Setting up Azure Kubernetes Service

Posted on by Panther

Introduction

Modern technology has provided developers with many tools to create and manage applications. Azure Kubernetes Service is a popular solution for managing containerized applications on Microsoft Azure. It provides a fully-managed container orchestrator that allows you to easily manage containerized applications, scale them as needed, and automate infrastructure operations. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of setting up Azure Kubernetes Service step-by-step.

Prerequisites

Before we get started with setting up Azure Kubernetes Service, you’ll need the following:

  • An Azure account
  • The Azure CLI installed on your machine
  • Docker installed on your machine
  • A Kubernetes cluster created on your local machine

Step 1: Install the Azure CLI

Azure Kubernetes Service is managed using the Azure CLI. You’ll need to install this on your machine before you can use AKS.

First, you’ll need to install the Azure CLI. If you haven’t done so already, follow the instructions on the official Azure CLI website to install it for your operating system.

Step 2: Create an Azure Kubernetes Service Cluster

To create an AKS cluster, you will need to follow the instructions in the Azure portal. Here are the steps:

  1. Open the Azure portal and select “Create a resource” from the menu.
  2. Search for “Kubernetes Service” and select it from the results.
  3. Click the “Create” button.
  4. In the “Basics” tab, enter a name for your cluster.
  5. Choose a subscription, resource group, and region.
  6. Select the Kubernetes version. If in doubt, leave it at the default.
  7. Choose a node size and node count. This will affect the size and power of your cluster.
  8. Choose an authentication method. Select “Automatically generate service principal”.
  9. Configure networking, if needed.
  10. Review the settings. Click the “Create” button to create the cluster.

It may take several minutes for AKS to create your cluster.

Step 3: Connect to your Azure Kubernetes Service Cluster

Once your AKS cluster is created, you need to connect to it. Here are the steps to follow:

  1. Open the Azure portal.
  2. Navigate to your AKS cluster.
  3. Click the “Connect” button.
  4. Click “Run command”. This will open a terminal window.
  5. Copy the command from the terminal window and run it on your local machine.

Step 4: Deploy an Application to AKS

Once you have connected to your AKS cluster, you can deploy an application to it. Here are the steps to follow:

  1. Create a Dockerfile for your application. This file describes the environment needed to run your application.
  2. Build a Docker image of your application with the following command: docker build -t <your-image-name> . Make sure you are in the directory that contains your Dockerfile.
  3. Push your Docker image to a registry that AKS can access. Follow the instructions on the Docker documentation to do this.
  4. Create a deployment YAML file that describes your application. Here is an example:
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: my-app
spec:
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: my-app
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: my-app
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: my-app
        image: <registry-name>/<your-image-name>:<tag>
        ports:
        - containerPort: 80

Replace <registry-name>/<your-image-name>:<tag> with the details of the Docker image you pushed in step 3.

  1. Deploy your application with the following command: kubectl apply -f <your-deployment-file>.yaml.
  2. Wait for AKS to deploy your application. You can monitor the deployment progress with the command: kubectl get pods.

Step 5: Expose Your Application

Now that your application is running on AKS, you can expose it to the internet. Here are the steps to follow:

  1. Create a service YAML file that describes how to expose your application. Here is an example:
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: my-service
spec:
  type: LoadBalancer
  selector:
    app: my-app
  ports:
  - port: 80
    targetPort: 80
  1. Deploy your service with the following command: kubectl apply -f <your-service-file>.yaml.
  2. Wait for your service to be created. You can monitor the progress with the command: kubectl get services.
  3. Find the external IP address of your service with the command: kubectl get services.
  4. Open a web browser and enter the IP address to access your application.

Conclusion

Azure Kubernetes Service is a powerful tool for managing and deploying containerized applications on Microsoft Azure. With this tutorial, you should now be able to set up your own AKS cluster, deploy an application, and expose it to the internet. AKS provides many features and options that we haven’t covered in this tutorial, but with these basic steps, you should be able to get started and explore the capabilities of AKS. Good luck!

Related Post