Quick Read : Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) For Beginners
In this quick post, we are going to cover Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) for beginners.
AKS is one of the most popular managed Kubernetes services that allows you to deploy, manage, and scale containerized applications using Kubernetes without managing the underlying infrastructure. You'll learn these services in detail in the Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate certification (AZ-104).
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| Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/what-is-aks |
Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform designed to automate the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. With Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Microsoft offers a managed Kubernetes service that simplifies Kubernetes cluster deployment and management. AKS is deeply integrated with the entire Azure ecosystem, making it a go-to choice for organizations looking to run Kubernetes on Azure.
We are going to cover an overview of each of the following aspects of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS):
- Overview of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
- AKS Cluster Architecture
- AKS Cluster Setup & Configuration
- Key AKS Features and Services
- Azure DevOps Integration with AKS
- AKS Security and Monitoring
- Scaling AKS
- Use Cases for AKS
- FAQs
1.) Overview of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is a fully managed container orchestration service that provides Kubernetes clusters without requiring you to manage the underlying infrastructure. This service handles critical tasks such as deployment, scaling, and operational efficiency, allowing you to focus on developing and running applications.
- Key Benefits:
- Fully managed Kubernetes with automated patching and upgrades
- Integration with the entire Azure ecosystem (monitoring, security, CI/CD)
- Scaling flexibility for modern microservices architectures
- No cost for Kubernetes management – only pay for the nodes you use
2.) AKS Cluster Architecture
AKS architecture is based on Kubernetes' core architecture but is managed by Azure for enhanced operational efficiency. The main components include:
- Control Plane (Managed by Azure): The control plane manages the Kubernetes API, scheduling, etcd, controller managers, and cloud controllers. Azure handles all aspects of the control plane management, including uptime, patching, and security.
- Worker Nodes (Managed by Users): You manage the worker nodes that run your application workloads. These nodes run in your Azure subscription, and you only pay for these resources.
Kubernetes Pods: These are the smallest units in a Kubernetes cluster that contain your containerized applications. AKS deploys these pods across the worker nodes based on the configuration.
3.) AKS Cluster Setup & Configuration
You can set up an AKS cluster in various ways:
- Azure Portal: Create and manage AKS clusters directly from the Azure portal with easy-to-use wizards.
- Azure CLI: Use the Azure CLI for advanced control and scripting. The
az akscommand lets you create clusters, manage configurations, and scale resources. - Infrastructure as Code (IaC): AKS supports Infrastructure as Code using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates and Terraform for consistent and repeatable deployments.
For example, to create a basic AKS cluster using the Azure CLI:
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az aks create --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster --node-count 3 --enable-addons monitoring --generate-ssh-keys
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4.) Key AKS Features and Services
AKS provides several important features that make it a powerful platform for container orchestration:
- Node Pools: Use node pools to organize and manage groups of worker nodes. You can create multiple node pools with different VM sizes to handle different workloads.
- Scaling and Auto-scaling: AKS supports both manual scaling and the Kubernetes cluster autoscaler, automatically adjusting the number of nodes in response to demand.
- Load Balancing: AKS integrates with Azure Load Balancer and Application Gateway to provide reliable traffic management to your services.
- Ingress Controllers: AKS supports NGINX and Application Gateway Ingress Controllers for routing HTTP and HTTPS traffic to services within your cluster.
5.) Azure DevOps Integration with AKS
One of the greatest strengths of AKS is its integration with Azure DevOps for Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD):
- Pipelines: You can create automated build and release pipelines in Azure DevOps that deploy to your AKS clusters.
- AKS Helm Charts: Use Helm, a package manager for Kubernetes, in your DevOps pipelines to manage Kubernetes deployments, updates, and rollbacks.
- GitOps with AKS: Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters bring GitOps to AKS, enabling cluster management via Git repositories.
6.) AKS Security and Monitoring
Security and monitoring are crucial for any Kubernetes environment, and AKS offers several built-in tools:
- Azure Active Directory (AAD) Integration: AKS clusters can be integrated with AAD for role-based access control (RBAC) to ensure secure access.
- Pod Identity: Secure access to Azure resources for pods running on AKS using AAD identities, reducing the need for secrets management.
- Azure Monitor for Containers: This service provides monitoring, logging, and alerting for your AKS clusters and workloads. It collects metrics such as CPU and memory usage, pod health, and network traffic.
7.) Scaling AKS
Scaling is one of the primary reasons to use Kubernetes, and AKS provides robust scaling options:
- Manual Scaling: You can manually increase or decrease the number of worker nodes in your cluster based on your needs.
- Cluster Autoscaler: Automatically adjust the number of nodes in your cluster based on your workloads.
- Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA): Scale the number of pods based on observed CPU utilization or custom metrics.
8.) Use Cases for AKS
Azure Kubernetes Service is versatile and suitable for various types of applications:
- Microservices Architectures: AKS is ideal for deploying microservices-based applications, allowing for isolated and scalable service components.
- Machine Learning Models: Deploy and scale ML models as containers on AKS for faster inference and analysis.
- Dev/Test Environments: Easily create isolated Kubernetes clusters for development and testing with rapid deployment and teardown.
- Data Processing and Streaming: Use AKS for real-time data processing, streaming, and big data workloads using tools like Apache Kafka or Apache Spark.
Conclusion
In this article, we covered Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) for beginners. AKS simplifies Kubernetes management by handling cluster upgrades, scaling, and monitoring, allowing you to focus on building and running applications. You can start using AKS via the Azure Portal, Azure CLI, or Infrastructure as Code tools like Terraform.
FAQs
1. What is Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)?
AKS is a managed Kubernetes service provided by Microsoft Azure that simplifies Kubernetes deployment and operations by managing the control plane and providing scalability, monitoring, and integrations with Azure services.
2. How does AKS differ from on-prem Kubernetes?
AKS is a fully managed service that handles the control plane, automatic upgrades, scaling, and security integrations, which reduces the operational overhead of managing Kubernetes clusters.
3. What are the key benefits of AKS?
AKS offers simplified cluster management, scalability, integration with Azure services, DevOps pipelines, and security features like AAD integration and monitoring with Azure Monitor.
4. What are the main use cases for AKS?
AKS is ideal for microservices-based applications, machine learning models, real-time data processing, and CI/CD-enabled dev/test environments.
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