Best way to implement a Load Balancer for an existing VM running a web-application where users uploading files?

Question

We have a https web application running on a VM in Azure. This application is connected to a database and a report-server on another VM (Azure). After login to the application its users keep their session-info in their browser until logging off. The users are uploading files in the application which are stored (on a data disk on the VM) and used in the application. The application has regular updates where new program files and .config settings is updated/changed.

We want to establish a type of Load Balancer (first time) and I’m thinking of using an Application Gateway in a way.  But I’m find it hard to find any information about which metode to use and if it will support session handling, uploading of files and application upgrades 2-4 times a month.

I’m hoping that someone have some experience in some of this ‘challenges’ and that they will share their answer so I can find the best way to approach this. Thank you in advance 😊

Answer 1

Hello @Jan Rikard Skåret

There are multiple options that you can use to achieve your goals.

• Blue/Green deployment could bring you updates without downtime. To implement blue/green deployment you can use Application Gateway, FrontDoor or Traffic Manager.
  https://stackoverflow.com/questions/53418132/blue-green-deployment-using-vsts-release-definitions
  
• To make your application highly available you can use either Front Door, App Gateway or Traffic Manager.
  Consider that App Gateway is regional service comparing to Front Door and Traffic Manager, that are global.
  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/reference-architectures/n-tier/multi-region-sql-server
  

I would recommend to check Azure Architecture Center and define your requirements(HA, DR, etc) and budget.