Deploy an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Cluster.

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is a Kubernetes service managed by Azure that enables fast deployment and management of clusters.

AKS offers a managed Kubernetes service that simplifies deploying and managing applications. It effectively handles upgrade coordination and reduces the complexity associated with core management tasks. With the Azure platform taking care of the AKS control plane, you only need to pay for the AKS nodes responsible for running your applications.

Control plane

A control plane is automatically configured when creating an AKS cluster. This control plane is provided at no cost as a managed Azure resource abstracted from the user. You only pay for the nodes attached to the AKS cluster. The control plane and its resources reside only in the region where you created the cluster.

Nodes and node pools

To run your applications and supporting services, you need a Kubernetes node. An AKS cluster has at least one node, an Azure virtual machine (VM) that runs the Kubernetes node components and container runtime.

The Azure VM size for your nodes defines CPUs, memory, size, and the storage type available (such as high-performance SSD or regular HDD). Plan the node size around whether your applications require large amounts of CPU and memory or high-performance storage. Scale-out the number of nodes in your AKS cluster to meet demand. For more information on scaling

n AKS, the VM image for your cluster’s nodes is based on Ubuntu Linux, Azure Linux, or Windows Server 2019. When you create an AKS cluster or scale out the number of nodes, the Azure platform automatically creates and configures the requested number of VMs

Deploying the AKS Cluster using Azure Portal: –

Perquisites: –

An Azure account.

Ensure the identity you use to create your cluster has the appropriate minimum permissions.

Deployment: –

Sign in to your Azure account.

On the Azure portal home page, select Create a resource. Click on the Create option to create a resource group.

Choose a Subscription and provide a Resource group name and Region depending on your requirements. Select the Next: Tags option.

The tags are optional. Suppose you wish to create a tag. Enter a key/value pair. Click on Next: Review + Create >.

Review the information and select the Create option.

Resource Group are successfully created.

Select Kubernetes Service from the Azure Home page (OR). Choose Containers > Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) from the Categories list.

To deploy a Kubernetes cluster. Click on the Create option.

Select Subscription, Resource Group, and Cluster Details (depending on your requirements, you may select – https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/quotas-skus-regions#cluster-configuration-presets-in-the-azure-portal). Enter the Cluster name and choose a Region, availability zones, and other parameters depending on your needs. Click the Next button.

It will automatically appear in the node pool. Select and modify the node pool. Enter the name of the node pool and pick any additional options that meet your needs. Update.

You may also set up different node pools based on your requirements. Click the next option.

I’m using the default network settings. You may select the network choice for the cluster based on your needs.

In the integration part. You can create and choose a container registry if you wish to link the aks cluster to a private registry.

You may enable features according to your needs (managed Grafana, alerts, etc.).

Edit the Infrastructure resource group or leave it as is, depending on your needs.

Optional. If you create tags in resource groups, then select Tags. Select the Review + Create option.

Azure will validate the cluster choices.

Once Validation is finished, you may check the Cluster information and select the Create option.

Deployment began.

Cluster deployment completed successfully (Cluster status – Succeeded [running]).

You may access the cluster by installing Azure CLI on your local machine or using the Azure Cloud Shell.

I am using a local machine.

To install Azure CLI on your local system, follow the official tutorial: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/install-azure-cli.

After installing Azure CLI, use the following command to log into Azure.

$ az login

It will display a link with the code. Open the URL in your browser, insert the code, and sign in using your Azure username and password.

Once logged in, you may install Kubectl on your local workstation.

To Check the node status

$ kubectl get nodes

For complete information on nodes, including the version, operating system, IP address …etc.

$ kubectl get nodes -o wide

To check the pod status.

$ kubectl get pods -A

Check out my previous post on how to backup and restore an AKS cluster.