Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) simplifies deploying, managing, and scaling containerized applications and workloads using Kubernetes on Azure. AKS provides a managed Kubernetes experience, offloading the operational burden of a control plane to Azure. You manage the nodes, and Azure manages the control plane.
AKS is a valuable service for organizations looking to leverage the power of Kubernetes without the complexity of managing the underlying infrastructure. It offers:
- Simplified Cluster Management: Azure handles the Kubernetes control plane, including upgrades, patching, and availability.
- Cost Savings: Combine your containerized application workloads with traditional or stateful workloads on the same cluster. Benefit from Azure’s pay-as-you-go pricing.
- Scalability and Performance: Easily scale your applications and clusters up or down based on demand.
- Enterprise-Grade Security: Integrate with Azure Active Directory for authentication and authorization, and leverage Azure security best practices.
- Developer Productivity: Tools and integrations to streamline development and deployment workflows.
Get Started with AKS
Begin your journey with Azure Kubernetes Service by exploring these essential resources:
Create an AKS cluster
Learn the steps to quickly provision your first AKS cluster using the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or Azure PowerShell.
View Tutorial →Deploy an application
Understand how to deploy a simple containerized application to your AKS cluster.
Read Guide →Core Concepts Explained
Grasp the fundamental building blocks of Kubernetes and AKS, such as Pods, Deployments, Services, and Namespaces.
Learn More →Core Concepts
Understanding Kubernetes core concepts is crucial for effectively using AKS:
- Pods: The smallest deployable units in Kubernetes, representing a group of one or more containers.
- Deployments: Describe the desired state for your application, allowing Kubernetes to manage rolling updates and rollbacks.
- Services: Abstract away the underlying Pods, providing a stable network endpoint for accessing your applications.
- Namespaces: Provide a mechanism for isolating groups of resources within a single cluster.
- Ingress: Manages external access to services in a cluster, typically HTTP.
How-to Guides
Dive deeper into specific tasks and configurations for managing your AKS clusters and applications:
- Configure advanced networking
- Secure AKS clusters
- Implement CI/CD pipelines
- Monitor AKS performance
- Scale applications and clusters
Tip: For production workloads, always consider security best practices, including network policies, RBAC, and image scanning.
Tutorials
Follow step-by-step tutorials to master various aspects of AKS:
- Deploy a multi-container application with Docker Compose
- Build and deploy a microservices application using Helm
- Integrate AKS with Azure Monitor for logging and metrics
API Reference
Explore the comprehensive API reference for Azure Kubernetes Service and the Kubernetes API:
- Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates for AKS
- Kubernetes API Documentation
- Azure CLI commands for AKS
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Find solutions to frequently encountered problems:
# Example: Checking pod status
kubectl get pods --all-namespaces
# Example: Viewing pod logs
kubectl logs -n
# Example: Describing a pod for detailed status
kubectl describe pod -n