Deploying an Azure Kubernetes Service AKS Cluster

Learn how to deploy an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster via the Azure Portal. This step-by-step guide assumes you have an active Azure subscription.

1. Create the AKS Resource

Sign in to the Azure Portal.
Click Create a resource, then choose Containers.
Under Azure Kubernetes Service, select Create.

The image shows the Microsoft Azure portal interface for creating a resource, with categories like AI, Compute, and Containers, and a list of popular Azure services and marketplace products.

2. Project and Cluster Details

Provide subscription and cluster metadata:

Subscription: Pick your active Azure subscription.
Resource group: Click Create new, name it rg1-kodekloud-aks.
Note
Resource group names must be unique within your subscription.
Cluster name: aks1-KodeKloud-app (unique within the resource group).
Region: Southeast Asia (Singapore).
Availability Zones: Uncheck all to reduce cost.
Warning
For production workloads, enable multi-AZ to ensure high availability.

The image shows a Microsoft Azure interface for creating a Kubernetes cluster, with a pop-up window for naming a new resource group.

Kubernetes version: Keep the default.
Note
AKS supports each GA Kubernetes version for 12 months, with seamless upgrade paths.

The image shows a Microsoft Azure interface for creating a Kubernetes cluster, with options for project and cluster details such as subscription, resource group, and configuration settings.

The image shows a Microsoft Azure interface for creating a Kubernetes cluster, with options for subscription, resource group, cluster details, and primary node pool configuration.

3. Default Node Pool

Configure the initial node pool:

Setting	Value
Node size	DS2_v2
vCPUs / RAM	2 / 7 GB
Node count	1

Click Next: Default Node Pools.

4. Configure Node Pools

Adjust autoscaling and pod limits:

Min count: 1
Max count: 1 (or increase to 5 for autoscaling)
Max pods per node: Default is 110

To customize pods per node:

Go to Agent pools.
Set Max pods per node to 30.
Click Update, then Next.

The image shows a Microsoft Azure interface for creating a Kubernetes cluster, specifically focusing on the "Node pools" configuration section. It includes options for enabling virtual nodes and setting node pool OS disk encryption.

The image shows a Microsoft Azure interface for updating a Kubernetes node pool, with options for configuring node size, scale method, and additional settings like labels and taints.

5. Authentication and Authorization

Accept the default managed identities and RBAC settings.

6. Networking

Choose the network setup that integrates seamlessly with Azure VNets:

Network configuration: Azure CNI
Virtual network: Create a new VNet automatically
Network policies: Default

The image shows a Microsoft Azure interface for creating a Kubernetes cluster, specifically focusing on the networking configuration options. It includes settings for network configuration, virtual network, cluster subnet, and other related parameters.

7. Container Registry

Enable an Azure Container Registry (ACR) for private image storage:

Click Enable Container Registry.
Enter a unique registry name.
Use the same resource group and region.
Select Basic SKU.
Click OK.

ACR (Basic SKU) meets most development and testing scenarios.

Enable container logs and route them to the new Log Analytics workspace.

8. Advanced Settings and Tags

Infrastructure resource group: Default (stores VMs, VNet, etc.).
Tags: Add optional metadata (e.g., environment=dev, project=AKS) for cost tracking.

The image shows a Microsoft Azure interface for creating a Kubernetes cluster, displaying configuration details like subscription, region, and networking settings.

9. Review + Create

Azure will validate your configuration. Once validation passes, click Create.

The image shows a Microsoft Azure portal screen indicating that a deployment is in progress for a resource group named "RG1-KodeKloud-AKS." It includes details like the deployment name, subscription, and start time.

Deployment typically completes within a few minutes. After provisioning, connect to your new AKS cluster using the Azure CLI or Cloud Shell.

References

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