What is AKS & AKS cluster using Azure CLI

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is a managed container orchestration service provided by Microsoft Azure. It simplifies the deployment, management, and scaling of containerized applications using Kubernetes, an open-source container orchestration platform. AKS abstracts much of the underlying Kubernetes complexity, making it easier for development and operations teams to leverage the benefits of containerization and microservices without getting bogged down by infrastructure management.

Key features and components of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) include:

1. Managed Control Plane: AKS handles the management and maintenance of the Kubernetes control plane, including the API server, etcd database, and other critical components. Users don't need to worry about patching or upgrading these control plane elements.
2. Automated Scaling: AKS allows you to scale your applications horizontally by adding or removing worker nodes in node pools. It also supports Kubernetes Horizontal Pod Autoscaling (HPA) to automatically adjust the number of running pods based on resource utilization.
3. Security: AKS offers robust security features, including Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) integration for identity and access management, role-based access control (RBAC), and network policies to control traffic between pods.
4. Monitoring and Logging:It integrates with Azure Monitor and Azure Log Analytics, enabling users to monitor the performance and health of their AKS clusters and applications. You can set up alerts, collect telemetry data, and gain insights into cluster behavior.
5. Networking: AKS manages the networking components, such as virtual networks and subnets. It supports multiple networking models, including Azure Container Networking Interface (CNI) and Kubenet, to cater to different use cases.
6. CI/CD Integration: You can integrate AKS with popular continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) tools and DevOps pipelines to automate the deployment of containerized applications.
7. Azure Dev Spaces: AKS offers Azure Dev Spaces, which allows developers to rapidly iterate and debug applications directly in the AKS cluster without affecting the shared development environment.
8. Hybrid Cloud Support:AKS enables the creation of hybrid cloud environments by supporting the deployment of Kubernetes clusters both in the Azure cloud and on-premises using Azure Arc.
9. Integrated Azure Services: AKS seamlessly integrates with other Azure services like Azure Container Registry (ACR) for container image storage, Azure Key Vault for secret management, and Azure Application Gateway for advanced load balancing and traffic management.
10. High Availability: It provides high availability through multi-zone availability, ensuring that applications remain operational even in the event of hardware or software failures.
11. Cost Optimization: AKS helps optimize costs by allowing dynamic scaling based on demand and leveraging features like Virtual Nodes to burst workloads to Azure Container Instances.

Azure Kubernetes Service is a powerful platform for managing containerized applications, making it easier to develop, deploy, and scale microservices-based applications in a consistent and efficient manner. It's well-suited for a wide range of use cases, from small development projects to large-scale production workloads.

Create an AKS cluster using Azure CLI:

To create an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster using the Azure Command-Line Interface (Azure CLI), follow these step-by-step instructions:

1. Install Azure CLI: If you haven't already, install the Azure CLI on your local machine. You can download it from the official website: Install Azure CLI.
2. Sign in to Azure: Open your terminal and sign in to your Azure account using the following command:

az login        

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the authentication process.

1. Choose a Subscription (If you have multiple subscriptions): If you have multiple Azure subscriptions, use the following command to set the active subscription to the one you want to use:

az account set --subscription <subscription_name_or_id>        

1. Create a Resource Group: You can create a new resource group or use an existing one to contain your AKS cluster. Replace <resource_group_name> with your chosen name and <location> with the Azure region:

az group create --name <resource_group_name> --location <location>        

1. Create the AKS Cluster: Use the az aks create command to create the AKS cluster. Customize the command with your desired cluster configuration:

az aks create --resource-group <resource_group_name> \ --name <aks_cluster_name> \ --node-count <node_count> \ --node-vm-size <vm_size> \ --location <location> \ --kubernetes-version <kubernetes_version> \ --generate-ssh-keys        

<resource_group_name>: The name of the resource group you created in step 4.<aks_cluster_name>: Choose a unique name for your AKS cluster.<node_count>: The number of nodes in the default node pool.

<vm_size>: The size of the VMs in the node pool (e.g., Standard_DS2_v2).<location>: The Azure region where you want to deploy the AKS cluster.<kubernetes_version>: Specify a specific Kubernetes version (optional).--generate-ssh-keys: This flag generates SSH keys for cluster access.

1. Configure kubectl: Use the following command to configure kubectl to connect to your AKS cluster:

az aks get-credentials --resource-group <resource_group_name> --name <aks_cluster_name>        

1. Verify Cluster Connection: To ensure that kubectl is correctly configured, you can check the cluster nodes by running:

kubectl get nodes        

You should see a list of nodes in your AKS cluster.

Your Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster is now up and running. You can start deploying and managing containerized workloads on it using kubectl or other Kubernetes management tools. Make sure to monitor and manage your AKS cluster as needed for your specific use case.