APPUiO Managed Kubernetes with AKS
APPUiO Managed Rancher with Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is our product to provide services for the managed Kubernetes offering of Microsoft Azure.
Use Cases
- Full Production Readiness
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Managed cloud services are engineered for production. Leveraging these services is the recommended path into production.
- Step in to the Cloud
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Managed cloud services are perfect to start using the cloud. If the cloud is already used, managed cloud services are the perfect way to use Kubernetes.
- Scalability
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Using Kubernetes from Hyperscaler clouds allows for full scalability. With Hyperscaler-managed Kubernetes, you can get rid of infrastructure "pets" that need special attention. See The History of Pets vs Cattle and How to Use the Analogy Properly for a good read.
- Flexibility
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Hyperscaler clouds not only offer Kubernetes, but a large amount of other services. By using the Kubernetes offering of a Hyperscaler cloud, all the other available services are just waiting to be used.
- Costs saving
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Usually big clouds are not necessarily cheaper out of the box. By using the possibilities the cloud offers with integrated Cluster autoscaling or other optimization tricks like "Spot" instances a huge cost saving can be achieved.
Shared Rancher Management Server
VSHN operates a shared Rancher Management Server and provides access to it for users of the APPUiO Managed Rancher product.
The VSHN provided Rancher Management Server includes:
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Access to the Kubernetes cluster with a VSHN Account
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Graphical overview of the Kubernetes cluster
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Access control to the clusters
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GUI to deploy applications
| Instead of using the shared Rancher Management Server a dedicated instance can be provided at additional cost. Please contact us for more information. |
VSHN Supported Features and Configuration
Supported by default
These features and configurations are available out-of-the box and installed and configured by default.
| Feature / Configuration | Description |
|---|---|
Cluster Maintenance |
Kubernetes control-plane and node updates are applied continuously when they’re available. See also Version and Upgrade Policy. |
Persistent Storage with CSI |
Storage is provided by the native cloud storage offering using officially support CSI integrations. |
Cluster Backup |
A full backup of the Persistent storage volumes are not automatically backed up. The user of persistent volumes is obliged to take care of this. For that purpose, K8up is available on the cluster to help with that task. We’re also happy to help, just let us know. |
Setup with Terraform |
Cluster provisioning is done with Terraform, which includes all needed cloud resources for the Kubernetes cluster to work. |
Cluster limits |
We’re following the recommendations of upstream Kubernetes. See Limits for more details. |
Supported on request
These features or configuration adjustments must be specifically requested and some restrictions apply. Activation and configuration of these features imply additional engineering costs and can cause additional recurring engineering costs for operating them.
| Feature / Configuration | Description |
|---|---|
Crossplane |
Crossplane is an open source Kubernetes add-on that enables platform teams to assemble infrastructure from multiple vendors, and expose higher level self-service APIs for application teams to consume, without having to write any code. We can help with the deployment and configuration of Crossplane on the cluster to make it ready to work with the cloud the cluster is provisioned in. |
Cluster autoscaling configuration is fully supported, depending on the possibilities of the cloud service. |
Unsupported
These features or configuration adjustments are not supported by VSHN, but can still be activated, changed or used, although are neither monitored, backed up nor maintained. No guarantees are given, use them at your own risk.
| Still interested in one (or more) of these unsupported options? Get in contact with sales@vshn.ch and we figure out together what we can offer. |
| Feature / Configuration | Description |
|---|---|
Cluster Provisioning with Rancher |
Provisioning of Kubernetes clusters via the Rancher Management Server is only supported with a dedicated Rancher Management Server. |
The Open Policy Agent Gatekeeper is not supported by VSHN. |
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Istio is not supported by VSHN. |
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CIS scans aren’t support by VSHN. |
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Longhorn Storage |
Longhorn storage isn’t support by VSHN. |
Pipelines aren’t supported by VSHN. We recommend using GitLab for that. |
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Rancher logging is currently not in use by VSHN, we’re using a Project Syn component for log-shipping with Fluent Bit as this allows for more flexible configuration. |
Version and Upgrade Policy
Supported are only the Kubernetes versions of Microsoft Azure which are compatible with the Rancher version used by VSHN.
The official upstream documentation applies:
Installations must be upgraded to the next release within three months after a new release is available.
Pricing
The price model is described here: Price Model.
Pricing information of AKS can be found under Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) pricing.
Minimum Requirements
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
AKS control plane |
1 control plane See Kubernetes core concepts for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) for a description. |
AKS nodes |
At least 3 nodes Refer to Kubernetes core concepts for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) for options. |
Limits
Please refer to Quotas, virtual machine size restrictions, and region availability in Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) to see the current limits and quotas for the AKS product.
Some resources are reserved for the cluster to work, this is described under Kubernetes core concepts for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) → Resource reservations.