Create Azure AKS Cluster

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) simplifies the process of deploying managed Kubernetes clusters in Azure by offloading operational overhead to Azure. As a managed Kubernetes service, Azure automatically handles critical tasks such as health monitoring and maintenance. For more information about Azure AKS clusters, please refer to the official documentation .

By using this guide, you can quickly start a Kubernetes cluster in your Azure account.

Preparation

Install a plugin

Before installation, you need to install the Azure AKS Cluster Management Component with one click on the global plugin tab.

Create Service Principal

This platform requires setting up a service principal and adding its role-based access permissions from the Azure portal. This is necessary to create and manage your Kubernetes cluster in AKS.

Tip: Azure Active Directory (AD) is used to dynamically create and manage other Azure resources, providing credentials for communication with AKS. For more information about service principals, please refer to the official AKS documentation .

1. Go to the Microsoft Azure portal homepage .

2. Click on Azure Active Directory.

3. Click on App registrations > New registration.

4. Enter the name of the service principal.

5. Under the Supported Account Types, select the corresponding account to use the service principal, and click Register.

6. After registration, you will be redirected to the application details page. Please copy and save the Application (Client) ID and Directory (Tenant) ID.

7. On the left navigation bar, click on Certificates & Secrets.

8. Click on New Client Secret.

9. Enter a brief description, select an expiration time, and click Add. Please copy and save the password in the Value field.

Assign Access Permission for Service Principal

1. Click on All Services in the left navigation bar.

2. Click on Subscribe.

3. Please copy and save the Subscription ID that will be associated with the Kubernetes cluster, and click on the Subscription Name.

4. Click on Access Control (Identity and Access Management).

5. Click Add > Add Custom Role.

6. In the JSON tab, click here to download the permission JSON file and replace the permissions field in the example.

7. On the Members tab, select User, group, or service principal in the Assign access to section, and choose the application registered in the Create Service Principal step as the service principal.

8. Click Save and your service principal now has access to AKS.

9. Based on the information obtained in the above steps, create cloud credentials on this platform.

Create Cluster - Basic Info

1. In the left navigation pane, click Clusters > Cluster of clusters.

2. Click on Create a cluster on the right side of the page > Create AWS EKS Cluster.

Create Cluster - AKS Cluster Settings

Cluster Settings

Network Settings

Add Node Pool

A node pool is a collection of nodes, such as high-performance and on-demand billing node pools. You can add various types of nodes to meet the requirements of different application scenarios.

1. Add one or more node pools.

   Parameter	Description
   Availability Zone	Refers to the physical location within an Azure region. Availability zones are a feature that provides high availability by distributing virtual machines across one or more data centers to protect applications from hardware failures or planned maintenance events.
   Virtual Machine Size	The instance type used for the virtual machine nodes in the node pool, based on the selected region and availability zone. For more information, please refer to the official documentation .
   Maximum Pods per Node	The maximum number of pods that can be hosted on a single node.
   Scaling Method	The method used for scaling nodes, either manual or automatic. If automatic scaling is chosen, please refer to the official documentation for detailed scaling strategies.
   Node Count/Node Count Range	- Scaling Mode - Manual: Manually input the desired node count and update it manually after creation to achieve node scaling. - Scaling Mode - Automatic: Provide a range for automatic node scaling to achieve node scaling automatically.
   Kubernetes Labels	Labels are key-value pairs attached to nodes and can be used to define the attributes of the nodes.
   Taints	Taints are a property of nodes that allow nodes to reject running certain pods or even evict pods.

2. Click Create to view the progress of cluster creation.

Relevant operations

You can click the on the right side of the cluster on the list page or click Actions in the upper right corner on the details page to update the resource configuration of the nodes under the cluster or delete the cluster that is no longer in use as needed.