Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Cheatsheet

Cluster Management

  • Create an AKS cluster with basic configuration
az aks create \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --node-count 3 \
  --enable-addons monitoring \
  --generate-ssh-keys
  • Create AKS cluster with advanced networking
az aks create \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --network-plugin azure \
  --vnet-subnet-id <subnet-id> \
  --docker-bridge-address 172.17.0.1/16 \
  --dns-service-ip 10.2.0.10 \
  --service-cidr 10.2.0.0/24
  • List AKS clusters
az aks list --output table
  • Get AKS cluster details
az aks show --resource-group <resource-group> --name <cluster-name>
  • Get AKS cluster credentials
az aks get-credentials --resource-group <resource-group> --name <cluster-name>
  • Delete AKS cluster
az aks delete --resource-group <resource-group> --name <cluster-name> --yes --no-wait

Node Pool Management

  • List node pools
az aks nodepool list --resource-group <resource-group> --cluster-name <cluster-name>
  • Add a new node pool
az aks nodepool add \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --cluster-name <cluster-name> \
  --name <nodepool-name> \
  --node-count 2 \
  --node-vm-size Standard_DS2_v2
  • Scale a node pool
az aks nodepool scale \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --cluster-name <cluster-name> \
  --name <nodepool-name> \
  --node-count 5
  • Enable autoscaling for node pool
az aks nodepool update \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --cluster-name <cluster-name> \
  --name <nodepool-name> \
  --enable-cluster-autoscaler \
  --min-count 1 \
  --max-count 10
  • Delete a node pool
az aks nodepool delete \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --cluster-name <cluster-name> \
  --name <nodepool-name>

Cluster Operations

  • Start stopped AKS cluster
az aks start --resource-group <resource-group> --name <cluster-name>
  • Stop AKS cluster
az aks stop --resource-group <resource-group> --name <cluster-name>
  • Upgrade AKS cluster
az aks upgrade \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --kubernetes-version <version>
  • Get available upgrade versions
az aks get-upgrades --resource-group <resource-group> --name <cluster-name>
  • Rotate cluster certificates
az aks rotate-certs --resource-group <resource-group> --name <cluster-name>

Azure Container Registry (ACR) Integration

  • Create Azure Container Registry
az acr create --resource-group <resource-group> --name <registry-name> --sku Basic
  • Attach ACR to AKS cluster
az aks update \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --attach-acr <registry-name>
  • Import image to ACR
az acr import \
  --name <registry-name> \
  --source docker.io/library/nginx:latest \
  --image nginx:latest
  • List ACR repositories
az acr repository list --name <registry-name>

Monitoring and Diagnostics

  • Enable Azure Monitor for containers
az aks enable-addons \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --addons monitoring
  • Get AKS cluster logs
az aks show --resource-group <resource-group> --name <cluster-name> --query "agentPoolProfiles[].diagnosticsProfile"
  • Install kubectl if not available
az aks install-cli
  • Check cluster health with kubectl
kubectl get nodes
kubectl get pods --all-namespaces
kubectl top nodes
kubectl top pods --all-namespaces

Security and RBAC

  • Enable RBAC on existing cluster
az aks update \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --enable-rbac
  • Create AKS cluster with Azure AD integration
az aks create \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --enable-aad \
  --aad-admin-group-object-ids <group-id>
  • Get admin credentials (bypass RBAC)
az aks get-credentials \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --admin
  • Create role binding for Azure AD user
kubectl create clusterrolebinding <binding-name> \
  --clusterrole=cluster-admin \
  --user=<user-email>

Networking

  • Enable HTTP application routing
az aks enable-addons \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --addons http_application_routing
  • Get HTTP application routing zone name
az aks show \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --query "addonProfiles.httpApplicationRouting.config.HTTPApplicationRoutingZoneName"
  • Create AKS cluster with load balancer SKU
az aks create \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --load-balancer-sku standard
  • Configure authorized IP ranges
az aks update \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --api-server-authorized-ip-ranges <ip-range>

Storage

  • Create Azure disk for persistent volume
az disk create \
  --resource-group <node-resource-group> \
  --name <disk-name> \
  --size-gb 20 \
  --sku Standard_LRS
  • Create storage class for Azure Files
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: azurefile
provisioner: kubernetes.io/azure-file
parameters:
  skuName: Standard_LRS
  location: <region>
  • Create persistent volume claim
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: azure-file-pvc
spec:
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteMany
  storageClassName: azurefile
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 5Gi

Troubleshooting

  • Get AKS cluster resource group
az aks show \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --query "nodeResourceGroup"
  • View cluster events
kubectl get events --sort-by='.metadata.creationTimestamp'
  • Debug failed pods
kubectl describe pod <pod-name>
kubectl logs <pod-name> --previous
  • Check node conditions
kubectl describe nodes | grep -A 5 "Conditions:"
  • SSH into AKS node (requires node access)
kubectl debug node/<node-name> -it --image=mcr.microsoft.com/aks/fundamental/base-ubuntu:v0.0.11

PowerShell Commands

  • Create AKS cluster with PowerShell
New-AzAksCluster -ResourceGroupName <resource-group> -Name <cluster-name> -NodeCount 3 -GenerateSshKey
  • Import AKS credentials with PowerShell
Import-AzAksCredential -ResourceGroupName <resource-group> -Name <cluster-name>
  • Scale node pool with PowerShell
Set-AzAksCluster -ResourceGroupName <resource-group> -Name <cluster-name> -NodeCount 5

Useful Aliases and Shortcuts

  • Set up kubectl aliases
alias k='kubectl'
alias kgp='kubectl get pods'
alias kgs='kubectl get services'
alias kgn='kubectl get nodes'
alias kdp='kubectl describe pod'
alias kds='kubectl describe service'
  • Quick cluster context switching
kubectl config get-contexts
kubectl config use-context <context-name>
  • Port forward common services
kubectl port-forward service/kubernetes-dashboard 8443:443 -n kubernetes-dashboard
kubectl port-forward service/grafana 3000:80 -n monitoring