Way to test virtual nodes usage in AKS

Question

Way to test virtual nodes usage in AKS

Varma 1,560

I want to test virtual nodes usage , is there any that i can create that scenario in my own lab before takes to prod.

if yes please suggest

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3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Varma 1,560

Hi HImanshu

ANy update i responded in private?

Himanshu Shekhar 5,225 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Varma - Yes you can create the AKS cluster using that exact command and then test Virtual Nodes. Below is the clear, supported flow to do this in your lab.

PowerShell

az aks create \
  --resource-group RG \
  --name manual-aks \
  --node-count 2 \
  --network-plugin azure \
  --vnet-subnet-id $(az network vnet subnet show -g RG --vnet-name aks-vnet -n aks-node-subnet --query id -o tsv) \
  --enable-managed-identity

Here Virtual Nodes not enabled yet.

For creation of a dedicated subnet for Virtual Nodes (ACI) - Virtual Nodes run on Azure Container Instances, which must use a separate subnet delegated to ACI.

PowerShell

az network vnet subnet create \
  --resource-group RG \
  --vnet-name aks-vnet \
  --name aci-subnet \
  --address-prefixes 10.240.1.0/24 \
  --delegations Microsoft.ContainerInstance/container

Note: please do not reuse the AKS node subnet.

Enable Virtual Nodes on the AKS cluster

PowerShell

az aks enable-addons \
  --resource-group RG \
  --name manual-aks \
  --addons virtual-node \
  --subnet-name aci-subnet

Verify: - kubectl get nodes

You should see this : virtual-node-aci-linux Ready

Create and configure an Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS) cluster to use virtual nodes using Azure CLI - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/virtual-nodes-cli

For deploying a test workload to Virtual Nodes

YAML

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: vn-test
spec:
  replicas: 2
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: vn-test
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: vn-test
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: nginx
        image: nginx
        resources:
          requests:
            cpu: "500m"
            memory: "1Gi"
      nodeSelector:
        kubernetes.io/role: agent
        type: virtual-kubelet
      tolerations:
      - key: virtual-kubelet.io/provider
        operator: Exists
      - key: azure.com/aci
        effect: NoSchedule

Later apply and check :

PowerShell

kubectl apply -f vn-test.yaml
kubectl get pods -o wide

Test out scale behavior: using kubectl scale deployment vn-test --replicas=10

Answer 2

Himanshu Shekhar 5,225 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Varma - Yes, you can safely test AKS Virtual Nodes usage in your own lab environment before rolling it out to production. Microsoft fully supports lab and POC testing for Virtual Nodes using Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) with Azure Container Instances (ACI).

Create a non‑production AKS cluster with Virtual Nodes enabled
Virtual Nodes are designed exactly for this use case burst testing and validation and can be enabled on a small AKS cluster that uses Azure CNI networking. This allows pods to run on ACI-backed virtual nodes without adding VM node pools. For creating and configuring an Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS) cluster to use virtual nodes- [learn.microsoft.com]

2. Use a lightweight, stateless workload for testing
Deploy a simple container (for example, a NGINX or hello‑world app) and explicitly schedule it onto the virtual node using node Selector and tolerations. This validates scheduling, networking, and pod startup behavior without impacting cost or complexity.

Simulate burst scenarios intentionally
Increase pod replicas or resource requests (CPU/memory) to force pods onto Virtual Nodes. This is the recommended way to validate on‑demand scale‑out behavior and confirm ACI quota readiness in your region. [techcommun...rosoft.com]
Monitor usage and cost signals
Use Azure Monitor / Container Insights to confirm:

Pods are running on virtual‑kubelet nodes
CPU/memory usage aligns with expectations

No unexpected scheduling failures
This mirrors production behavior without VM provisioning delays. [learn.microsoft.com]

Important Lab Limitations to Validate

Virtual Nodes support Linux pods only
DaemonSets and some Kubernetes features are not supported
Persistent volumes have limitations (Azure Files only, inline mode)
These constraints should be validated during lab testing to avoid surprises in production. [learn.microsoft.com]

Microsoft Guidance (Recommended Reading) - Use Virtual Nodes with AKS - Microsoft Learn: AKS Virtual Nodes

If you have any further queries, let me know. If the information is helpful, please click on Upvote and Accept Answer on it.

Varma 1,560

HI HImaAnshu,

I am planning to create AKS cluster using following command:

and then do test on virtual nodes? how we do that?

az aks create --resource-group RG --name manual-aks --node-count 2 --network-plugin azure --vnet-subnet-id $(az network vnet subnet show -g RG --vnet-name aks-vnet -n aks-node-subnet --query id -o tsv) --enable-managed-identity

Himanshu Shekhar 5,225 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Varma Yes you can create the AKS cluster using that exact command and then test Virtual Nodes. Below is the clear, supported flow to do this in your lab.

az aks create \
  --resource-group RG \
  --name manual-aks \
  --node-count 2 \
  --network-plugin azure \
  --vnet-subnet-id $(az network vnet subnet show -g RG --vnet-name aks-vnet -n aks-node-subnet --query id -o tsv) \
  --enable-managed-identity

Here Virtual Nodes not enabled yet.

For creation of a dedicated subnet for Virtual Nodes (ACI) - Virtual Nodes run on Azure Container Instances, which must use a separate subnet delegated to ACI.

az network vnet subnet create \
  --resource-group RG \
  --vnet-name aks-vnet \
  --name aci-subnet \
  --address-prefixes 10.240.1.0/24 \
  --delegations Microsoft.ContainerInstance/container

Note: please do not reuse the AKS node subnet.

Enable Virtual Nodes on the AKS cluster

az aks enable-addons \
  --resource-group RG \
  --name manual-aks \
  --addons virtual-node \
  --subnet-name aci-subnet

Verify: - kubectl get nodes

You should see this : virtual-node-aci-linux Ready

Create and configure an Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS) cluster to use virtual nodes using Azure CLI - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/virtual-nodes-cli

For deploying a test workload to Virtual Nodes

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: vn-test
spec:
  replicas: 2
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: vn-test
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: vn-test
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: nginx
        image: nginx
        resources:
          requests:
            cpu: "500m"
            memory: "1Gi"
      nodeSelector:
        kubernetes.io/role: agent
        type: virtual-kubelet
      tolerations:
      - key: virtual-kubelet.io/provider
        operator: Exists
      - key: azure.com/aci
        effect: NoSchedule

Later apply and check :

kubectl apply -f vn-test.yaml
kubectl get pods -o wide

Test out scale behavior: using kubectl scale deployment vn-test --replicas=10

Himanshu Shekhar 5,225 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-18T14:34:43.07+00:00

Varma- Just checking if provided response was helpful! please let me know if you have any queries.
Varma 1,560 Reputation points

2026-04-01T08:12:13.5533333+00:00

it is not working
Varma 1,560 Reputation points

2026-04-02T05:00:22.8766667+00:00

Any chance to see my comments?

Himanshu Shekhar 5,225 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Varma - Yes you can create the AKS cluster using that exact command and then test Virtual Nodes. Below is the clear, supported flow to do this in your lab.

PowerShell

az aks create \
  --resource-group RG \
  --name manual-aks \
  --node-count 2 \
  --network-plugin azure \
  --vnet-subnet-id $(az network vnet subnet show -g RG --vnet-name aks-vnet -n aks-node-subnet --query id -o tsv) \
  --enable-managed-identity

Here Virtual Nodes not enabled yet.

For creation of a dedicated subnet for Virtual Nodes (ACI) - Virtual Nodes run on Azure Container Instances, which must use a separate subnet delegated to ACI.

PowerShell

az network vnet subnet create \
  --resource-group RG \
  --vnet-name aks-vnet \
  --name aci-subnet \
  --address-prefixes 10.240.1.0/24 \
  --delegations Microsoft.ContainerInstance/container

Note: please do not reuse the AKS node subnet.

Enable Virtual Nodes on the AKS cluster

PowerShell

az aks enable-addons \
  --resource-group RG \
  --name manual-aks \
  --addons virtual-node \
  --subnet-name aci-subnet

Verify: - kubectl get nodes

You should see this : virtual-node-aci-linux Ready

Create and configure an Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS) cluster to use virtual nodes using Azure CLI - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/virtual-nodes-cli

For deploying a test workload to Virtual Nodes

YAML

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: vn-test
spec:
  replicas: 2
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: vn-test
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: vn-test
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: nginx
        image: nginx
        resources:
          requests:
            cpu: "500m"
            memory: "1Gi"
      nodeSelector:
        kubernetes.io/role: agent
        type: virtual-kubelet
      tolerations:
      - key: virtual-kubelet.io/provider
        operator: Exists
      - key: azure.com/aci
        effect: NoSchedule

Later apply and check :

PowerShell

kubectl apply -f vn-test.yaml
kubectl get pods -o wide

Test out scale behavior: using kubectl scale deployment vn-test --replicas=10

Answer 3

Yes, virtual nodes can be fully tested in a lab AKS cluster before using them in production. The process is:

Prepare the subscription

Ensure the ACI resource provider is registered:

     az provider list --query "[?contains(namespace,'Microsoft.ContainerInstance')]" -o table

If Microsoft.ContainerInstance is NotRegistered, register it:

     az provider register --namespace Microsoft.ContainerInstance

Create a resource group (lab environment)
Example with Azure CLI:

   az group create --name myResourceGroup --location eastus

Create an AKS cluster with virtual nodes enabled
Using Azure portal:
- Go to Create a resource → Containers → Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) → Create.
- On Basics, choose subscription, resource group (for example myResourceGroup), cluster name (for example myAKSCluster), region, and Kubernetes version.
- Go to Next: Node pools and select Enable virtual nodes.
- Select Review + create, then Create.
This creates an AKS cluster with advanced networking (Azure CNI) and a delegated subnet for virtual nodes.
Deploy a sample app to the virtual node
- In Azure Cloud Shell or any kubectl environment, create virtual-node.yaml as shown in the docs (it must include a nodeSelector and toleration so the pod schedules on the virtual node).
- Apply it:
```
     kubectl apply -f virtual-node.yaml
```
- Verify the pod is running on the virtual node and has an internal IP:
```
     kubectl get pods -o wide
```
  Example output:
```
     NAME                            READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE   IP           NODE
     aci-helloworld-...             1/1     Running   0          4m    10.241.0.4   virtual-node-aci-linux
```
Test connectivity to the pod on the virtual node
- Start a temporary test pod in the same AKS cluster:
```
     kubectl run -it --rm testvk --image=mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/runtime-deps:6.0
```
- Inside the pod, install curl:
```
     apt-get update && apt-get install -y curl
```
- Curl the internal IP of the sample pod (replace with the IP from kubectl get pods -o wide):
```
     curl -L http://10.241.0.4
```
- You should see the demo “Welcome to Azure Container Instances!” HTML output, confirming virtual node networking works.
- Exit the test pod (it will be deleted):
```
     exit
```
(Optional) Test image pulls from ACR
- If using images from Azure Container Registry, configure a Kubernetes image pull secret as virtual nodes cannot use integrated Microsoft Entra service principal authentication. Without a secret, pods on virtual nodes will fail with HTTP response status code 400 error code "InaccessibleImage".

Clean up the lab

Delete the sample app:

     kubectl delete -f virtual-node.yaml

Disable the virtual-node addon if desired:

     az aks disable-addons --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster --addons virtual-node

Optionally delete the resource group to remove all lab resources.

This lab flow lets you validate scheduling, networking, and image pulling for virtual nodes before moving the pattern to production.

References:

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Way to test virtual nodes usage in AKS

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