zkt26/sk1

TaskFlow — Cloud Deployment (sk1)

A task management web application deployed on Microsoft Azure. Live at: https://taskflow-14802.azurewebsites.net

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1. What the Application Does

TaskFlow is a simple web-based task manager for individuals or small teams.

Users can:

• Create tasks with a title and optional description
• Advance tasks through three stages: To Do → In Progress → Done
• Delete tasks they no longer need

All data is stored in a managed PostgreSQL database and persists across restarts and redeployments.

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2. Public Cloud and Infrastructure Description

Cloud Provider

Microsoft Azure — Azure for Students subscription.

Azure Services Used

Service	Purpose
Azure Container Registry (ACR) — Basic	Stores the Docker image for the Flask app
Azure App Service Plan — Linux B1	Managed hosting platform for the container
Azure Web App (container)	Runs the Flask app with built-in HTTPS and auto-restart
Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server — Burstable B1ms	Managed PostgreSQL 15 database with persistent storage

Components

Component	Type	Role
taskflow-web	Docker container on App Service	Python 3.11 / Flask app served by Gunicorn
postgres	Azure managed database	PostgreSQL 15 — stores all tasks
taskflow-registry	Azure Container Registry	Private Docker image registry

How Traffic Flows

Browser (HTTPS)
  → Azure App Service (built-in TLS, azurewebsites.net cert)
    → Flask container (Gunicorn :5000)
      → Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server (:5432, SSL required)
        → Managed persistent storage (Azure-managed disk)

HTTPS / TLS

Azure App Service provides a free, automatic, browser-trusted TLS certificate for all *.azurewebsites.net domains. HTTPS-only mode is enforced — HTTP requests are automatically redirected to HTTPS.

Persistent Storage

Data is stored in Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server. This is a fully managed service — Azure handles backups, high availability, and storage automatically. Data persists independently of the application container.

Automatic Restart

Azure App Service automatically restarts the container if it crashes or exits. The platform monitors the /health endpoint and restarts unhealthy instances without manual intervention.

Configuration

All secrets (database host, user, password) are stored as App Service Application Settings — Azure's equivalent of environment variables. They are injected into the container at runtime and never stored in code or GIT.

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3. Cost Analysis — 1,000 Users/Day, 50 GB Data (Azure, 1 Year)

Resource	Specification	Unit Price	Billing	Annual Cost
App Service Plan	Linux B1 (1 vCPU, 1.75 GB RAM)	~$13.14/month	Monthly	~$157.68
PostgreSQL Flexible Server	Burstable B1ms (1 vCPU, 2 GB)	~$12.41/month	Monthly	~$148.92
PostgreSQL Storage	50 GB	~$5.76/month	Monthly	~$69.12
Azure Container Registry	Basic tier	~$5.00/month	Monthly	~$60.00
Outbound bandwidth	First 100 GB free, ~60 GB/month at 1k users	$0	Per GB	~$0
HTTPS certificate	Free (azurewebsites.net)	$0	—	$0
Total				≈ $435.72 / year

For the exam demo period the actual cost is ~$35/month (B1 plan + B1ms PostgreSQL). Delete resources after the exam with remove-app.sh to stop billing.

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4. Uploaded Files and Their Content

sk1/
├── app/
│   ├── app.py              Flask app — routes, DB connection, Kanban UI, /health endpoint
│   ├── Dockerfile          Builds taskflow-web image (Python 3.11, Gunicorn, non-root)
│   └── requirements.txt    Python deps: flask, gunicorn, psycopg2-binary
├── db/
│   └── init.sql            SQL schema — tasks table, trigger, sample data
├── setup.sh                Full deployment — writes files, creates all Azure resources
├── prepare-app.sh          Rebuilds and redeploys container after code changes
├── remove-app.sh           Deletes entire Azure resource group
├── backup.sh               pg_dump backup and restore via psql
├── .env.example            Template for required environment variables (no secrets)
├── .gitignore              Excludes .env and backups from GIT
└── README.md               This file

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5. Configuration Description

Secrets and Environment Variables

Secrets are stored as Azure App Service Application Settings — never in GIT.

Variable	Where stored	Used by
POSTGRES_HOST	App Service settings	Flask app
POSTGRES_USER	App Service settings	Flask app
POSTGRES_PASSWORD	App Service settings	Flask app
POSTGRES_DB	App Service settings	Flask app
POSTGRES_PORT	App Service settings	Flask app
FLASK_ENV	App Service settings	Gunicorn
WEBSITES_PORT	App Service settings	Azure (tells it app runs on 5000)
DB_PASSWORD	Shell env var at deploy time	setup.sh only, not stored

A local .env file is written during deployment for use by backup.sh. It is excluded from GIT by .gitignore.

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6. How to View and Use the Application

Prerequisites

• Azure CLI installed and az login completed
• Docker installed and running
• psql installed (for backup/restore and schema init)
• DB_PASSWORD environment variable set

Deploy (first time — creates all Azure resources)

export DB_PASSWORD="YourStrongPassword123!"
chmod +x setup.sh && ./setup.sh

Takes approximately 5–8 minutes.

Open in Browser

https://taskflow-14802.azurewebsites.net

Redeploy after code changes

./prepare-app.sh

Remove all Azure resources

./remove-app.sh

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7. How to Perform a Data Backup

Install psql if needed: sudo apt install postgresql-client

# Create a timestamped backup
source .env && ./backup.sh

# List backups
ls -lh backups/

# Restore
source .env && ./backup.sh --restore backups/taskflow-20250601-120000.sql

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8. How to View Access Logs from the Internet

Azure App Service logs all HTTP requests. View them via Azure CLI:

# Stream live access logs (all internet requests to the app)
az webapp log tail --resource-group taskflow-rg --name taskflow-14802

# Enable detailed logging first if needed
az webapp log config   --resource-group taskflow-rg   --name taskflow-14802   --application-logging filesystem   --web-server-logging filesystem   --level information

# Download logs as zip
az webapp log download --resource-group taskflow-rg --name taskflow-14802

Each log entry contains: timestamp, client IP, HTTP method, path, status code, response time.

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9. Conditions for Running prepare-app.sh and remove-app.sh

prepare-app.sh

• Azure CLI installed and az login completed
• Docker installed and running
• .env file must exist in the same directory (created by setup.sh)
• ACR name and App name are hardcoded from the initial deployment — re-run setup.sh to create fresh resources

remove-app.sh

• Azure CLI installed and az login completed
• Resource group taskflow-rg must exist
• Prompts for confirmation before deleting
• All data will be lost unless backup.sh was run first

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10. External Resources and Use of Generative AI

External Resources

Resource	Type	How Used
Azure App Service Documentation	Official docs	Web app creation, container config, app settings, logging
Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server	Official docs	Server creation, firewall, connection strings
Azure Container Registry	Official docs	Image push, admin credentials
Flask Documentation	Official docs	Routing, templates
PostgreSQL pg_dump	Official docs	Backup commands
Azure Pricing Calculator	Tool	Cost analysis
Course lectures (azure, certbot, compose)	Lecture slides	Architecture, PaaS concepts, IaaS vs PaaS

Generative AI Usage

Tool: Claude by Anthropic (claude.ai) Type: Productivity assistance — Azure CLI commands, shell scripts, Dockerfile, Flask app, README. Method: Student described requirements, reviewed all output, verified understanding before submission. All architectural decisions directed by the student. AI accelerated writing; understanding was the student's own.