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FAAS: Serverless architectures with Function as a Service

After PAAS(Platform as a Service), IAAS(Infrastructure as a Service) and SAAS(Software as a Service), it is now time for FAAS; Function as a Service.  FAAS is one of the incarnations of Serverless architectures(BAAS, BackEnd as a Service is another one).

Let’s have a look at what Microsoft has to offer in the FAAS space; Azure Functions.

Azure Functions is a serverless event driven experience that extends the existing Azure App Service platform. These nano-services can scale based on demand and you pay only for the resources you consume.

Getting started

  • Go to the Azure Functions product page. Click on the big green Get started button.

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  • Log in with an account linked to an Azure subscription.
  • If you logged in succesfully, you’ll be redirected to a Get started page(an Angular 2 app Smile) where you can configure the following information
    • Your subscription: select one of the associated subscriptions for this account
    • Name: select a name for your Azure Function(should be unique)
    • Region: select a target region
  • Click on the Create + get started button.

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  • After the Azure function is created, you will be redirected to the Azure portal where you are welcomed by a Quickstart screen.

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  • Let’s walk through the  Quickstart.
    • First we choose one of the sample scenario’s; let’s pick the Timer scenario.

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    • Second choose a programming language. At the moment C# and JavaScript are supported.

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    • Click on the Create this function button to complete the Quickstart.
  • And there we have it, our first Azure function:

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