Getting Started with Azure Kubernetes Service

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is a managed Kubernetes offering that simplifies deploying, managing, and scaling containerized applications, since Azure handles the underlying control plane for you.

Core Kubernetes Concepts

• Cluster — a set of nodes that run your containerized applications
• Node — a virtual machine that runs your containers, part of a node pool
• Pod — the smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes, containing one or more containers
• Deployment — manages the desired state for a set of pods, including scaling and updates
• Service — provides a stable network endpoint to access a set of pods

Step 1: Create an AKS Cluster

az aks create \
  --resource-group myResourceGroup \
  --name myAKSCluster \
  --node-count 2 \
  --generate-ssh-keys

Step 2: Connect to the Cluster

az aks get-credentials \
  --resource-group myResourceGroup \
  --name myAKSCluster

Step 3: Deploy an Application

kubectl create deployment myapp --image=mcr.microsoft.com/azuredocs/aci-helloworld
kubectl expose deployment myapp --type=LoadBalancer --port=80

Step 4: Check the Deployment

kubectl get service myapp

Why Use AKS?

• Azure manages the Kubernetes control plane, reducing operational overhead
• Integrates natively with other Azure services like Azure Monitor and Azure Active Directory
• Supports autoscaling of both pods and the underlying node pools