment Variables.

To add a new variable, simply type in the name and value. For instance, to fix the credential issue mentioned earlier, you would add two new variables: DOCKER_USER and DOCKER_PASS.

These variables represent the username and password for the container registry. You can use any name you like for the variable, but make sure to include the value in the correct format.

Here are the details you need to know about creating environment variables:

Remember, environment variables are case-sensitive, so make sure to type the name and value correctly.

When you're working with containers, it's essential to set a restart policy to determine what happens when a container stops.

The restart policy can be set to do nothing, restart, or restart on failure. This is similar to Docker and is found in the Advanced tab.

Admins often choose to restart or restart on failure to ensure their containers keep running smoothly.

For example, if you're hosting images from a web server, you'll want to use persistent storage to keep your files safe.

Persistent storage is particularly useful when you need to save data that's not meant to be deleted, like images or other files.

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