Azure Kubernetes Service

9 steps · start to finish.

1. 1
   Step 1

   Environment Setup

   ▶

   Verify all required tools and credentials are available before proceeding.

   echo "=== Environment Verification ==="
   
   # Check Azure CLI
   az --version | head -1 || { echo "ERROR: Azure CLI not installed"; exit 1; }
   
   # Check kubectl (warn if missing, not a hard blocker at this stage)
   kubectl version --client --short 2>/dev/null | head -1 || echo "WARNING: kubectl not found; install before cluster operations"
   
   # Check active Azure subscription (do NOT echo subscription ID back to user)
   az account show --query "{name:name, tenantId:tenantId}" -o table 2>&1 || {
     echo "ERROR: Not logged in to Azure. Run: az login"
     exit 1
   }
   
   # Create output directory
   mkdir -p /app/results
   echo "Environment verification complete."
   

   If az account show fails, guide the user through az login or az login --use-device-code for non-interactive environments. Do NOT ask the user to paste subscription IDs — resolve context via az account show.

2. 2
   Step 2

   Gather Requirements

   ▶

   Collect all required inputs before making Day-0 decisions. Use the MCP tool first, fall back to Azure CLI.

3. 3
   Step 3

   Select AKS SKU and Tier

   ▶

   Based on gathered requirements, determine the AKS SKU and tier:

4. 4
   Step 4

   Design Networking (Day-0 Critical)

   ▶

   Networking decisions are the hardest to change after cluster creation — document each choice carefully.

5. 5
   Step 5

   Configure Security

   ▶

   Apply security best practices (most are Day-1 but plan for them now):

6. 6
   Step 6

   Generate AKS Cluster Configuration

   ▶

   Synthesize all decisions from Steps 2–5 into a complete `az aks create` command. Populate all parameters from gathered requirements.

7. 7
   Step 7

   Configure Operations (Day-1 Features)

   ▶

   Set up post-creation operational features after the cluster is running.

8. 8
   Step 8

   Iterate on Errors (max 3 rounds)

   ▶

   If any `az aks create` or `az aks update` command fails:

9. 9
   Step 9

   Write Output Files

   ▶

   Confirm all output files are written and non-empty.