Azure Container Services Docs – Weekly Update (2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11)

AKS – Localdns Custom

Summary

The article has been updated to include new information on the behavior of LocalDNS changes in relation to node auto-provisioning, providing critical guidance for managing node configurations effectively.

AGC – Container Networking

Summary

The documentation now clarifies that Application Gateway for Containers deployed in a virtual network in region A cannot connect to AKS cluster nodes in a separate virtual network in the same region. Additionally, it confirms that Application Gateway for Containers can proxy traffic to clusters using CNI Overlay with Cilium and WireGuard, though WireGuard does not encrypt traffic between the gateway and destination pods. It also states that VNet encryption can be enabled for the virtual network, but it is not utilized for traffic between the gateway and AKS.

AGC – Application Gateway for Containers Components

Summary

The documentation now includes a note emphasizing that if an association is deleted and recreated, it will be treated as a new association under the current NSG enforcement model. Users are advised to configure the necessary NSG allow rules, including the _AzureLoadBalancer_ tag, before recreating the association to prevent frontend connectivity or health probe issues.

AKS – Platform Initiated Upgrades

Summary

This document details how Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) automatically upgrades clusters that remain on unsupported Kubernetes versions after a grace period. It emphasizes the importance of keeping clusters updated to avoid disruptions and outlines the steps to prepare for platform-initiated upgrades.

AGC – Overview

Summary

Updated the document to reflect the latest release date and added new regions for request mirroring, enhancing the documentation’s relevance and accuracy.

AKS – Planned Maintenance

Summary

The documentation now includes details about platform-initiated upgrades for unsupported Kubernetes versions, highlighting that these upgrades can occur outside of scheduled maintenance windows. Users are advised to keep their clusters on supported versions to prevent unexpected upgrades after the 60-day platform support grace period ends.

AKS – Multiple Network Interfaces for Pods Overview

Summary

This overview discusses the multi-NIC pod support in AKS, explaining how to attach secondary network interfaces to pods using Dynamic Resource Allocation (DRA) and the DRAnet network driver. It highlights the benefits, configuration steps, and important considerations for security and network policies.

AKS – Kms Data Encryption

Summary

New instructions have been added for handling the `ReconcileAzureKeyVaultKmsError` error during the `az aks update` command. This includes a command to check if existing secrets can be read and written, enhancing the troubleshooting guidance for users.

AGC – API Specification Kubernetes

Summary

The documentation now includes a new section on `BackendLoadBalancingPolicyTargetRef`, which defines the target reference and ports for the backend load balancing policy, allowing users to specify the API object to apply the policy to and the list of ports where the policy is applied. Additionally, the references to `TargetRefSpec` have been updated to reflect this new structure, enhancing clarity on how to configure backend load balancing policies. Users can now better understand the relationships and configurations necessary for effective policy management in Application Gateway for Containers.

AGC – How to Request Mirroring Gateway API

Summary

This article provides a comprehensive guide on setting up request mirroring using Gateway API with Application Gateway for Containers. It explains how to forward a copy of production traffic to a secondary service for testing without impacting the primary response path.

AGC – Tls Policy

Summary

The documentation now includes a note indicating that the 2023-06 and 2023-06-S TLS policies currently enforce the same cipher sets, with plans for future releases to introduce different cipher sets. This change informs users about upcoming updates that may affect their security configurations.

AKS Arc – AKS Disconnected Operations Preview

Summary

Removed the preview designation from the AKS on Azure Local disconnected operations documentation, indicating that the feature is now generally available. This change enhances clarity for users regarding the status of the feature.

AKS Arc – Create Manage Cluster

Summary

Removed the preview designation from the AKS on Azure Local disconnected operations documentation, indicating that the feature is now generally available. This change improves user understanding of the feature’s status.

AGC – Quickstart Deploy Application Gateway for Containers Alb Controller Addon

Summary

The documentation now includes a note emphasizing that the Application Gateway for Containers AKS add-on is in preview, along with a link to the Supplemental Terms of Use for Azure Previews. Additionally, users are informed that after enabling the add-on, they can provision Application Gateway for Containers resources in Azure, and the verification steps for the ALB Controller installation have been clarified to apply to both new and existing clusters.

AKS – Upgrade Conceptual

Summary

This article includes a note about platform-initiated upgrades, explaining that AKS will attempt a normal drain first but may override Pod Disruption Budgets if necessary to ensure the cluster reaches a supported version.

Fleet – Update Automation

Summary

Documented platform-initiated upgrades for unsupported Kubernetes versions, detailing how auto-upgrade runs honor planned maintenance windows and the implications for member clusters. This enhances user understanding of upgrade processes and maintenance strategies.

Fleet – Concepts Fleet Kubernetes Version Support

Summary

Added a note regarding AI-assisted usage, which may enhance the documentation’s relevance and usability for users leveraging AI tools in their workflows.

AGC – Alb Controller Release Notes

Summary

The documentation now reflects the latest Helm release version 1.12.2, which includes security patches. Additionally, the AKS add-on releases section clarifies the relationship between AKS cluster versions and compatible ALB Controller versions, specifying that AKS versions v1.36.x and later support ALB Controller version v1.11.x. Users can now better understand which versions are compatible with their AKS clusters for optimal functionality.

AKS – Prepare Flex Node Host Identity

Summary

The host requirements for AKS flex nodes have been updated to include support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9 or 10, expanding the compatibility of the service.

AKS – Support Policies

Summary

This article outlines the responsibilities of users to keep their clusters updated according to the AKS Kubernetes support version policy and details the automatic upgrades that occur when a cluster remains on an unsupported version.

AGC – Troubleshooting Guide

Summary

The documentation now reflects that the latest ALB Controller version has been updated to **1.12.1**, replacing the previous version **1.9.13**. Users can find the most current version details in the ALB Controller release notes, ensuring they have access to the latest features and fixes.

AKS – Stop Cluster Upgrade API Breaking Changes

Summary

The documentation now includes important information regarding platform-initiated upgrades for unsupported Kubernetes versions. Users are advised that if their cluster remains on an unsupported version after the grace period, AKS will proceed with upgrades despite any deprecated API usage. It is crucial for users to check and remediate deprecated API usage before the scheduled upgrade month to avoid potential issues.

AKS – Platform Initiated Upgrade Notice

Summary

This notice informs users that starting June 1, 2027, AKS will automatically upgrade clusters that remain on unsupported versions after a grace period. It highlights the potential disruptions and the need for users to update deprecated APIs and incompatible add-ons.

AGC – Service Mesh Integration

Summary

Updated the document to reflect the latest version of the ALB Controller, ensuring users have access to the most current information.

AKS – Egress Outboundtype

Summary

The documentation now clarifies that when selecting `managedNATGateway` or `userAssignedNATGateway` for `outboundType`, AKS will utilize Azure NAT Gateway for cluster egress. Additionally, starting with API version `2026-06-01`, the default SKU for `managedNATGateway` will be `StandardV2` in supported regions, enhancing performance with zone redundancy and higher bandwidth. Users are also informed that migrating from `Standard` to `StandardV2` is possible, but downgrading from `StandardV2` to `Standard` is not supported.

Fleet – Concepts Resource Placement

Summary

The documentation now specifies that starting January 31, 2027, the namespace-specific view in Fleet Manager will only display the selected namespace and its resources, omitting cluster-scoped and cross-namespace references. Additionally, nonempty member-cluster and hub values in drift and difference details will be replaced with `(redacted)`, enhancing security by limiting visibility of sensitive information. Users are advised to update applications reading `ClusterResourcePlacementStatus` to handle these changes appropriately.

AKS – Auto Upgrade Cluster

Summary

This article explains that if a cluster stays on an unsupported version after the grace period, AKS will upgrade it through a platform-initiated upgrade, which can occur outside of the configured maintenance window.

ACR – Container Registry Skus

Summary

The documentation for container registry SKU limits has been updated to clarify the throttling of requests in various operation categories, specifically detailing how requests for MetadataRead and ListReferrers now count against both their respective limits and the DataplaneRead limit. Additionally, the limits for MetadataRead and ListReferrers requests have been increased, allowing users to perform up to 8,000 and 2,000 requests per minute, respectively, per registry, enhancing their ability to manage and retrieve registry data efficiently.

AKS – Roll Back Node Pool Version

Summary

This document clarifies that rolling back a platform-initiated upgrade is not possible, as the previous version will no longer be available once AKS upgrades a cluster off an unsupported version.

ACR – Container Registry Security Overview

Summary

This article provides a comprehensive overview of the Azure Container Registry security model, detailing shared responsibilities, threat surfaces, and defense-in-depth strategies. It emphasizes the importance of identity and access management, network isolation, content integrity, and compliance measures to protect the registry.

Fleet – Update Orchestration

Summary

Updated documentation to include details on platform-initiated upgrades for unsupported Kubernetes versions, emphasizing the importance of planned maintenance windows and how they affect upgrade processes. This provides critical information for managing cluster upgrades effectively.

AKS – Nat Gateway

Summary

The documentation now clarifies that starting with API version 2026-06-01, the `managedNATGateway` defaults to the StandardV2 NAT Gateway SKU, which is now the standard for new clusters in supported regions. Additionally, the `managedNATGatewayV2` outbound type has been removed from the supported options, and users must now utilize `managedNATGateway` or `userAssignedNATGateway`. Users are also informed that existing Standard SKU public IPs are incompatible with the StandardV2 NAT Gateway, necessitating the use of new StandardV2 public IPs for outbound configurations.

AKS – Configure Multiple Network Interfaces for Pods

Summary

This article provides a comprehensive guide on creating an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster with a multi-NIC node pool, detailing prerequisites, installation steps, and configuration for workloads using AKS managed DRAnet. It includes important notes on network interface assignments and limitations.

Arc K8s – Flux Gitops Release Notes

Summary

The October 2026 release notes for `microsoft.flux` version 1.26.1 detail significant updates, including the upgrade of bundled Flux controllers and CRDs to Flux v2.9.6, which enhances Helm release recovery, CRD upgrades, and Azure Blob and Helm repository reconciliation. Users can now configure post-build substitution handling more flexibly, with support for explicit `true` or `false` settings, while also benefiting from improved security through updates addressing vulnerabilities across multiple controllers.

AKS – Upgrade Options

Summary

Introduced a new section on platform-initiated upgrades, explaining their implications and how they bypass maintenance windows. This addition helps users understand the automatic upgrade process and how to maintain control over their cluster’s upgrade timing.

AKS – Node Auto Provisioning Aksnodeclass

Summary

Adds/updates section(s): Update the LocalDNS configuration on an existing AKSNodeClass; When replacement starts; How NAP orchestrates replacement Changes CLI flags: — Adds runnable examples (e.g., kubectl get nodeclaims).

ACR – Container Registry Dashboards with Grafana

Summary

This document introduces the use of prebuilt and customizable Grafana dashboards for Azure Container Registry, detailing how to analyze registry metrics, monitor performance, and troubleshoot issues directly in the Azure portal. It includes instructions for accessing and managing dashboards, as well as prerequisites for using the Grafana experience.

AKS Support – Tunnel Connectivity Issues

Summary

The documentation has been revised to clarify tunnel connectivity troubleshooting in AKS. It includes updated references to the migration of the AKS tunnel component to the Konnectivity service and introduces the API Server VNet Integration feature, which allows nodes to communicate directly with the API server without requiring a tunnel.

AKS – Long Term Support

Summary

The documentation now includes details about platform-initiated upgrades for unsupported Kubernetes versions, clarifying that AKS will automatically upgrade clusters after a 60-day grace period following the LTS end-of-life date. Users are informed that these upgrades do not follow their maintenance window, emphasizing the importance of manual upgrades for timing control. Additionally, it specifies that clusters will not be enrolled in LTS automatically and will remain in their current support tier during upgrades.

ACR – Secure Container Registry

Summary

This document outlines best practices for securing Azure Container Registry, including recommendations for managing access, enforcing security policies, and ensuring compliance. It highlights the significance of using managed identities, disabling anonymous access, and configuring network security to mitigate risks.

AGC – Quickstart Deploy Application Gateway for Containers Alb Controller Helm

Summary

The documentation has been updated to reflect the use of version 1.12.2 for the Application Gateway for Containers Helm chart, replacing previous versions 1.11.3 and 1.12.1 in the deployment commands. Users should now reference version 1.12.2 to ensure they are using the latest features and fixes available for the Application Gateway.

AKS – AKS Desktop Headlamp Plugins

Summary

A new article on using Headlamp plugins in AKS Desktop has been added. It covers installation, management, and troubleshooting of plugins, emphasizing their role in extending cluster management workflows without altering the core AKS desktop installation. The article includes prerequisites, plugin categories, and security practices.

AKS – App Routing Gateway API

Summary

Modified the documentation by removing references to the retirement of ingress-nginx, which may affect users relying on this information for their configurations. This change ensures that users have the most current information regarding the app routing gateway.

Fleet – Concepts Update Orchestration

Summary

This document discusses how Azure Kubernetes Fleet Manager orchestrates upgrades across multiple clusters and details the process of platform-initiated upgrades when a cluster’s Kubernetes version reaches end of life.

AKS – Node Auto Provisioning Disruption

Summary

This document has been updated to clarify the drift behavior of node-level features configured through the AKSNodeClass, enhancing understanding of how changes affect existing nodes.

AKS – Kueue Overview

Summary

This update adds a comprehensive guide for installing and configuring the Kueue extension on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), detailing both the managed extension and open-source Helm chart methods. It emphasizes the importance of Kueue for managing batch workloads and resource admission, providing new insights into its functionalities and installation processes.

Fleet – Concepts Member Cluster Labels

Summary

This article provides a conceptual overview of member cluster labels in Azure Kubernetes Fleet Manager, explaining their purpose, default labels, and how to manage them. It details how to use labels for resource placement, update orchestration, and cross-cluster network membership, along with examples of custom labels and their management through various Azure tools.

AKS – AKS Communication Manager

Summary

The documentation now clarifies that users can set up alerts for upgrade events on an AKS cluster, specifically filtering scheduled events by cluster resource ID. Additionally, it introduces details about platform-initiated upgrades for clusters on unsupported Kubernetes versions, which can occur outside of the planned maintenance window, enhancing user awareness of upgrade processes.

Fleet – Faq

Summary

The documentation now includes a section on the impact of AKS platform-initiated upgrades for unsupported Kubernetes versions. Users are informed that if their cluster remains on an unsupported version after the grace period, it will be upgraded directly by AKS, independent of Fleet Manager update runs or maintenance windows. This emphasizes the importance of keeping member clusters on supported versions to avoid unexpected upgrades.

AKS – Supported Kubernetes Versions

Summary

The documentation now includes details on platform-initiated upgrades for unsupported Kubernetes versions, specifying a 60-day grace period for users to upgrade their clusters before automatic upgrades occur. Users will be notified through Azure Resource Health and other channels when their cluster is scheduled for an upgrade, and they can expect upgrades to the lowest supported version within their current support tier. Additionally, the platform-initiated upgrade column in the Kubernetes version table has been added, indicating planned rollout months for clusters that remain on unsupported versions.

AKS Support – Quota Exceeded Error

Summary

The documentation for the `QuotaExceeded` error in Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) has been revised to clarify the conditions under which this error occurs during upgrades. Users are now informed that the upgrade process may temporarily require additional compute resources, and if the subscription lacks sufficient quota, the upgrade will fail. Additionally, the article now includes detailed steps for identifying exceeded quotas, checking current quota usage, and requesting a quota increase, along with specific Azure CLI commands for reconciling the AKS cluster or node pool after a quota increase.

AKS – Configure Queues with Automatic Resource Flavors

Summary

A new guide has been added that simplifies workload queueing and prioritization on AKS using managed Kueue. It covers how to configure queues with default workload priority classes and introduces managed resource flavors, enhancing the management of workloads in AKS.

AKS – AKS Model Context Protocol Server

Summary

The AKS MCP server is now fully open-source, with updated information reflecting the latest release. The article includes installation instructions, configuration options, and details on using Workload Identity and OAuth for authentication, emphasizing the importance of permissions and RBAC in managing access to Azure resources.