Building a Scalable Web Application with Azure: Part 2

This article is a continuation of Building a Scalable Web Application Part 1 I will recommend you go through that article before you proceed

Step 1: Set Up the Web Server

1. Install Apache (or another web server):

   • Once logged into your VM via SSH, update the package list: sudo apt update

   • Install Apache: sudo apt install apache2 -y

     

• Ensure Apache is running: sudo systemctl status apache2

2. Open Ports for HTTP/HTTPS:

   • Go to the "Networking" tab of your VM in the Azure portal.

   • Click "Add inbound port rule."

     

   • Add rules for HTTP (80) and HTTPS (443). for the demo purpose i will add just HTTP, but on Production you should add HTTPS or both depends on your company policy.

     

Step 2: Test the Web Server

1. Access the Web Server:

   • Open a web browser and navigate to the VM's public IP address (e.g., http://52.170.74.101), am using my public IP address but you can link your custom domain to this web server, i will do a tutorial on that later.

   • You should see the Apache default welcome page.

     

Step 3: Secure the Web Server

1. Install SSL (Optional for HTTPS):

   • You can install a free SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt using Certbot.

   • Follow the instructions from Certbot's website to secure your site.

Step 4: Clean Up (Optional)

1. Remove Resources:

   • If you no longer need the VM, you can delete the resource group ("eastus-rg") to remove all associated resources.

This process will give you a fully functional web server running on an Azure VM.

Thank you

:Valentine Stephen