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Create Azure AKS Linux, Windows and Virtual Node Pools

Step-01: Introduction

  • Enable Virtual Nodes (Serverless)
  • Create Linux User Node pool
  • Create Windows User Node pool

Azure Kubernetes Service with Azure DevOps and Terraform

Step-02: Enable Virtual Nodes on our AKS Cluster

Step-02-01: Enable Virtual Nodes Add-On on our AKS Cluster

# Verify Environment Variables
echo ${AKS_CLUSTER}, ${AKS_VNET_SUBNET_VIRTUALNODES}

# Enable Virtual Nodes on AKS Cluster
az aks enable-addons \
    --resource-group ${AKS_RESOURCE_GROUP} \
    --name ${AKS_CLUSTER} \
    --addons virtual-node \
    --subnet-name ${AKS_VNET_SUBNET_VIRTUALNODES}

# List Nodes
kubectl get nodes   

# List Virtual Nodes ACI Pods
kubectl get pods -n kube-system

# Sample Output for Reference
Kalyans-Mac-mini:~ kalyanreddy$ kubectl get pods -n kube-system
NAME                                         READY   STATUS             RESTARTS   AGE
aci-connector-linux-6d57ccbf8b-bj6rk         0/1     CrashLoopBackOff   8          17m
azure-cni-networkmonitor-pmbvh               1/1     Running            0          33m
azure-ip-masq-agent-rjvbd                    1/1     Running            0          33m


# Verify Logs ACI Connector
kubectl get pods -n kube-system
kubectl -n kube-system logs -f $(kubectl get po -n kube-system | egrep -o 'aci-connector-linux-[A-Za-z0-9-]+')

Step-02-02: Fix ACI Connector CrashLoopBackOff Issue

  • Go to Services -> Managed Identities -> aciconnectorlinux-aksprod1
  • Azure Role Assignments
    • Add Role Assignment
    • Scope: Resource Group
    • Subscription: Pay-As-You-Go
    • Resource Group: aks-prod
    • Role: Contributor
  • Click on SAVE

Step-02-03: Delete ACI Connector Pod to recreate it

# List Pods
kubectl get pods -n kube-system

# Delete aci-connector-linux pod to recreate it
kubectl -n kube-system delete pod <ACI-Connector-Pod-Name>
kubectl -n kube-system delete pod $(kubectl get po -n kube-system | egrep -o 'aci-connector-linux-[A-Za-z0-9-]+')

# List Pods (ACI Connector Pod should be running)
kubectl get pods -n kube-system

Step-02-04: List Virtual Nodes and See if listed

# List Nodes
kubectl get nodes

# Sample Output
Kalyans-Mac-mini:~ kalyanreddy$ kubectl get nodes
NAME                                 STATUS   ROLES   AGE     VERSION
aks-systempool-35488542-vmss000000   Ready    agent   43m     v1.17.11
virtual-node-aci-linux               Ready    agent   6m53s   v1.14.3-vk-azure-aci-vv1.3.0
Kalyans-Mac-mini:~ kalyanreddy$

Step-03: Create Linux User Node Pool

Step-03-01: Create Linux User Node Pool

# Create New Linux Node Pool 
az aks nodepool add --resource-group ${AKS_RESOURCE_GROUP} \
                    --cluster-name ${AKS_CLUSTER} \
                    --name linux101 \
                    --node-count 1 \
                    --enable-cluster-autoscaler \
                    --max-count 5 \
                    --min-count 1 \
                    --mode User \
                    --node-vm-size Standard_DS2_v2 \
                    --os-type Linux \
                    --labels nodepool-type=user environment=production nodepoolos=linux app=java-apps \
                    --tags nodepool-type=user environment=production nodepoolos=linux app=java-apps \
                    --zones {1,2,3}

Step-03-02: List Node Pools & Nodes

# List Node Pools
az aks nodepool list --cluster-name ${AKS_CLUSTER} --resource-group ${AKS_RESOURCE_GROUP} -o table
Note: Understand the mode System vs User

# List Nodes using Labels
kubectl get nodes -o wide -l nodepoolos=linux
kubectl get nodes -o wide -l app=java-apps

Step-04: Create a Node Pool for Windows Apps

  • To run an AKS cluster that supports node pools for Windows Server containers, your cluster needs to use a network policy that uses Azure CNI (advanced) network plugin
  • Default windows Node size is Standard_D2s_v3 as on today
  • The following limitations apply to Windows Server node pools:
  • The AKS cluster can have a maximum of 10 node pools.
  • The AKS cluster can have a maximum of 100 nodes in each node pool.
  • The Windows Server node pool name has a limit of 6 characters.

Step-04-01: Create Windows Node Pool

# Create New Windows Node Pool 
az aks nodepool add --resource-group ${AKS_RESOURCE_GROUP} \
                    --cluster-name ${AKS_CLUSTER} \
                    --os-type Windows \
                    --name win101 \
                    --node-count 1 \
                    --enable-cluster-autoscaler \
                    --max-count 5 \
                    --min-count 1 \
                    --mode User \
                    --node-vm-size Standard_DS2_v2 \
                    --labels environment=production nodepoolos=windows app=dotnet-apps nodepool-type=user \
                    --tags environment=production nodepoolos=windows app=dotnet-apps nodepool-type=user \
                    --zones {1,2,3}

Step-04-02: List Node Pools & Nodes

# List Node Pools
az aks nodepool list --cluster-name ${AKS_CLUSTER} --resource-group ${AKS_RESOURCE_GROUP} --output table

# List Nodes using Labels
kubectl get nodes -o wide
kubectl get nodes -o wide -l nodepoolos=linux
kubectl get nodes -o wide -l nodepoolos=windows
kubectl get nodes -o wide -l environment=production

# List Node Pools
az aks nodepool list --cluster-name ${AKS_CLUSTER} --resource-group ${AKS_RESOURCE_GROUP} --output table

# Sample Output (for reference)
Name        OsType    KubernetesVersion    VmSize           Count    MaxPods    ProvisioningState    Mode
----------  --------  -------------------  ---------------  -------  ---------  -------------------  ------
linux101    Linux     1.17.13              Standard_DS2_v2  1        30         Succeeded            User
systempool  Linux     1.17.13              Standard_DS2_v2  1        30         Succeeded            System
win101      Windows   1.17.13              Standard_DS2_v2  1        30         Succeeded            User

References

Best Selling Azure Kubernetes Service Course on Udemy

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Best Selling AWS EKS Kubernetes Course on Udemy

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HashiCorp Certified Terraform Associate - 50 Practical Demos

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