The Ultimate Guide to Deploying Your Portfolio on Azure Cloud Services for Maximum Productivity and Efficiency as a Developer

Deploying your portfolio can be daunting, especially when you're just starting out. However, with the right tools and strategies, it doesn't have to be overwhelming. In this guide, we will walk you through setting up your developer portfolio on Azure Cloud Services for maximum productivity and efficiency.

Introduction

Azure Cloud Services offer a wide range of features that make them an attractive option for developers looking to host their portfolios. Not only do they provide reliable and scalable infrastructure, but also advanced AI capabilities that can help you streamline your development workflows. In this guide, we will explore how to leverage Azure's powerful tools and services to deploy your developer portfolio quickly and easily.

Step 1: Choosing the Right Azure Plan for Your Portfolio Needs

The first step in deploying your portfolio on Azure is choosing the right plan. SmarterASP.NET offers several plans that cater to different needs, including shared hosting, reseller hosting, and cloud hosting plans.

For a developer's portfolio, we recommend going with one of their Cloud Hosting Plans. These plans provide you with dedicated resources and full control over your server environment. They also offer advanced features like SSD storage, free website transfer, and unlimited domains, making them an excellent choice for developers who want maximum flexibility and performance.

Step 2: Setting Up Your Azure Environment

Once you've chosen your SmarterASP.NET Cloud Hosting Plan, it's time to set up your Azure environment. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the Azure Portal using your Microsoft account.
2. Click on "Create a resource" and select "Compute".
3. Choose "Virtual Machine Scale Sets" from the menu.
4. Follow the prompts to create a new virtual machine scale set with Windows Server as the operating system.
5. Once your VMSS is created, click on it to expand its options in the portal.
6. Select "Extensions" and then "Custom Script Extension".
7. In the custom script extension settings, paste the following command: "choco install -y git"
8. Click "OK" and save your changes.
9. Now, under "Autoscale", select "Scale set rules".
10. Click on "+ Add new rule"
11. In the scale set rule settings, choose a trigger (either based on CPU usage or average instance memory percentage) that suits your needs.
    • We recommend setting it to "Average instance memory percentage" and choosing 85% as your threshold.
    • Set the cooldown period to 30 minutes and click "OK".
12. Click on "+ Add new deployment slot"
13. Choose an appropriate name for your deployment slot (e.g., "Staging") and select "Empty" under "Select a template"
    • This will create a separate environment where you can test changes before deploying them to production.

With these settings in place, you have now set up your Azure environment and configured it for autoscaling based on resource usage. You are now ready to install Git and configure your deployment slot.

Step 3: Installing Git for Version Control and Deployment Automation

Now that your VMSS is running Windows Server, you can use the custom script extension to install Git for version control and deployment automation. Follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Azure Portal using your Microsoft account.
2. Navigate to the "Virtual Machine Scale Sets" resource group where you created your VMSS earlier.
3. Select the VMSS instance that you want to install Git on (you can choose any instance here).
4. Under "Extensions", select "Custom Script Extension".
5. In the custom script extension settings, copy and paste the following command: "git config --global user.name "Your Name" && "git config --global user.email youremail@example.com"
6. Click on "Save" to apply the changes.
7. Now, under "Autoscale", select "Scale set rules".
8. Click on "+ Add new rule"
9. In the scale set rule settings, choose a trigger (either based on CPU usage or average instance memory percentage) that suits your needs.
   • We recommend setting it to "Average instance memory percentage" and choosing 50% as your threshold.
   • Set the cooldown period to 15 minutes and click "OK".
10. Click on "+ Add new deployment slot"
11. Choose an appropriate name for your deployment slot (e.g., "Production") and select "Empty" under "Select a template"
    • This will create a separate environment where you can deploy your code to production.

With these settings in place, your VMSS instance is now configured with Git installed and ready for deployment automation. You have also created a staging slot where you can test changes before promoting them to production.

Step 4: Setting Up Your Development Workflow on Azure Cloud Services

Now that you've set up your Azure environment, it's time to start developing your portfolio using Git for version control and deployment automation. Here are some best practices to keep in mind:

1. Create a new repository on GitHub or any other hosting platform of choice.
2. Clone the repository onto your local machine using Git Bash (Windows) or Terminal (Mac/Linux).
3. Make changes to your codebase and commit them regularly with meaningful messages.
4. Use GitHub Desktop to stage and push your commits to the remote repository on GitHub.
5. Trigger a deployment from Azure by creating a new branch in Git named after the release version (e.g., "v1.0").
6. Wait for the deployment process to complete successfully in both staging and production slots.
   • If there are any errors or issues, you can roll back the changes using the same process outlined above.
7. Once your code has been deployed successfully, update the version number on GitHub and create a new release tag (e.g., "v1.0").
8. Push this new release tag to GitHub to make it available for download by visitors to your portfolio website.
9. Update any relevant links or redirects on your portfolio pages to point to the newly deployed version of your codebase.

By following these steps, you can streamline your development workflow and deploy updates to your developer portfolio quickly and efficiently using Azure Cloud Services and Git-based deployment automation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, by leveraging the power of Azure Cloud Services along with Git for version control and deployment automation, developers can easily set up their own professional portfolios without sacrificing performance or scalability. The steps outlined in this guide provide a solid foundation for anyone looking to get started with hosting their developer portfolio on Azure.