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Azure

Overview​

This guide covers two methods for deploying AnswerAI on Azure:

  1. Using Terraform to deploy AnswerAI as an Azure App Service with Postgres
  2. Using Azure Container Instances (ACI) through the Azure Portal UI or Azure CLI

Method 1: AnswerAI as Azure App Service with Postgres Using Terraform​

Prerequisites​

  1. Azure Account: Ensure you have an Azure account with an active subscription. If you don't have one, sign up at Azure Portal.
  2. Terraform: Install Terraform CLI on your machine. Download it from Terraform's website.
  3. Azure CLI: Install Azure CLI. Instructions can be found on the Azure CLI documentation page.

Setting Up Your Environment​

  1. Login to Azure: Open your terminal or command prompt and login to Azure CLI:
az login --tenant <Your Subscription ID> --use-device-code
  1. Set Subscription:
az account set --subscription <Your Subscription ID>
  1. Initialize Terraform:

Create a terraform.tfvars file in your Terraform project directory with the following content:

subscription_name = "subscription_name"
subscription_id = "subscription id"
project_name = "webapp_name"
db_username = "PostgresUserName"
db_password = "strongPostgresPassword"
flowise_username = "flowiseUserName"
flowise_password = "strongFlowisePassword"
flowise_secretkey_overwrite = "longandStrongSecretKey"
webapp_ip_rules = [
  {
    name = "AllowedIP"
    ip_address = "X.X.X.X/32"
    headers = null
    virtual_network_subnet_id = null
    subnet_id = null
    service_tag = null
    priority = 300
    action = "Allow"
  }
]
postgres_ip_rules = {
  "ValbyOfficeIP" = "X.X.X.X"
}
source_image = "flowiseai/flowise:latest"
tagged_image = "flow:v1"

Replace the placeholders with your actual values.

  1. Initialize Terraform:

Navigate to your Terraform project directory and run:

terraform init

Deploying with Terraform​

  1. Plan the Deployment:
terraform plan
  1. Apply the Deployment:
terraform apply
  1. Verify the Deployment: Once Terraform has completed, check the Azure Portal to verify that the resources are correctly deployed.

Method 2: Azure Container Instance​

Prerequisites​

  1. (Optional) Install Azure CLI if you'd like to use CLI commands

Option A: Create a Container Instance without Persistent Storage​

Using Azure Portal​

  1. Search for Container Instances in Marketplace and click Create.
  2. Configure basic settings:
    • Select or create a Resource group
    • Set Container name, Region, Image source (Other registry)
    • Set Image to flowiseai/flowise
    • Choose OS type and Size
  3. Configure networking:
    • Add port 3000 (TCP) in addition to the default 80 (TCP)
  4. Configure advanced settings:
    • Set Restart policy to On failure
    • Add Environment variables: FLOWISE_USERNAME and FLOWISE_PASSWORD
    • Set Command override to ["/bin/sh", "-c", "flowise start"]
  5. Review and create the container instance.

Using Azure CLI​

  1. Create a resource group:
az group create --name flowise-rg --location "West US"
  1. Create a Container Instance:
az container create -g flowise-rg \
    --name flowise \
    --image flowiseai/flowise \
    --command-line "/bin/sh -c 'flowise start'" \
    --environment-variables FLOWISE_USERNAME=flowise-user FLOWISE_PASSWORD=flowise-password \
    --ip-address public \
    --ports 80 3000 \
    --restart-policy OnFailure
  1. Access AnswerAI at the IP address (including port :3000) provided in the output.

Option B: Create a Container Instance with Persistent Storage​

This option is only possible using Azure CLI:

  1. Create a resource group:
az group create --name flowise-rg --location "West US"

  1. Create a Storage Account and File share. Refer to Azure documentation for detailed steps.

  2. Create a Container Instance with persistent storage:

az container create -g flowise-rg \
    --name flowise \
    --image flowiseai/flowise \
    --command-line "/bin/sh -c 'flowise start'" \
    --environment-variables FLOWISE_USERNAME=flowise-user FLOWISE_PASSWORD=flowise-password DATABASE_PATH=/opt/flowise/.flowise APIKEY_PATH=/opt/flowise/.flowise SECRETKEY_PATH=/opt/flowise/.flowise LOG_PATH=/opt/flowise/.flowise/logs BLOB_STORAGE_PATH=/opt/flowise/.flowise/storage \
    --ip-address public \
    --ports 80 3000 \
    --restart-policy OnFailure \
    --azure-file-volume-share-name <your-file-share-name> \
    --azure-file-volume-account-name <your-storage-account-name> \
    --azure-file-volume-account-key <your-storage-account-key> \
    --azure-file-volume-mount-path /opt/flowise/.flowise

Replace the placeholders with your actual values.

  1. Access AnswerAI at the IP address (including port :3000) provided in the output.

Tips and Best Practices​

  • Use separate resource groups for different environments (e.g., development, staging, production).
  • Regularly update your AnswerAI image to get the latest features and security updates.
  • Monitor your Azure resources for performance and cost optimization.
  • Implement proper security measures, such as network security groups and Azure Private Link, for production deployments.

Troubleshooting​

  • If you encounter issues with Terraform deployment, check the Azure activity log for detailed error messages.
  • For Container Instances, use az container logs to view container logs for debugging.
  • Ensure that all required environment variables are correctly set for AnswerAI to function properly.

Remember to comply with Azure's best practices for security and cost management when deploying your AnswerAI instance.