Azure Cloud Services and Azure App Service are parts of the PaaS offer from the Azure platform. Both services support applications that are scalable, reliable, and easy to handle. Both services are hosted in a VM. Though it might look like the same offering with different names, both services have a unique usage.
While Azure App Service offers a more strict PaaS service, Azure Cloud Services allow the user more control over its underlying resources. These possibilities of influence are:
- The selection of a Guest OS and an update level
- The selection of an Azure series (that is, VM size)
In Cloud Services it is also possible to build a Remote Desktop Connection to the VM for diagnose and troubleshoot issues. This is not possible in App Services.
Let's take a closer look at these selections.