Azure Microservices Platform

A comprehensive microservices platform built on Azure with automated deployment pipelines, GitOps workflows, and multi-environment support using Infrastructure as Code.

Duration
4 months
Environment
Production-ready
Role
Platform Architect
Cloud Provider
Microsoft Azure
View Source Code Documentation
Azure Kubernetes Service Terraform ArgoCD GitHub Actions Ansible Azure Container Registry Application Gateway Prometheus Grafana ELK Stack

Platform Overview

This Azure microservices platform demonstrates enterprise-grade DevOps practices with a complete Infrastructure as Code approach. The platform provides automated deployment pipelines, GitOps workflows, and comprehensive monitoring across multiple environments.

Key Features:

  • Multi-environment AKS clusters (dev, staging, production) managed with Terraform
  • GitOps deployment using ArgoCD for Kubernetes applications
  • Network segmentation with Azure VNets and Network Security Groups
  • Container registry with Azure Container Registry and vulnerability scanning
  • Load balancing with Azure Application Gateway and Web Application Firewall
  • Dedicated monitoring and logging VMs with automated Ansible configuration
  • Bastion hosts for secure access to private resources
  • Complete CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions

Architecture & Design

[Architecture Diagram: GitHub → Azure AKS → ArgoCD → Microservices → Monitoring]

Infrastructure Components:

  • Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS): Managed Kubernetes clusters for container orchestration
  • Azure Container Registry: Private container registry with security scanning
  • Azure Application Gateway: Layer 7 load balancer with WAF protection
  • Azure Virtual Networks: Network segmentation and security
  • Azure Key Vault: Secrets and certificate management
  • Bastion Hosts: Secure jump servers for administrative access

Project Structure:

├── terraform/ # Infrastructure as Code │ ├── environments/ # Environment-specific configurations │ ├── modules/ # Reusable Terraform modules │ │ ├── aks/ # AKS cluster module │ │ └── vms/ # Virtual machines module │ └── shared/ # Shared resources ├── kubernetes/ # Kubernetes manifests │ ├── base/ # Base configurations │ ├── overlays/ # Environment-specific overlays │ └── argocd/ # ArgoCD GitOps configurations ├── ansible/ # VM configuration playbooks ├── scripts/ # Automation scripts └── .github/ # GitHub Actions workflows

Multi-Environment Strategy

Development

  • Single node AKS cluster
  • Standard_B2s VMs for monitoring
  • Public bastion access
  • Basic monitoring stack
  • Quick iteration cycles

Staging

  • Multi-node AKS cluster
  • Standard_D2s_v3 VMs
  • Pre-production testing
  • Full monitoring suite
  • Performance testing

Production

  • HA AKS with multiple AZs
  • Standard_D4s_v3 VMs
  • VPN connectivity
  • Enterprise monitoring
  • 24/7 availability

DevOps Implementation

Infrastructure as Code with Terraform:

  • Modular design for reusability across environments
  • Remote state management with Azure Storage
  • Automated backend setup with randomized storage accounts
  • Environment-specific variable management

GitOps with ArgoCD:

  • Declarative application deployment
  • Automatic sync from Git repositories
  • Visual deployment tracking and rollback capabilities
  • Multi-cluster management

Configuration Management with Ansible:

  • Automated VM configuration and software installation
  • Dynamic inventory management from Terraform outputs
  • Monitoring agent deployment (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK)
  • SSH key-based authentication
# Quick Start Commands ./scripts/setup-backend.sh terraform init && terraform plan && terraform apply ./scripts/update-ansible-inventory.sh ansible-playbook -i inventory/hosts.yml playbooks/site.yml kubectl apply -f kubernetes/argocd/

Security & Monitoring

Security Features:

  • Network segmentation with VNets and Network Security Groups
  • Azure Application Gateway with Web Application Firewall
  • RBAC for Kubernetes and Azure resources
  • Azure Key Vault for secrets management
  • Container vulnerability scanning in ACR
  • SSH key-based authentication with bastion hosts

Monitoring & Observability:

  • Azure Monitor for native Azure resource monitoring
  • Prometheus and Grafana on dedicated VMs for custom metrics
  • ELK Stack for centralized logging and analysis
  • Automated monitoring agent installation via Ansible
  • Custom dashboards for application and infrastructure metrics

Automation & Scripts

The platform includes several automation scripts to simplify deployment and management:

  • setup-backend.sh: Creates Terraform backend resources with randomized naming
  • update-ansible-inventory.sh: Dynamically updates Ansible inventory with VM IPs
  • setup.sh: Complete platform setup from scratch
  • GitHub Actions workflows: Automated testing and deployment pipelines

These scripts demonstrate Infrastructure as Code best practices and reduce manual configuration errors.

Results & Impact

3
Environments
15min
Deployment Time
100%
Infrastructure as Code
Zero
Manual Configuration

Key Achievements:

  • Fully automated infrastructure provisioning across three environments
  • GitOps deployment with automatic application synchronization
  • Comprehensive monitoring and logging with minimal manual setup
  • Security-first approach with network segmentation and proper RBAC
  • Scalable architecture supporting microservices growth
  • Documentation and automation enabling team self-service

Lessons Learned

  • Automation First: Investing in automation scripts early saves significant time later
  • Environment Parity: Consistent environments reduce deployment surprises
  • Monitoring from Day 1: Built-in observability prevents blind spots in production
  • Security by Design: Network segmentation and proper RBAC should be foundational
  • Documentation Matters: Well-documented automation enables team adoption
  • GitOps Benefits: Declarative deployments provide better visibility and reliability