Deploy a Ruby web app to a VM in Azure Stack Hub

Article
07/29/2022

You can create a VM to host your Ruby web app in Azure Stack Hub. In this article, you set up a server, configure the server to host your Ruby web app, and then deploy the app to Azure Stack Hub.

This article uses Ruby and a Ruby on Rails web framework.

Create a VM

Set up your VM in Azure Stack Hub. For instructions, see Deploy a Linux VM to host a web app in Azure Stack Hub.

In the VM network pane, make sure the following ports are accessible:

Port	Protocol	Description
80	HTTP	Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the protocol that's used to deliver webpages from servers. Clients connect via HTTP with a DNS name or IP address.
443	HTTPS	Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a secure version of HTTP that requires a security certificate and allows for the encrypted transmission of information.
22	SSH	Secure Shell (SSH) is an encrypted network protocol for secure communications. You use this connection with an SSH client to configure the VM and deploy the app.
3389	RDP	Optional. The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) allows a remote desktop connection to use a graphic user interface on your machine.
3000	Custom	The port that's used by the Ruby on Rails web framework in development. For a production server, you route your traffic through 80 and 443.

Install Ruby

Connect to your VM by using your SSH client. For instructions, see Connect via SSH with PuTTy.

Install the PPA repository. At the bash prompt on your VM, enter the following commands:

sudo apt -y install software-properties-common
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:brightbox/ruby-ng

sudo apt update

Install Ruby and Ruby on Rails on your VM. While you're still connected to your VM in your SSH session, enter the following commands:
```
sudo apt install ruby
gem install rails -v 4.2.6
```
Install Ruby on Rails dependencies. While you're still connected to your VM in your SSH session, enter the following commands:
```
sudo apt-get install make
sudo apt-get install gcc
sudo apt-get install sqlite3
sudo apt-get install nodejs
sudo gem install sqlite
sudo gem install bundler
```
Note

While you're installing Ruby on Rails dependencies, you might need to repeatedly run sudo gem install bundler. If the installation fails, review the error logs and resolve the issues.
Validate your installation. While you're still connected to your VM in your SSH session, enter the following command:
```
    ruby -v
```
Install Git, a widely distributed version control and source code management (SCM) system. While you're still connected to your VM in your SSH session, enter the following command:
```
   sudo apt-get -y install git
```

Create and run an app

While you're still connected to your VM in your SSH session, enter the following commands:
```
    rails new myapp
    cd myapp
    rails server -b 0.0.0.0 -p 3000
```
Go to your new server. You should see your running web application.
```
   http://yourhostname.cloudapp.net:3000
```

Next steps

Learn more about how to develop for Azure Stack Hub.
Learn about common deployments for Azure Stack Hub as IaaS.
To learn the Ruby programming language and find additional resources for Ruby, see Ruby-lang.org.