Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) 🚀

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) allows you to deploy, manage, and scale containerized applications using Kubernetes without handling complex infrastructure. Here’s a clear step-by-step guide to setting it up.

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🛠️ Step 1: Sign in to Azure Portal

1. Go to Azure Portal.
2. Sign in with your Microsoft Azure account.

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📦 Step 2: Create an AKS Cluster

1. Click “Create a resource” (top left corner).
2. Search for “Kubernetes Service” and select “Create”.

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🔧 Step 3: Configure Basics

✅ Subscription: Select your Azure subscription.
✅ Resource Group: Create a new one or use an existing one.
✅ Kubernetes Cluster Name: Enter a unique name (e.g., myAKSCluster).
✅ Region: Choose a data center closest to your users.
✅ Kubernetes Version: Choose the latest stable version.

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💻 Step 4: Configure Node Pools

1. Choose Node Size (Standard_B2s is good for testing, but you can scale later).
2. Set Node Count (start with 1 or 2 for testing).
3. Enable Auto-scaling (optional, useful for scaling workloads).

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🔒 Step 5: Authentication & Networking

1. Authentication:
   • Choose System-assigned Managed Identity for security.
   • Enable RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) for access control.
2. Networking:
   • Select Azure CNI (Advanced) for better networking control.
   • Keep HTTP Application Routing disabled (unless needed).

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✅ Step 6: Review & Create

1. Click “Review + Create”.
2. Verify all configurations.
3. Click “Create” (Deployment may take 5-10 minutes).

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🚀 Step 7: Connect to Your AKS Cluster

Once deployed, you need to connect using Azure CLI.

1. Install Azure CLI (if not installed)
   az login
2. Get AKS Credentials
   az aks get-credentials –resource-group MyResourceGroup –name myAKSCluster
3. Verify Cluster Connection
   kubectl get nodes
4. If it returns a list of nodes, your cluster is working! 🎉

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📦 Step 8: Deploy an Application to AKS

Let’s deploy a simple NGINX web server to AKS.

1. Create a deployment.yaml file:

apiVersion: apps/v1

kind: Deployment

metadata:

  name: nginx-deployment

spec:

  replicas: 2

  selector:

    matchLabels:

      app: nginx

  template:

    metadata:

      labels:

        app: nginx

    spec:

      containers:

      – name: nginx

        image: nginx:latest

        ports:

        – containerPort: 80

2. Deploy it using:
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml

3. Verify deployment:
kubectl get pods

4. You should see running pods! 🎉

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🌐 Step 9: Expose Your App to the Internet

1. Create a service to expose the app:
apiVersion: v1

kind: Service

metadata:

  name: nginx-service

spec:

  selector:

    app: nginx

  ports:

    – protocol: TCP

      port: 80

      targetPort: 80

  type: LoadBalancer

2. Apply the service:
kubectl apply -f service.yaml

3. Get the external IP:
kubectl get service nginx-service

4. Open the EXTERNAL-IP in a browser to see the running app! 🎉

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🛠️ Step 10: Scale & Manage the Cluster

1. Scale the deployment:
   kubectl scale deployment nginx-deployment –replicas=5
2. Monitor logs:
   kubectl logs -f <pod-name>
3. Delete the deployment (if needed):
   kubectl delete deployment nginx-deployment

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🗑️ Step 11: Delete the AKS Cluster (If Not Needed)

To avoid costs, delete the cluster:

az aks delete –resource-group MyResourceGroup –name myAKSCluster –yes –no-wait