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Configure Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Scaling

When you are running applications in Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), you may need to scale the compute resources to meet the demands of your applications. In this lab, you will learn how to scale your AKS cluster resources to meet demand. For this lab, you should have a basic understanding of Kubernetes.

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Path Info

Level
Clock icon Intermediate
Duration
Clock icon 30m
Last updated
Clock icon Sep 02, 2025

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Table of Contents

  1. Challenge

    Prevent Scheduling of Application Pods on System Node Pools

    1. Prevent user workloads from being scheduled on the system node pool named agentpool.

  2. Challenge

    Deploy a Workload

    1. Deploy a workload to the AKS cluster using the following manifest file:

      manifest.yaml

    2. Review the number of ready pods for the workload myaksapp-deployment.

  3. Challenge

    Create a User Node Pool That Uses the Cluster Autoscaler

    1. Create a new user node pool that users the cluster autoscaler with the following properties:
      • Name: userpool
      • Minimum Node Count: 0
      • Maxiumum Node Count: 3
      • Maximum Pods: 10
      • Node VM Size: Standard_D2s_v3
      • Operating System: Ubuntu

  4. Challenge

    Manually Scale a Workload

    1. Manually scale your workload up to 12 replicas.

      Tip: You can manually scale the workload to 12 replicas using the following command:

      kubectl scale deployment/myaksapp-deployment --replicas=12

    2. Manually scale your workload back down to 1 replica.

  5. Challenge

    Configure a Horizontal Pod Autoscaler

    1. Configure the Horizontal Pod Autoscaler using the provided manifest file: updated-mainfest.yaml

    2. Test the Horizontal Pod Autoscaler by loading up the CPU on a pod in the deployment using the stress tool, for example by running the following command on your pod:

      apt-get update && apt-get install -y stress; stress --cpu 1
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