I am in the process of building a basic windows phone 8 game with an Azure back-end. I am looking into solutions to implement some form of matchmaking for my game through Azure. I would like to run some form of "game master" in the cloud rather than in the app so if two individuals connect to each other, I can manage the whole game flow using Azure back-end.
I have looked at Azure Mobile Services, but it would seem that it only provides databasing functionality for your app. I think Azure Cloud Service provides such functionality, but I am unclear as to how I connect to Azure Cloud Service from my Windows phone app.
You can expose a regular web service in Azure WebSites or Cloud Service (MVC / Web API) which you could then consume from your WP app:
http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/web-sites-dotnet-rest-service-aspnet-api-sql-database/
http://www.asp.net/web-api/overview/web-api-clients/calling-web-api-from-a-windows-phone-8-application
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Why should I use Azure App Service and not just implement a common .NET RESTful Web API backend?
What's the explicit benefit of this service compared to a common .NET RESTful Web API backend hosted on Azure?
An Azure App Service is a place to host your web application or API. Normally when you have a .NET web API you host it behind IIS or something on a virtual machine.
Azure helps you with these common scenarios wit Platform as a Service (PaaS). An App Service completely abstracts the operating system and the way you host your web application.
App Service can host web apps both on Windows and Linux. You can use all kinds of frameworks such as PHP, .NET or Java. You can even host containers without worrying about the host.
A good sample to start with hosting your .NET Web App on Azure App Services can be found here: Quickstart: Create an ASP.NET Core web app in Azure
Yes, there is a huge difference between Azure App Service and .Net REST WebAPI backend on Azure.
Hosting on Azure can be done using two ways
Create your own VM, then install IIS and do all the required stuff
Use AppService Plan
AppService Plan allows you to leverage the powerful functionality of Azure. Here a separate VM is not assigned to you. Azure App service can scale automatically depending upon the Scaling rule which is not present in restful API hosted on Azure VM.
My question blatantly was a stupid Newbie question, and as such, I'm afraid it is non-sense, which I now know by the answers you've given.
I'm currently reading the book "Azure and Xamarin Forms" to learn Xamarin and Azure. Apparently it's outdated. It suggests to "create a Mobile App on Azure". From the book that Mobile App is just a plain App Service running a RESTful Web API with EF, but utilizing completely different namespaces to do so.
My question targeted towards these other namespaces. I didn't see a reason for them.
Apparently, Microsoft noticed the same. There is no "Mobile App" available in the Azure Marketplace anymore.
Azure App Service is a PaaS solution from Microsoft hosted on Azure. You can think of Azure App Service as some sort of "Micrsoft Heroku", because they work on a similar fashion. For many REST Projects, it can save you hours, if not DAYS of development. It has automatic TLS like heroku, but it is hosted on Azure instead of AWS and it can integrate very well with your existing Azure resources. One common pattern is to host the REST API on App Service and use a database service from Azure such as Azure SQL or Cosmos DB (which is a NoSQL service that, from the point of view of your app, it operates as MongoDB, but can be configured to behave as other DBMS).
I'm currently in the planning process for a mobile app I'd like to build, with a companion web app. The Mobile app and the Web app will share common data (for example, users can take a questionnaire in the mobile app or take the same questionnaire on the web app).
I've used Azure a couple of years ago to create and host a web app, but this is my first venture in mobile development. I'm trying to wrap my head around the architecture in Azure for hosting the API.
I've searched high and low, but either can't find a definitive answer to my question, or am not quite understanding what I am reading on the subject.
Basically: Where would my API live in Azure? Would I create a Mobile App in my App Service, which hosts the shared web API? Then create a Web App in the app service, and use something like RESTSharp to access the API from the web app?
AFAIK, Web Apps and Mobile Apps are just different types of Azure App Service Apps which use to host the relevant applications (e.g. WebApps host website,webapi and MobileApps serve as the mobile backend service). Basically, they are the same and the difference between them is the app type and the Quickstart tutorial for them.
For mobile development, you could leverage the relevant SDKs (server-side and client-side) provided by Mobile Apps. You could also deploy your mobile backend application to Azure Web Apps to get the Mobile Functionality.
For Web Apps, you could follow here to build your web application and deploy to web app. For Mobile Apps, you could follow here to build your mobile backend and the tutorials for building your mobile client project.
Basically: Where would my API live in Azure? Would I create a Mobile App in my App Service, which hosts the shared web API? Then create a Web App in the app service, and use something like RESTSharp to access the API from the web app?
AFAIK, for Azure Mobile Apps backend, you could choose Node.js or C#. The relevant server SDKs provide out-of-the-box CRUD operations against the table. I would use the Mobile Apps SDKs to build my backend project and provide the ability to do operations on the specific table and the custom Web API to handle other operations. For your web app, you could use RESTSharp or just leverage the client SDKs provided by Azure Mobile Apps to communicate with your mobile backend endpoint (hosting on a web app or a mobile app).
For C# mobile app backend and mobile client side tutorials, you could follow adrian hall's book here.
For Node.js related mobile backend development, you could follow 30 DAYS OF AZURE MOBILE APPS.
This question already has answers here:
What is the difference between an Azure Web Site and an Azure Web Role
(10 answers)
Closed 5 years ago.
I am using MVC application in VS2015.Now we are planning to migrate our MVC5 Web application to Azure app service. I am getting confused with cloud service with Azure app service.
Just wanted to check can we migrate MVC5 application to Azure app service ?
I have installed Azure SDK
Do i need to install VS 2017 to have Azure App service or with Azure SDK will work.
Does the cloud service project and Azure App service both are different?
Please help me in understanding more
There are many differences between Azure Web Apps and Cloud Services.
App Service Web Apps is a fully managed compute platform that is optimized for hosting websites and web applications. This platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering of Microsoft Azure lets you focus on your business logic while Azure takes care of the infrastructure to run and scale your apps.
On the other hand, Cloud Services is an example of Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). Like App Service, this technology is designed to support applications that are scalable, reliable, and cheap to operate. Just like an App Service is hosted on VMs, so too are Cloud Services, however, you have more control over the VMs. You can install your own software on Cloud Service VMs and you can remote into them.
More control also means less ease of use. Unless you need the additional control options, it's typically quicker and easier to get a web application up and running in Web Apps in App Service compared to Cloud Services.
In Azure App Service, deployment and management are integrated into the platform, sites can scale quickly to handle high traffic loads, and the built-in load balancing and traffic manager provide high availability. You can move existing sites to Azure App Service easily with an online migration tool, use an open-source app from the Web Application Gallery, or create a new site using the framework and tools of your choice.
Also, there are many ways in which one can perform direct code deployment to Azure App Service. You can use FTP/Kudu (Git/Mercurial or OneDrive/Dropbox)/Web Deploy etc.
Hope this clears your confusion.
I have created an Azure Web App today and it has a Mobile section in the Settings which contains Push notification, Mobile Authentication, etc. You can even download the source code for a mobile client app. I know that this used to be part of Mobile App (Mobile Service). I have created an Azure Mobile App to compare with Web App and they look the same in terms of Settings and Tools. Even the Icon is the same.
My question is what is what is the difference between Azure Web App and Azure Mobile App?
Like you, I couldn't get my head around the difference between the different types of App Service apps (Web Apps / Mobile Apps / API Apps). Judging by the fact that no one has really answered your question, it looks like we weren't the only ones.
It made no sense to me that Web Apps, Mobile Apps and API apps were distinct things: surely the whole point is that you should be able to expose an API that serves your web site, your mobile apps, any other kind of client, making use of whichever features you need for your use case?
And, lo and behold, buried deep in the Azure docs:
The only difference between the three app types (API, web, mobile) is the name and icon used for them in the Azure portal.
Yep: they're exactly the same.
In old days of Azure, they had 2 offerings - Azure Websites and Azure Mobile services. Some time ago, both of them got rolled into something called Azure App Service which also included two more kinds of apps - API Apps and Logic Apps.
To answer your question specifically, Azure Web App is new name for Azure Websites that you can use to build websites in multiple languages where as Azure Mobile App is the new name for Azure Mobile Service that provides backend infrastructure for mobile applications (or in other words, Azure Mobile App is Mobile Backend-as-a-Service [MBaaS] offering from Azure).
Mobile Service is the "classic" version and is only available in the classic portal. Mobile Apps is part of App Service is only available in the preview portal.
App Service includes Web Apps, Mobile Apps, API Apps and Logic Apps is deployed as one unit. Using the classic way, you would have to create and pay let's say for a Web App and a Mobile Service so you can save money using the App Service. You also get a larger selection of VMs.
Not all Mobile Services features have been migrated yet to Mobile Apps. If you use a Node.js backend, there's no nice UI built-in in the new portal to manage your JS code.
Note that Microsoft has not announced that it will deprecate Mobile Services.
I have found some subtle, but key, differences. Assuming a C# backend, the Mobile App Service controllers will inherit from TableController - which provides out-of-the-box CRUD operations on a table, compared to the Web Api 2 style ApiController (which you can still use in a Mobile App Service). Any less confused now?
Sorry for the late reply. They all are really the same thing. If you look in Azure Resource Explorer (available in the application menu of your app or resources.azure.com) you will see the indication of how we display a different icon for it - "kind": "mobileapp", for Mobile Apps for example. We leverage the different kinds to provide different quick-starts. You can certainly create an Azure Web App and load Azure Web App code to it to get the Mobile Functionality.
We are building a mobile cross platform solution with Xamarin (Xamarin.Forms).
We developed a backend API in Azure with Azure API Apps.
Now we want to integrate and use Mobile Apps (Mobile Services) but using Azure API Apps we created previously.
I see this BUILD presentation https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2014/3-623
and the idea i think is to use ApiController and call to Azure API Apps there.
Is this correct? Some sample? How can i do? I must have 2 projects API Apps + Mobile Apps? or I must integrate in one (only one API)?
You could potentially have your mobile clients connect to your API app, but you'll have an easier time if you convert your API App to use the Mobile App backend packages. Another option is to have your Mobile App backend connect to the API app, but that's a lot of hops without much benefit.
For details on these packages, see How to work with the .NET backend server SDK for Azure Mobile Apps.
For a step-by-step tutorial, start with Create a Xamarin.Forms app on Azure Mobile Apps.