Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Deploy and scale containers on managed Kubernetes
Innovate, deploy, and operate Kubernetes seamlessly
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) offers the quickest way to start developing and deploying cloud-native apps, with built-in code-to-cloud pipelines and guardrails. Get unified management and governance for on-premises, edge, and multicloud Kubernetes clusters. Interoperate with Azure security, identity, cost management, and migration services.
Operational resiliency with cluster presets, automated node maintenance, specialized hardware, and ultra-SSDs
Built for cloud with Visual Studio Code extensions, GitHub Actions pipelines, Open Service Mesh, and Dapr
Microsoft Defender for containers interoperability, multicluster governance, and GitOps at scale with Azure Policy
Kubernetes anywhere with AKS on Azure Stack HCI, and support for Linux and Windows Server workloads
Accelerate containerized application development
Iteratively develop and debug microservice applications with the Kubernetes extensions for Microsoft Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code. Add a CI/CD pipeline through GitHub Actions. Quickly set up a test deployment strategy and gain observability into your environment. Detect failures with the Kubernetes resources view, control-plane telemetry, log aggregation, and container health. Deploy apps and configuration as code using GitOps through Azure Arc–enabled Kubernetes clusters.
Apply security and governance controls without compromise
Enforce regulatory compliance controls using Azure Policy, with built-in guardrails and internet security benchmarks. AKS runs a security-optimized, hardened host operating system with daily patches, node image auto upgrade, and planned maintenance schedules. Get fine-grained identity and access control using Azure Active Directory. Grant privileged access with just-in-time cluster access. Use Microsoft Defender for Containers to improve, monitor, and maintain security.
Run workloads in the cloud, at the edge, or as a hybrid
Connect your Kubernetes clusters on other public cloud providers or your datacenters to Azure Arc to manage application deployments, GitOps-based configuration, monitoring, threat protection, and governance. Use AKS on Azure Stack HCI to run containerized applications on premises, and host Linux and Windows containers. Use Azure Migrate to plan and execute a successful migration to AKS. Set up your cloud environment with help from the Azure Migration and Modernization Program.
Comprehensive security and compliance, built in
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Microsoft invests more than USD 1 billion annually on cybersecurity research and development.
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We employ more than 3,500 security experts dedicated to data security and privacy.
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Azure has more certifications than any other cloud provider. View the comprehensive list.
Common uses for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Migrate your existing application to the cloud, build a complex application that uses machine learning, or take advantage of the agility offered by a microservices architecture.
Lift and shift to containers with AKS
Easily migrate existing applications to containers and run them in a fully managed Kubernetes service with AKS.
Microservices with AKS
Use AKS to simplify the deployment and management of microservices-based architecture. AKS streamlines horizontal scaling, self-healing, load balancing, and secret management.
Secure DevOps for AKS
Kubernetes and DevOps are better together. Achieve the balance between speed and security, and deliver code faster at scale, by implementing secure DevOps with Kubernetes on Azure.
Bursting from AKS with ACI
Use the AKS virtual node to provision pods inside ACI that start in seconds. This enables AKS to run with just enough capacity for your average workload.
Azure IoT reference architecture
View a recommended architecture for IoT applications on Azure using platform-as-a-service (PaaS) components.
Machine learning model training with AKS
Training models using large datasets is a complex and resource-intensive task. Use familiar tools such as TensorFlow and Kubeflow to simplify training of machine learning models.
Data streaming scenario
Use AKS to easily ingest and process a real-time data stream with millions of data points collected via sensors. Perform fast analysis and computations to develop insights into complex scenarios quickly.
Use AKS and pay only for compute resources
- Pay only for the virtual machines and the associated storage and networking resources consumed.
- Take advantage of no-charge cluster management.
Get started with an Azure free account
Start free. Get $200 credit to use within 30 days. While you have your credit, get free amounts of many of our most popular services, plus free amounts of 40+ other services that are always free.
After your credit, move to pay as you go to keep building with the same free services. Pay only if you use more than your free monthly amounts.
After 12 months, you'll keep getting 40+ always-free services—and still pay only for what you use beyond your free monthly amounts.
How customers are using Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Ståle Heitmann, Chief Technology Officer, Hafslund Nett"We wanted a platform to speed development and testing but do it safely, without losing control over security and performance. That's why Azure and AKS are the perfect fit for us."
Rasmus Hald, Head of Cloud Architecture, A.P. Moller - Maersk"Using Kubernetes on Azure satisfies our objectives for efficient software development. It aligns well with our digital plans and our choice of open-source solutions."
Thomas Gossler, Lead Architect, Digital Ecosystem Platform, Siemens Healthineers"Using AKS puts us into a position to not only deploy our business logic in Docker containers, including the orchestration, but also… to easily manage the exposure and control."
Olof Spångö, DevOps Digital System Owner, Scandinavian Airlines"With the migrations to AKS and Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Flexible Server, we are fulfilling our plan to save costs and simplify processes for our application teams."
Bernhard Rode, Software Engineer, Bosch"When we started our journey on Azure, we were a really small team—just one or two developers. Our partnership with Microsoft, the support from their advisory teams, the great AKS documentation and enterprise expertise—it all helped us very much to succeed."
Training materials and resources
Overview
What is Kubernetes?Documentation
Videos, events, and webinars
Blog and updates
Forums and community
AKS production baseline
Expert guidance
AKS office hoursAKS updates, blogs, and announcements
Frequently asked questions about Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
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AKS is available in more than 40 regions worldwide, and new ones are being added regularly.
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Kubernetes is open-source software for deploying and managing containerized applications at scale. It orchestrates a cluster of Azure virtual machines, schedules containers, automatically manages service discovery, incorporates load balancing, tracks resource allocation, and manages the health of individual resources using automatic restart/replication. AKS is a managed service that automates provisioning, upgrading, on-demand scaling, and more. Visit the Kubernetes website and topic page for details.
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Docker and Kubernetes are complementary. Docker provides an open standard for packaging and distributing containerized applications, while Kubernetes provides for the orchestration and management of distributed, containerized applications created with Docker. In other words, Kubernetes provides the infrastructure needed to deploy and run applications built with Docker.