Set up an Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes cluster to run App Service, Functions, and Logic Apps (Preview)

If you have an Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes cluster, you can use it to create an App Service enabled custom location and deploy web apps, function apps, and logic apps to it.

Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes lets you make your on-premises or cloud Kubernetes cluster visible to App Service, Functions, and Logic Apps in Azure. You can create an app and deploy to it just like another Azure region.

Prerequisites

If you don't have an Azure account, sign up today for a free account.

Review the requirements and limitations of the public preview. Of particular importance are the cluster requirements.

Add Azure CLI extensions

Launch the Bash environment in Azure Cloud Shell.

Because these CLI commands are not yet part of the core CLI set, add them with the following commands.

az extension add --upgrade --yes --name connectedk8s
az extension add --upgrade --yes --name k8s-extension
az extension add --upgrade --yes --name customlocation
az provider register --namespace Microsoft.ExtendedLocation --wait
az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Web --wait
az provider register --namespace Microsoft.KubernetesConfiguration --wait
az extension remove --name appservice-kube
az extension add --upgrade --yes --name appservice-kube

Create a connected cluster

Note

This tutorial uses Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) to provide concrete instructions for setting up an environment from scratch. However, for a production workload, you will likely not want to enable Azure Arc on an AKS cluster as it is already managed in Azure. The steps will help you get started understanding the service, but for production deployments, they should be viewed as illustrative, not prescriptive. See Quickstart: Connect an existing Kubernetes cluster to Azure Arc for general instructions on creating an Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes cluster.

1. Create a cluster in Azure Kubernetes Service with a public IP address. Replace <group-name> with the resource group name you want.

   bash

   AKS_CLUSTER_GROUP_NAME="<group-name>" # Name of resource group for the AKS cluster
   AKS_NAME="${aksClusterGroupName}-aks" # Name of the AKS cluster
   RESOURCE_LOCATION="eastus" # "eastus" or "westeurope"
   
   az group create -g $AKS_CLUSTER_GROUP_NAME -l $RESOURCE_LOCATION
   az aks create --resource-group $AKS_CLUSTER_GROUP_NAME --name $AKS_NAME --enable-aad --generate-ssh-keys
   

   PowerShell

   $aksClusterGroupName="<group-name>" # Name of resource group for the AKS cluster
   $aksName="${aksClusterGroupName}-aks" # Name of the AKS cluster
   $resourceLocation="eastus" # "eastus" or "westeurope"
   
   az group create -g $aksClusterGroupName -l $resourceLocation
   az aks create --resource-group $aksClusterGroupName --name $aksName --enable-aad --generate-ssh-keys
   

2. Get the kubeconfig file and test your connection to the cluster. By default, the kubeconfig file is saved to ~/.kube/config.

   az aks get-credentials --resource-group $AKS_CLUSTER_GROUP_NAME --name $AKS_NAME --admin
   
   kubectl get ns
   

3. Create a resource group to contain your Azure Arc resources. Replace <group-name> with the resource group name you want.

   bash

   GROUP_NAME="<group-name>" # Name of resource group for the connected cluster
   
   az group create -g $GROUP_NAME -l $RESOURCE_LOCATION
   

   PowerShell

   $groupName="<group-name>" # Name of resource group for the connected cluster
   
   az group create -g $groupName -l $resourceLocation
   

4. Connect the cluster you created to Azure Arc.

   bash

   CLUSTER_NAME="${GROUP_NAME}-cluster" # Name of the connected cluster resource
   
   az connectedk8s connect --resource-group $GROUP_NAME --name $CLUSTER_NAME
   

   PowerShell

   $clusterName="${groupName}-cluster" # Name of the connected cluster resource
   
   az connectedk8s connect --resource-group $groupName --name $clusterName
   

5. Validate the connection with the following command. It should show the provisioningState property as Succeeded. If not, run the command again after a minute.

   az connectedk8s show --resource-group $GROUP_NAME --name $CLUSTER_NAME
   

Create a Log Analytics workspace

While a Log Analytic workspace is not required to run App Service in Azure Arc, it's how developers can get application logs for their apps that are running in the Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes cluster.

1. For simplicity, create the workspace now.

   bash

   WORKSPACE_NAME="$GROUP_NAME-workspace" # Name of the Log Analytics workspace
   
   az monitor log-analytics workspace create \
       --resource-group $GROUP_NAME \
       --workspace-name $WORKSPACE_NAME
   

   PowerShell

   $workspaceName="$groupName-workspace"
   
   az monitor log-analytics workspace create `
       --resource-group $groupName `
       --workspace-name $workspaceName
   

2. Run the following commands to get the encoded workspace ID and shared key for an existing Log Analytics workspace. You need them in the next step.

   bash

   LOG_ANALYTICS_WORKSPACE_ID=$(az monitor log-analytics workspace show \
       --resource-group $GROUP_NAME \
       --workspace-name $WORKSPACE_NAME \
       --query customerId \
       --output tsv)
   LOG_ANALYTICS_WORKSPACE_ID_ENC=$(printf %s $LOG_ANALYTICS_WORKSPACE_ID | base64 -w0) # Needed for the next step
   LOG_ANALYTICS_KEY=$(az monitor log-analytics workspace get-shared-keys \
       --resource-group $GROUP_NAME \
       --workspace-name $WORKSPACE_NAME \
       --query primarySharedKey \
       --output tsv)
   LOG_ANALYTICS_KEY_ENC=$(printf %s $LOG_ANALYTICS_KEY | base64 -w0) # Needed for the next step
   

   PowerShell

   $logAnalyticsWorkspaceId=$(az monitor log-analytics workspace show `
       --resource-group $groupName `
       --workspace-name $workspaceName `
       --query customerId `
       --output tsv)
   $logAnalyticsWorkspaceIdEnc=[Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes($logAnalyticsWorkspaceId))# Needed for the next step
   $logAnalyticsKey=$(az monitor log-analytics workspace get-shared-keys `
       --resource-group $groupName `
       --workspace-name $workspaceName `
       --query primarySharedKey `
       --output tsv)
   $logAnalyticsKeyEnc=[Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes($logAnalyticsKey))
   

Install the App Service extension

1. Set the following environment variables for the desired name of the App Service extension, the cluster namespace in which resources should be provisioned, and the name for the App Service Kubernetes environment. Choose a unique name for <kube-environment-name>, because it is part of the domain name for app created in the App Service Kubernetes environment.

   bash

   EXTENSION_NAME="appservice-ext" # Name of the App Service extension
   NAMESPACE="appservice-ns" # Namespace in your cluster to install the extension and provision resources
   KUBE_ENVIRONMENT_NAME="<kube-environment-name>" # Name of the App Service Kubernetes environment resource
   

   PowerShell

   $extensionName="appservice-ext" # Name of the App Service extension
   $namespace="appservice-ns" # Namespace in your cluster to install the extension and provision resources
   $kubeEnvironmentName="<kube-environment-name>" # Name of the App Service Kubernetes environment resource
   

2. Install the App Service extension to your Azure Arc-connected cluster, with Log Analytics enabled. Again, while Log Analytics is not required, you can't add it to the extension later, so it's easier to do it now.

   bash

   az k8s-extension create \
       --resource-group $GROUP_NAME \
       --name $EXTENSION_NAME \
       --cluster-type connectedClusters \
       --cluster-name $CLUSTER_NAME \
       --extension-type 'Microsoft.Web.Appservice' \
       --release-train stable \
       --auto-upgrade-minor-version true \
       --scope cluster \
       --release-namespace $NAMESPACE \
       --configuration-settings "Microsoft.CustomLocation.ServiceAccount=default" \
       --configuration-settings "appsNamespace=${NAMESPACE}" \
       --configuration-settings "clusterName=${KUBE_ENVIRONMENT_NAME}" \
       --configuration-settings "keda.enabled=true" \
       --configuration-settings "buildService.storageClassName=default" \
       --configuration-settings "buildService.storageAccessMode=ReadWriteOnce" \
       --configuration-settings "customConfigMap=${NAMESPACE}/kube-environment-config" \
       --configuration-settings "envoy.annotations.service.beta.kubernetes.io/azure-load-balancer-resource-group=${aksClusterGroupName}" \
       --configuration-settings "logProcessor.appLogs.destination=log-analytics" \
       --config-protected-settings "logProcessor.appLogs.logAnalyticsConfig.customerId=${LOG_ANALYTICS_WORKSPACE_ID_ENC}" \
       --config-protected-settings "logProcessor.appLogs.logAnalyticsConfig.sharedKey=${LOG_ANALYTICS_KEY_ENC}"
   

   PowerShell

   az k8s-extension create `
       --resource-group $groupName `
       --name $extensionName `
       --cluster-type connectedClusters `
       --cluster-name $clusterName `
       --extension-type 'Microsoft.Web.Appservice' `
       --release-train stable `
       --auto-upgrade-minor-version true `
       --scope cluster `
       --release-namespace $namespace `
       --configuration-settings "Microsoft.CustomLocation.ServiceAccount=default" `
       --configuration-settings "appsNamespace=${namespace}" `
       --configuration-settings "clusterName=${kubeEnvironmentName}" `
       --configuration-settings "keda.enabled=true" `
       --configuration-settings "buildService.storageClassName=default" `
       --configuration-settings "buildService.storageAccessMode=ReadWriteOnce" `
       --configuration-settings "customConfigMap=${namespace}/kube-environment-config" `
       --configuration-settings "envoy.annotations.service.beta.kubernetes.io/azure-load-balancer-resource-group=${aksClusterGroupName}" `
       --configuration-settings "logProcessor.appLogs.destination=log-analytics" `
       --config-protected-settings "logProcessor.appLogs.logAnalyticsConfig.customerId=${logAnalyticsWorkspaceIdEnc}" `
       --config-protected-settings "logProcessor.appLogs.logAnalyticsConfig.sharedKey=${logAnalyticsKeyEnc}"
   

   Note

   To install the extension without Log Analytics integration, remove the last three --configuration-settings parameters from the command.

   The following table describes the various --configuration-settings parameters when running the command:

   Parameter	Description
   Microsoft.CustomLocation.ServiceAccount	The service account that should be created for the custom location that is created. It is recommended that this be set to the value default.
   appsNamespace	The namespace to provision the app definitions and pods. Must match that of the extension release namespace.
   clusterName	The name of the App Service Kubernetes environment that is created against this extension.
   keda.enabled	Whether KEDA should be installed on the Kubernetes cluster. Accepts true or false.
   buildService.storageClassName	The name of the storage class for the build service to store build artifacts. A value like default specifies a class named default, and not any class that is marked as default. Default is a valid storage class for AKS and AKS HCI but it may not be for other distributions/platforms.
   buildService.storageAccessMode	The access mode to use with the named storage class. Accepts ReadWriteOnce or ReadWriteMany.
   customConfigMap	The name of the config map that will be set by the App Service Kubernetes environment. Currently, it must be <namespace>/kube-environment-config, replacing <namespace> with the value of appsNamespace.
   envoy.annotations.service.beta.kubernetes.io/azure-load-balancer-resource-group	The name of the resource group in which the Azure Kubernetes Service cluster resides. Valid and required only when the underlying cluster is Azure Kubernetes Service.
   logProcessor.appLogs.destination	Optional. Accepts log-analytics or none, choosing none disables platform logs.
   logProcessor.appLogs.logAnalyticsConfig.customerId	Required only when logProcessor.appLogs.destination is set to log-analytics. The base64-encoded Log analytics workspace ID. This parameter should be configured as a protected setting.
   logProcessor.appLogs.logAnalyticsConfig.sharedKey	Required only when logProcessor.appLogs.destination is set to log-analytics. The base64-encoded Log analytics workspace shared key. This parameter should be configured as a protected setting.

3. Save the id property of the App Service extension for later.

   bash

   EXTENSION_ID=$(az k8s-extension show \
       --cluster-type connectedClusters \
       --cluster-name $CLUSTER_NAME \
       --resource-group $GROUP_NAME \
       --name $EXTENSION_NAME \
       --query id \
       --output tsv)
   

   PowerShell

   $extensionId=$(az k8s-extension show `
       --cluster-type connectedClusters `
       --cluster-name $clusterName `
       --resource-group $groupName `
       --name $extensionName `
       --query id `
       --output tsv)
   

4. Wait for the extension to fully install before proceeding. You can have your terminal session wait until this complete by running the following command:

   az resource wait --ids $EXTENSION_ID --custom "properties.installState!='Pending'" --api-version "2020-07-01-preview"
   

You can use kubectl to see the pods created in your Kubernetes cluster:

kubectl get pods -n $NAMESPACE

You can learn more about these pods and their role in the system from Pods created by the App Service extension.

Create a custom location

The custom location in Azure is used to assign the App Service Kubernetes environment.

1. Set the following environment variables for the desired name of the custom location and for the ID of the Azure Arc-connected cluster.

   bash

   CUSTOM_LOCATION_NAME="my-custom-location" # Name of the custom location
   
   CONNECTED_CLUSTER_ID=$(az connectedk8s show --resource-group $GROUP_NAME --name $CLUSTER_NAME --query id --output tsv)
   

   PowerShell

   $customLocationName="my-custom-location" # Name of the custom location
   
   $connectedClusterId=$(az connectedk8s show --resource-group $groupName --name $clusterName --query id --output tsv)
   

2. Create the custom location:

   bash

   az customlocation create \
       --resource-group $GROUP_NAME \
       --name $CUSTOM_LOCATION_NAME \
       --host-resource-id $CONNECTED_CLUSTER_ID \
       --namespace $NAMESPACE \ 
       --cluster-extension-ids $EXTENSION_ID
   

   PowerShell

   az customlocation create `
       --resource-group $groupName `
       --name $customLocationName `
       --host-resource-id $connectedClusterId `
       --namespace $namespace `
       --cluster-extension-ids $extensionId
   

   Note

   If you experience issues creating a custom location on your cluster, you may need to enable the custom location feature on your cluster. This is required if logged into the CLI using a Service Principal or if you are logged in with a Microsoft Entra user with restricted permissions on the cluster resource.

3. Validate that the custom location is successfully created with the following command. The output should show the provisioningState property as Succeeded. If not, run it again after a minute.

   az customlocation show --resource-group $GROUP_NAME --name $CUSTOM_LOCATION_NAME
   

4. Save the custom location ID for the next step.

   bash

   CUSTOM_LOCATION_ID=$(az customlocation show \
       --resource-group $GROUP_NAME \
       --name $CUSTOM_LOCATION_NAME \
       --query id \
       --output tsv)
   

   PowerShell

   $customLocationId=$(az customlocation show `
       --resource-group $groupName `
       --name $customLocationName `
       --query id `
       --output tsv)
   

Create the App Service Kubernetes environment

Before you can start creating apps on the custom location, you need an App Service Kubernetes environment.

1. Create the App Service Kubernetes environment:

   bash

   az appservice kube create \
       --resource-group $GROUP_NAME \
       --name $KUBE_ENVIRONMENT_NAME \
       --custom-location $CUSTOM_LOCATION_ID 
   

   PowerShell

   az appservice kube create `
       --resource-group $groupName `
       --name $kubeEnvironmentName `
       --custom-location $customLocationId       
   

2. Validate that the App Service Kubernetes environment is successfully created with the following command. The output should show the provisioningState property as Succeeded. If not, run it again after a minute.

   az appservice kube show --resource-group $GROUP_NAME --name $KUBE_ENVIRONMENT_NAME
   

Next steps

• Quickstart: Create a web app on Azure Arc
• Create your first function on Azure Arc
• Create your first logic app on Azure Arc