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06 - CI/CD (Dedicated)

Automate build, test, and deployment using GitHub Actions and Maven so every change ships through the same pipeline.

Prerequisites

Tool Version Purpose
JDK 17+ Compile and run Java functions locally
Maven 3.6+ Build and package Java artifacts
Azure Functions Core Tools v4 Start local host and publish artifacts
Azure CLI 2.61+ Provision Azure resources and inspect app state

Dedicated plan basics

Dedicated (App Service Plan) runs Functions on reserved VM instances with fixed monthly cost. B1 provides 1 vCPU and 1.75 GB memory. AlwaysOn keeps the function host loaded, eliminating cold starts. Choose Dedicated when you already operate App Service workloads or need predictable billing.

What You'll Build

You will create a GitHub Actions workflow that builds the Java project with Maven, publishes to the Dedicated function app from the staging directory, and runs a post-deployment smoke test.

flowchart TD
    A[Push to main] --> B[GitHub Actions]
    B --> C[Maven build + test]
    C --> D["Publish from staging dir"]
    D --> E[Smoke test]

Steps

Step 1 - Store deployment secrets in GitHub

Add repository secrets in Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions:

  • AZURE_CREDENTIALS — Service principal JSON from az ad sp create-for-rbac
  • AZURE_FUNCTIONAPP_NAME — e.g. func-jded-04100220
  • AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP — e.g. rg-func-java-ded-demo
az ad sp create-for-rbac \
  --name "sp-func-java-deploy" \
  --role contributor \
  --scopes "/subscriptions/<subscription-id>/resourceGroups/$RG" \
  --sdk-auth
CLI element Explanation
Command(s) az ad sp create-for-rbac
Key flags --name, --role, --scopes, --sdk-auth
Variables $RG
Expected result Azure CLI completes successfully and returns JSON, table, or no output depending on the command; verify the next documented check before continuing.

Step 2 - Create workflow file

# .github/workflows/deploy-java-dedicated.yml
name: Deploy Java Function (Dedicated)

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
    paths:
      - 'apps/java/**'

jobs:
  build-and-deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    defaults:
      run:
        working-directory: apps/java

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up JDK 17
        uses: actions/setup-java@v4
        with:
          distribution: temurin
          java-version: '17'

      - name: Build with Maven
        run: mvn --batch-mode clean package

      - name: Azure login
        uses: azure/login@v2
        with:
          creds: ${{ secrets.AZURE_CREDENTIALS }}

      - name: Install Azure Functions Core Tools
        run: npm install -g azure-functions-core-tools@4

      - name: Deploy from staging directory
        run: |
          cd target/azure-functions/azure-functions-java-guide
          func azure functionapp publish ${{ secrets.AZURE_FUNCTIONAPP_NAME }}

      - name: Smoke test
        run: |
          sleep 30
          HTTP_STATUS=$(curl --silent --output /dev/null --write-out "%{http_code}" \
            "https://${{ secrets.AZURE_FUNCTIONAPP_NAME }}.azurewebsites.net/api/health")
          if [ "$HTTP_STATUS" != "200" ]; then
            echo "Smoke test failed with HTTP $HTTP_STATUS"
            exit 1
          fi
          echo "Smoke test passed (HTTP 200)"

Must publish from staging directory in CI/CD

The workflow must cd target/azure-functions/azure-functions-java-guide before running func azure functionapp publish. Publishing from the project root uploads the package but functions will not be indexed.

Step 3 - Add post-deployment verification

# Verify app state
az functionapp show \
  --name "$APP_NAME" \
  --resource-group "$RG" \
  --query "{state:state, defaultHostName:defaultHostName, kind:kind}" \
  --output table

# Test health endpoint
curl --request GET "https://$APP_NAME.azurewebsites.net/api/health"
CLI element Explanation
Command(s) az functionapp show
Key flags --name, --resource-group, --query, --output, --request
Variables $APP_NAME, $RG
Expected result Azure CLI returns the requested resource data; verify names, IDs, status fields, or metric values match the scenario.

Step 4 - Track release history

az functionapp show \
  --name "$APP_NAME" \
  --resource-group "$RG" \
  --query "{state:state, defaultHostName:defaultHostName, kind:kind}" \
  --output table
CLI element Explanation
Command(s) az functionapp show
Key flags --name, --resource-group, --query, --output
Variables $APP_NAME, $RG
Expected result Azure CLI returns the requested resource data; verify names, IDs, status fields, or metric values match the scenario.

Expected output:

State    DefaultHostName                        Kind
-------  ------------------------------------   -----------------
Running  func-jded-04100220.azurewebsites.net   functionapp,linux

Dedicated does not support deployment slots on Basic tier

Deployment slots require Standard (S1) or higher tier. On B1, all deployments go directly to production. To enable zero-downtime deployments with slot swapping, upgrade to at least S1:

az appservice plan update \
  --name "$PLAN_NAME" \
  --resource-group "$RG" \
  --sku S1
CLI element Explanation
Command(s) az appservice plan update
Key flags --name, --resource-group, --sku
Variables $PLAN_NAME, $RG
Expected result Azure CLI applies the configuration change; confirm the returned JSON or follow-up query shows the expected value.

Verification

Successful workflow output:

[INFO] BUILD SUCCESS
Getting site publishing info...
Uploading 326.23 KB [--------------------]
Upload completed successfully.
Deployment completed successfully.
Syncing triggers...
Smoke test passed (HTTP 200)

Next Steps

Next: 07 - Extending with Triggers

See Also

Sources