Workloads quickstart

Create a workload, bind your application to it with a deployment, and send your first request through its workload domain.

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This guide instructs you through serving your application from your first workload.

  • Create a workload on the production infrastructure.
  • Bind the application you already have to the workload through its deployment.
  • Send a request to the workload domain and get your application’s response.

Four objects carry a request to your application, and each one links to the next:

  1. The workload receives the traffic. Azion gives it a workload domain, a hostname of the form <id>.map.azionedge.net. The workload answers on it before you own or point any domain.
  2. The deployment of the workload names the application that answers. A workload holds one deployment.
  3. The application handles the request. It already exists, and the workload adds nothing to it.
  4. The request to the workload domain reaches the workload, and the deployment sends it to your application.

A workload with no deployment has no application to send a request to. An application serves no traffic until a deployment binds it to a workload. This guide keeps the defaults of a new workload: the production infrastructure, the default TLS settings, ports 80 and 443, and no domain of your own.

The workload this guide leaves you with is the starting point for two more quickstarts. With Certificate Manager, you bind a certificate to the workload. With Custom Pages, you assign a custom page set in the workload’s deployment to replace error responses. DDoS Protection needs no setup: the Platform mitigates DDoS attacks on every workload.

Select the interface you use. The prerequisites and every stage on this page follow that choice.

Prerequisites

  • The Azion CLI, installed and authorized.
  • The ID of your application.
  • A personal token and curl. To create a token, refer to Personal tokens.
  • The ID of your application.

Create the workload

A new workload runs on the production infrastructure and answers on its workload domain. The infrastructure is fixed once the workload exists. A workload created on staging cannot move to production later. The workload domain stays reachable while Workload Domain Allow Access is on, which is the default.

To create the workload with the Azion CLI:

azion create workload --name my-workload

The command prints the ID of the new workload:

Created Workload with ID <workload-id>

Read the workload back in JSON. Replace <workload-id> with the ID from the previous command:

azion describe workload --workload-id <workload-id> --format json

The output shows the defaults of a new workload and the workload domain Azion assigned to it:

JSON
01{
02 "active": true,
03 "created_at": "2026-01-01T12:00:00.000000Z",
04 "domains": [],
05 "id": <workload-id>,
06 "infrastructure": 1,
07 "last_editor": "<your-email>",
08 "last_modified": "2026-01-01T12:00:00.000000Z",
09 "mtls": {
10 "config": {
11 "certificate": null,
12 "verification": null
13 },
14 "enabled": false
15 },
16 "name": "my-workload",
17 "product_version": "1.0",
18 "protocols": {
19 "http": {
20 "http_ports": [
21 80
22 ],
23 "https_ports": [
24 443
25 ],
26 "quic_ports": [
27 443
28 ],
29 "versions": [
30 "http1",
31 "http2",
32 "http3"
33 ]
34 }
35 },
36 "tls": {
37 "certificate": null,
38 "ciphers": 7,
39 "minimum_version": "tls_1_3"
40 },
41 "workload_domain": "<id>.map.azionedge.net",
42 "workload_domain_allow_access": true
43}

infrastructure set to 1 is the production infrastructure, and domains is empty. Record the id for the deployment and the workload_domain for the request. The workload exists, and it has no deployment yet.

To create the workload with the API, send a POST request to the workloads endpoint. infrastructure set to 1 selects the production infrastructure, and workload_domain_allow_access set to true keeps the workload domain open. Replace [TOKEN VALUE] with your personal token:

Shell
01curl --request POST \
02 --url https://api.azion.com/v4/workspace/workloads \
03 --header 'Accept: application/json' \
04 --header 'Authorization: Token [TOKEN VALUE]' \
05 --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
06 --data {
07 "name": "my-workload",
08 "active": true,
09 "infrastructure": 1,
10 "workload_domain_allow_access": true
11}

The API answers with 202. The response carries the defaults of the new workload and the workload domain Azion assigned to it:

JSON
01{
02 "state": "pending",
03 "data": {
04 "id": <workload-id>,
05 "name": "my-workload",
06 "active": true,
07 "last_editor": "<your-email>",
08 "last_modified": "2026-01-01T12:00:00.000000Z",
09 "created_at": "2026-01-01T12:00:00.000000Z",
10 "infrastructure": 1,
11 "tls": {
12 "certificate": null,
13 "ciphers": 7,
14 "minimum_version": "tls_1_3"
15 },
16 "protocols": {
17 "http": {
18 "versions": ["http1", "http2", "http3"],
19 "http_ports": [80],
20 "https_ports": [443],
21 "quic_ports": [443]
22 }
23 },
24 "mtls": {
25 "enabled": false,
26 "config": {
27 "certificate": null,
28 "crl": null,
29 "verification": null
30 }
31 },
32 "domains": [],
33 "workload_domain_allow_access": true,
34 "workload_domain": "<id>.map.azionedge.net",
35 "product_version": "1.0"
36 }
37}

Record the id for the deployment and the workload_domain for the request. The workload exists, and it has no deployment yet.

In Azion Console, one form creates the workload and its deployment together. The Application field of Deployment Settings names your application before you select Create.

To create the workload in Azion Console:

Open the Workloads page

Access Azion Console > Workloads.

Start a new workload

Select Create Workload. The Create Workload page opens.

Name the workload

Enter a name for the workload, such as my-workload.

Select the production infrastructure

In Infrastructure, select Production Infrastructure (All Edge Locations).

Keep the workload domain open

In Domains, keep Workload Domain Allow Access turned on.

Select your application

In Deployment Settings, select your application in Application. Leave Firewall and Custom Page empty.

Select Create

Azion Console shows the message “Your Workload has been created. After propagation the domain will be available in the Workload URL. You also can add a custom domain.” To copy the workload domain that you send the request to, select Copy Workload URL. The workload exists, and its deployment names your application.

Bind your application

The deployment of a workload names the application that answers its requests, and optionally a firewall and a custom page set. A workload holds one deployment, and a second one is refused. Until the deployment names your application, the workload has nothing to send a request to.

To bind the application with the Azion CLI, create the deployment of the workload. Replace <workload-id> and <application-id>:

Shell
01azion create workload-deployment --workload-id <workload-id> \
02 --name my-deployment --application-id <application-id> \
03 --strategy-type default --active true --current true

The command prints the ID of the new deployment:

Created Workload Deployment with ID <deployment-id>

--current true makes it the deployment the workload runs. List the deployment with its bindings:

azion list workload-deployment --workload-id <workload-id> --details

The output shows your application, and 0 for no firewall:

Text
01ID CURRENT EDGE APPLICATION EDGE FIREWALL
02<deployment-id> true <application-id> 0

The current deployment of the workload names your application. The Azion CLI cannot change a deployment after it exists. Check the application ID before you run the command.

To bind the application with the API, send a POST request to the deployments of your workload. The application goes in strategy.attributes.application. Replace <workload-id> and <application-id>:

Shell
01curl --request POST \
02 --url https://api.azion.com/v4/workspace/workloads/<workload-id>/deployments \
03 --header 'Accept: application/json' \
04 --header 'Authorization: Token [TOKEN VALUE]' \
05 --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
06 --data {
07 "name": "my-deployment",
08 "current": true,
09 "active": true,
10 "strategy": {
11 "type": "default",
12 "attributes": {
13 "application": <application-id>
14 }
15 }
16}

The API answers with 202 and "state": "pending", and the response returns the new deployment. current set to true makes it the deployment the workload runs. The current deployment of the workload names your application.

The Create Workload form already created the deployment. To check the binding in Azion Console:

Open the Workloads page

Access Azion Console > Workloads.

Open your workload

Select the workload you created. The Edit Workload page opens.

Check the application

In Deployment Settings, check that Application shows your application.

The deployment of the workload names your application.

Send a request to the workload domain

The check is the same whichever interface created the workload. In the commands, replace <your-workload-domain> with the workload domain of the workload you created, of the form <id>.map.azionedge.net.

A new workload does not answer at once. Its deployment spreads across Azion’s distributed infrastructure, and that takes several minutes, with no guaranteed duration. Until then, the workload domain answers 404 with Azion’s HTML error page. While the deployment spreads, answers to the same request can alternate between that 404 and your application’s response. Repeat the request until your application answers. For more information, refer to Propagation.

Before the deployment propagates, a header-only request gets Azion’s error page:

curl -sI https://<your-workload-domain>/get
Text
01HTTP/2 404
02server: nginx
03content-type: text/html
04x-azion-request-id: <request-id>
05x-azion-edge-location: <edge-location>

The x-azion-request-id header identifies the request. Once the deployment answers, send a request to the root path of your workload domain:

curl -i https://<your-workload-domain>/

The response is the one your application returns for /: its status, its headers, and its body. Your workload serves your application on its workload domain.

Next steps

Certificate Manager quickstartUpload your first certificate, bind it to your workload, and see its status turn active.Custom Pages quickstartCreate a custom page set, assign it in your workload's deployment, and see a 404 replaced in place.Add a custom domain to a workloadList a domain you own on the workload and point it at the workload domain.Workload settingsEvery field of a workload and its deployment, with its type, default, and allowed values.