Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Documentation

Introduction to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) simplifies deploying, managing, and automating the scaling of containerized applications using Kubernetes on Azure. AKS provides a managed Kubernetes experience, reducing the operational overhead of managing your Kubernetes control plane.

With AKS, you can:

Quickly provision a Kubernetes cluster without expert knowledge.
Automate routine tasks like upgrades and patching.
Leverage Azure's robust infrastructure for high availability and scalability.
Integrate seamlessly with other Azure services.

Key Concepts in Kubernetes

Understanding these core Kubernetes concepts is essential for working with AKS:

Clusters

A Kubernetes cluster is a set of worker machines, called nodes, that run containerized applications. AKS manages the Kubernetes control plane for you, while you manage the nodes.

Node Pools

A node pool is a group of nodes within a Kubernetes cluster that have the same configuration. You can have multiple node pools in a single AKS cluster, allowing you to use different VM sizes or configurations for different workloads.

Pods

A Pod is the smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes. It represents a single instance of a running process in your cluster and can contain one or more containers.

Deployments

Deployments provide declarative updates for Pods and ReplicaSets. You describe the desired state in a Deployment, and the Deployment Controller changes the actual state to the desired state at a controlled rate.

Services

A Service is an abstraction that defines a logical set of Pods and a policy by which to access them. Services enable network access to your applications running in Pods.

Getting Started with AKS

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

An Azure subscription.
The Azure CLI installed and configured.
The kubectl command-line tool installed.

Creating an AKS Cluster

You can create an AKS cluster using the Azure CLI with a simple command:

az group create --name myResourceGroup --location eastus
az aks create --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster --node-count 1 --enable-addons monitoring --generate-ssh-keys

This command creates a resource group and then deploys a new AKS cluster with one node. The --enable-addons monitoring flag includes Azure Monitor for container insights.

Connecting to the Cluster

To connect kubectl to your AKS cluster, use the following command:

az aks get-credentials --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster

Once connected, you can verify your access by listing the nodes in your cluster:

kubectl get nodes

Managing Your AKS Cluster

Scaling Clusters

You can scale the number of nodes in your cluster manually or configure cluster autoscaler to adjust the node count automatically based on resource requests.

# Manual scaling
az aks scale --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster --node-count 3

# Enable cluster autoscaler
az aks update --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster --enable-cluster-autoscaler --min-count 1 --max-count 5

Upgrading AKS

AKS allows you to upgrade your cluster to newer Kubernetes versions with minimal downtime. You can check available upgrade versions and perform the upgrade via the Azure portal or Azure CLI.

# Check available upgrade versions
az aks get-upgrades --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster

# Perform an upgrade
az aks upgrade --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster --kubernetes-version

Monitoring and Logging

AKS integrates with Azure Monitor to provide insights into your cluster's performance and health. You can view resource utilization, collect logs, and set up alerts.

To enable container insights:

az aks enable-addons -a monitoring -n myAKSCluster -g myResourceGroup

Networking Options

AKS supports various networking solutions, including Azure CNI and Kubenet. Choose the networking option that best suits your application's needs for IP address management and network policies.

Advanced Topics

Security Best Practices

Secure your AKS clusters by implementing network security groups, role-based access control (RBAC), and regularly updating your cluster. Consider using Azure Policy for Kubernetes to enforce organizational standards.

Storage Solutions

AKS supports various storage options, including Azure Disks, Azure Files, and Azure NetApp Files, for persistent storage of your application data.

CI/CD Integration

Integrate AKS with popular CI/CD tools like Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or Jenkins to automate your build, test, and deployment pipelines.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

If you encounter issues, check the following:

AKS diagnostics and troubleshooting guides.
Kubernetes logs and events using kubectl logs and kubectl get events.
Network connectivity between pods and services.
Resource utilization on your nodes.

Always refer to the official Azure Kubernetes Service documentation for the most up-to-date information and detailed guidance.

Visit Official AKS Documentation