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

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-L65	Troubleshooting AKS clusters, networking, upgrades, workloads, GPU/Windows nodes, Fleet, encryption, DNS, logging, and add-ons using tools like ACNS, Desktop Insights, CanIPull, and NPD.
Best Practices	L66-L115	Operational best practices for AKS: upgrades, reliability, performance, cost, security/compliance, multi-tenancy, GPUs, storage/backup, networking, autoscaling, and workload isolation.
Decision Making	L116-L168	Guidance for AKS design and migrations: choosing SKUs, VM sizes, networking, scaling, upgrades, cost optimization, compliance, and moving apps/configs from other platforms or legacy setups.
Architecture & Design Patterns	L169-L196	AKS architecture and patterns for HA/DR, multi-region, networking, PCI, stateful and GPU workloads, plus Fleet-based multi-cluster placement, upgrades, scaling, and migration strategies.
Limits & Quotas	L197-L222	AKS capacity, limits, quotas, version/support lifecycle, performance constraints (Istio, KEDA), networking requirements, and scaling behaviors for clusters and node pools.
Security	L223-L306	Securing AKS clusters: identity & access (Entra, RBAC, managed identities), network & API protection, encryption & keys, CIS hardening, PCI compliance, and Azure Policy–based controls.
Configuration	L307-L463	Configuring AKS clusters, networking, storage, GPUs, autoscaling, routing/ingress, security, and multi-cluster Fleet setups, plus database, AI, and monitoring add-ons and extensions.
Integrations & Coding Patterns	L464-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-L541	Deploying and upgrading AKS clusters and apps, CI/CD pipelines, service mesh/add-ons (Istio, KEDA, Dapr, OSM), migrations (storage, CNI, OS), and specialized workloads (AI, Wasm, EDW).

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 CanIPull to diagnose AKS–ACR connectivity	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/deploy-canipull-application-aks
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 bulletins for vulnerability troubleshooting	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/security-bulletins/overview
Handle AKS upgrade blocks from deprecated Kubernetes APIs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/stop-cluster-upgrade-api-breaking-changes
Diagnose and fix AKS agent pool issues	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/troubleshoot-agent-pool
Troubleshoot Container Network Insights Agent issues on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/troubleshoot-container-network-insights-agent
Troubleshoot SNAT port exhaustion for AKS load balancers	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/troubleshoot-source-network-address-translation
Troubleshoot UDP packet drops in AKS clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/troubleshoot-udp-packet-drops
Diagnose and resolve Azure AKS upgrade issues	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/upgrade-aks-faq
Resolve common Windows Server on AKS issues	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/windows-faq
Identify and migrate preview Azure Kubernetes Fleet CRDs to supported versions	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/kubernetes-fleet/howto-migrate-preview-to-ga-fleets
Interpret Fleet resource placement status for debugging	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/kubernetes-fleet/howto-understand-placement
Access and use Azure Fleet agent logs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/kubernetes-fleet/view-fleet-agent-logs

Best Practices

Topic	URL
Apply AKS production cluster upgrade strategies	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/aks-production-upgrade-strategies
Apply AKS deployment and cluster reliability practices	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/best-practices-app-cluster-reliability
Optimize AKS cluster costs with practical guidelines	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/best-practices-cost
Apply GPU best practices on AKS clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/best-practices-gpu
Apply GPU observability best practices on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/best-practices-gpu-observability
Apply MLOps best practices on Azure Kubernetes Service	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/best-practices-ml-ops
Apply proactive monitoring best practices for AKS clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/best-practices-monitoring-proactive
Apply multi-tenancy best practices in AKS clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/best-practices-multi-tenancy
Optimize AKS performance and scaling for small to medium workloads	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/best-practices-performance-scale
Tune AKS for large-scale performance and scaling	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/best-practices-performance-scale-large
Best practices for AKS ephemeral NVMe disks	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/best-practices-storage-nvme
Configure and tune AKS cluster autoscaler	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/cluster-autoscaler-overview
Plan resource and security considerations for AKS pod sandboxing	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/considerations-pod-sandboxing
Enforce AKS deployment safeguards and best practices	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/deployment-safeguards
Implement pod security best practices on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/developer-best-practices-pod-security
Optimize AKS workload resource management practices	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/developer-best-practices-resource-management
Apply GPU profiling best practices on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/gpu-profiling-faq
Use Image Cleaner to remove vulnerable AKS images	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/image-cleaner
Use TCP keepalive to improve AKS network resilience	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/improve-network-fault-tolerance-in-aks-using-tcp-keepalive
Select appropriate Inspektor Gadget tools on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/inspektor-gadget-catalog
Plan AKS rollback strategies for failed migrations	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/kubernetes-migration-rollback-strategies
Apply network security best practices to AKS clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/network-policy-best-practices
Plan node image updates for NAP in AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/node-auto-provisioning-upgrade-image
Configure and monitor AKS node auto-repair	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/node-auto-repair
Control AKS node reimage and disruption behavior	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/node-disruption-policy
Operate cost-optimized AKS clusters at scale	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/operate-cost-optimized-scale
Apply AKS scheduler features for workload isolation	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/operator-best-practices-advanced-scheduler
Implement cluster isolation strategies in Azure Kubernetes Service	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/operator-best-practices-cluster-isolation
Apply AKS cluster security operator best practices	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/operator-best-practices-cluster-security
Implement container image security best practices in AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/operator-best-practices-container-image-management
Apply AKS network configuration best practices	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/operator-best-practices-network
Apply AKS scheduler best practices for quotas	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/operator-best-practices-scheduler
Apply AKS storage and backup operator best practices	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/operator-best-practices-storage
Protect data on AKS for PCI DSS compliance	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/pci-data
Apply PCI risk assessment and code practices on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/pci-ra-code-assets
Design and validate AKS zone-resilient clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/reliability-zone-resiliency-recommendations
Load test and validate MongoDB resiliency on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/resiliency-mongodb-cluster
Use AKS node pool version rollback safely	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/roll-back-node-pool-version
Validate MongoDB resiliency during AKS node pool upgrades	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/upgrade-mongodb-cluster
Handle AKS Linux node reboots using kured	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/upgrade-node-image-kured
Upgrade AKS node pools and control plane safely	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/upgrade-node-pools
Test and upgrade AKS node OS versions safely	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/upgrade-os-version
Validate Valkey resiliency during AKS node pool upgrades	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/upgrade-valkey-aks-nodepool
Validate and operate PostgreSQL HA deployments on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/validate-postgresql-ha
Load test and validate Valkey cluster resiliency on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/validate-valkey-cluster
Apply AKS Windows container best practices	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/windows-best-practices

Decision Making

Topic	URL
Choose migration paths for legacy apps to AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/aks-legacy-migration
Plan and execute migration to Azure Kubernetes Service	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/aks-migration
Choose VM sizes and generations for AKS workloads	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/aks-virtual-machine-sizes
Migrate between AKS Automatic and Standard SKUs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/automatic/aks-automatic-sku-migration
Migrate AKS clusters from Availability Sets to VM node pools	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/availability-sets-on-aks
Choose between AKS and other Azure container services	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/compare-container-options-with-aks
Choose and run language models on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/concepts-ai-ml-language-models
Plan IP address space for Azure AKS clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/concepts-network-ip-address-planning
Choose and understand legacy CNI options in Azure Kubernetes Service	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/concepts-network-legacy-cni
Choose the right AKS scaling option for workloads	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/concepts-scale
Use Azure Advisor recommendations for AKS cost	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/cost-advisors
Migrate from Dapr OSS to Dapr extension on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/dapr-migration
Compare AWS and Azure platforms for EDW workloads	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/eks-edw-understand
Understand AWS vs Azure differences for web apps	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/eks-web-understand
Plan migration off Flatcar Container Linux on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/flatcar-container-linux-for-aks
Choose and configure AKS Free, Standard, Premium tiers	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/free-standard-pricing-tiers
Adopt and migrate to Gen2 VMs for AKS node pools	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/generation-2-vms
Select AKS Automatic or Standard for workloads	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/get-started-aks
Choose and configure HPA for AKS workloads	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/horizontal-pod-autoscaler
Choose and configure AKS hyperscale control plane	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/hyperscale-configuration-aks
Plan and execute migration from NPM to Cilium in AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/migrate-from-npm-to-cilium-network-policy
Plan and execute legacy .NET migration to AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/migrate-legacy-dotnet-to-aks
Migrate from open source Istio to AKS Istio add-on using canary strategy	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/migration-from-open-source-istio-to-addon
Select and manage AKS node image types	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/node-images
Map AKS Open Service Mesh policies to Istio add-on	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/open-service-mesh-istio-migration-guidance
Choose and tune AKS options to reduce costs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/optimize-aks-costs
Apply PCI customized approach controls in AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/pci-customized-approach-guidance
Map AKS controls to PCI DSS 4.0.1 requirements	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/pci-requirement-mapping-matrix
Perform targeted PCI risk analysis for AKS workloads	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/pci-targeted-risk-analysis
Design application networking for Azure Kubernetes Service workloads	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/plan-application-networking
Choose control plane networking options for AKS clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/plan-control-plane-networking
Plan networking architecture for Azure Kubernetes Service workloads	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/plan-networking
Select node networking models for Azure Kubernetes Service	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/plan-node-networking
Plan pod networking strategies for Azure Kubernetes Service	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/plan-pod-networking
Choose and configure AKS scale-down mode	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/scale-down-mode
Add and use Azure Spot node pools in AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/spot-node-pool
Update AKS clusters to new Azure CNI IPAM and data planes	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/update-azure-cni
Migrate AKS from Basic to Standard Load Balancer	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/upgrade-basic-load-balancer-on-aks
Plan AKS upgrade capacity and cost constraints	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/upgrade-capacity-cost-planning
Choose AKS Automatic vs Standard upgrade options	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/upgrade-options
Select the right AKS upgrade scenario path	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/upgrade-scenarios-hub
Use Arm64 node pools in AKS for cost efficiency	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/use-arm64-vms
Choose between AKS Automatic and Standard clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/what-is-aks
Use and migrate from Windows Server Annual Channel on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/windows-annual-channel
Plan Windows vs. Linux containers on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/windows-vs-linux-containers
Choose a migration path to AKS Workload ID	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/workload-identity-migrate-from-pod-identity
Choose the right Azure Kubernetes Fleet Manager configuration	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/kubernetes-fleet/concepts-choosing-fleet
Migrate Kubernetes update workflows from Terraform to Fleet	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/kubernetes-fleet/howto-migrate-updates-from-terraform
Upgrade Azure Kubernetes Fleet Manager from hubless to hubful	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/kubernetes-fleet/upgrade-hub-cluster-type

Architecture & Design Patterns

Topic	URL
Active-active high availability pattern for AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/active-active-solution
Active-passive disaster recovery pattern for AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/active-passive-solution
Use blue-green node pool upgrades in AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/blue-green-node-pool-upgrade
Choose GPU partitioning strategies in AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/concepts-gpu-partitioning
Choose ingress networking options for AKS clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/concepts-network-ingress
Rearchitect AWS EDW workload for Azure AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/eks-edw-rearchitect
Rearchitect AWS EKS web app and WAF for AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/eks-web-rearchitect
Isolate AKS node pools with unique subnets	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/node-pool-unique-subnet
Passive-cold disaster recovery pattern for AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/passive-cold-solution
Design AKS architecture for PCI DSS 4.0.1 workloads	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/pci-intro
Review summary of AKS PCI reference architecture	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/pci-summary
Choose connectivity options for private AKS clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/private-cluster-connect
Use proximity placement groups to reduce AKS latency	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/reduce-latency-ppg
Multi-region AKS deployment models and trade-offs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/reliability-multi-region-deployment-models
Plan AKS upgrades for stateful database workloads	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/stateful-workload-upgrades
Design and migrate stateful workloads on AKS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/stateful-workloads-overview
Architect Valkey clusters on AKS for resilience	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/valkey-overview
Scale AKS workloads with virtual nodes and ACI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/virtual-nodes
Configure eviction and disruption budgets in Fleet CRP	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/kubernetes-fleet/concepts-eviction-disruption
Manage workload drift with Fleet applyStrategy	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/kubernetes-fleet/concepts-placement-drift
Control workload takeover behavior in Fleet placement	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/kubernetes-fleet/concepts-placement-takeover
Design rollout strategies for Fleet resource placement	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/kubernetes-fleet/concepts-rollout-strategy
Move Kubernetes workloads between clusters with Fleet	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/kubernetes-fleet/howto-move-workloads-between-clusters
Use intelligent cross-cluster placement in Fleet	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/kubernetes-fleet/intelligent-resource-placement