Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)Develop Azure compute solutionsMedium
A development team is building a new microservices application that will run in Azure. Each microservice is packaged as a Docker container. The team needs a solution that allows them to quickly deploy and run individual containers without managing underlying virtual machines or a full Kubernetes cluster. The solution should also provide per-second billing and be suitable for burstable, short-lived workloads. Which Azure compute service should they choose?
- AAzure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
- BAzure Container Instances (ACI)
- CAzure Virtual Machines (VMs)
- DAzure App Service Containers
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Azure Container Instances (ACI)
Azure Container Instances (ACI) allows you to run Docker containers directly in Azure without managing servers or orchestration. It offers per-second billing, making it cost-effective for burstable and short-lived containerized workloads without the overhead of AKS or VMs.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Azure Kubernetes Service is for orchestrating multiple containers and managing clusters, which is overkill for quickly deploying individual containers without managing VMs or a full cluster.
- C. Azure Virtual Machines require full VM management, which goes against the requirement of not managing underlying virtual machines.
- D. Azure App Service Containers is for hosting web apps or APIs in containers, but it still involves an App Service plan and isn't as lightweight or focused on per-second billing for arbitrary short-lived containers as ACI.
Azure Container Instances (ACI)
A service that enables you to run Docker containers on Azure without provisioning any virtual machines or adopting a higher-level orchestration service.
- Fastest way to run a container in Azure
- No VM management required
- Per-second billing
- Suitable for burstable, short-lived workloads
Memory trick: ACI = Quick Container, No VM, Pay Per Second