Building a complete Kubernetes operational environment is hard work! __AKS Accelerator__ dramatically speeds up this work by providing the templates and deployment scripts to quickly create a __fully configured__, Kubernetes environment, tailored to meet your operational and security needs, ready to run your workloads in production.
IaC (Infrastructure as Code) code files have been modularised into their component areas. [Main.bicep](bicep/main.bicep) references them and they are expected to be present in the same directory. The Deployment Helper leverages an Arm json compiled version of all the bicep files.
Releases are used to version the bicep code files, they can be leveraged directly for use in your project or you can opt to Fork the repo if you prefer.
A number of [GitHub actions](https://github.com/Azure/AKS-Construction/tree/main/.github/workflows) are used in the repo that run on push/pr/schedules. These can be copied into your own repo and customised for your CI/CD pipeline. A robust deployment pipeline is essential when coordinating the deployment of multiple Azure services that work together, additionally there is configuration that cannot be set in the template and that needs to be automated (and tested) consistently.
| Starter cluster | [StandardCI.yml](https://github.com/Azure/AKS-Construction/blob/main/.github/workflows/StandardCI.yml) | [ESLZ Sandbox](.github/workflows_dep/AksDeploy-Basic.parameters.json) | [](https://github.com/Azure/AKS-Construction/actions/workflows/StandardCI.yml) | A simple deployment example, good for first time users of this project to start with |
| Private cluster | [ByoVnetPrivateCI.yml](https://github.com/Azure/Aks-Construction/blob/main/.github/workflows/ByoVnetPrivateCI.yml) | [ESLZ Byo private vnet](.github/workflows_dep/AksDeploy-ByoVnetPrivate.parameters.json) | [](https://github.com/Azure/AKS-Construction/actions/workflows/ByoVnetPrivateCI.yml)| A private AKS cluster that deploys a vnet with private link services. |
For a more in depth look at the GitHub Actions used in this project, which steps are performed and the different CI practices they demonstrate, please refer to [this page](docs/GhActions.md).
This project unifies guidance provided by the [AKS Secure Baseline](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/reference-architectures/containers/aks/secure-baseline-aks), [Well Architected Framework](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/framework/), [Cloud Adoption Framework](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/cloud-adoption-framework/) and [Enterprise-Scale](https://github.com/Azure/Enterprise-Scale) by providing tangible artifacts to deploy Azure resources from CLI or CI/CD systems.
The AKS Bicep Accelerator is part of the official [AKS Landing Zone Accelerator (Enterprise Scale)](https://github.com/Azure/AKS-Landing-Zone-Accelerator) architectural approach. To read more about this project and how the AKS Bicep Accelerator fits with Enterprise Scale and the AKS Secure Baseline, look [here](referencearchs.md).
The guiding principal we have with this project is to focus on the the *downstream use* of the project (see [releases](https://github.com/Azure/AKS-Construction/releases)). As such, these are our specific practices.
1. Deploy all components through a single, modular, idempotent bicep template Converge on a single bicep template, which can easily be consumed as a module
2. Provide best-practice defaults, then use parameters for different environment deployments
3. Minimise "manual" steps for ease of automation
4. Maintain quality through validation & CI/CD pipelines that also serve as working samples/docs
5. Focus on AKS and supporting services, linking to other repos to solve; Demo apps / Developer workstations / Jumpboxes / CI Build Agents / Certificate Authorities
