Conclusion

Conclusion

In this final module, we recap your journey through Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), from fundamental Azure concepts to production-ready container orchestration.

1. Azure Foundations
You explored Azure compute, storage, and networking services to establish a solid base for container workloads.

2. Containerizing Applications
Using Docker Desktop and a custom Dockerfile, you packaged a C# application into a Docker image ready for Kubernetes.

3. Provisioning an AKS Cluster
In the Azure Portal, you created an AKS cluster and used kubectl commands to deploy, scale, and manage your application replicas.

4. Integrating Azure Container Registry
You configured Azure Container Registry (ACR) to host your container images, enabling streamlined rollouts, updates, and rollbacks.

5. Managing Clusters with Kubernetes Fleet
Discover how Kubernetes Fleet simplifies governance and policy enforcement across multiple AKS clusters.

6. Networking & Policies
We reviewed AKS networking options—CNI plug-ins, ingress controllers, service meshes—and applied Network Policies to secure pod communication.

7. Security & Governance
Implementing Azure AD integration, Defender for AKS, and Azure Policy, you enforced identity-based access, threat protection, and compliance checks.

8. CI/CD Pipelines
You built declarative CI/CD workflows with Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions to automate build, test, and deployment stages.

9. Observability in AKS
Leveraging Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and Application Insights, you instrumented your cluster for metrics, logs, and distributed tracing.

10. Alternative Container Platforms
Finally, you compared AKS with Azure Container Instances (ACI) and Azure Service Fabric to choose the right compute option for your needs.

We hope this course has empowered you to deploy, secure, and monitor production-grade AKS workloads with confidence. Happy containerizing!