Kubernetes use cases on Azure for Cloud

Solutions Architect

Kubernetes use cases on Azure for your Cloud Solutions Architect 1

1. Key Kubernetes Concepts (Azure Kubernetes Service - AKS) 2
2. Designing Effective & Efficient Cloud Solutions Using AKS 2

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3. Sequence to Create Resources for Production Deployment 3

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4. Best Practices for Production YAML Files 3
Folder Structure for Kubernetes Manifests: 3

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Key YAML Components for Production 4

End-to-End Production-Ready Kubernetes Solution on Azure: From Objectives to

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Outcome 5
1. Objectives & Requirements Phasesi 5
Key Objectives: 5

🛠️
Business Requirements: 5
2. Solution Design Phase 5
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📐
Architecture Overview: 5

✅
3. Design Layers and Their Implementation 6

✅
1. Identity & Access Management (IAM) Layer: 6

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2. Networking Layer: 7

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3. Compute Layer: 8

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4. Application Layer: 9
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5. Data Layer: 10

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6. Monitoring & Observability Layer: 10
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7. CI/CD Layer: 11

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8. Backup & Disaster Recovery: 11
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4. Testing Phase: 11
5. Expected Outcomes: 12

Setting up an Azure DevOps Pipeline for Kubernetes on Azure (AKS) 12

Key Requirements: 12
1. Prerequisites Setup 13
1.1. Azure Service Connection in Azure DevOps 13
1.2. Kubernetes Cluster Setup 13
1.3. Azure Container Registry (ACR) 13
2. Create the Pipeline 13

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 2.1. Create a New Pipeline in Azure DevOps 13
3. Pipeline Configuration (YAML) 13
3.1. Define Variables 14
3.2. Build & Push Docker Image 14
3.3. Set Up Kubectl for AKS 15
3.4. Deploy to AKS Using Helm 15
3.5. Monitoring & Logging Integration 16
3.6. Clean-Up and Deployment Validation 16
4. Pipeline Overview 17
5. Final Steps 19

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1. Key Kubernetes Concepts (Azure Kubernetes Service -
AKS)
●

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Cluster Architecture: Master Node (Control Plane) & Worker Nodes
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●
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Pods: Smallest deployable units, running one or more containers
Namespaces: Logical isolation for different environments (dev, staging, prod)
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● Deployments: Declarative updates for Pods
● Services: ClusterIP, NodePort, LoadBalancer, ExternalName
● Ingress: Manages external access to services via URLs
● ConfigMaps & Secrets: Store configuration data and sensitive information
● Persistent Volumes (PV) & Persistent Volume Claims (PVC): Storage
management
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● Helm: Package manager for Kubernetes applications

● RBAC (Role-Based Access Control): Manage access to cluster resources
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● Networking: CNI, Network Policies, Azure CNI, and Kubenet

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2. Designing Effective & Efficient Cloud Solutions Using
AKS
● Architecture Patterns:
○ Microservices Architecture
○ Multi-Cluster Deployments for High Availability
○ Hybrid Cloud Deployments (using Azure Arc)
● Scaling: Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA) & Vertical Pod Autoscaler (VPA)
● Monitoring & Logging: Azure Monitor, Azure Log Analytics, Prometheus, Grafana

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● Security: Azure AD Integration, Secrets Management, Network Policies, Azure

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Key Vault
● Disaster Recovery: Cross-region AKS replication, Backup strategies using Velero

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Example Design Pattern:

● Web Layer: Ingress Controller, Nginx Controller

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● App Layer: Microservices hosted on Pods, managed with Deployments
● DB Layer: Azure Managed Databases (e.g., Cosmos DB, Azure SQL)
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● Identity & Access Management: Azure AD Integration
● Common Services: Azure Monitor, Azure Key Vault, Backup via Velero
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3. Sequence to Create Resources for Production
Deployment
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1. Resource Group Creation: Create a logical grouping for AKS resources.

2. Identity Management: Configure Azure AD integration for RBAC.
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3. AKS Cluster Creation: Set up AKS with proper node pools and autoscaling
configurations.
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4. Networking Setup: Define VNet, Subnets, and configure Azure CNI/Kubenet.

5. Storage Configuration: Create Persistent Volumes and Claims.
6. Application Deployment: Deploy application workloads using YAML manifests.
7. Ingress Controller: Set up Nginx or Application Gateway Ingress.
8. Monitoring & Logging: Integrate Azure Monitor, Log Analytics.
9. Backup & Disaster Recovery: Implement backup strategies using Velero.
10. CI/CD Pipeline: Automate deployments using Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions.

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4. Best Practices for Production YAML Files
Folder Structure for Kubernetes Manifests:

k8s/
├── base/ # Base templates for Kubernetes resources
│ ├── deployment.yaml
│ ├── service.yaml
├── ingress.yaml

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│
├── configmap.yaml

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│
│ ├── secret.yaml

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├── overlays/
│ ├── dev/
│ │ ├── deployment.yaml

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│ │ ├── kustomization.yaml
│ ├── prod/
│
│
│
│
├── deployment.yaml
├── kustomization.yaml
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Key YAML Components for Production:

1. Deployment YAML: Define Pod specs, resource limits, and auto-scaling.

2. Service YAML: Use LoadBalancer or ClusterIP for communication.
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3. Ingress YAML: Define URL routing and TLS configurations.

4. ConfigMap & Secrets YAML: Store configurations securely.
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5. PersistentVolume & PersistentVolumeClaim YAML: For storage requirements.

6. RBAC YAML: Grant necessary permissions to service accounts.
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7. Monitoring YAML: Integration with Prometheus or Azure Monitor.

🚀
Let me know if you need deeper insights into any of these sections, or if you'd like
practice questions specific to Kubernetes and Azure scenarios!

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End-to-End Production-Ready Kubernetes
Solution on Azure: From Objectives to Outcome
This guide breaks down an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) production solution into
clear phases, covering objectives, design, architecture, implementation, and expected
outcomes across each layer.

🚀 1. Objectives & Requirements Phase

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Key Objectives:

● Build a scalable, reliable, and secure cloud-native application on Azure

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Kubernetes Service (AKS).
● Ensure high availability (HA), disaster recovery (DR), and fault tolerance.
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● Implement CI/CD pipelines for efficient and automated deployments.
● Enable monitoring, logging, and tracing for visibility and observability.
● Ensure data security, compliance, and role-based access controls (RBAC).
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Business Requirements:

● 99.9% uptime SLA

● Multi-region failover support
● Microservices architecture
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● Cost optimization
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🛠️ 2. Solution Design Phase

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Architecture Overview:

The architecture consists of multiple layers:

1. Identity & Access Management Layer: Azure AD, RBAC

2. Networking Layer: Azure Virtual Network (VNet), Subnets, Private Endpoints,
Ingress Controller

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 3. Compute Layer: AKS Node Pools (System and User Nodes)
4. Application Layer: Microservices on AKS, API Gateway
5. Data Layer: Azure SQL Database, Azure Cosmos DB
6. Storage Layer: Persistent Volumes (PV), Persistent Volume Claims (PVC)
7. Monitoring & Observability Layer: Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Prometheus,
Grafana
8. CI/CD Layer: Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions
9. Backup & Disaster Recovery Layer: Velero, Azure Backup

📐 3. Design Layers and Their

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Implementation
✅ 1. Identity & Access Management (IAM) Layer:
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●
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Objective: Secure access to AKS and resources.

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD): Centralized identity management.

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● Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Fine-grained access permissions.
● Azure Key Vault: Manage secrets, certificates, and keys securely.
● Service Principal/Managed Identity: Secure cluster interaction with Azure
services.

YAML Example:
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apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: RoleBinding
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metadata:
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name: read-secrets-binding
namespace: production
subjects:
- kind: User
name: [email protected]
apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
roleRef:
kind: Role
name: read-secrets

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 apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io

✅ 2. Networking Layer:
Objective: Ensure secure and optimized network communication.

● Azure Virtual Network (VNet): Isolate Kubernetes clusters in private networks.

● Azure Private Link: Secure connections to Azure services.

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● Ingress Controller: Nginx Ingress for routing traffic.

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● Network Policies: Control traffic between pods.

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YAML Example:

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apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy si
metadata:
name: allow-internal
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namespace: production
spec:
podSelector: {}
policyTypes:
- Ingress
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ingress:
- from:
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- podSelector:
matchLabels:
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role: backend

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✅ 3. Compute Layer:
Objective: Optimize resource utilization and reliability.

● Node Pools: Separate system and application workloads.

● Auto-Scaling: Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA) and Cluster Autoscaler.
● Spot VM Integration: Cost optimization for non-critical workloads.

YAML Example (HPA):

apiVersion: autoscaling/v2

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kind: HorizontalPodAutoscaler

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metadata:

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name: backend-hpa
spec:
scaleTargetRef:

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apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment si
name: backend
minReplicas: 2
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maxReplicas: 10
metrics:
- type: Resource
resource:
name: cpu
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target:
type: Utilization
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averageUtilization: 75
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✅ 4. Application Layer:
Objective: Host microservices architecture efficiently.

● Deployments: Define containerized app behavior.

● Services: ClusterIP, LoadBalancer.
● ConfigMaps & Secrets: Manage app configurations securely.

YAML Example (Deployment):

apiVersion: apps/v1

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kind: Deployment

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metadata:

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name: backend
namespace: production
spec:

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replicas: 3
selector: si
matchLabels:
app: backend
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template:
metadata:
labels:
app: backend
spec:
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containers:
- name: backend
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image: backend:v1
ports:
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- containerPort: 80
envFrom:
- configMapRef:
name: backend-config

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✅ 5. Data Layer:
Objective: Reliable and scalable data management.

● Azure Cosmos DB: NoSQL storage.

● Azure SQL DB: Managed relational database.
● Persistent Volumes (PV): For stateful services.

YAML Example (PVC):

apiVersion: v1

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kind: PersistentVolumeClaim

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metadata:

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name: backend-pvc
spec:
accessModes:

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- ReadWriteOnce
resources: si
requests:
storage: 10Gi
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✅ 6. Monitoring & Observability Layer:

Objective: Ensure visibility into performance and security.
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● Azure Monitor: Monitor health, availability, and performance.

● Prometheus & Grafana: Real-time metrics and dashboards.
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YAML Example (Prometheus Config):

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apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
name: prometheus-config
data:
prometheus.yml: |
global:
scrape_interval: 15s

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 scrape_configs:
- job_name: 'kubernetes'
kubernetes_sd_configs:
- role: node

✅ 7. CI/CD Layer:
Objective: Streamline deployment workflows.

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● Azure DevOps Pipelines: Automate build and deployment.
● Helm: Package Kubernetes apps for deployment.

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✅ 8. Backup & Disaster Recovery:
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Objective: Minimize data loss and downtime.
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● Velero: Backup Kubernetes cluster and restore.
● Azure Backup Service: Manage storage backups.
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📊 4. Testing Phase:
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● Unit Testing: Validate each microservice.

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● Integration Testing: Ensure smooth service interactions.

● End-to-End Testing: Validate entire application workflow.
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🎯 5. Expected Outcomes:
● Scalable & Secure Architecture: Support increasing workloads.
● Automated Deployments: Fast, reliable CI/CD pipelines.
● Improved Observability: Real-time insights via monitoring tools.
● Cost Efficiency: Optimized resource usage.
● Compliance & Security: Azure AD, RBAC, and Secrets Management.

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Setting up an Azure DevOps Pipeline for Kubernetes on
Azure (AKS)

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Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to set up an Azure DevOps Pipeline for

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deploying applications to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). This pipeline covers
everything from building your application to deploying it securely with monitoring.
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Key Requirements:

● Azure DevOps account.

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● Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster.
● Azure DevOps service connection to your Azure account.
● Helm for Kubernetes package management.
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1. Prerequisites Setup
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Before setting up the pipeline, ensure the following are ready:

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1.1. Azure Service Connection in Azure DevOps

● In Azure DevOps, go to Project Settings > Service connections.

● Create a new Azure Resource Manager service connection (this will allow your
pipeline to interact with Azure services).
● This connection will be used for interacting with AKS, Azure Container Registry
(ACR), and other Azure resources.

1.2. Kubernetes Cluster Setup

● Ensure your AKS cluster is up and running.

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 ● Ensure you have configured kubectl and Helm for Azure DevOps agents.

1.3. Azure Container Registry (ACR)

● Ensure you have an Azure Container Registry to store Docker images.

● Push your Docker image to ACR as part of the pipeline.

2. Create the Pipeline

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2.1. Create a New Pipeline in Azure DevOps

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1. Go to your Azure DevOps project.

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2. Under Pipelines, click New Pipeline.
3. Select your repository (e.g., GitHub, Azure Repos Git, or GitLab).
4. Choose YAML pipeline (instead of classic pipeline).

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3. Pipeline Configuration (YAML)
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Here’s a breakdown of the YAML pipeline file to automate the build, push, and
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deployment process:

3.1. Define Variables

Add variables to store necessary information like Azure subscription, AKS cluster name,
and container registry.
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variables:
azureSubscription: 'YourAzureSubscription' # Azure
Service Connection
aksClusterName: 'YourAKSClusterName'
aksResourceGroup: 'YourResourceGroupName'
acrName: 'youracrname.azurecr.io' # Azure
Container Registry
imageName: 'yourapp-image'

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 appName: 'yourapp'
kubernetesNamespace: 'default'

3.2. Build & Push Docker Image

The first phase is building the Docker image from your application and pushing it to
Azure Container Registry.

stages:

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- stage: Build

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jobs:
- job: BuildAndPush

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pool:
vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
steps:

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- task: Docker@2 si
inputs:
containerRegistry: $(azureSubscription)
repository: $(acrName)/$(imageName)
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command: 'buildAndPush'
Dockerfile: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/Dockerfile'
tags: |
$(Build.BuildId)
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3.3. Set Up Kubectl for AKS

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In the next step, set up the kubectl tool to interact with AKS. This uses the Azure service
connection to get access to your AKS cluster.
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- task: AzureCLI@2
inputs:
azureSubscription: $(azureSubscription)
scriptType: 'pscore'
scriptLocation: 'inlineScript'
inlineScript: |

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 az aks get-credentials --resource-group
$(aksResourceGroup) --name $(aksClusterName)
displayName: 'Get AKS Credentials'

3.4. Deploy to AKS Using Helm

You’ll now use Helm to deploy the Kubernetes charts (your application) to AKS.

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- task: HelmInstaller@1

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inputs:
helmVersionToInstall: 'latest'

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- task: HelmDeploy@0
inputs:

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connectionType: 'Azure Resource Manager'
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azureSubscription: $(azureSubscription)
azureResourceGroup: $(aksResourceGroup)
kubernetesCluster: $(aksClusterName)
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namespace: $(kubernetesNamespace)
chartType: 'FilePath'
chartPath: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/helm/yourapp-chart'
releaseName: $(appName)
overrideValues: |
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image.repository=$(acrName)/$(imageName)
image.tag=$(Build.BuildId)
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install: true
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waitForDeployment: true

3.5. Monitoring & Logging Integration

Set up monitoring and logging through Azure Monitor and Log Analytics. This can be
done by configuring Helm to install monitoring tools like Prometheus and Grafana for
real-time metrics collection.

- task: HelmDeploy@0

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 inputs:
connectionType: 'Azure Resource Manager'
azureSubscription: $(azureSubscription)
azureResourceGroup: $(aksResourceGroup)
kubernetesCluster: $(aksClusterName)
namespace: 'monitoring'
chartType: 'Helm Chart'
chartPath: 'stable/prometheus'
releaseName: 'prometheus'

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install: true

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waitForDeployment: true

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3.6. Clean-Up and Deployment Validation

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You can add a post-deployment validation step to ensure everything is running
smoothly. si
- task: Kubernetes@1
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inputs:
connectionType: 'Azure Resource Manager'
azureSubscription: $(azureSubscription)
kubernetesCluster: $(aksClusterName)
command: 'get'
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arguments: 'pods --namespace $(kubernetesNamespace)'

displayName: 'Check Pods Status'
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4. Pipeline Overview

Here is the complete breakdown of the Azure DevOps pipeline:

trigger:
- main # Change the branch as per your source branch for
deployment

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variables:
azureSubscription: 'YourAzureSubscription'
aksClusterName: 'YourAKSClusterName'
aksResourceGroup: 'YourResourceGroupName'
acrName: 'youracrname.azurecr.io'
imageName: 'yourapp-image'
appName: 'yourapp'
kubernetesNamespace: 'default'

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stages:

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- stage: Build
jobs:
- job: BuildAndPush

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pool:
vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
steps:
- task: Docker@2
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inputs:
containerRegistry: $(azureSubscription)
repository: $(acrName)/$(imageName)
command: 'buildAndPush'
Dockerfile: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/Dockerfile'
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tags: |
$(Build.BuildId)
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- stage: Deploy
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jobs:
- job: DeployToAKS
pool:
vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
steps:
- task: AzureCLI@2
inputs:
azureSubscription: $(azureSubscription)

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 scriptType: 'pscore'
scriptLocation: 'inlineScript'
inlineScript: |
az aks get-credentials --resource-group
$(aksResourceGroup) --name $(aksClusterName)
displayName: 'Get AKS Credentials'

- task: HelmInstaller@1
inputs:

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helmVersionToInstall: 'latest'

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- task: HelmDeploy@0
inputs:
connectionType: 'Azure Resource Manager'

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azureSubscription: $(azureSubscription)
azureResourceGroup: $(aksResourceGroup)
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kubernetesCluster: $(aksClusterName)
namespace: $(kubernetesNamespace)
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chartType: 'FilePath'
chartPath:
'$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/helm/yourapp-chart'
releaseName: $(appName)
overrideValues: |
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image.repository=$(acrName)/$(imageName)
image.tag=$(Build.BuildId)
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install: true
waitForDeployment: true
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- task: Kubernetes@1
inputs:
connectionType: 'Azure Resource Manager'
azureSubscription: $(azureSubscription)
kubernetesCluster: $(aksClusterName)
command: 'get'
arguments: 'pods --namespace $(kubernetesNamespace)'

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 displayName: 'Check Pods Status'

5. Final Steps

1. Save and Run the Pipeline: Once you’ve completed the YAML, commit and
push the pipeline file to your repository. This will trigger the pipeline to run on
each push to your main branch.
2. Monitor: Ensure all steps run successfully and monitor the deployment, logs,

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and metrics.

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🚀
Let me know if you need further guidance on a specific section or
troubleshooting tips!

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