AzureHow-ToBeginner · 4 min read

How to Use AKS with ACR: Simple Steps to Connect Azure Kubernetes Service with Azure Container Registry

To use AKS with ACR, you must grant your AKS cluster permission to pull images from your ACR by attaching the ACR to the AKS service principal or managed identity. Then, configure your Kubernetes deployments to reference container images stored in your ACR using the full registry login server name.

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Syntax

Here is the basic syntax to connect AKS with ACR using Azure CLI commands:

az aks update --name <aks-cluster-name> --resource-group <resource-group> --attach-acr <acr-name>: Grants AKS permission to pull images from ACR.
image: <acr-login-server>/<repository>:<tag>: Specifies the container image in Kubernetes manifests.

bash and yaml

az aks update --name myAKSCluster --resource-group myResourceGroup --attach-acr myACR

# Kubernetes deployment snippet
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: myapp
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: myapp
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: myapp
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: myapp
        image: myacr.azurecr.io/myapp:v1
        ports:
        - containerPort: 80

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Example

This example shows how to connect an AKS cluster to an ACR and deploy a pod using an image from that ACR.

bash and yaml

# Step 1: Attach ACR to AKS
az aks update --name myAKSCluster --resource-group myResourceGroup --attach-acr myACR

# Step 2: Create a Kubernetes deployment YAML file (deployment.yaml)
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: nginx-deployment
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: nginx
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: nginx
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: nginx
        image: myacr.azurecr.io/nginx:latest
        ports:
        - containerPort: 80

# Step 3: Apply the deployment
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml

# Step 4: Verify the pod is running
kubectl get pods

Output

deployment.apps/nginx-deployment created NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE nginx-deployment-xxxxxxxxxx-xxxxx 1/1 Running 0 30s

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Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when using AKS with ACR include:

Not attaching the ACR to the AKS cluster, causing image pull errors.
Using the wrong ACR login server name in the image reference.
Forgetting to update Kubernetes manifests after changing image tags.
Not having proper Azure role assignments for AKS to access ACR.

Always verify the AKS cluster has the acrpull role on the ACR resource.

bash

## Wrong: Missing ACR attachment
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
# Error: ImagePullBackOff

## Right: Attach ACR before deployment
az aks update --name myAKSCluster --resource-group myResourceGroup --attach-acr myACR
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml

📊

Quick Reference

Command / Concept	Description
az aks update --attach-acr	Grants AKS permission to pull images from ACR
ACR login server	Used in image references, e.g., myacr.azurecr.io/myimage:tag
kubectl apply -f	Deploys Kubernetes manifests using images from ACR
Role assignment	AKS needs 'acrpull' role on ACR for image access

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Key Takeaways

Attach your ACR to your AKS cluster using 'az aks update --attach-acr' to allow image pulls.

Use the full ACR login server name in your Kubernetes image references.

Verify AKS has the 'acrpull' role assigned on your ACR to avoid image pull errors.

Update Kubernetes manifests with correct image tags after pushing new images to ACR.

Check pod status with 'kubectl get pods' to confirm successful deployment.