Hosting practices have evolved rapidly, especially as .NET 8 applications adopt more cloud native patterns. Teams often ask whether they should continue hosting applications on IIS or Nginx running on virtual machines, or move to a managed platform like Azure App Service.
This comparison has become one of the most common questions in the .NET world. Understanding the real operational differences helps teams choose whether to maintain full infrastructure control or adopt a platform where Microsoft handles a large portion of the operational work.
1. Introduction
Traditional hosting gives teams complete control but comes with significant operational responsibilities. Everything from operating system maintenance to scaling and patching must be handled internally.
Azure App Service takes a different direction by providing a fully managed platform for running .NET 8 applications. Instead of managing servers, teams focus on their application code while the platform handles infrastructure and maintenance work behind the scenes.
2. What Traditional Hosting Looks Like
In a traditional hosting setup, engineering or DevOps teams are directly responsible for nearly everything. This includes:
Provisioning and configuring Windows or Linux virtual machines
Installing and tuning IIS, Apache or Nginx
Applying operating system and security patches
Managing firewall rules, access control and hardening
Handling SSL certificate installation and renewal
Scaling servers during peak load
Configuring monitoring, alerts and log shipping
Troubleshooting performance issues at OS level
This approach offers flexibility and control, but it demands constant attention, especially for teams supporting enterprise workloads.
3. How Azure App Service Works
Azure App Service is a managed hosting platform that removes most infrastructure tasks. Developers deploy their .NET 8 applications directly to the service without dealing with servers.
Azure automatically manages:
Operating system installation and patching
The web server environment
Runtime updates including .NET 8
Platform security and vulnerability patches
Built in load balancing
Auto scaling based on defined rules
Monitoring and health checks
SSL certificate management when using managed certificates
The team maintains ownership of the application logic, configuration and data, while the platform handles the underlying environment.
4. Key Differences Between Traditional Hosting and PaaS
Infrastructure
Traditional hosting requires setting up and maintaining one or more virtual machines. Azure App Service provides a ready to use environment without server access. The developer simply pushes code.
Security Responsibilities
With traditional hosting, teams are responsible for OS hardening, patching, intrusion protection and vulnerability updates. Azure App Service automatically applies these updates at the platform level.
Scaling
Traditional scaling requires creating new VMs, modifying load balancers and adjusting network settings. App Service scales automatically based on rules such as CPU usage or time schedules.
Updates and Patching
Operating system patches, web server updates and runtime updates are handled by the team in a traditional environment. App Service applies patches automatically without downtime.
Deployment Workflow
Traditional environments rely on deployment scripts, coordinated release windows and careful planning to avoid downtime. App Service offers deployment slots for zero interruption releases and seamless rollback.
Monitoring and Diagnostics
Traditional hosting requires separate monitoring agents and log aggregation tools. App Service provides built in metrics, log streaming and easy integration with Application Insights.
5. Responsibilities That Move to Microsoft
When you move a .NET 8 application to Azure App Service, Microsoft takes over responsibility for:
Operating system installation and maintenance
Security patching at OS and platform level
Web server maintenance
Runtime updates including .NET 8
Network load balancing
Auto scaling execution
SSL certificate renewal through managed certificates
Machine health, hardware replacement and uptime
Datacenter level redundancy and failover
Your team still handles:
Application code and configuration
Data access and database administration
Identity and access decisions
Application level security
Performance tuning inside your code
6. Benefits for .NET 8 Teams
Teams building modern .NET 8 applications gain several advantages when using Azure App Service.
Faster deployment without server configuration
Lower operational workload on DevOps or IT teams
Built in support for HTTPS and easy certificate management
Deployment slots for safe rollouts
Native integration with GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps
Automatic platform updates and security improvements
Consistent performance without manual tuning
Simple scaling models for web apps and APIs
This model aligns well with microservices, distributed systems and event driven architectures that .NET 8 commonly supports.
7. When Virtual Machines Still Make Sense
Although App Service covers most scenarios, there are cases where traditional hosting remains appropriate.
You require deep OS level access
Your application relies on custom drivers or specific software not supported in PaaS
You need full networking control including custom routing
Legacy applications cannot run in a sandboxed platform
Scheduled or background jobs require behaviors unsuitable for WebJobs or other App Service options
In such cases, Azure Virtual Machines or Azure Kubernetes Service may be more suitable.
8. Conclusion
The shift from traditional hosting to Azure App Service reflects how modern .NET teams reduce operational overhead and focus on building reliable applications. By offloading infrastructure management, scaling, patching and platform security to Microsoft, teams deliver features faster and with fewer disruptions.
For most .NET 8 applications, Azure App Service provides a simpler, safer and more predictable hosting model. The result is more time spent on product development and less time maintaining servers.