Get started with Azure Kubernetes Application Network for AKS (preview)

Important

AKS preview features are available on a self-service, opt-in basis. Previews are provided "as is" and "as available," and they're excluded from the service-level agreements and limited warranty. AKS previews are partially covered by customer support on a best-effort basis. As such, these features aren't meant for production use. For more information, see the following support articles:

This article helps you get started with Azure Kubernetes Application Network for AKS. It provides step-by-step instructions to create an Application Network resource and connect an AKS cluster to it as a member cluster.

Prerequisites

An Azure subscription. If you don't have one, create a free account.
Azure CLI version 2.84.0 or later. Check your version using the az --version command. To install or update, see Install Azure CLI.
If using an existing AKS cluster, make sure AKS-managed Microsoft Entra integration and OIDC issuer are enabled. These features are required for Azure Kubernetes Application Network connectivity and security.
Verify support for your existing Kubernetes cluster using the support policy.

Set environment variables

Set the following environment variables for your Azure Kubernetes Application Network resource and cluster. You can use an existing cluster or create one in a later step before adding it to your Azure Kubernetes Application Network.

export SUBSCRIPTION=<subscription-id>
export LOCATION=<location>
export APPNET_RG=<resource-group-for-appnet-resource>
export APPNET_NAME=<appnet-name>
export APPNET_MEMBER_NAME=<appnet-member-name>
export AKS_RG=<aks-cluster-resource-group>
export CLUSTER_NAME=<cluster-name>

Register the feature for public preview

az feature register --namespace Microsoft.AppLink --name PublicPreview --subscription $SUBSCRIPTION

Wait for the feature to be registered. You can check the status using the az feature show command.
```
az feature show --namespace Microsoft.AppLink --name PublicPreview --subscription $SUBSCRIPTION
```
The properties.state field in the output will show Registered when the registration is complete.
After the feature is registered, refresh the registration of the Microsoft.AppLink resource provider using the az provider register command.
```
az provider register --namespace Microsoft.AppLink --subscription $SUBSCRIPTION
```

Install the AppNet CLI extension

Install the AppNet CLI extension using the az extension add command.
```
az extension add --name appnet-preview
```

Set active subscription

Set the active subscription to the one you want to use for Azure Kubernetes Application Network using the az account set command.
```
az account set --subscription $SUBSCRIPTION 
```

Create an AKS cluster

Note

Member clusters don't need to be in separate resource groups. They can be in the same resource group as the Azure Kubernetes Application Network resource. However, all member clusters must be in the same tenant.

If you don't have an existing AKS cluster to connect to Azure Kubernetes Application Network, you need to create one. Azure Kubernetes Application Network requires AKS clusters with AKS-managed Microsoft Entra integration and OIDC issuer enabled. If you have an existing cluster, you can skip this step.

Create a resource group for your AKS cluster using the az group create command.
```
az group create --name $AKS_RG --location $LOCATION 
```
Create an AKS cluster with AKS-managed Microsoft Entra integration and OIDC issuer enabled using the az aks create command with the --enable-oidc-issuer and --enable-aad flags.
```
az aks create --name $CLUSTER_NAME --resource-group $AKS_RG --enable-oidc-issuer --enable-aad
```

Create an Azure Kubernetes Application Network resource

Create a resource group for your Azure Kubernetes Application Network resource using the az group create command.
```
az group create --name $APPNET_RG --location $LOCATION 
```
Create an Azure Kubernetes Application Network resource using the az appnet create command.
```
az appnet create --resource-group $APPNET_RG --name $APPNET_NAME --location $LOCATION  --identity-type SystemAssigned
```
The creation process might take a few minutes. The properties.provisioningState field of the output shows Succeeded for a successfully created Azure Kubernetes Application Network.
View your Azure Kubernetes Application Network resource using the az appnet show command.
```
az appnet show --resource-group $APPNET_RG --name $APPNET_NAME
```

Join an AKS cluster as a member of Azure Kubernetes Application Network

When you join a member cluster to Azure Kubernetes Application Network, you can specify one of the following upgrade modes for that cluster: fully-managed or self-managed. The upgrade mode determines how minor version upgrades of Azure Kubernetes Application Network are applied to the member cluster. If you don't specify an upgrade mode during member join, it defaults to SelfManaged. For more information about upgrade modes, see Configure upgrades for Azure Kubernetes Application Network members.

Join an AKS cluster as a member of Azure Kubernetes Application Network using the az appnet member join command with the --upgrade-mode parameter set to either FullyManaged or SelfManaged. The following example shows how to join a member cluster in SelfManaged mode:

az appnet member join \
    --resource-group $APPNET_RG \
    --appnet-name $APPNET_NAME \
    --member-name $APPNET_MEMBER_NAME \
    --member-resource-id /subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION/resourcegroups/$AKS_RG/providers/Microsoft.ContainerService/managedClusters/$CLUSTER_NAME \
    --upgrade-mode SelfManaged

Verify member cluster connectivity

After joining the cluster, you can verify connectivity and view member details using the az appnet member show command.

az appnet member show --resource-group $APPNET_RG --appnet-name $APPNET_NAME --member-name $APPNET_MEMBER_NAME

For example, if enrolled in fully-managed mode with Stable release channel, the output would look like:

{
  "id": "/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION/resourceGroups/$APPNET_RG/providers/Microsoft.AppLink/appLinks/$APPNET_NAME/appLinkMembers/$APPNET_MEMBER_NAME",
  "location": "myLocation",
  "name": "myMemberName",
  "properties": {
    "clusterType": "AKS",
    "connectivityProfile": {
      "eastWestGateway": {
        "visibility": "Internal"
      }
    },
    "metadata": {
      "resourceId": "/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION/resourcegroups/$AKS_RG/providers/Microsoft.ContainerService/managedClusters/$CLUSTER_NAME"
    },
    "observabilityProfile": {
      "metrics": {
        "metricsEndpoint": "https://myMember-mcp-fqdn.appnet.net"
      }
    },
    "provisioningState": "Succeeded",
    "upgradeProfile": {
      "mode": "FullyManaged",
      "fullyManagedUpgradeProfile": {
        "releaseChannel": "Stable"
      }
    }
  },
  "resourceGroup": "myAppNetRG",
  "type": "microsoft.applink/applinks/applinkmembers"
}

List Azure Kubernetes Application Network members

Multiple clusters can join an Azure Kubernetes Application Network.

List all members of an Azure Kubernetes Application Network using the az appnet member list command.
```
az appnet member list --resource-group $APPNET_RG --appnet-name $APPNET_NAME --output table
```

Delete Azure Kubernetes Application Network resources

You must remove all members before you can delete the Azure Kubernetes Application Network resource. Removing a member doesn't delete the corresponding AKS cluster.

Remove an Azure Kubernetes Application Network member

Remove a member from Azure Kubernetes Application Network using the az appnet member remove command.

az appnet member remove --resource-group $APPNET_RG --appnet-name $APPNET_NAME --member-name $APPNET_MEMBER_NAME

Verify the member has been removed using the az appnet member list command.

az appnet member list --resource-group $APPNET_RG --appnet-name $APPNET_NAME

Delete an Azure Kubernetes Application Network resource

Delete the Azure Kubernetes Application Network resource using the az appnet delete command.
```
az appnet delete --resource-group $APPNET_RG --appnet-name $APPNET_NAME
```

To learn more about Azure Kubernetes Application Network, see the following articles:

Feedback

Was this page helpful?

Last updated on 2026-03-23