Azure Kubernetes Service
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is a managed Kubernetes container orchestration service provided by Microsoft Azure. It simplifies the deployment, management, and scaling of containerized applications using Kubernetes, handling the control plane (master nodes) while users manage the worker nodes. AKS integrates with Azure's ecosystem, offering features like automatic updates, monitoring, and security.
Developers should use AKS when building and deploying scalable, containerized applications in the Azure cloud, as it reduces the operational overhead of managing Kubernetes clusters. It is ideal for microservices architectures, CI/CD pipelines, and hybrid cloud scenarios, providing built-in tools for monitoring, networking, and compliance. Learning AKS is valuable for teams leveraging Azure services and seeking to streamline container orchestration without deep Kubernetes expertise.