Serverless Applications

Question 1

Benefits of Azure Functions

Answer 1

• Use preferred language
• Automate deployments
• Troubleshoot issues with monitoring and testing tools
• Flexible pricing options (Consumption and App Plans)
• Additional => Integration with Application Insights
• No infrasture to manage
• Auto Scaling

Question 2

What are Azure Functions?

Answer 2

• Is a cloud-based compute service. Functions provide event-driven and scalable serverless for Azure. In some cases, you only get billed for the time your function runs
• Can respond to events or time-based

Question 3

Examples of trigger types

Answer 3

• HTTP
• Storage events
• Events (Event hub etc)
• Queue messages

Question 4

What are bindings?

Answer 4

• Allow you to bind data to your app function or send data to.

Question 5

What are the two binding types?

Answer 5

Input
Output

Question 6

Features of Azure Functions

Answer 6

• Flexible Pricing Plans
• Scalability
• Event based architecture

Question 7

Contrast the pricing options in Azure Functions

Answer 7

Consumption
* True serverless option
* Auto scaling

Premium
* Good for functions that are long running
* Functions are kept initialized
* Can scale faster
* Best for underutilized App Service Plans

Dedicated
* Scale based on load and will scale down automatically

Question 8

All functions in a Function App share the same resources and connections?

Answer 8

True

Question 9

Identity the Key Components of Azure Functions

Answer 9

• Function Triggers
• Function Bindings
• Function Runtime
• API Management
• Deployment Slots
• Function App Configurations

Question 10

Briefly explain Function Triggers?

Answer 10

• Only one trigger per Function App
• Triggers start the Function App to execute
• Triggers define HOW and Function App is invoked

Question 11

Briefly explain Function Bindings

Answer 11

Allow data to be bound to the App Functions for both inputs and outputs. Input bindings can be access via parameters to the function call.
You can also use client libraries to access data if you don’t want to use bindings.
You can have 0, 1, or more bindings.

Question 12

Briefly explain Function Runtimes

Answer 12

Azure Functions allow for various programming languages to implement your function. Besides C#, there is Node.js, JAVA, and Python.

Question 13

Briefly explain API Management in Azure Functions

Answer 13

AIPM Managment service provides security and routing to your App Functions’ API as a way to expose them as TRUE REST endpoints.

Question 14

Briefly explain Deployment Slots in Azure Functions

Answer 14

Deployment slots are additional instances with it’s own endpoint that can be used to test new versions of your function app and can easily be swap to production

Question 15

Briefly explain App Function Configurations

Answer 15

Each function app will have it’s own configuration parameters such as connection strings as well as any variables that can be accessed by environment variables.

Question 16

Best examples of uses with App Functions?

Question 17

Options for running Work Flows in Azure?

Answer 17

• Web Jobs
• App Functions
• Logic Apps
• Power Automate

Allow the above share similar functionaltiy as far as accept inputs, handle outputs, invoked by an event, and include conditions

Question 18

What is the Design First Approach?

Answer 18

Users can use Logic Apps or Power Automate which offers a low code/no code option.
Logic Apps provide an UI to design the business workflows and offers over 200 connectors

Power Automate is similar and can integrate with many difference components as well using connectors. It is a service to create workflows even if you don’t have development experience.

Question 19

What are the 4 types of flows in Power Automate?

Answer 19

• Automated => triggered by an even
• Button => runs a repeatitive task with a single click
• Scheduled => Runs on a set schedule
• Business Process => Models a business process such as an ordering process or complaint

See comparisons below

Question 20

What services use the Code-First Technologies?

Answer 20

Web Jobs
Function Apps

Question 21

What 2 types of Web Jobs are there?

Answer 21

• Continuous
• Triggered

Question 22

What are the differences between Web Jobs vs Azure Functions
* Supported Languages
* Auto Scaling
* Development in browser
* Pay-per-use pricing
* Integration with Logic Apps
* Package Managers
* Can be part of an App Service Plan

Answer 22

• Languages => C# | C#, Java, JavaScript, PowerShell, etc
• Auto Scaling => No | Yes
• Test in browser => No | Yes
• Pay-per-use => No | Yes
• w/ Logic Apps => No | Yes
• Pack. Mgrs => Nuget | Nuget and NPM
• Part of App Plan => Yes | Yes (hosted under an App Service Plan)

Question 23

What are 2 drawbacks of Serverless Computing?

Answer 23

Execution Time
* By default, time out is 5 minutes, but can go to 10 minutes
* For HTTP request, the timeout is restricted to 2.5 minutes
* Durable Functions can be used to bypass tese timeout restrictions

Execution Frequency
* If an app function is going to execute continously, it might be cheaper hosing on VM
* Only one Function App can be create every 10 seconds up to a total of 200
(keep in find mind each instance can service multiple concurrent execute so theres no limit how much traffice a single instance can handle)

Question 24

True or False - A Function App must be linked to a Storage Account

Answer 24

True

On Consumption Plans, the Storage Account is where the code and configuration are stored

Question 25

Name at least 6 trigger types

Answer 25

* Blob Storage * Cosmos DB * Event Grid * Service Bus * Timer * Http * Graph Events * Queue Storage

Question 26

Advantage of using Bindings

Answer 26

Do not have to write connection code and manage connections

Question 27

What are some of the properties in the configuration file

Answer 27

* name (the name of the parameter in the function) * type * direction * queueName, path if blob, methods if HTTP { get, post } * connection

Question 28

What is the header name when using a function key to secure the HTTPS request

Answer 28

x-functions-key

Question 29

What are the authorization levels for Function Apps?

Answer 29

* Function (default) * Admin (use master global key) * Anonymous

Question 30

What is the CRON expression "sections" in order?

Answer 30

seconds, minutes, hour, day, month, day of week

Question 31

Name at least 8 output bindings

Answer 31

* **Blob Storage** * **Azure Cosmos DB** * **Event Hubs** * **HTTP** * **Microsoft GRAPH** * Mobile Apps * Notification Hubs * **Queue Storage** * Send Grid * **Service Bus** * **Table Storage** * Twillo

Question 32

What are binding in parameters for Cosmos DB

Answer 32

* Document parameter name * Database name * Collection name * Document ID * Parition Key * SQL Query (optional)

Question 33

What are the binding out parameters for Cosmos DB

Answer 33

* Document Parameter name * Database name * Collection name * Partition key

Question 34

Compare Azure Durable Functions vs. Logic Apps (5 comparisons)

Answer 34

**Development** * Code first Durable Functions * Design first Logic Apps **Connectivity** * About a dozen built-in bindings but can create your own * Large collection of connectors **Actions** * Each activity is an Azure Function * Large collection of read-only make actions (can integrat custom logic through custom connectors) **Monitoring** * Application Insights * Azure Portal and Azure Monitoring Logs **Management** * REST, API, PowerShell and Visual Studio * Azure Portal, REST API, PowerShell, Visual Studio Code

Question 35

What should you use in Durable Functions for timeouts and where should "it" be implemented?

Answer 35

Durable Timers and should be in the orchestrator function ## Footnote Use this instead of setTimeout() or setInterval() (JavaScript)

Question 36

Az CLI command for Storage Account

Answer 36

az functionapp create --resource-group --name --storage-account --runtime --consumption-plan-location --functions-version

Question 37

Using the Az Core Tools and creating a function app locally, what is the Az CLI Command to publish?

Answer 37

az functionapp deployment source config-zip --resource-group --name --src