Getting Started with Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

Overview

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) provides a managed Kubernetes environment, reducing the complexity of container orchestration. This guide walks you through creating a cluster, deploying a sample application, and cleaning up resources.

Prerequisites

1. Create an AKS Cluster

Run the following commands in a terminal. Adjust --resource-group and --name as needed.

az group create --name MyResourceGroup --location eastus

az aks create \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --name MyAKSCluster \
  --node-count 2 \
  --enable-addons monitoring \
  --generate-ssh-keys

az aks get-credentials --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyAKSCluster

2. Deploy a Sample Application

Clone the demo repository and apply the manifests.

git clone https://github.com/Azure-Samples/aks-helloworld.git
cd aks-helloworld
kubectl apply -f manifests/

Verify the deployment:

kubectl get pods -n hello-world
kubectl get svc -n hello-world

Expose the service externally (if not already):

kubectl expose deployment hello-world \
  --type=LoadBalancer \
  --name=hello-world-svc \
  --port=80 \
  --target-port=8080

After a few seconds, retrieve the public IP:

kubectl get svc hello-world-svc -n hello-world

3. Clean Up Resources

When you're done, delete the resource group to avoid charges:

az group delete --name MyResourceGroup --yes --no-wait

Further Reading