Create logical networks for Kubernetes clusters on Azure Stack HCI 23H2

Applies to: Azure Stack HCI, version 23H2

After you install and configure Azure Stack HCI 23H2, you must create Arc VM logical networks. AKS on Azure Stack HCI uses static logical networks to provide IP addresses to the underlying VMs of the AKS clusters.

Before you begin

Before you begin, make sure you have the following prerequisites:

• Install and configure Azure Stack HCI 23H2. Make sure you have the custom location Azure Resource Manager ID, as this ID is a required parameter for creating a logical network.
• Make sure that the logical network you create contains enough usable IP addresses to avoid IP address exhaustion. IP address exhaustion can lead to Kubernetes cluster deployment failures. For more information, see Networking concepts in AKS on Azure Stack HCI 23H2.
• Make sure you have an external VM switch that can be accessed by all the servers in your Azure Stack HCI cluster. By default, an external switch is created during the deployment of your Azure Stack HCI cluster that you can use to associate with the logical network you will create.

Run the following command to get the name of the external VM switch on your Azure Stack HCI cluster:

Get-VmSwitch -SwitchType External

Make a note of the name of the switch. You use this information when you create a logical network. For example:

Get-VmSwitch -SwitchType External

Name                               SwitchType       NetAdapterInterfaceDescription
----                               ----------       ----------------------------
ConvergedSwitch(management_compute_storage) External        Teamed-Interface

Create the logical network

You can create a logical network using either the Azure Command-Line Interface (CLI) or by using the Azure portal.

Azure CLI

You can use the az stack-hci-vm network lnet create cmdlet to create a logical network on the VM switch in Static IP configuration.

For static IP, the required parameters are as follows:

Required parameters	Description
--name	Name for the logical network that you create for your Azure Stack HCI cluster. Make sure to provide a name that follows the rules for Azure resources. You can't rename a logical network after it's created.
--resource-group	Name of the resource group where you create the logical network.
--subscription	Name or ID of the subscription where your Azure Stack HCI is deployed.
--custom-location	Provide the custom location associated with your Azure Stack HCI cluster where you're creating the logical network.
--vm-switch-name	The name of the VM switch. Usage: --vm-switch-name "vm-switch-01".
--address-prefixes	AddressPrefix for the network. Currently only 1 address prefix is supported. Usage: --address-prefixes "10.220.32.16/24".
--dns-servers	Space-separated list of DNS server IP addresses. Usage: --dns-servers 10.220.32.16 10.220.32.17.
--gateway	Gateway. The gateway IP address must be within the scope of the address prefix. Usage: --gateway 10.220.32.16.
--ip-allocation-method	The IP address allocation method. Supported values are "Static". Usage: --ip-allocation-method "Static".
--ip-pool-start	The start IP address of your IP pool. The address must be in range of the address prefix. Usage: --ip-pool-start "10.220.32.18".
--ip-pool-end	The end IP address of your IP pool. The address must be in range of the address prefix. Usage: --ip-pool-end "10.220.32.38".

az stack-hci-vm network lnet create --subscription $subscription --resource-group $resource_group --custom-location $customLocationID --name $lnetName --vm-switch-name $vmSwitchName --ip-allocation-method "Static" --address-prefixes $addressPrefixes --gateway $gateway --dns-servers $dnsServers --ip-pool-start $ipPoolStart --ip-pool-end $ipPoolEnd

Azure portal

Complete the following steps to create a logical network using the Azure portal:

1. In the left pane, under Resources, select Logical networks.

   

2. In the right pane, select Create logical network.

   

3. On the Create logical network page, on the Basics tab:

   • Select the Azure subscription name.
   • Select the associated resource group name.
   • Provide a logical network name. Make sure to provide a name that follows the Rules for Azure resources. You can't rename a logical network after it's created.
   • Enter the virtual switch name that you saved earlier.
   • The geographic region is automatically set to the region where you registered your cluster.
   • The custom location is automatically populated from the cluster.

   When complete, select Next: Network Configuration.

   

4. On the Network configuration tab, select Static and then enter the following:

   • IPv4 address space (previously reserved).
   • IP pools.
   • Default gateway address.
   • DNS server address.
   • VLAN ID (if used).

   When complete, select Review + Create.

   

5. On the Review + Create tab, review network settings and then select Create:

   

Next steps

Create and manage Kubernetes clusters on-premises using Azure CLI