Deploy Kubernetes to Azure Stack

• 10/09/2018
• 5 minutes to read
• Contributors
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Applies to: Azure Stack integrated systems and Azure Stack Development Kit

The following article looks at using an Azure Resource Manager solution template to deploy and provision the resources for Kubernetes in a single, coordinated operation. You will need to collect the required information about your Azure Stack installation, generate the template, and then deploy to your cloud. Note the template is not the same managed AKS service offered in global Azure.

Kubernetes and containers

You can install Kubernetes using Azure Resource Manager templates generated by the ACS-Engine on Azure Stack. Kubernetes is an open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and managing of applications in containers. A container is contained in an image, similar to a VM. Unlike a VM, the container image just includes the resources it needs to run an application, such as the code, runtime to execute the code, specific libraries, and settings.

You can use Kubernetes to:

• Develop massively scalable, upgradable, applications that can be deployed in seconds.
• Simplify the design of your application and improve its reliability by different Helm applications. Helm is an open-source packaging tool that helps you install and manage the lifecycle of Kubernetes applications.
• Easily monitor and diagnose the health of your applications with scale and upgrade functionality.

You will only be charged for the compute usage required by the nodes supporting your cluster. For more information, see Usage and billing in Azure Stack.

Prerequisites

To get started, make sure you have the right permissions and that your Azure Stack is ready.

1. Verify that you can create applications in your Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) tenant. You need these permissions for the Kubernetes deployment.

   For instructions on checking your permissions, see Check Azure Active Directory permissions.

2. Generate an SSH public and private key pair to sign in to the Linux VM on Azure Stack. You will need the public key when creating the cluster.

   For instructions on generating a key, see SSH Key Generation.

3. Check that you have a valid subscription in your Azure Stack tenant portal, and that you have enough public IP addresses available to add new applications.

   The cluster cannot be deployed to an Azure Stack Administrator subscription. You must use a User subscription.

4. If you do not have Kubernetes Cluster in your marketplace, talk to the administrator of Azure Stack.

Create a service principal in Azure AD

1. Sign in to the global Azure portal.

2. Check that you signed in using the Azure AD tenant associated with the Azure Stack instance. You can switch your sign-in by clicking the filter icon in the Azure toolbar.

   

3. Create an Azure AD application.

   a. Select Azure Active Directory > + App Registrations > New Application Registration.

   b. Enter a Name of the application.

   c. Select Web app / API.

   d. Enter http://localhost for the Sign-on URL.

   c. Click Create.

4. Make note of the Application ID. You will need the ID when creating the cluster. The ID is referenced as Service Principal Client ID.

5. Select Settings > Keys.

   a. Enter the Description.

   b. Select Never expires for Expires.

   c. Select Save. Make note the key string. You will need the key string when creating the cluster. The key is referenced as the Service Principal Client Secret.

Give the service principal access

Give the service principal access to your subscription so that the principal can create resources.

1. Sign in to the Azure Stack portal.

2. Select All services > Subscriptions.

3. Select the subscription created by your operator for using the Kubernetes Cluster.

4. Select Access control (IAM) > Select + Add.

5. Select the Contributor role.

6. Select the application name created for your service principal. You may have to type the name in the search box.

7. Click Save.

Deploy a Kubernetes

1. Open the Azure Stack portal.

2. Select + Create a resource > Compute > Kubernetes Cluster. Click Create.

   

1. Basics

1. Select Basics in Create Kubernetes Cluster.

   

2. Select your Subscription ID.

3. Enter the name of a new resource group or select an existing resource group. The resource name needs to be alphanumeric and lowercase.

4. Select the Location of the resource group. This is the region you choose for your Azure Stack installation.

2. Kubernetes Cluster Settings

1. Select Kubernetes Cluster Settings in Create Kubernetes Cluster.

   

2. Enter the Linux VM Admin Username. User name for the Linux Virtual Machines that are part of the Kubernetes cluster and DVM.

3. Enter the SSH Public Key used for authorization to all Linux machines created as part of the Kubernetes cluster and DVM.

4. Enter the Master Profile DNS Prefix that is unique to the region. This must be a region-unique name, such as k8s-12345. Try to chose it same as the resource group name as best practice.

   Note

   For each cluster, use a new and unique master profile DNS prefix.

5. Select the Kubernetes Master Pool Profile Count. The count contains the number of nodes in the master pool. There can be from 1 to 7. This value should be an odd number.

6. Select The VMSize of the Kubernetes master VMs.

7. Select the Kubernetes Node Pool Profile Count. The count contains the number of agents in the cluster.

8. Select the Storage Profile. You can choose Blob Disk or Managed Disk. This specifies the VM Size of Kubernetes node VMs.

9. Enter the Service Principal ClientId This is used by the Kubernetes Azure cloud provider. The Client ID identified as the Application ID when your created your service principal.

10. Enter the Service Principal Client Secret that you created when creating your service principal.

11. Enter the Kubernetes Azure Cloud Provider Version. This is the version for the Kubernetes Azure provider. Azure Stack releases a custom Kubernetes build for each Azure Stack version.

3. Summary

1. Select Summary. The blade displays a validation message for your Kubernetes Cluster configurations settings.

   

2. Review your settings.

3. Select OK to deploy your cluster.

Connect to your cluster

You are now ready to connect to your cluster. The master can be found in your cluster resource group, and is named k8s-master-<sequence-of-numbers>. Use an SSH client to connect to the master. On the master, you can use kubectl, the Kubernetes command-line client to manage your cluster. For instructions, see Kubernetes.io.

You may also find the Helm package manager useful for installing and deploying apps to your cluster. For instructions on installing and using Helm with your cluster, see helm.sh.

Next steps

Add a Kubernetes to the Marketplace (for the Azure Stack operator)

Kubernetes on Azure