/azure-kubernetes-service

name: azure-kubernetes-service
description: Expert knowledge for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when designing AKS clusters with Fleet, GPU/AI workloads, KEDA autoscaling, service meshes, or CI/CD pipelines, and other Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) related development tasks. Not for Azure Container Apps (use azure-container-apps), Azure Container Instances (use azure-container-instances), Azure Red Hat OpenShift (use azure-redhat-openshift), Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets (use azure-vm-scalesets).
compatibility: Requires network access. Uses mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch or fetch_webpage to retrieve documentation.
metadata:
  generated_at: "2026-08-09"
  generator: "docs2skills/1.0.0"

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

> **IMPORTANT for Agent**: Use the **Category Index** below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., `L35-L120`), use `read_file` with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., `[security.md](security.md)`), use `read_file` on the linked reference file

> **IMPORTANT for Agent**: If `metadata.generated_at` is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If `mcp_microsoftdocs` tools are not available, suggest the user install it: [Installation Guide](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/mcp/blob/main/README.md)

This skill requires **network access** to fetch documentation content:

• **Preferred**: Use `mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch` with query string `from=learn-agent-skill`. Returns Markdown.
• **Fallback**: Use `fetch_webpage` with query string `from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown`. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

| Category | Lines | Description | |----------|-------|-------------| | Troubleshooting | L37-L64 | Diagnosing and fixing AKS and Fleet issues: networking, DNS, GPU, upgrades, encryption, logging, CLI/add-ons, Windows nodes, and workload troubleshooting tools and metrics. | | Best Practices | L65-L114 | Operational best practices for AKS: upgrades, reliability, performance, cost, security/compliance, networking, storage/backup, GPU/MLOps, multi-tenancy, and zero‑downtime migrations. | | Decision Making | L115-L169 | Guidance on AKS design and migration decisions: choosing SKUs, VM/node types, networking, scaling, upgrades, cost optimization, compliance, and comparing AKS with other platforms. | | Architecture & Design Patterns | L170-L196 | High-level AKS architecture and patterns: HA/DR topologies, multi-region and PCI designs, ingress and GPU choices, stateful upgrades, Fleet multi-cluster placement, and scaling strategies. | | Limits & Quotas | L197-L222 | AKS capacity, limits, quotas, version lifecycles, node pools, networking and load balancer scaling, Istio/KEDA performance constraints, and preview API/LTS support policies. | | Security | L223-L306 | Securing AKS clusters: identity/RBAC, Entra auth, workload identity, network policies, encryption, CIS hardening, PCI controls, Azure Policy, node access, and secure connectivity. | | Configuration | L307-L462 | Configuring AKS clusters and node pools: networking, storage, GPUs, autoscaling, routing/ingress, security, maintenance, extensions, and multi-cluster Fleet settings and policies. | | Integrations & Coding Patterns | L463-L489 | Patterns and examples for integrating AKS with AI toolchains, Ray, KAITO, storage, secrets, networking, observability, autoscaling, and external services, plus programmatic APIs and debugging tools. | | Deployment | L490-L539 | Deploying and upgrading AKS clusters and apps, including CI/CD, service meshes, KEDA, Wasm/AI workloads, storage/network migrations, and production-ready infrastructure patterns. |

Troubleshooting

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Diagnose and fix common Agentic CLI for AKS issues | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/agentic-cli-for-aks-troubleshoot | | Diagnose AKS workloads with AKS Desktop AI assistant | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/aks-desktop-deploy-ai-assistant | | Use AKS Desktop Insights to troubleshoot workloads | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/aks-desktop-deploy-troubleshooting | | Support and troubleshooting options for Azure Kubernetes Service | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/aks-support-help | | Troubleshoot AKS network issues using ACNS metrics and logs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/container-network-observability-guide | | Troubleshoot CoreDNS issues in AKS clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/coredns-troubleshoot | | Use Kubernetes events to troubleshoot AKS clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/events | | Diagnose GPU node health with NPD in AKS | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/gpu-health-monitoring | | Troubleshoot Inspektor Gadget extension issues on AKS | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/inspektor-gadget-troubleshoot | | Monitor and troubleshoot AKS KMS etcd encryption | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/kms-observability | | Collect and view kubelet logs from AKS nodes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/kubelet-logs | | Abort and inspect AKS long-running operations | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/manage-abort-operations | | Diagnose and fix common Open Service Mesh add-on issues on AKS | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/open-service-mesh-troubleshoot | | Use AKS security bulleti