What Are Azure Deployment Slots?

Azure Deployment Slots are a powerful feature of the Azure App Service that allows developers to deploy and test their applications without affecting the live site. In this article, we will explore what Azure Deployment Slots are, how they work, and why you should use them.

What Are Azure Deployment Slots?

Azure Deployment Slots are essentially different instances of your web application running on the same Azure App Service. Each deployment slot is an independent copy of your application that can be used for testing, staging, or production purposes. These copies are isolated from each other and can be deployed independently.

Deployment slots provide a way to test your application in a production-like environment before making it live. You can use them to deploy new features or updates to your application without affecting the live site. This is particularly useful when you want to make sure that everything works as expected before releasing it to the public.

How Do Azure Deployment Slots Work?

When you create an Azure App Service, you automatically get one deployment slot called “production.” You can create additional deployment slots by clicking on the “Deployment slots” option in the left menu of your App Service.

Each slot has its own URL (e.g., https://myapp-staging.azurewebsites.net) and configuration settings. When you deploy your application to a deployment slot, it is copied over from the main app service instance into that slot.

You can configure different settings for each deployment slot, such as connection strings, environment variables, and application settings. You can also set up auto-swap between two slots so that changes made in one slot automatically get swapped with another.

Why Use Azure Deployment Slots?

There are several reasons why you should use Azure Deployment Slots:

• Testing: You can use deployment slots for testing purposes without affecting the live site.
• Staging: You can use deployment slots for staging purposes to test your application in a production-like environment.
• Rolling Out Updates: You can use deployment slots to deploy updates or new features to your application without affecting the live site.
• A/B Testing: You can use deployment slots for A/B testing by deploying different versions of your application to different slots and measuring their performance.

Conclusion

Azure Deployment Slots are a powerful feature of the Azure App Service that allows developers to deploy and test their applications without affecting the live site. They provide a way to test your application in a production-like environment before making it live, and they can be used for staging, rolling out updates, and A/B testing. If you haven’t already, give them a try and see how they can help you improve your development workflow.