02 - First Deploy (Premium)¶

Deploy a Python Function App to an Elastic Premium plan (EP1) with always-warm instances, then publish code and verify the app is live.

Prerequisites¶

• You completed 01 - Run Locally.
• You are signed in to Azure CLI and have Contributor access.
• You already exported: $RG, $APP_NAME, $PLAN_NAME, $STORAGE_NAME, $LOCATION (use koreacentral for this guide).

What You'll Build¶

• A Linux Python Function App on Elastic Premium (EP1) with runtime settings.
• Always-warm instances for production latency requirements.
• A first deployment pipeline (func azure functionapp publish) and endpoint verification.

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

    subgraph PLAN["Elastic Premium Plan"]
        FA
        WARM["Pre-warmed instances\nMin: 1"]
    end

    FA --> ST["Storage Account\nAzure Files content share"]
    FA --> AI[Application Insights]
    FA -.->|System-Assigned MI| ENTRA[Microsoft Entra ID]

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

Steps¶

1. Set environment variables for the deployment.

   export RG="rg-func-python-prem-demo"
   export LOCATION="koreacentral"
   export STORAGE_NAME="stpyprem0411"
   export PLAN_NAME="plan-pyprem-04110001"
   export APP_NAME="func-pyprem-04110001"
   

   Command/Parameter	Purpose
   export RG="..."	Sets the resource group name for the deployment.
   export LOCATION="..."	Chooses the Azure region for the deployment.
   export STORAGE_NAME="..."	Defines a unique name for the storage account.
   export PLAN_NAME="..."	Sets the name for the Elastic Premium plan.
   export APP_NAME="..."	Defines a globally unique name for the Function App.

   Globally unique names required

   Both $APP_NAME and $STORAGE_NAME must be globally unique across all Azure subscriptions. If you get a naming conflict, append a random suffix (e.g., func-pyprem-04111234).

2. Authenticate and set subscription context.

   az login
   az account set --subscription "<subscription-id>"
   

   Command/Parameter	Purpose
   az login	Authenticates your CLI session with Azure.
   az account set --subscription	Targets the specific Azure subscription for resource creation.

3. Create resource group.

   az group create \
     --name "$RG" \
     --location "$LOCATION"
   

   Command/Parameter	Purpose
   az group create	Provisions a new Azure resource group container.
   --name "$RG"	Specifies the resource group name.
   --location "$LOCATION"	Sets the geographical region for the group.

   Expected output (abridged):

   {
     "name": "rg-func-python-prem-demo",
     "location": "koreacentral",
     "properties": {
       "provisioningState": "Succeeded"
     }
   }
   

4. Create storage account.

   az storage account create \
     --name "$STORAGE_NAME" \
     --resource-group "$RG" \
     --location "$LOCATION" \
     --sku "Standard_LRS" \
     --kind "StorageV2" \
     --allow-blob-public-access false
   

   Command/Parameter	Purpose
   az storage account create	Provisions a new Azure Storage account.
   --sku "Standard_LRS"	Selects locally-redundant storage for cost-efficiency.
   --kind "StorageV2"	Uses the general-purpose v2 storage account type.
   --allow-blob-public-access false	Disables public access to blobs for better security.

   Expected output (abridged):

   {
     "name": "<storage-account-name>",
     "location": "koreacentral",
     "kind": "StorageV2",
     "provisioningState": "Succeeded"
   }
   

5. Create the Premium plan (EP1, Linux).

   az functionapp plan create \
     --name "$PLAN_NAME" \
     --resource-group "$RG" \
     --location "$LOCATION" \
     --sku "EP1" \
     --is-linux
   

   Command/Parameter	Purpose
   az functionapp plan create	Provisions an Elastic Premium hosting plan.
   --sku "EP1"	Selects the entry-level Premium tier.
   --is-linux	Configures the plan for Linux-based workers.

   Expected output (abridged):

   {
     "name": "<plan-name>",
     "location": "koreacentral",
     "sku": {
       "name": "EP1",
       "tier": "ElasticPremium"
     },
     "provisioningState": "Succeeded"
   }
   

6. Create the Function App on the Premium plan.

   az functionapp create \
     --name "$APP_NAME" \
     --resource-group "$RG" \
     --plan "$PLAN_NAME" \
     --storage-account "$STORAGE_NAME" \
     --runtime "python" \
     --runtime-version "3.11" \
     --functions-version "4" \
     --os-type "Linux"
   

   Command/Parameter	Purpose
   az functionapp create	Provisions the core Function App resource.
   --plan "$PLAN_NAME"	Links the app to the Elastic Premium plan.
   --runtime "python"	Selects the Python execution environment.
   --runtime-version "3.11"	Pins the Python version to 3.11.
   --functions-version "4"	Uses version 4 of the Azure Functions runtime host.
   --os-type "Linux"	Deploys the app on a Linux infrastructure.

   Expected output (abridged):

   {
     "name": "func-pyprem-04110001",
     "state": "Running",
     "kind": "functionapp,linux",
     "defaultHostName": "func-pyprem-04110001.azurewebsites.net"
   }
   

   Application Insights auto-created

   az functionapp create automatically creates an Application Insights resource with the same name as the function app. The APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING app setting is auto-configured.

   Enterprise policy: Shared key access

   Some enterprise subscriptions enforce Azure Policy that sets allowSharedKeyAccess: false on all storage accounts. Premium (EP1) requires WEBSITE_CONTENTAZUREFILECONNECTIONSTRING with a connection string that uses shared key access to create the content file share during provisioning. If your subscription has this policy, the Function App creation will fail with a 403 error. Solutions:

   • Request a policy exemption from your Azure administrator
   • Use Flex Consumption (FC1) which supports identity-based blob storage without shared keys
   • Use Dedicated (B1) which uses WEBSITE_RUN_FROM_PACKAGE without a content file share

7. Publish the app.

   cd apps/python
   func azure functionapp publish "$APP_NAME"
   

   Command/Parameter	Purpose
   cd apps/python	Moves the terminal into the source code directory.
   func azure functionapp publish	Bundles, uploads, and deploys the app source code.

   Expected output (abridged):

   Getting site publishing info...
   Creating archive for current directory...
   Uploading 6.51 MB [##############################################################]
   Upload completed successfully.
   Deployment completed successfully.
   Syncing triggers...
   

8. Validate deployment.

   az functionapp function list \
     --name "$APP_NAME" \
     --resource-group "$RG" \
     --output table
   

   Command/Parameter	Purpose
   az functionapp function list	Queries ARM to retrieve the list of indexed functions.
   --output table	Formats the function list as a readable text table.

   Function indexing delay

   After the first publish, it may take 30–60 seconds for all functions to appear in the ARM API. If the list is empty, wait and retry.

   Expected output (abridged — showing key functions):

   Name                                          Language
   --------------------------------------------  ----------
   func-pyprem-04110001/helloHttp                python
   func-pyprem-04110001/health                   python
   func-pyprem-04110001/info                     python
   func-pyprem-04110001/queueProcessor           python
   func-pyprem-04110001/blobProcessor            python
   func-pyprem-04110001/scheduledCleanup         python
   

9. Test the deployed endpoints.

   curl --request GET "https://$APP_NAME.azurewebsites.net/api/health"
   

   Command/Parameter	Purpose
   curl --request GET	Sends an HTTP GET request to verify the health endpoint.

   Expected output:

   {"status":"healthy","timestamp":"2026-04-11T10:00:00.000Z","version":"1.0.0"}
   

   curl --request GET "https://$APP_NAME.azurewebsites.net/api/hello/Azure"
   

   Command/Parameter	Purpose
   curl --request GET	Sends an HTTP GET request to verify the hello endpoint.

   Expected output:

   {"message":"Hello, Azure"}
   

Verification¶

The output confirms that Azure indexed your function definitions and the app serves requests. Verify:

• az functionapp function list shows functions with language python
• curl to the health endpoint returns 200 OK with {"status":"healthy",...}
• curl to /api/hello/Azure returns {"message":"Hello, Azure"}

Next Steps¶

• Add VNet integration: See Private Egress for VNet + Storage PE
• Full private deployment: See 02 - First Deploy (Private Networking)

See Also¶

• Tutorial Overview & Plan Chooser
• Python Language Guide
• Platform: Hosting Plans
• Operations: Deployment
• Recipes Index

Sources¶

• Azure Functions Python developer guide (Microsoft Learn)
• Create your first Azure Function with Core Tools (Microsoft Learn)
• Azure Functions Premium plan (Microsoft Learn)