Edit

Create an AKS on bare metal cluster using the Azure portal (preview)

Important

Azure Kubernetes Service on bare metal is currently in preview. See the Supplemental Terms of Use for Microsoft Azure Previews for legal terms that apply to Azure features that are in beta, preview, or otherwise not yet released into general availability. Azure Kubernetes Service on bare metal previews are partially covered by customer support on a best-effort basis.

This article shows you how to create an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster on bare metal using the Azure portal.

Prerequisites

Complete all system requirements and prerequisites before you begin.

Step 1: Navigate to AKS on bare metal

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal.

  2. In the search bar, enter Kubernetes - Azure Arc and select it from the results.

  3. In the left menu, expand Operations and select Machine provisioning (preview).

  4. Under 3. Deploy cluster, select Deploy > AKS Arc for Azure Local on Linux.

    Screenshot of Azure Arc Machine provisioning to deploy a cluster for AKS Arc for Azure Local on Linux.

Step 2: Configure basics

On the Basics tab, configure the following settings:

Setting Value
Site Select your site. This selection automatically populates your subscription.
Resource group Select or create a resource group in East US.
Cluster name Enter a name for your cluster. Name must be 1-27 characters long, start and end with a letter or number, and can only contain letters, numbers, hyphens, or underscores.
Kubernetes version Select 1.34.2 or 1.34.3.
Edge machine Select Add machines to view available machines within your selected site, and then select the machine to deploy on.

Step 3: Configure access

On the Access tab, configure the following settings:

Setting Value
Admin group object IDs Enter your Microsoft Entra ID group object ID for cluster admin access.

Step 4: Configure networking

On the Networking tab, configure the following settings:

Setting Value
Control plane IP An IP address in the same subnet as your edge machine. This cannot be the same as the machine's IP address.

Warning

If your machine uses DHCP, you must reserve the control plane IP address so it remains permanently assigned to this machine. If the control plane IP changes, the Kubernetes cluster becomes unreachable and must be redeployed.

Step 5: Configure integrations (optional)

On the Integrations tab, you can enable Azure Monitor and other integrations for your cluster. This step is optional.

Step 6: Configure tags (optional)

On the Tags tab, you can add name/value tags to organize your resources for billing and management. This step is optional.

Step 7: Review and create

  1. Select Review + create.
  2. Review your configuration settings.
  3. Select Create.

Deployment typically takes 20 minutes. You can monitor progress on the deployment page.

Step 8: Verify deployment

After the deployment completes:

  1. Navigate to your resource group.
  2. Select the AKS cluster resource.
  3. Verify that the status shows Succeeded.

Next steps