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What's new in AKS on Azure Stack HCI version 23H2

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Applies to: Azure Stack HCI, version 23H2

This article lists the various features and improvements that are available in AKS enabled by Azure Arc, on HCI version 23H2.

About AKS Arc on Azure Stack HCI 23H2

AKS on Azure Stack HCI 23H2 uses Azure Arc to create new Kubernetes clusters on Azure Stack HCI directly from Azure. It enables you to use familiar tools like the Azure portal, Azure CLI, and Azure Resource Manager templates to create and manage your Kubernetes clusters running on Azure Stack HCI. Since clusters are automatically connected to Arc when they are created, you can use your Microsoft Entra ID for connecting to your clusters from anywhere. This ensures your developers and application operators can provision and configure Kubernetes clusters in accordance with company policies.

Microsoft continues to focus on delivering a consistent user experience for all your AKS clusters. If you have created and managed Kubernetes clusters using Azure, you'll feel right at home managing Kubernetes clusters running on Azure Stack HCI 23H2 using Azure portal or Azure CLI management experiences.

Simplified AKS component management on Azure Stack HCI 23H2

AKS on Azure Stack HCI 23H2 includes several infrastructure components that provide Azure experiences, including the Arc Resource Bridge, Custom Location, and the Kubernetes Extension for the AKS Arc operator. These infrastructure components are now included in Azure Stack HCI 23H2:

  • Arc Resource Bridge: The Arc Resource Bridge is created automatically when you deploy Azure Stack HCI. This lightweight Kubernetes VM connects your Azure Stack HCI to Azure Cloud and enables on-premises resource management from Azure. Azure Arc Resource Bridge provides the line of sight to private clouds required to manage resources such as Kubernetes clusters on-premises through Azure.
  • Custom Location: Just like Azure Arc Resource Bridge, a custom location is created automatically when you deploy Azure Stack HCI. A custom location is the on-premises equivalent of an Azure region and is an extension of the Azure location construct. Custom locations provide a way for tenant administrators to use their data center with the right extensions installed, as target locations for deploying AKS.
  • Kubernetes Extension for AKS Arc Operators: The Kubernetes Extension for AKS Operators is automatically installed on Arc Resource Bridge when you deploy Azure Stack HCI. It's the on-premises equivalent of an Azure Resource Manager resource provider, to help manage AKS via Azure.

By integrating these components, Azure Arc offers a unified and efficient Kubernetes provisioning and management solution, seamlessly bridging the gap between on-premises and cloud infrastructures.

Key personas

Infrastructure administrator: The role of the infrastructure administrator is to set up Azure Stack HCI, which includes all the infrastructure component deployments previously mentioned. Administrators must also set up the platform configuration, such as the networking and storage configuration, so that Kubernetes operators can create and manage Kubernetes clusters.

Kubernetes operator: Kubernetes operators can create and manage Kubernetes clusters on Azure Stack HCI so they can run applications without coordinating with infrastructure administrators. The operator is given access to the Azure subscription, Azure custom location, and virtual network by the infrastructure administrator. No access to the underlying on-premises infrastructure is necessary. Once the operator has the required access, they can create Kubernetes clusters according to application needs: Windows/Linux node pools, Kubernetes versions, etc.

Features and improvements

This section lists the new features and improvements in AKS Arc in each release of Azure Stack HCI, version 23H2.

Release 2402

The following Kubernetes cluster deployment and management capabilities are available:

  • Autoscaling. You can now enable the autoscaling feature when you create or update Kubernetes cluters and node pools.
  • Support for NVIDIA A16. You can now create node pools in new VM sizes with GPU NVIDIA A16. For more information, see Use GPUs for compute-intensive workloads.
  • Diagnostic settings. You can export audit logs and other control plane logs to one or more destinations. For more information, see Diagnostic settings in Azure Monitor.
  • Certificate expiration. You can now shut down Kubernetes clusters for up to 7 days without any certificate expiration issues.
  • Update status. You can now view the status of ongoing Kubernetes cluster upgrades.

Release 2311.2

AKS enabled by Azure Arc on HCI version 23H2 is generally available starting with this release.

The following Kubernetes cluster deployment and management capabilities are available:

Release 2311

Starting with this release, you can run Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) workloads on your Azure Stack HCI system. AKS on HCI version 23H2 uses Azure Arc to create new Kubernetes clusters on Azure Stack HCI directly from Azure.

The following Kubernetes cluster deployment and management capabilities are available:

  • Simplified infrastructure deployment on Azure Stack HCI. In this release, the infrastructure components of AKS Arc, including the Arc Resource Bridge, Custom Location, and the Kubernetes Extension for the AKS Arc operator, are all deployed as part of the Azure Stack HCI 23H2 deployment. For more information, see Deploy an Azure Stack HCI version 23H2 system using the Azure portal.
  • Integrated infrastructure upgrade on Azure Stack HCI. The whole lifecycle management of AKS Arc infrastructure follows the same approach as the other components on Azure Stack HCI 23H2. For more information, see Infrastructure component updates.
  • New CLI consistent with Azure. Starting with this release, a new consistent command-line experience is available to create and manage Kubernetes clusters.
  • Cloud-based management. You can now create and manage Kubernetes clusters on Azure Stack HCI with familiar tools such as the Azure portal and Azure CLI. For more information, see Create Kubernetes clusters using Azure CLI.
  • Support for Azure Container Registry to deploy container images. In this release, you can deploy container images from a private container registry using Azure Container Registry to your Kubernetes clusters running on Azure Stack HCI. For more information, see Deploy from private container registry to on-premises Kubernetes.
  • Support for managing and scaling the node pools. For more information, see Manage multiple node pools in AKS Arc.
  • Support for Linux and Windows Server containers. For more information, see Create Windows Server containers.

Next steps