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Containers
premium
Kubernetes Version
Kubernetes Version is the control plane and node version level that determines supported Kubernetes APIs, feature availability, security patches, and upgrade requirements for a cluster.
AKS lifecycle
Intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
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Containers
premium
AKS managed identity
An AKS managed identity is a Microsoft Entra identity that an AKS cluster uses to manage Azure resources without stored service principal secrets.
AKS identity
Intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Kubernetes Service managed identity, aks managed identity
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Containers
premium
AKS add-on
An AKS add-on is a Microsoft-supported capability that can be enabled on an Azure Kubernetes Service cluster to add functionality such as monitoring, policy, ingress, or security integration, with installation and lifecycle managed through AKS.
Azure Kubernetes Service
fundamentals
3 commands
Aliases: AKS addon, Azure Kubernetes Service add-on, managed AKS integration, AKS integration
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Containers
premium
AKS cluster
Microsoft Learn describes Azure Kubernetes Service as a managed Kubernetes service for deploying and managing containerized applications. An AKS cluster provides the managed Kubernetes control plane, node pools, networking, identity, scaling, and Azure integration points for running containers in Azure production environments.
Azure Kubernetes Service
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Kubernetes cluster, AKS managed cluster, Kubernetes cluster in Azure
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Containers
premium
AKS ingress controller
Microsoft Learn explains AKS ingress through Kubernetes ingress resources and controllers that route HTTP or HTTPS traffic to services in a cluster. AKS application routing options can configure ingress controllers, DNS integration, TLS handling, and related networking components for production applications.
AKS networking
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: AKS ingress, Ingress controller for AKS, Kubernetes ingress controller
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Containers
premium
AKS Linux node pool
An AKS Linux node pool is a group of Linux-based nodes with shared configuration that runs Kubernetes workloads in an AKS cluster. Node pools let teams separate system components, application workloads, VM sizes, zones, scaling behavior, taints, labels, and upgrade settings.
AKS compute
Intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Kubernetes Service Linux node pool, aks linux node pool
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Containers
premium
AKS maintenance window
An AKS maintenance window is a planned maintenance configuration that controls when AKS starts certain cluster and node image upgrade operations. It helps teams align automatic upgrades and maintenance-sensitive changes with approved business windows, while Azure platform maintenance for underlying infrastructure remains separate.
AKS operations
Intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Kubernetes Service maintenance window, aks maintenance window
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Containers
premium
AKS network policy
An AKS network policy is a Kubernetes traffic-control policy used to restrict pod communication in Azure Kubernetes Service.
AKS networking
Intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Kubernetes Service network policy, aks network policy
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Containers
premium
AKS node
Microsoft Learn explains that AKS nodes are the virtual machines that run your containerized applications, grouped into node pools with the same configuration. System node pools host core cluster pods, while user node pools typically host application workloads and can differ by size, operating system, taints, or purpose.
AKS compute
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: AKS cluster node, Kubernetes node in AKS, AKS VM node
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Containers
premium
AKS private cluster
Microsoft Learn describes a private AKS cluster as an Azure Kubernetes Service cluster whose API server uses internal IP addresses and Private Link-based connectivity. The design keeps control-plane traffic between the API server and node pools on private networking, with DNS configuration required for administrators and automation.
AKS networking
advanced
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Kubernetes Service private cluster, aks private cluster
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Containers
premium
AKS Azure Policy add-on
The AKS Azure Policy add-on integrates Azure Policy with an AKS cluster so policy assignments can audit or enforce Kubernetes rules through in-cluster policy components and report compliance back to Azure Policy.
Azure Kubernetes Service
intermediate
3 commands
Aliases: Azure Policy add-on for AKS, AKS policy add-on, Gatekeeper add-on, Azure Policy for Kubernetes
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Containers
premium
AKS cluster upgrade
An AKS cluster upgrade moves an AKS cluster and its node pools to a newer supported Kubernetes version or updates node images after checking available versions, planning surge capacity, and validating workload readiness.
Azure Kubernetes Service
intermediate
3 commands
Aliases: AKS upgrade, Kubernetes version upgrade, AKS node upgrade, cluster version upgrade
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Containers
premium
AKS GitOps
AKS GitOps uses Git as the source of truth for Kubernetes configuration and application deployment, commonly through the Microsoft Flux extension, so AKS clusters continuously reconcile to the desired state declared in a repository.
Azure Kubernetes Service
intermediate
3 commands
Aliases: GitOps for AKS, Flux on AKS, microsoft.flux extension, AKS Flux configuration
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Containers
premium
AKS horizontal pod autoscaler
The AKS Horizontal Pod Autoscaler is the Kubernetes HPA capability used in AKS to automatically change the number of pod replicas for a workload based on observed metrics such as CPU, memory, or custom metrics.
Azure Kubernetes Service scaling
intermediate
3 commands
Aliases: HPA on AKS, horizontal pod autoscaler, Kubernetes HPA, pod autoscaling
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Containers
premium
AKS Windows node pool
An AKS Windows node pool is a group of Windows Server worker nodes in an AKS cluster, used to run Windows container workloads while Linux pools continue to host core Kubernetes system components.
AKS
intermediate
3 commands
Aliases: Windows node pool, Windows Server node pool, AKS Windows containers
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Storage
premium
Blob lifecycle rule
A blob lifecycle rule is one rule inside a lifecycle management policy that filters blobs and applies actions such as tiering or deletion after defined conditions are met.
Blob Storage
intermediate
3 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
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Containers
field-manual-complete
AKS cluster autoscaler
The AKS cluster autoscaler changes how many Kubernetes nodes are available in an Azure Kubernetes Service cluster. When pods are waiting because there is not enough room, it can add nodes to a node pool. When nodes sit underused, it can remove them safely after checks. It is not the same as scaling application replicas; it scales the infrastructure those replicas land on. Good settings keep workloads moving without leaving expensive virtual machines idle all week.
Azure Kubernetes Service
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: cluster autoscaler, AKS node autoscaler, node pool autoscaler, CA on AKS
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Containers
field-manual-complete
AKS network plugin
An AKS network plugin is the networking choice that decides how Kubernetes pods get IP addresses and how traffic moves inside an Azure Kubernetes Service cluster.
AKS networking
Intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Kubernetes Service network plugin, aks network plugin
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Containers
field-manual-complete
AKS node image
An AKS node image is the AKS-tested operating system image used by cluster nodes. Microsoft regularly publishes updated node images with security fixes, component updates, and bug fixes, and teams can upgrade node images separately from Kubernetes minor version upgrades.
AKS operations
Intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: AKS node image, aks-node-image, aks-cluster, aks-node, node-pool, aks-cluster-upgrade, aks-maintenance-window, kubernetes-version, aks-linux-node-pool, aks-windows-node-pool, node-image-upgrade, automatic-os-image-upgrade
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Containers
field-manual-complete
AKS workload identity
AKS workload identity lets a pod sign in to Azure as an approved identity without storing a password, client secret, or long-lived key inside the container. You connect a Kubernetes service account to a Microsoft Entra application or managed identity through federation. When the pod runs, Azure trusts the service account token from the cluster OIDC issuer and issues access tokens for allowed resources. The result is cleaner secret handling for applications running in AKS.
AKS Identity
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Microsoft Entra Workload ID for AKS, pod workload identity, AKS OIDC federation
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Storage
field-manual-complete
Lifecycle management rule
Microsoft Learn describes lifecycle policy rules as named definitions with filters and actions. A rule selects blobs by type, prefix, or index tags, then transitions or deletes current versions, previous versions, or snapshots according to age and lifecycle conditions.
Azure Storage
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
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Management and Governance
verified
Resource lifecycle
Resource lifecycle is the story of what happens to an Azure resource from the moment someone asks for it until it is retired. It includes naming, approval, deployment, ownership, tagging, access, monitoring, patching, scaling, cost review, backup, policy compliance, change control, and cleanup. The point is not paperwork. The point is knowing who owns the resource, why it exists, what depends on it, how it changes safely, and when it should be removed. Without that trail, every later change becomes slower and riskier.
Operational hygiene
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: Cloud resource lifecycle, Resource retirement lifecycle
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Storage
field-manual-complete
Storage lifecycle management
Policy-based automation that tiers or deletes Azure Blob Storage data as it ages or changes use.
Storage lifecycle
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Blob lifecycle management, storage account lifecycle policy, blob lifecycle management policy, storage retention tiering policy
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Storage
field-manual-complete
Storage lifecycle rule
One rule in a Blob Storage lifecycle policy that filters blobs and applies tiering or deletion actions.
Storage lifecycle
intermediate
5 commands
Aliases: blob lifecycle rule, Azure Storage lifecycle rule, lifecycle policy rule, storage tiering rule, lifecycle management policy rule
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Containers
strict-validated
AKS service mesh
AKS service mesh is a service-to-service traffic layer for AKS workloads, commonly delivered through the Istio-based add-on for traffic management, mTLS, and telemetry.
AKS networking
Advanced
5 commands
Aliases: Azure Kubernetes Service service mesh, aks service mesh
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Storage
complete
Storage account lifecycle management
A storage feature or access model in Storage accounts that helps teams store, protect, move, and govern application or analytics data with clearer ownership, safety, and operational context.
Storage accounts
advanced
5 commands
Aliases: blob lifecycle management, storage lifecycle policy, Azure Storage management policy, blob tiering policy
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AI and Machine Learning
field-manual-ready
Model lifecycle
Model lifecycle is the full operating path from model idea and training through evaluation, deployment, monitoring, retraining, retirement, and replacement.
Microsoft Foundry
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
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Containers
field-manual-complete
AKS egress
AKS egress is outbound network traffic from AKS nodes or workloads to destinations outside the pod or cluster network. AKS egress behavior is shaped by outbound type choices such as load balancer, NAT Gateway, or user-defined routes.
Azure Kubernetes Service networking
intermediate
3 commands
Aliases: AKS outbound traffic, cluster egress, AKS outbound type, pod egress
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Containers
strict-validated
AKS control plane
The AKS control plane is the Azure-managed Kubernetes API and orchestration layer that coordinates cluster state, authentication, upgrades, and communication with worker nodes.
Azure Kubernetes Service
fundamentals
3 commands
Aliases: Kubernetes control plane, AKS managed control plane, AKS API server, managed Kubernetes API
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Storage
field-manual-complete
Lifecycle management
Microsoft Learn describes Azure Blob Storage lifecycle management as policies with automated rules for moving blobs between hot, cool, cold, and archive tiers or deleting data at the end of its lifecycle. Rules help manage cost as access patterns change.
Blob Storage
fundamentals
2 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
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Containers
premium
Azure Container Registry
A managed private registry service for building, storing, and managing container images and OCI artifacts for container deployments.
Container images
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: ACR
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AI and Machine Learning
premium
Azure Machine Learning
Azure Machine Learning is a cloud service for managing the machine learning lifecycle, including workspaces, data, training jobs, model deployment, monitoring, and MLOps.
Machine learning operations
advanced
5 commands
Aliases: Azure ML, AML, Machine Learning workspace
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Containers
premium
Pod
A pod is the smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes. In AKS, a pod runs one or more containers that share network identity, storage volumes, lifecycle, and scheduling context on a node, while higher-level controllers manage creation, replacement, scaling, and recovery behavior.
Kubernetes
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: Kubernetes pod, AKS pod, container pod
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Management and Governance
learning-path-anchor
Tag value
A tag value is the answer attached to a tag name. If the tag name is Environment, the value might be Production, Test, or Sandbox. If the name is CostCenter, the value might be a finance code. Values are where governance becomes meaningful, because they separate one owner, workload, data class, or lifecycle state from another. A good value is standardized, approved, and easy to query. A bad value is free-text chaos: prod, production, PROD, live, and critical all trying to mean the same thing.
Tags and naming
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: tag values, Azure tag value, resource tag value, tag metadata value
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Management and Governance
learning-path-anchor
Tagging strategy
A tagging strategy is the playbook for using tags without making a mess. It answers simple but important questions: which tags are required, who owns the list, which values are allowed, where tags are applied, and what happens when a resource is missing one. Without a strategy, tags become random notes. With a strategy, tags become a dependable system for cost allocation, ownership, lifecycle cleanup, compliance evidence, and operational routing. The best strategies are small enough to follow and strict enough to m
Tags and naming
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: Azure tagging strategy, tag governance strategy, tag taxonomy, resource tagging standard
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Management and Governance
learning-path-anchor
Tags
Tags are labels you attach to Azure things so people and tools can understand what they are for. A tag has a name and a value, such as Owner=DataPlatform or Environment=Prod. Tags do not make a virtual machine faster, secure a database, or change a web app setting. They make the estate easier to organize, report on, govern, and automate. Useful tags answer questions the business actually asks: who owns this, what does it support, what environment is it, and who pays for it?
Tags and naming
advanced
5 commands
Aliases: Azure tags, resource tags, name-value tags, Azure metadata tags
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Monitoring and Observability
learning-path-anchor
Telemetry events
Telemetry events are breadcrumbs that say something meaningful happened in an application. They are different from raw logs because they usually have a clear event name and structured properties. A checkout completed, a document uploaded, a feature flag changed, or a device registered can all be telemetry events. In Azure Monitor Application Insights, these events help teams understand behavior, investigate incidents, and measure product outcomes. Good events are intentional, consistently named, and tied to the que
Application data
advanced
5 commands
Aliases: event telemetry, custom events, Application Insights events, Azure Monitor events
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Storage
learning-path-anchor
Time-based retention
Time-based retention in Azure Blob Storage is an immutability policy that keeps blob data in a write-once, read-many state for a specified retention interval. It can be applied at container or version scope to protect records from modification or deletion until the retention period expires.
Blob Storage
fundamentals
5 commands
Aliases: Time-based retention, time based retention, Azure Time-based retention, Microsoft Learn Time-based retention, immutability policy, WORM retention, immutable blob retention, retention days, container immutability policy
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Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Databricks MLflow
The managed MLflow experience in Azure Databricks for experiments, runs, metrics, artifacts, model lineage, and MLOps evidence.
Databricks
fundamentals
4 commands
Aliases: MLflow on Databricks, Databricks experiment tracking, MLflow tracking
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Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Databricks schema
A Unity Catalog namespace under a catalog that groups tables, views, volumes, models, functions, and permissions.
Databricks
fundamentals
4 commands
Aliases: Unity Catalog schema, Databricks database schema, schema in Unity Catalog
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Analytics
learning-path-anchor
Databricks table
A governed Databricks data object, commonly managed, external, or foreign, queried through Unity Catalog and optimized for analytics.
Databricks
fundamentals
4 commands
Aliases: Unity Catalog table, Delta table in Databricks, Databricks managed table
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Containers
learning-path-anchor
System node pool
A system node pool is the AKS worker pool that keeps the cluster itself functioning. It hosts core Kubernetes and AKS add-on pods such as DNS, networking agents, metrics, and connectivity components. You can technically run application pods there, but experienced teams avoid that because noisy workloads can starve the services that make the...
Azure Kubernetes Service
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: AKS system pool, system mode node pool, AKS platform node pool, kube-system node pool
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Identity
learning-path-anchor
System-assigned managed identity
A system-assigned managed identity lets one Azure resource authenticate without a stored password, client secret, or certificate managed by your app team. You turn it on for a resource such as a web app, function, virtual machine, data factory, or automation account. Azure creates an identity for that resource, and the resource can request...
Managed identities
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: system assigned identity, resource managed identity, SystemAssigned identity, managed service identity
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Databases
learning-path-anchor
Time to live
Time to live in Azure Cosmos DB automatically expires items after a configured number of seconds. TTL can be set at the container level and overridden per item, helping teams remove stale operational data, limit storage growth, and keep queries focused on current records.
Azure Cosmos DB
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: Time to live, time to live, Azure Time to live, Microsoft Learn Time to live, TTL, Cosmos DB TTL, defaultTtl, item expiration, container TTL
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Databases
learning-path-anchor
Cosmos DB emulator
The Azure Cosmos DB emulator provides a local environment that emulates Azure Cosmos DB for development and testing without requiring a cloud account.
Azure Cosmos DB
fundamentals
3 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
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Databases
premium
Change feed processor
A database capability or setting in Azure Cosmos DB that helps teams store, query, scale, secure, and recover application data with clearer ownership, safety, and operational context.
Azure Cosmos DB
fundamentals
15 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
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Databases
command-rich
Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL
Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL is a managed PostgreSQL service with Citus distributed tables, currently on a retirement path and not recommended for new projects.
Data platform
intermediate
4 commands
Aliases: No aliases yet
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Compute
premium
Azure Functions
Azure Functions is Azure serverless compute for running code from triggers such as HTTP requests, queues, timers, events, and service integrations without managing servers.
Serverless compute
intermediate
6 commands
Aliases: Functions, Function App, serverless functions
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Containers
premium
Azure Kubernetes Service
Azure Kubernetes Service is Azure’s managed Kubernetes service for deploying, scaling, and operating containerized applications while Azure manages much of the cluster control plane.
Managed Kubernetes
advanced
6 commands
Aliases: AKS, managed Kubernetes
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Hybrid and Multicloud
premium
Azure Local
Azure Local is Microsoft’s distributed infrastructure solution that extends Azure capabilities to customer-owned environments for local VMs, containers, and selected Azure services through Azure Arc.
Distributed infrastructure
advanced
6 commands
Aliases: Azure Stack HCI, Azure Local infrastructure, Arc-enabled local infrastructure
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