Using Microsoft Azure for distributed systems

In this section, we will learn how to use Azure to implement durable microservices using serverless features, namely Azure Functions.

What is Azure? As I am sure you are aware by now, Microsoft Azure is Microsoft’s cloud offering for hosting your databases, APIs, and data resources. It also has many other forms of cloud offerings. Microsoft Azure consists of paid services, free for 1-year services, and always free services. You are advised to review their different cloud services and compare them with other providers to suit your needs. Pay particular attention to which services are free, along with their usage limits, and which services you will have to pay for.

Let's name some good reasons to host your applications and databases in the cloud instead of on-premises. Well, you don’t have to pay for hardware or electricity costs for a start. Then, there is the aspect of scaling up and scaling out when your existing...