Managed Kubernetes on Azure, set up and run right

Two ways to run AKS, and which one fits

Azure Kubernetes Service now ships in two modes. AKS Automatic is the fully managed path: Azure provisions nodes, turns on security defaults, and preconfigures monitoring and autoscaling. AKS Standard gives you full control over cluster configuration, node pools, and networking.

For most mid-market teams starting a new workload, AKS Automatic gets you to a production-ready cluster fastest, backed by an SLA that financially guarantees 99.9% of qualifying pods are ready within five minutes. AKS Standard still makes sense when you need custom networking, Windows node pools, specific VM SKUs not yet available in Automatic, or you already run automation built around manual cluster management. We help you pick the right one before you build anything.

What's on by default with AKS Automatic

Security and compliance without the extra build time

AKS integrates with Microsoft Entra ID for identity and Kubernetes RBAC for access control, so cluster permissions follow the groups your organization already manages. Azure Policy enforces regulatory guardrails and internet security benchmarks across every cluster.

Microsoft Defender for Containers adds runtime threat detection built on more than 60 Kubernetes-aware analytics and anomaly checks. AKS itself is CNCF-certified and compliant with SOC, ISO, PCI DSS, and HIPAA.

CI/CD that fits how your developers already work

The Kubernetes extension for Visual Studio Code and GitHub Actions integrations cut the friction between a code change and a running pod. Draft for AKS takes existing source code and generates the manifests and pipeline scaffolding needed to get it deployment-ready.

Starting AKS Automatic from source code instead of a container image, Azure generates the Kubernetes manifests and CI/CD workflow directly from your repository, so the first deployment doesn't start with a blank YAML file.

Hybrid, edge, and where CloudServus fits

Azure Arc extends AKS to Windows Server, Linux, and IoT resources running on-premises or at the edge, with GitOps syncing configuration and updates back to a central source of truth. For workloads that need to stay close to the data or the shop floor, that's a practical path to Kubernetes without abandoning your existing infrastructure.

CloudServus architects handle the parts that go wrong when teams do this alone: picking Automatic versus Standard for your actual workload, planning the migration with Azure Migrate, and running day-two operations after launch, including patching, scaling, and access reviews.