Tutorial — Choose Your Hosting Plan¶

This tutorial section provides four independent, step-by-step tracks — one for each Azure Functions hosting plan. Every track covers the same seven topics so you can follow the complete journey from local development to production on whichever plan fits your workload.

Which Plan Should I Start With?¶

flowchart TD
    Start["I need to run\nPython on Azure Functions"] --> Q1{"Need VNet /\nprivate networking?"}

    Q1 -->|No| Q2{"Predictable\nmonthly cost?"}
    Q1 -->|Yes| Q3{"Scale to zero\nwhen idle?"}

    Q2 -->|"Pay only\nwhen running"| CONS["☁️ Consumption (Y1)"]
    Q2 -->|"Fixed monthly\nbudget"| DEDI["🖥️ Dedicated (App Service)"]

    Q3 -->|Yes| FLEX["⚡ Flex Consumption (FC1)"]
    Q3 -->|"No — always\nwarm"| Q4{"Need deployment\nslots?"}

    Q4 -->|Yes| PREM["🚀 Premium (EP)"]
    Q4 -->|No| FLEX

    click CONS "consumption/01-local-run/"
    click FLEX "flex-consumption/01-local-run/"
    click PREM "premium/01-local-run/"
    click DEDI "dedicated/01-local-run/"

    style CONS fill:#0078d4,color:#fff
    style FLEX fill:#107c10,color:#fff
    style PREM fill:#ff8c00,color:#fff
    style DEDI fill:#5c2d91,color:#fff

Not sure yet? Start with Flex Consumption — it offers the broadest feature set (VNet, scale-to-zero, configurable memory) and is Microsoft's recommended default for new projects. You can migrate between plans later, though some migrations have limitations — see Migrate apps from Consumption to Flex Consumption.

Plan Comparison at a Glance¶

Network Architecture by Plan¶

Each hosting plan has a different network topology. The diagrams below show the full infrastructure that each tutorial track deploys — including VNet, subnets, private endpoints, DNS zones, and identity configuration.

☁️ Consumption (Y1) — Public Network¶

flowchart TD
    INET[Internet] -->|HTTPS| FA[Function App\nConsumption Y1\nLinux Python 3.11]

    FA -->|System-Assigned MI| ENTRA[Microsoft Entra ID]
    FA -->|"AzureWebJobsStorage__accountName\n+ connection string"| ST[Storage Account\npublic access]
    FA --> AI[Application Insights]

    subgraph STORAGE[Storage Services]
        ST --- FS[Azure Files\ncontent share]
    end

    NO_VNET["⚠️ No VNet integration\nNo private endpoints"] -. limitation .- FA

    style FA fill:#0078d4,color:#fff
    style NO_VNET fill:#FFF3E0,stroke:#FF9800
    style STORAGE fill:#FFF3E0

⚡ Flex Consumption (FC1) — Full Private Network¶

flowchart TD
    INET[Internet] -->|HTTPS| FA[Function App\nFlex Consumption FC1\nLinux Python 3.11]

    subgraph VNET["VNet 10.0.0.0/16"]
        subgraph INT_SUB["Integration Subnet 10.0.1.0/24\nDelegation: Microsoft.App/environments"]
            FA
        end
        subgraph PE_SUB["Private Endpoint Subnet 10.0.2.0/24"]
            PE_BLOB[PE: blob]
            PE_QUEUE[PE: queue]
            PE_TABLE[PE: table]
            PE_FILE[PE: file]
        end
    end

    PE_BLOB --> ST["Storage Account\nallowPublicAccess: false\nallowSharedKeyAccess: false"]
    PE_QUEUE --> ST
    PE_TABLE --> ST
    PE_FILE --> ST

    subgraph DNS[Private DNS Zones]
        DNS_BLOB[privatelink.blob.core.windows.net]
        DNS_QUEUE[privatelink.queue.core.windows.net]
        DNS_TABLE[privatelink.table.core.windows.net]
        DNS_FILE[privatelink.file.core.windows.net]
    end

    PE_BLOB -.-> DNS_BLOB
    PE_QUEUE -.-> DNS_QUEUE
    PE_TABLE -.-> DNS_TABLE
    PE_FILE -.-> DNS_FILE

    FA -.->|User-Assigned MI| UAMI[Managed Identity]
    UAMI -->|RBAC| ST
    FA --> AI[Application Insights]

    subgraph DEPLOY[Deployment]
        BLOB_CTR[Blob Container\ndeployment-packages]
    end
    ST --- BLOB_CTR

    style FA fill:#107c10,color:#fff
    style VNET fill:#E8F5E9,stroke:#4CAF50
    style ST fill:#FFF3E0
    style DNS fill:#E3F2FD

🚀 Premium (EP) — Private Network with Warm Instances¶

flowchart TD
    INET[Internet] -->|HTTPS| FA[Function App\nPremium EP1\nLinux Python 3.11]

    subgraph VNET["VNet 10.0.0.0/16"]
        subgraph INT_SUB["Integration Subnet 10.0.1.0/24\nDelegation: Microsoft.Web/serverFarms"]
            FA
        end
        subgraph PE_SUB["Private Endpoint Subnet 10.0.2.0/24"]
            PE_BLOB[PE: blob]
            PE_QUEUE[PE: queue]
            PE_TABLE[PE: table]
            PE_FILE[PE: file]
        end
    end

    PE_BLOB --> ST["Storage Account\nallowPublicAccess: false\nallowSharedKeyAccess: true"]
    PE_QUEUE --> ST
    PE_TABLE --> ST
    PE_FILE --> ST

    subgraph DNS[Private DNS Zones]
        DNS_BLOB[privatelink.blob.core.windows.net]
        DNS_QUEUE[privatelink.queue.core.windows.net]
        DNS_TABLE[privatelink.table.core.windows.net]
        DNS_FILE[privatelink.file.core.windows.net]
    end

    PE_BLOB -.-> DNS_BLOB
    PE_QUEUE -.-> DNS_QUEUE
    PE_TABLE -.-> DNS_TABLE
    PE_FILE -.-> DNS_FILE

    FA -.->|System-Assigned MI| ENTRA[Microsoft Entra ID]
    FA --> AI[Application Insights]

    subgraph STORAGE[Content Backend]
        SHARE[Azure Files\ncontent share]
    end
    ST --- SHARE

    WARM["🔥 Pre-warmed instances\nMin: 1, Max: 20-100"] -.- FA

    style FA fill:#ff8c00,color:#fff
    style VNET fill:#E8F5E9,stroke:#4CAF50
    style ST fill:#FFF3E0
    style DNS fill:#E3F2FD
    style WARM fill:#FFF3E0,stroke:#FF9800

🖥️ Dedicated (App Service Plan) — Fixed Capacity with VNet¶

flowchart TD
    INET[Internet] -->|HTTPS| FA[Function App\nDedicated B1-P3v3\nLinux Python 3.11]

    subgraph VNET["VNet 10.0.0.0/16"]
        subgraph INT_SUB["Integration Subnet 10.0.1.0/24\nDelegation: Microsoft.Web/serverFarms"]
            FA
        end
        subgraph PE_SUB["Private Endpoint Subnet 10.0.2.0/24"]
            PE_BLOB[PE: blob]
            PE_QUEUE[PE: queue]
            PE_TABLE[PE: table]
            PE_FILE[PE: file]
        end
    end

    PE_BLOB --> ST["Storage Account"]
    PE_QUEUE --> ST
    PE_TABLE --> ST
    PE_FILE --> ST

    subgraph DNS[Private DNS Zones]
        DNS_BLOB[privatelink.blob.core.windows.net]
        DNS_QUEUE[privatelink.queue.core.windows.net]
        DNS_TABLE[privatelink.table.core.windows.net]
        DNS_FILE[privatelink.file.core.windows.net]
    end

    PE_BLOB -.-> DNS_BLOB
    PE_QUEUE -.-> DNS_QUEUE
    PE_TABLE -.-> DNS_TABLE
    PE_FILE -.-> DNS_FILE

    FA -.->|System-Assigned MI| ENTRA[Microsoft Entra ID]
    FA --> AI[Application Insights]

    RFP["📦 WEBSITE_RUN_FROM_PACKAGE=1\nNo content share required"] -.- FA
    ALWAYS_ON["⚙️ Always On: true\nFixed capacity"] -.- FA

    style FA fill:#5c2d91,color:#fff
    style VNET fill:#E8F5E9,stroke:#4CAF50
    style ST fill:#FFF3E0
    style DNS fill:#E3F2FD

Tutorial Tracks¶

Each track contains the same seven steps. Pick your plan and follow from start to finish.

☁️ Consumption (Y1)¶

Classic serverless — pay only when your functions execute. Best for lightweight, event-driven workloads that don't need VNet access.

Next-generation serverless — scale-to-zero with VNet integration, configurable instance memory, and per-function scaling. Microsoft's recommended default for new projects.

🚀 Premium (EP)¶

Always-warm instances with VNet support and deployment slots. Best for latency-sensitive workloads or long-running functions that need guaranteed capacity.

🖥️ Dedicated (App Service Plan)¶

Traditional App Service hosting with predictable pricing. Best when you already have an App Service Plan with spare capacity, or need features like deployment slots on a fixed budget.

What Each Step Covers¶

See Also¶

• Scaling and Plans — Deep comparison of all hosting plans
• Networking — VNet integration and private endpoint concepts
• Cost Optimization — Choosing the right plan for your budget
• Deployment Scenarios — Cross-plan comparison of VNet, PE, identity, and deployment patterns

Sources¶

• Azure Functions hosting options (Microsoft Learn)
• Flex Consumption plan (Microsoft Learn)
• Azure Functions Premium plan (Microsoft Learn)
• Azure Functions pricing (Microsoft Learn)