Deploy Golang on the Microsoft Azure Cobalt 100 processors

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/golang-on-azure/_index.md

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+---
+title: Deploy Golang on the Microsoft Azure Cobalt 100 processors 
+
+draft: true
+cascade:
+    draft: true
+
+minutes_to_complete: 40   
+
+who_is_this_for: This Learning Path is designed for software developers looking to migrate their Golang workloads from x86_64 to Arm-based platforms, specifically on the Microsoft Azure Cobalt 100 processors.
+
+learning_objectives: 
+    - Provision an Azure Arm64 virtual machine using Azure console, with Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS as the base image.
+    - Deploy Golang on an Arm64-based virtual machine running Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS.
+    - Perform Golang baseline testing and benchmarking on both x86_64 and Arm64 virtual machine.
+
+prerequisites:
+    - A [Microsoft Azure](https://azure.microsoft.com/) account with access to Cobalt 100 based instances (Dpsv6)
+    - Basic understanding of Linux command line.
+    - Familiarity with the [Golang](https://go.dev/) and deployment practices on Arm64 platforms.
+
+author: Jason Andrews
+
+### Tags
+skilllevels: Advanced
+subjects: Performance and Architecture
+cloud_service_providers: Microsoft Azure
+
+armips:
+    - Neoverse
+
+tools_software_languages:
+    - Golang
+    - go test -bench
+
+operatingsystems:
+    - Linux
+
+further_reading:
+    - resource: 
+        title: Effective Go Benchmarking
+        link: https://go.dev/doc/effective_go#testing
+        type: Guide
+    - resource:
+        title: Testing and Benchmarking in Go
+        link: https://pkg.go.dev/testing
+        type: Official Documentation
+    - resource:        
+        title: Using go test -bench for Benchmarking
+        link: https://pkg.go.dev/cmd/go#hdr-Testing_flags
+        type: Reference
+
+
+### FIXED, DO NOT MODIFY
+# ================================================================================
+weight: 1                       # _index.md always has weight of 1 to order correctly
+layout: "learningpathall"       # All files under learning paths have this same wrapper
+learning_path_main_page: "yes"  # This should be surfaced when looking for related content. Only set for _index.md of learning path content.
+---

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/golang-on-azure/_next-steps.md

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+---
+# ================================================================================
+#       FIXED, DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE
+# ================================================================================
+weight: 21                  # Set to always be larger than the content in this path to be at the end of the navigation.
+title: "Next Steps"         # Always the same, html page title.
+layout: "learningpathall"   # All files under learning paths have this same wrapper for Hugo processing.
+---

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/golang-on-azure/background.md

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+---
+title: "Overview"
+
+weight: 2
+
+layout: "learningpathall"
+---
+
+## Cobalt 100 Arm-based processor
+
+Azure’s Cobalt 100 is built on Microsoft's first-generation, in-house Arm-based processor: the Cobalt 100. Designed entirely by Microsoft and based on Arm’s Neoverse N2 architecture, this 64-bit CPU delivers improved performance and energy efficiency across a broad spectrum of cloud-native, scale-out Linux workloads. These include web and application servers, data analytics, open-source databases, caching systems, and more. Running at 3.4 GHz, the Cobalt 100 processor allocates a dedicated physical core for each vCPU, ensuring consistent and predictable performance. 
+
+To learn more about Cobalt 100, refer to the blog [Announcing the preview of new Azure virtual machine based on the Azure Cobalt 100 processor](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/azurecompute/announcing-the-preview-of-new-azure-vms-based-on-the-azure-cobalt-100-processor/4146353).
+
+## Golang
+Golang (or Go) is an open-source programming language developed by Google, designed for simplicity, efficiency, and scalability. It provides built-in support for concurrency, strong typing, and a rich standard library, making it ideal for building reliable, high-performance applications.
+
+Go is widely used for cloud-native development, microservices, system programming, DevOps tools, and distributed systems. Learn more from the [Go official website](https://go.dev/) and its [official documentation](https://go.dev/doc/).

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/golang-on-azure/baseline-testing.md

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+---
+title: Golang Baseline Testing 
+weight: 5
+
+### FIXED, DO NOT MODIFY
+layout: learningpathall
+---
+
+
+### Baseline testing of Golang Web Page on Azure Arm64
+This section demonstrates how to test your Go installation on the **Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS Arm64** virtual machine by creating and running a simple Go web server that serves a styled HTML page.
+
+**1. Create Project Directory**
+
+First, create a new folder called goweb to contain all project files, and then navigate into it:
+
+```console
+mkdir goweb && cd goweb
+```
+This command creates a new directory named goweb and then switches into it.
+
+**2. Create HTML Page with Bootstrap Styling**
+
+Next, create a file named `index.html` using the nano editor:
+
+```console
+nano index.html
+```
+
+Paste the following HTML code into the index.html file. This builds a simple, styled web page with a header, a welcome message, and a button using Bootstrap.
+
+```html
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
+    <title>Go Web on Azure ARM64</title>
+    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
+    <style>
+        body {
+            background: linear-gradient(135deg, #6dd5fa, #2980b9);
+            color: white;
+            min-height: 100vh;
+            display: flex;
+            align-items: center;
+            justify-content: center;
+            text-align: center;
+        }
+        .card {
+            background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.9);
+            color: #333;
+            border-radius: 20px;
+            box-shadow: 0 4px 15px rgba(0,0,0,0.2);
+        }
+    </style>
+</head>
+<body>
+    <div class="container">
+        <div class="card p-5">
+            <h1 class="mb-3"> Go Web on Azure Arm64</h1>
+            <p class="lead">This page is powered by Golang running on the Microsoft Azure Cobalt 100 processors.</p>
+            <a href="/api/hello" class="btn btn-primary mt-3">Test API Endpoint</a>
+        </div>
+    </div>
+</body>
+</html>
+```
+**3. Create Golang Web Server**
+
+Now create the Go program that will serve this web page:
+
+```console
+nano main.go
+```
+Paste the following code into the main.go file. This sets up a very basic web server that serves files from the current folder, including the **index.html** you just created. When it runs, it will print a message showing the server address.
+
+```go
+package main
+import (
+    "encoding/json"
+    "log"
+    "net/http"
+    "time"
+)
+func main() {
+    // Serve index.html for root
+    http.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+        if r.URL.Path == "/" {
+            http.ServeFile(w, r, "index.html")
+            return
+        }
+        http.FileServer(http.Dir(".")).ServeHTTP(w, r)
+    })
+    // REST API endpoint for JSON response
+    http.HandleFunc("/api/hello", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+        w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+        json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]string{
+            "message": "Hello from Go on Azure ARM64!",
+            "time":    time.Now().Format(time.RFC1123),
+        })
+    })
+    log.Println("Server running on http://0.0.0.0:80")
+    log.Fatal(http.ListenAndServe(":80", nil))
+}
+```
+{{% notice Note %}}Running on port 80 requires root privileges. Use sudo with the full Go path if needed.{{% /notice %}}
+**4. Run on the Web Server**
+
+Run your Go program with:
+
+```console
+sudo /usr/local/go/bin/go run main.go
+```
+
+This compiles and immediately starts the server. If the server starts successfully, you will see the following message in your terminal::
+
+```output
+2025/08/19 04:35:06 Server running on http://0.0.0.0:80
+```
+**5. Allow HTTP Traffic in Firewall**
+
+On **Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS** virtual machines, **UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall)** is used to manage firewall rules. By default, it allows only SSH (port 22) and blocks most other traffic.  
+
+So even if Azure allows HTTP on port 80 (added to inbound ports during VM creation), your VM’s firewall may still block it until you run:
+
+```console
+sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
+sudo ufw enable
+```
+You can verify that HTTP is now allowed with:
+
+```console
+sudo ufw status
+```
+You should see an output similar to: 
+```output
+Status: active
+
+To                         Action      From
+--                         ------      ----
+8080/tcp                   ALLOW       Anywhere
+80/tcp                     ALLOW       Anywhere
+8080/tcp (v6)              ALLOW       Anywhere (v6)
+80/tcp (v6)                ALLOW       Anywhere (v6)
+```
+
+**6. Open in Browser**
+
+Run the following command to print your VM’s public URL, then open it in a browser:
+
+```console
+echo "http://$(curl -s ifconfig.me)/"
+```
+When you visit this link, you should see the styled HTML page being served directly by your Go application.
+
+You should see the Golang web page confirming a successful installation of Golang.
+
+![golang](images/go-web.png)
+
+Now, your Golang instance is ready for further benchmarking and production use.