Hello, everyone! Today, we'll be diving into the fascinating world of software development, specifically dealing with a serverless Node.js application, Microsoft Azure, and . These tools may sound intimidating, especially if you're new to software development, but I assure you, with some guidance, they are quite manageable. So, let's buckle up and get ready to learn. Redis Content Overview Introduction to Redis, Node.js, and Azure Setting up Node.js with Azure Installing Redis Connecting Node.js with Redis Testing the setup Introduction to Redis, Node.js, and Azure is an open-source, in-memory data structure store used as a database, cache, and message broker. It's a NoSQL key-value store that's excellent for handling data with high velocity or volume. Redis is a runtime environment for executing JavaScript code server-side. It's used for building scalable and efficient network applications. Node.js is Microsoft's cloud computing platform and service, where we'll be deploying our Node.js application. Specifically, we'll use , a serverless computing service that allows you to run your code without provisioning or managing servers. Azure Azure Web App Setting up Node.js with Azure For setting up all the required resources, I briefly explained in my previous article . How to Deploy a Serverless Node.js Application on Azure Installing Redis We need to install the Redis package on the Node.js project: npm install redis Then, we need to add some code to file: app.js import redis from 'redis'; import { createServer } from 'http'; // Create an redis conn. const client = redis.createClient(); client.on('error', err => console.log('Redis Client Error', err)); await client.connect(); // For test. await client.set('testKey', 'Hackernoon!'); const value = await client.get('testKey'); const server = createServer((req, res) => { res.statusCode = 200; res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain'); res.end(`Hello, ${value}\n`); }); server.listen(8080, '0.0.0.0', () => { console.log('Server running at http://0.0.0.0:8080/'); }); In package.json we need to add type: module: { "name": "hackernoon", "version": "1.0.0", "type": "module", "description": "", "main": "app.js", "scripts": { "start": "node app.js" }, "keywords": [], "author": "", "license": "ISC", "dependencies": { "redis": "^4.6.7" } } Deploy it to the cloud and click “Start streaming logs“ (Img 1). Don’t forget to open the URL in the browser, it will turn on our web app after deployment. On the logs stream you will see: Redis Client Error Error: connect ECONNREFUSED ::1:6379 Now, we are ready to create a Redis app inside Azure and connect it. Connecting Node.js with Redis Search for Redis. On the Services, you will see “Azure Cache for Redis“ (Img 2). Click on “Create Redis cache“. You should choose the resource group that is using your Web App (Img 4). Create a resource and wait some time. Usually, it takes several minutes to complete. Then go to the resource “Overview” page and copy and paste it to the code": “Hostname” import redis from "redis"; import { createServer } from "http"; // Create an redis conn. const client = redis.createClient({ url: "redis://hackernoon.redis.cache.windows.net", password: "<Your PRIMARY password from Azure Redis Resource>", }); client.on("error", (err) => console.log("Redis Client Error", err)); await client.connect(); // For test. await client.set("testKey", "Hackernoon!"); const value = await client.get("testKey"); const server = createServer((req, res) => { res.statusCode = 200; res.setHeader("Content-Type", "text/plain"); res.end(`Hello, ${value}\n`); }); server.listen(8080, "0.0.0.0", () => { console.log("Server running at http://0.0.0.0:8080/"); }); Password value you can find in “Access keys“ (Img 5). Also, go to Advanced settings, which is below “Access keys“ and put “No“ to Allow access only via SSL“. It will enable the Redis cache to work via the 6379 port. Testing the setup Finally, test your setup locally by running your Nodejs with the command. Your function should be able to access your Azure Redis instance. For deployment, push your project to Azure, and it should connect to the Azure Redis Cache. yarn start That's it! You've successfully created a Redis instance and connected it to a serverless Node.js application on Azure. Remember, Don’t make db, redis, and other resources to be public, and remember to use SSL. Try to create a closed virtual network and use it. Close everything if possible inside your private network. This guide is only for testing and learning. Practice is key when it comes to software development. Don't hesitate to tinker around with different settings and functionalities of Redis, Node.js, and Azure. The more you experiment, the better you understand. Happy coding!
