Quickstart: Create a service connection in an AKS cluster from the Azure portal (preview)

Get started with Service Connector by using the Azure portal to create a new service connection in an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster.

Important

Service Connect within AKS is currently in preview. See the Supplemental Terms of Use for Microsoft Azure Previews for legal terms that apply to Azure features that are in beta, preview, or otherwise not yet released into general availability.

Prerequisites

• An Azure account with an active subscription. Create an account for free.
• An AKS cluster in a region supported by Service Connector. If you don't have one yet, create an AKS cluster.

Sign in to Azure

Sign in to the Azure portal at https://portal.azure.com/ with your Azure account.

Create a new service connection in AKS cluster

1. To create a new service connection in AKS cluster, select the Search resources, services and docs (G +/) search bar at the top of the Azure portal, type AKS, and select Kubernetes services.

2. Select the AKS cluster you want to connect to a target resource.

3. Select Service Connector from the left table of contents. Then select Create.

4. Select or enter the following settings.

   Setting	Example	Description
   Kubernetes namespace	default	The namespace where you need the connection in the cluster.
   Service type	Storage - Blob	The target service type. If you don't have a Microsoft Blob Storage, you can create one or use another service type.
   Connection name	my_connection	The connection name that identifies the connection between your AKS cluster and target service. Use the connection name provided by Service Connector or choose your own connection name.
   Subscription	My subscription	The subscription for your target service (the service you want to connect to). The default value is the subscription for this AKS cluster.
   Storage account	my_storage_account	The target storage account you want to connect to. Target service instances to choose from vary according to the selected service type.
   Client type	python	The code language or framework you use to connect to the target service.

5. Select Next: Authentication to choose an authentication method.

   Workload identity (recommended)

   Select Workload identity to authenticate through Microsoft Entra workload identity to one or more instances of an Azure service. Then select a user-assigned managed identity to enable workload identity.

   Service principal

   Select Service principal to use a service principal that defines the access policy and permissions for the user/application.

   Connection string

   Warning

   Microsoft recommends that you use the most secure authentication flow available. The authentication flow described in this procedure requires a very high degree of trust in the application, and carries risks that are not present in other flows. You should only use this flow when other more secure flows, such as managed identities, aren't viable.

   Select Connection string to generate or configure one or multiple key-value pairs with pure secrets or tokens.

6. Select Next: Networking to configure the network access to your target service and select Configure firewall rules to enable access to your target service.

7. Select Next: Review + Create to review the provided information. Then select Create to create the service connection. This operation may take a minute to complete.

View service connections in AKS cluster

1. The Service Connector tab displays existing connections in this cluster.
2. Select Network View to see all the service connections in a network topology view.

Update your container

Now that you created a connection between your AKS cluster and target service, you need to retrieve the connection secrets and deploy them in your container.

1. In the Azure portal, navigate to your AKS cluster resource and select Service Connector (Preview).

2. Select the newly created connection, and then select YAML snippet. This action opens a panel displaying a sample YAML file generated by Service Connector.

3. To set the connection secrets as environment variables in your container, you have two options:

   • Directly create a deployment using the YAML sample code snippet provided. The snippet includes highlighted sections showing the secret object that will be injected as the environment variables. Select Apply to proceed with this method.

     

   • Alternatively, under Resource Type, select Kubernetes Workload, and then select an existing Kubernetes workload. This action sets the secret object of your new connection as the environment variables for the selected workload. After selecting the workload, select Apply.

     

Next steps

Follow the following tutorials to start connecting to Azure services on AKS cluster with Service Connector.

Tutorial: Connect to Azure Key Vault using CSI driver

Tutorial: Connect to Azure Storage using workload identity