Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)Develop Azure compute solutionsMedium

A financial services company is migrating a legacy ASP.NET application to Azure. The application currently runs on Windows Server, requires specific IIS configurations, and has several dependencies on COM+ components. The company needs to maintain maximum control over the operating system and installed software to ensure compatibility. Which Azure compute solution is MOST suitable for this migration?

  1. AAzure Functions
  2. BAzure Container Instances (ACI)
  3. CAzure Virtual Machines (VMs)
  4. DAzure App Service (Windows)
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C. Azure Virtual Machines (VMs)

Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) provide Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), offering complete control over the operating system, installed software, and network configuration. This is crucial for legacy applications with specific dependencies like COM+ and IIS configurations that require full OS access.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A. Azure Functions is a serverless platform for event-driven code, not suitable for hosting a full legacy ASP.NET application with complex OS dependencies.
  • B. Azure Container Instances are for running isolated containers, which would require re-architecting the legacy application and might not support COM+ components easily.
  • D. Azure App Service (Windows) is a PaaS offering that supports ASP.NET, but it abstracts away the underlying OS, limiting control over specific IIS configurations and making COM+ component installation difficult or impossible.

Azure Virtual Machines (VMs)

On-demand, scalable computing resources (virtualized servers) that provide Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) in Azure.

  • Full control over OS and software stack
  • IaaS offering
  • Can run custom applications and legacy software
  • Requires OS patching and management

Memory trick: VMs = Vintage Machines for Maximum Control

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