Applies to: AKS on Windows Server
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) on Windows Server is an on-premises Kubernetes implementation of AKS. AKS on Windows Server automates running containerized applications at scale. AKS on Windows Server makes it quicker to get started hosting Linux and Windows containers in your datacenter.
To get started with on-premises Kubernetes using AKS, set up AKS on Windows Server.
Or, you can use AKS to orchestrate your cloud-based containers. See Azure Kubernetes Service in Azure. If you're using Azure Stack Hub, see AKS engine on Azure Stack Hub.
The following sections discuss some of the reasons to use AKS on Windows Server, then answer some common questions about the service and how to get started. For a background on containers, see Windows and containers. For information about how Kubernetes works in AKS on Windows Server, see Kubernetes core concepts. For more information about Kubernetes, see the Kubernetes.io documentation.
Why use AKS on Windows Server for containerized applications?While you can manage a few containers manually using Docker and Windows, apps often make use of five, ten, or even hundreds of containers, which is where the Kubernetes orchestrator comes in.
Kubernetes is an open-source orchestrator for automating container management at scale. AKS simplifies on-premises Kubernetes deployment by providing wizards you can use to set up Kubernetes and add-ons, and also to create Kubernetes clusters to host your workloads.
Some of the functionality AKS provides on Windows Server includes:
AKS simplifies the process of setting up Kubernetes on Windows Server 2019/2022 Datacenter, and includes the following features:
View the following image to familiarize yourself with the deployment process:
Once you set up on-premises Kubernetes using AKS and create a Kubernetes cluster, you can manage and monitor your Kubernetes infrastructure with:
AKS fully supports both Linux-based and Windows-based containers. When you create a Kubernetes cluster on Windows Server, you can choose whether to create node pools (groups of identical Kubernetes cluster nodes) to run Linux containers, Windows containers, or both.
AKS creates the Linux and Windows nodes so that you don't have to directly manage the Linux or Windows operating systems.
Secure your container infrastructureAKS includes features that can help to secure your container infrastructure:
The following sections summarize what you need to run on-premises Kubernetes with AKS on Windows Server. For complete details on what you need before you install AKS on Windows Server, see system requirements.
On your Windows Admin Center systemYour machine running the Windows Admin Center gateway must be:
The Windows Server cluster or Windows Server 2019/2022 Datacenter failover cluster has the following requirements:
The following sections describe some of the functionality AKS provides:
Native integration using Azure ArcWith AKS, you can connect your Kubernetes clusters to Azure. Once connected to Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes, you can access your Kubernetes clusters running on-premises via the Azure portal, and deploy management services such as GitOps and Azure Policy. You can also deploy data services such as SQL Managed Instance and PostgreSQL Hyperscale. For more information about Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes, see the Azure Arc overview.
Integrated logging and monitoringOnce you connect your cluster to Azure Arc, you can use Azure Monitor for monitoring the health of your Kubernetes cluster and applications. Azure Monitor for containers gives you performance visibility by collecting memory and processor metrics from controllers, nodes, and containers. Metrics and container logs are automatically collected for you and are sent to the metrics database in Azure Monitor, while log data is sent to your Log Analytics workspace. For more information about Azure Monitor, see the container insights overview.
Automatically resize your Kubernetes node poolsTo keep up with application demands, you might need to adjust the number and size of nodes that run your workloads. The cluster autoscaler component can watch for pods in your cluster that can't be scheduled because of resource constraints. When issues are detected, the number of nodes in a node pool is increased to meet the application demand. Nodes are also regularly checked for a lack of running pods, with the number of nodes then decreased as needed. This ability to automatically scale up or down the number of nodes in your Kubernetes cluster lets you run an efficient, cost-effective environment.
Deploy and manage Windows-based containerized appsAKS fully supports running both Linux-based and Windows-based containers. When you create a Kubernetes cluster on Windows Server, you can choose whether to create node pools (groups of identical Kubernetes cluster nodes) to run Linux containers, Windows containers, or both. AKS creates the Linux and Windows nodes so that you don't have to directly manage the Linux or Windows operating systems.
Deploy GPU-enabled nodesAKS supports deploying GPU-enabled node pools on top of NVIDIA Tesla T4 GPUs using Discrete Device Assignment (DDA) mode, also known as GPU Passthrough. In this mode, one or more physical GPUs are dedicated to a single worker node with a GPU-enabled VM size, which gets full access to the entire GPU. This mode offers high level application compatibility as well as better performance. For more information about GPU-enabled node pools, see the GPU documentation.
Next stepsTo get started with AKS on Windows Server, see the following articles:
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