Azure Containers Made Easy for Beginners (With Azure Portal Walkthroughs)

In this guide, we’ll learn how to use Azure’s container services entirely from the Azure Portal—no command-line tools required.

We’ll cover these core services:

1. Azure Container Registry (ACR)
2. Azure Container Instances (ACI)
3. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
4. Azure Container Apps (ACA)

Along the way, we’ll explain:

• When and why to use each service.
• How they connect together.
• Step-by-step portal demos.

✅ 1. Azure Container Registry (ACR) – Your Private Image Store

What is ACR? Azure Container Registry is your private storage for container images (Docker images). It’s like a secure warehouse where you store your app’s containers before running them in Azure.

✅ Why Do You Need It?

• Keeps your images safe from the public internet.
• Makes it easy for Azure services (ACI, ACA, AKS) to pull images.
• Supports automatic image builds (called ACR Tasks).

✅ Portal Walkthrough: How to Create an Azure Container Registry (ACR)

1. Go to Azure Portal.

2. Search for Container Registry → Click + Create.

3. Fill in:

   • Registry Name: Must be unique globally (e.g., myregistry123).
   • Resource Group: Create a new or choose existing one.
   • Location: Choose your Azure region.
   • SKU: Start with Basic (you can change later).

4. Click Review + Create → Then click Create.

✅ Upload Images Later:

Once you have your registry, you can upload container images from tools like Docker Desktop or CI/CD pipelines.

✅ 2. Azure Container Instances (ACI) – Fast & Simple Container Running

What is ACI? Azure Container Instances (ACI) lets you quickly run containers in Azure without worrying about servers.

✅ When to Use ACI:

• Test containers quickly.
• Run short-lived tasks or batch jobs.
• You only pay while the container runs.

✅ Portal Walkthrough: Run a Container in Azure Container Instances

1. Go to Azure Portal.

2. Search for Container Instances → Click + Create.

3. Fill in:

   • Container Name: e.g., mycontainer
   • Container Image Source: Select Azure Container Registry.
   • Choose your previously created registry and select the container image.
   • Set CPU/Memory (start small for tests).

4. Under Networking, you can:

   • Enable Public IP to access it from the internet.
   • Use VNet for private networking (optional for beginners).

5. Click Review + Create → Create.

✅ Your container will now run inside Azure!

You can see logs and metrics directly in the portal.

✅ 3. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) – Full Container Orchestration

What is AKS? AKS is a fully managed Kubernetes platform for running complex containerized applications.

✅ When to Use AKS:

• Large, complex apps with many microservices.
• Apps needing fine-tuned control over networking and storage.
• Highly available and scalable production workloads.

✅ Important:

AKS is powerful but has a steep learning curve for beginners.

✅ Portal Walkthrough: (High-Level Only)

1. Go to Azure Portal.

2. Search Kubernetes Services → Click + Create.

3. Fill in:

   • Cluster Name.
   • Select Region, Node Pool settings (starting with 1-2 nodes is fine for testing).

4. Choose Azure CNI Networking for better networking later.

5. Click Review + Create.

⚠️ AKS requires you to learn Kubernetes concepts (Pods, Services, Ingress, etc.), so it’s best suited for intermediate to advanced learners.

✅ 4. Azure Container Apps (ACA) – Serverless Microservice Platform (Best for Beginners)

What is ACA? Azure Container Apps is a serverless container platform ideal for:

• APIs.
• Background workers.
• Microservices.

✅ Why ACA Is Beginner-Friendly:

• No server management.
• Built-in autoscaling (even down to zero cost when idle).
• Easy deployment from ACR.

✅ Portal Walkthrough: Deploy Container App from ACR

1. Go to Azure Portal.

2. Search Container Apps → Click + Create.

3. Fill in:

   • App Name and Resource Group.
   • Environment: Click Create new → This sets up networking for your app.

4. Under Container Settings:

   • Select Azure Container Registry.
   • Choose your container image and version.

5. Enable Ingress (if you want to expose it publicly) and set target port.

6. In Scaling, set:

   • Minimum replicas = 0 (scale to zero allowed).
   • Maximum replicas (e.g., 5 for testing).

7. Click Review + Create → Create.

✅ Your app now:

• Auto-scales based on requests.
• Costs $0 when idle.
• Runs in a fully managed environment.

✅ Architecture Diagram (Simple Beginner-Friendly Overview):

+-------------------------+
| Azure Container Registry|
| (Your Private Image Store) |
+-----------+-------------+
            |
            v
+-------------------------+
| Azure Container Apps     |
| (Auto-scaling APIs, Workers)|
+-------------------------+

+-------------------------+
| Azure Container Instances|
| (Quick, Short Jobs)      |
+-------------------------+

+-------------------------+
| Azure Kubernetes Service |
| (Complex, Full Control)  |
+-------------------------+

✅ Summary (Simple Guide for Beginners):

✅ Key Takeaway:

For most beginners, start with ACR + ACA:

• Build → Store in ACR → Deploy via ACA.
• You get full container flexibility without servers, with automatic scaling.