5.1. Domain Overview: Designing Compute, Network, and Application Infrastructure

💡 First Principle: A well-architected infrastructure precisely aligns compute, network, and migration strategies with application requirements to create a secure, scalable, and cost-efficient foundation for all cloud workloads.

Scenario: A company is moving a large, complex on-premises application to Azure. This involves migrating existing Virtual Machines, refactoring some components into containers, and establishing secure, high-performance network connectivity back to their on-premises data center.

Designing compute, network, and application infrastructure in Azure begins with a fundamental First Principle: Infrastructure must be designed to precisely align with application requirements for performance, scalability, and cost-efficiency. This proactive approach optimizes resource utilization and ensures secure, reliable communication pathways for all cloud workloads.

This domain explores how to apply this principle across critical areas, including:

• Compute Solutions: Selecting the most appropriate compute resources (IaaS VMs, PaaS App Service, containers, serverless Functions).
• Network Solutions: Designing secure, scalable network topologies (Virtual Networks - VNets, Network Security Groups - NSGs, Azure Firewall, VPN Gateway, ExpressRoute).
• Migration Solutions: Planning the secure and efficient transfer of on-premises workloads to Azure (Azure Migrate, Database Migration Service - DMS).

The focus is on comprehending and applying Azure infrastructure best practices and services to meet specific architectural requirements, ensuring high-performing, scalable, and resilient application delivery.

⚠️ Common Pitfall: Making compute, network, and migration decisions in isolation. These choices are deeply interconnected; for example, a hybrid network design is critical for a phased migration strategy.

Key Trade-Offs:

• Control vs. Managed Overhead: Choosing IaaS (VMs) provides maximum control but high operational overhead. PaaS and Serverless services trade control for significantly reduced management effort.

Reflection Question: How do the design choices for compute (VMs, PaaS, containers, serverless), network (VNets, NSGs, Firewall, hybrid connectivity), and migration strategies collectively influence the overall performance, scalability, security, and cost-effectiveness of your Azure infrastructure design?