Skip to main content Frontier Transformation Frontier Accelerate AI for business Use cases Consumer goods Digital sovereignty Education Overview Power and utilities Oil and gas Mining Overview Banking Capital markets Insurance Overview Defense and intelligence Transportation and urban infrastructure Social services and public health Public safety and justice Public finance Overview Providers Payors Life sciences Health solutions Overview Industrial transformation Media and entertainment Overview Automotive Travel and transportation Retail Telecommunications Microsoft 365 Copilot AI agents at work Microsoft IQ Agent 365 Security for AI Copilot Studio Microsoft Foundry Azure AI apps and agents Microsoft Marketplace Copilot+ PCs Microsoft Copilot Download the Copilot app Microsoft responsible AI Principles and approach Tools and practices Advancing sustainability Securing AI Data protection and privacy AI 101 AI learning hub Industry blog Microsoft Cloud blog Support for business Industry documentation
An illustration of a cloud made of puzzle pieces, with a drawing of Bit the Raccoon to the right of the image
1 min read

An introduction to Azure Kubernetes Service

By

Industries

Tags

An illustration of a cloud made of puzzle pieces, with a drawing of Bit the Raccoon to the right of the image.

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) simplifies deploying a managed Kubernetes cluster in Azure by offloading the operational overhead to Azure. As a hosted Kubernetes service, Azure handles critical tasks like health monitoring and maintenance, and since Kubernetes masters are managed by Azure, you only manage and maintain the agent nodes. Thus, AKS is free; you only pay for the agent nodes within your clusters, not for the masters.

You can create an AKS cluster using:

  • The Azure CLI
  • The Azure portal
  • Azure PowerShell
  • Using template-driven deployment options, like Azure Resource Manager templates, Bicep and Terraform

When you deploy an AKS cluster, the Kubernetes master and all nodes are deployed and configured for you. Advanced networking, Azure Active Directory integration, monitoring, and other features can be configured during the deployment process.

Resources

Get started with AKS

With Microsoft Learn, you can kick off your journey into Azure Kubernetes Service with easy to understand training – and best of all, it’s free! This is the perfect way to work through new software.

Learn more about AKS

Already using AKS and want to go further? Whether it’s learning something new within the Azure Kubernetes Service or becoming certified, there’s plenty more to explore and discover.

Further resources

Explore
Microsoft Cloud solutions

Discover how the most trusted and comprehensive cloud can help you meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

Learn more about Microsoft Cloud solutions

Connect with us on social