← Back to Blog

Getting Started with Kubernetes on Azure: A Guide

Kubernetes, the open-source platform for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications, has become a go-to solution for many data scientists. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to get started with Kubernetes on Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing service.
By Saturn Cloud | | Miscellaneous

Getting Started with Kubernetes on Azure: A Guide

Kubernetes, the open-source platform for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications, has become a go-to solution for many data scientists. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to get started with Kubernetes on Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing service.

Introduction to Kubernetes on Azure

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) simplifies the deployment, scaling, and operations of Kubernetes. It offers serverless Kubernetes, an integrated developer experience, and enterprise-grade security and governance. Unite your development and operations teams on a single platform to rapidly build, deliver, and scale applications with confidence.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the setup process, ensure you have the following:

  • An active Azure account. If you don’t have one, you can create a free account.
  • Azure CLI installed on your machine. If not, follow the installation guide.
  • kubectl, the Kubernetes command-line tool. You can install it using the official guide.

Step 1: Create a Kubernetes Cluster

First, log in to your Azure account using the Azure CLI:

az login

Next, create a resource group in a specific location:

az group create --name myResourceGroup --location eastus

Then, create a Kubernetes cluster:

az aks create --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster --node-count 1 --enable-addons monitoring --generate-ssh-keys

This command creates a cluster named myAKSCluster in the resource group myResourceGroup with a single node.

Step 2: Connect to the Cluster

To manage a Kubernetes cluster, you use kubectl, the Kubernetes command-line client. To install it locally, use the az aks install-cli command:

az aks install-cli

Then, to configure kubectl to connect to your Kubernetes cluster, use the az aks get-credentials command:

az aks get-credentials --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster

Step 3: Deploy an Application

Now that you have an AKS cluster, you can deploy an application to it. For example, to run a basic nginx web server, use the kubectl create command:

kubectl create deployment nginx --image=nginx

Then, to expose your application to the internet, use the kubectl expose command:

kubectl expose deployment nginx --port=80 --type=LoadBalancer

Step 4: Scale Your Application

Kubernetes allows you to scale your application as needed. To increase the number of pods running your application, use the kubectl scale command:

kubectl scale deployment nginx --replicas=3

This command increases the number of nginx pods to 3.

Conclusion

Kubernetes on Azure provides a powerful platform for managing and scaling containerized applications. With the Azure Kubernetes Service, you can focus on building your applications instead of managing infrastructure.

Remember, this is just a basic introduction. Kubernetes offers many more features, such as self-healing, automated rollouts and rollbacks, and secret and configuration management. To learn more, check out the official Kubernetes documentation.

Keywords

  • Kubernetes
  • Azure
  • Azure Kubernetes Service
  • AKS
  • Kubernetes on Azure
  • Kubernetes cluster
  • Kubernetes application
  • Kubernetes scaling
  • Kubernetes deployment
  • Kubernetes management
  • Containerized applications
  • Cloud computing
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Azure CLI
  • kubectl
  • Kubernetes command-line tool
  • Kubernetes pods
  • Kubernetes features
  • Kubernetes documentation
  • Infrastructure management
  • Application deployment
  • Application scaling
  • Web server
  • nginx
  • LoadBalancer
  • Resource group
  • SSH keys
  • Developer experience
  • Enterprise-grade security
  • Governance
  • Automated rollouts
  • Automated rollbacks
  • Secret management
  • Configuration management
  • Self-healing
  • Data scientists
  • Technical audience
  • Kubernetes guide
  • Kubernetes tutorial
  • Kubernetes introduction
  • Kubernetes basics
  • Kubernetes for beginners
  • Kubernetes for data scientists
  • Kubernetes for developers
  • Kubernetes for operations
  • Kubernetes for DevOps
  • Kubernetes for IT professionals
  • Kubernetes for cloud computing
  • Kubernetes for Microsoft Azure
  • Kubernetes for Azure CLI
  • Kubernetes for kubectl
  • Kubernetes for web server
  • Kubernetes for nginx
  • Kubernetes for LoadBalancer
  • Kubernetes for resource group
  • Kubernetes for SSH keys
  • Kubernetes for enterprise-grade security
  • Kubernetes for governance
  • Kubernetes for automated rollouts
  • Kubernetes for automated rollbacks
  • Kubernetes for secret management
  • Kubernetes for configuration management
  • Kubernetes for self-healing
  • Kubernetes for infrastructure management
  • Kubernetes for application deployment
  • Kubernetes for application scaling

About Saturn Cloud

Saturn Cloud is your all-in-one solution for data science & ML development, deployment, and data pipelines in the cloud. Spin up a notebook with 4TB of RAM, add a GPU, connect to a distributed cluster of workers, and more. Join today and get 150 hours of free compute per month.

Try Saturn Cloud Now