Azure Kubernetes Service

Deploy and manage production-grade Kubernetes clusters on Azure with AKS. Covers cluster creation, node pool management, networking, ingress controllers, monitoring, security, and Terraform-based provisioning.

When to Use

• You need managed Kubernetes without maintaining control plane infrastructure.
• Your workloads require container orchestration with auto-scaling.
• You need tight integration with Azure AD, Key Vault, and Container Registry.
• You are running microservices that require service mesh, ingress, or network policies.
• You need GPU or spot node pools for specialized or cost-optimized workloads.

Prerequisites

# Install Azure CLI and kubectl
curl -sL https://aka.ms/InstallAzureCLIDeb | sudo bash
az aks install-cli

# Login and set subscription
az login
az account set --subscription "my-subscription-id"

# Register required providers
az provider register --namespace Microsoft.ContainerService
az provider register --namespace Microsoft.OperationsManagement

# Verify kubectl
kubectl version --client

Cluster Creation

Basic Production Cluster

# Create resource group
az group create --name myapp-rg --location eastus

# Create AKS cluster with best-practice defaults
az aks create \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --name myapp-aks \
  --node-count 3 \
  --node-vm-size Standard_D4s_v5 \
  --enable-managed-identity \
  --enable-cluster-autoscaler \
  --min-count 2 \
  --max-count 10 \
  --network-plugin azure \
  --network-policy calico \
  --service-cidr 10.1.0.0/16 \
  --dns-service-ip 10.1.0.10 \
  --vnet-subnet-id "/subscriptions/{sub}/resourceGroups/{rg}/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/{vnet}/subnets/{subnet}" \
  --enable-aad \
  --aad-admin-group-object-ids "{aad-group-id}" \
  --enable-azure-rbac \
  --zones 1 2 3 \
  --generate-ssh-keys \
  --tags environment=prod team=platform

# Get cluster credentials
az aks get-credentials --resource-group myapp-rg --name myapp-aks

# Verify cluster access
kubectl get nodes -o wide
kubectl cluster-info

Private Cluster

az aks create \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --name myapp-private-aks \
  --node-count 3 \
  --node-vm-size Standard_D4s_v5 \
  --enable-managed-identity \
  --enable-private-cluster \
  --private-dns-zone system \
  --network-plugin azure \
  --vnet-subnet-id "/subscriptions/{sub}/resourceGroups/{rg}/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/{vnet}/subnets/{subnet}" \
  --generate-ssh-keys

Node Pool Management

# Add a user node pool for application workloads
az aks nodepool add \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --cluster-name myapp-aks \
  --name apppool \
  --node-count 3 \
  --node-vm-size Standard_D8s_v5 \
  --mode User \
  --enable-cluster-autoscaler \
  --min-count 2 \
  --max-count 15 \
  --zones 1 2 3 \
  --labels workload=app tier=frontend \
  --node-taints dedicated=app:NoSchedule \
  --max-pods 50

# Add GPU node pool for ML workloads
az aks nodepool add \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --cluster-name myapp-aks \
  --name gpupool \
  --node-count 1 \
  --node-vm-size Standard_NC6s_v3 \
  --mode User \
  --enable-cluster-autoscaler \
  --min-count 0 \
  --max-count 4 \
  --node-taints sku=gpu:NoSchedule \
  --labels workload=ml

# Add spot instance pool for batch workloads
az aks nodepool add \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --cluster-name myapp-aks \
  --name spotpool \
  --node-count 2 \
  --node-vm-size Standard_D4s_v5 \
  --priority Spot \
  --eviction-policy Delete \
  --spot-max-price -1 \
  --enable-cluster-autoscaler \
  --min-count 0 \
  --max-count 20 \
  --labels workload=batch

# Scale a node pool manually
az aks nodepool scale \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --cluster-name myapp-aks \
  --name apppool \
  --node-count 5

# Upgrade a node pool
az aks nodepool upgrade \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --cluster-name myapp-aks \
  --name apppool \
  --kubernetes-version 1.28.3

# List node pools
az aks nodepool list \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --cluster-name myapp-aks \
  --output table

Ingress Controller Setup

# Install NGINX ingress controller via Helm
helm repo add ingress-nginx https://kubernetes.github.io/ingress-nginx
helm repo update

helm install ingress-nginx ingress-nginx/ingress-nginx \
  --namespace ingress-nginx \
  --create-namespace \
  --set controller.replicaCount=2 \
  --set controller.nodeSelector."kubernetes\.io/os"=linux \
  --set controller.service.annotations."service\.beta\.kubernetes\.io/azure-load-balancer-health-probe-request-path"=/healthz \
  --set controller.service.externalTrafficPolicy=Local

# Verify the ingress controller and get external IP
kubectl get svc -n ingress-nginx

Ingress Resource Example

# ingress.yaml
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: myapp-ingress
  namespace: myapp
  annotations:
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: "true"
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/proxy-body-size: "50m"
    cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: letsencrypt-prod
spec:
  ingressClassName: nginx
  tls:
    - hosts:
        - myapp.example.com
      secretName: myapp-tls
  rules:
    - host: myapp.example.com
      http:
        paths:
          - path: /api
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: api-service
                port:
                  number: 80
          - path: /
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: frontend-service
                port:
                  number: 80

Monitoring and Logging

# Enable Container Insights
az aks enable-addons \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --name myapp-aks \
  --addons monitoring \
  --workspace-resource-id "/subscriptions/{sub}/resourceGroups/{rg}/providers/Microsoft.OperationalInsights/workspaces/{workspace}"

# Enable Azure Policy add-on
az aks enable-addons \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --name myapp-aks \
  --addons azure-policy

# Enable Key Vault secrets provider
az aks enable-addons \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --name myapp-aks \
  --addons azure-keyvault-secrets-provider

# View cluster diagnostics
az aks show \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --name myapp-aks \
  --query "addonProfiles" \
  --output table

# Install Prometheus + Grafana via Helm
helm repo add prometheus-community https://prometheus-community.github.io/helm-charts
helm install kube-prometheus prometheus-community/kube-prometheus-stack \
  --namespace monitoring \
  --create-namespace \
  --set grafana.adminPassword='SecureGrafanaP@ss'

ACR Integration

# Create Azure Container Registry
az acr create \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --name myappacr \
  --sku Standard

# Attach ACR to AKS (grants AcrPull role)
az aks update \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --name myapp-aks \
  --attach-acr myappacr

# Build and push image
az acr build \
  --registry myappacr \
  --image myapp:v1.0 \
  --file Dockerfile .

# Verify pull access
kubectl run test --image=myappacr.azurecr.io/myapp:v1.0 --rm -it --restart=Never -- echo "ACR pull works"

Terraform Configuration

resource "azurerm_kubernetes_cluster" "aks" {
  name                = "myapp-aks"
  location            = azurerm_resource_group.main.location
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.main.name
  dns_prefix          = "myapp"
  kubernetes_version  = "1.28"

  default_node_pool {
    name                = "system"
    vm_size             = "Standard_D4s_v5"
    enable_auto_scaling = true
    min_count           = 2
    max_count           = 5
    zones               = [1, 2, 3]
    vnet_subnet_id      = azurerm_subnet.aks.id

    node_labels = {
      role = "system"
    }
  }

  identity {
    type = "SystemAssigned"
  }

  network_profile {
    network_plugin    = "azure"
    network_policy    = "calico"
    service_cidr      = "10.1.0.0/16"
    dns_service_ip    = "10.1.0.10"
    load_balancer_sku = "standard"
  }

  azure_active_directory_role_based_access_control {
    managed                = true
    azure_rbac_enabled     = true
    admin_group_object_ids = [var.aks_admin_group_id]
  }

  oms_agent {
    log_analytics_workspace_id = azurerm_log_analytics_workspace.main.id
  }

  key_vault_secrets_provider {
    secret_rotation_enabled = true
  }

  tags = var.tags
}

resource "azurerm_kubernetes_cluster_node_pool" "app" {
  name                  = "app"
  kubernetes_cluster_id = azurerm_kubernetes_cluster.aks.id
  vm_size               = "Standard_D8s_v5"
  enable_auto_scaling   = true
  min_count             = 2
  max_count             = 15
  zones                 = [1, 2, 3]
  vnet_subnet_id        = azurerm_subnet.aks.id

  node_labels = {
    workload = "app"
  }

  node_taints = [
    "dedicated=app:NoSchedule"
  ]

  tags = var.tags
}

Cluster Upgrades

# Check available Kubernetes versions
az aks get-upgrades \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --name myapp-aks \
  --output table

# Upgrade control plane first
az aks upgrade \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --name myapp-aks \
  --kubernetes-version 1.28.3 \
  --control-plane-only

# Then upgrade each node pool
az aks nodepool upgrade \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --cluster-name myapp-aks \
  --name apppool \
  --kubernetes-version 1.28.3

# Check upgrade status
az aks show \
  --resource-group myapp-rg \
  --name myapp-aks \
  --query "provisioningState"

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Nodes in NotReady state	VM resource exhaustion or network issues	Run kubectl describe node <name> and check events; scale up if needed
Pods stuck in Pending	No available nodes or resource requests too high	Check autoscaler status with az aks show; adjust resource requests
ImagePullBackOff error	ACR not attached or image tag wrong	Verify with az aks check-acr --name myapp-aks --acr myappacr.azurecr.io
Ingress returns 404	Service or path mismatch in Ingress spec	Verify kubectl get ingress and service endpoints
Private cluster unreachable	No VPN or private endpoint configured	Use az aks command invoke or configure private DNS resolution
Cluster autoscaler not scaling	Pod resource requests not set	Define CPU/memory requests on all pods so the scheduler can calculate demand
Azure Policy violations blocking pods	Restrictive policies applied	Check kubectl get constrainttemplate and adjust policy assignments
Persistent volume not binding	StorageClass mismatch or zone issue	Verify kubectl get pvc and ensure StorageClass matches node pool zones

Related Skills

• terraform-azure -- Provision AKS clusters with Terraform for repeatable infrastructure.
• azure-networking -- VNet and subnet configuration required by Azure CNI.
• arm-templates -- Bicep-based AKS deployment as an alternative to Terraform.
• azure-vms -- Understanding VM sizes for node pool selection.