Making sense of the Microsoft Azure container ecosystem: Services and opportunities

Microsoft Azure offers a robust managed container ecosystem called Azure Kubernetes Service, also known as AKS. AKS simplifies the management and reduces the complexity of running a self-hosted Kubernetes service. With AKS, you can deploy your containers quickly. Deploying your own Kubernetes cluster is complex and requires significant technical knowledge to maintain. In a nutshell, AKS leaves the complexity of deploying and running Kubernetes clusters to Microsoft.

For those accustomed to working with Kubernetes, there are a few differences with the Azure version. AKS is a managed service, whereas with Kubernetes, you have to install, configure and maintain the services yourself. Additionally, AKS manages the master nodes while you manage the worker/agent nodes.  With Kubernetes, you have to do all the hard work yourself. AKS also simplifies operations by using the portal and integrating several native Azure services such as Azure monitor, RBAC and other services to make it easier to manage your cluster.

With AKS, deploying a Kubernetes cluster is greatly simplified. You can have several options take advantage of when deploying your cluster such as using the Azure portal (GUI Interface), ARM Templates, Azure CLI (Command line) or Terraform templates. With these tools, you can automate the deployment of an AKS cluster in less time with fewer mistakes. When you deploy an AKS cluster, the Kubernetes Master and all nodes are configured for you.