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Chetan’s Portfolio

Cloud Resume Challenge (Azure)

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ChetanThapliyal/Azure-Cloud-Resume-Challenge

My take on Cloud Resume Challenge with Azure.

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Project Overview
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A full-stack serverless web application deployed entirely on Microsoft Azure as part of the Cloud Resume Challenge. The project goes far beyond hosting a static resume - it integrates a dynamic visitor counter API, a globally distributed CDN, infrastructure-as-code, and a fully automated CI/CD pipeline.

Every component - from the Hugo-generated frontend to the Cosmos DB-backed API - is provisioned with Terraform and deployed via GitHub Actions, making the entire stack reproducible and version-controlled.

Architecture
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The application follows a serverless, event-driven architecture:

  1. Visitor navigates to az.chetan-thapliyal.cloud over HTTPS.
  2. Azure Front Door terminates TLS and serves cached static assets from the nearest global edge PoP.
  3. On a cache miss, Front Door fetches from the Azure Blob Storage origin ($web container).
  4. The frontend JavaScript calls the /api/counter endpoint.
  5. Azure Functions (Python) reads and increments the visitor count in Cosmos DB and returns the updated value.
  6. The visitor counter updates live on the page.

Tech Stack
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Layer Technology Purpose
Frontend Hugo (GoFolium theme) Responsive portfolio site with custom layouts
Hosting Azure Blob Storage Static website hosting via $web container
CDN / TLS Azure Front Door Global edge caching, managed TLS, and custom domain routing
API Azure Functions (Python 3.12) Serverless visitor counter endpoint
Database Azure Cosmos DB (Table API) Globally-distributed persistence for visitor count
IaC Terraform Modular infrastructure automation with remote state
CI/CD GitHub Actions Automated build → deploy → cache-purge pipeline
DNS Cloudflare Custom domain management with az subdomain delegation

Challenges
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  • CDN → Front Door Migration: Migrated from Azure CDN Classic (nearing deprecation) to Azure Front Door Standard with zero downtime, re-configuring custom domain routing, caching rules, and TLS certificates.
  • CORS Configuration: Configuring Cross-Origin Resource Sharing correctly between the Front Door–served frontend and the Azure Function backend for secure, cross-origin visitor counter API calls.
  • Terraform State Management: Importing 15+ existing Azure resources into Terraform management, handling remote backend state with Azure Storage, and resolving import conflicts for resources like Front Door custom domains and routes.
  • Cosmos DB Function Bindings: Implementing the correct Table API bindings for Azure Functions to perform atomic read-increment-write operations against Cosmos DB’s serverless tier.
  • CI/CD Cache Purging: Debugging the GitHub Actions workflow to correctly purge Front Door’s edge cache after deployments — matching the endpoint name, profile, and content paths to the actual Azure configuration.

Key Learnings
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  • Architecting a serverless full-stack application on Azure with zero VM management
  • Configuring Azure Front Door with custom domains, managed TLS certificates, and cache rules
  • Building CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions for both frontend and infrastructure deployment
  • Using Cosmos DB Table API bindings with Azure Functions for low-latency data access
  • Migrating from Azure CDN Classic to Azure Front Door Standard without downtime
  • Implementing Infrastructure as Code with Terraform for reproducible, version-controlled cloud environments
  • Managing remote Terraform state with Azure Storage backend for team-safe workflows

References
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