Working with AKS Clusters

Azure Compute Solutions

Florin Angelescu

Azure Cloud Architect

Creating a cluster

 

AKS

 

Provision a cluster through:

  • Azure Portal
  • Azure CLI
  • Infrastructure-as-code tools (ARM templates or Bicep)
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Creating a cluster

 

AKS

 

  • Define parameters:

    • Number of nodes
    • VM size
    • Networking model

  • Azure then sets up the control plane automatically.

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Connecting with kubectl

kubectl

  • Interact with cluster using kubectl.

    • The standard Kubernetes command-line tool

  • Configure kubectl to connect by downloading credentials with the Azure CLI.

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Connecting with kubectl

kubectl

  • Run commands to view nodes, inspect pods, and deploy applications.
  • This workflow is identical to working with any Kubernetes cluster.
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Deploying applications

 

Deployment

 

Kubernetes manifests

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Deploying applications

 

Deployment

 

Kubernetes manifests

  • YAML files
  • Describe the desired state of your application
    • Container image
    • Number of replicas
    • Networking
    • Storage resources
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Deploying applications

Deployment

  • Apply these manifests with kubectl apply.
  • Kubernetes ensures the actual state matches the desired state.
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Deploying applications

Deployment

  • You specify three replicas of a web app.
  • Kubernetes will schedule three pods.
  • Will restart them if they fail.
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Scaling workloads

Manual

Automatic

Manual

  • Increase the number of replicas.
  • Handle more traffic.

Automatic

  • Configure the Horizontal Pod Autoscaler.
  • Adjust replicas based on CPU or memory usage.
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Scaling workloads

 

Autoscale

 

  • Node level:

    • AKS supports cluster autoscaling
    • Adds or removes nodes depending on demand

  • Applications remain responsive while optimizing costs.

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Networking

Networking

  • Integrates with Azure Virtual Networks.
  • Pods can receive IP addresses from the VNet.
  • Secure communication with other Azure resources or the Internet.
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Storage

Networking

Supports persistent volumes:

  • Azure Disks
  • Azure Files
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Monitoring and troubleshooting

 

 

Monitor

 

Azure Monitor and Log Analytics

  • Provide visibility into:

    • Cluster health
    • Resource usage
    • Application performance

  • Set alerts to detect issues early.

  • Use logs to debug problems.
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Recap

 

AKS

 

Working with AKS clusters involves:

  • Creating them
  • Deploying applications
  • Scaling workloads
  • Integrating networking and storage
  • Monitor and troubleshoot
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Let's practice!

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