Maximizing Your Windows Server Licenses on Azure Kubernetes Service

Are you running Windows-based workloads in the cloud? If so, you may be able to save a significant amount on your Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) costs by taking advantage of the Azure Hybrid Benefit program.

Azure Hybrid Benefit is a licensing program that allows you to use your existing on-premises Windows Server licenses on Azure virtual machines, including those running in AKS. By leveraging this benefit, you can reduce the per-hour cost of your Windows-based AKS nodes, helping you optimize your cloud spending.

How Does Azure Hybrid Benefit Work?

The Azure Hybrid Benefit program is designed to help customers maximize the value of their on-premises Windows Server licenses. If you have active Software Assurance (SA) coverage or a qualifying subscription for your Windows Server licenses, you can apply those licenses to VMs running in Azure, including AKS nodes.

This means that instead of paying the full price for a new Windows Server license on Azure, you only pay the base compute rate, which can result in significant cost savings. According to Microsoft, customers can save up to 40% on the cost of Windows virtual machines in Azure by using the Azure Hybrid Benefit.

Enabling Azure Hybrid Benefit for AKS

You can enable Azure Hybrid Benefit for AKS either during cluster creation or on an existing cluster. The process is straightforward, and you can use either the Azure CLI or Azure PowerShell to manage the Hybrid Benefit setting.

Here’s an example of how to enable Azure Hybrid Benefit when creating a new AKS cluster using the Azure CLI:

PASSWORD='tempPassword1234$'
RG_NAME='myResourceGroup'
CLUSTER='myAKSCluster'

az aks create 
    --resource-group $RG_NAME 
    --name $CLUSTER 
    --load-balancer-sku Standard 
    --network-plugin azure 
    --windows-admin-username azure 
    --windows-admin-password $PASSWORD 
    --enable-ahub 
    --generate-ssh-keys

And here’s an example of how to enable it on an existing AKS cluster using Azure PowerShell:

$rg_name = "myResourceGroup"
$cluster = "myAKSCluster"

Get-AzAksCluster -ResourceGroupName $rg_name -Name $cluster | Set-AzAksCluster -EnableAHUB

For more detailed instructions and examples, be sure to check out the official Microsoft documentation on Azure Hybrid Benefit for AKS.

Optimizing Your Windows Containers on AKS

In addition to leveraging Azure Hybrid Benefit, there are other ways you can optimize your Windows-based workloads running on AKS. For example, you can explore third-party partner solutions for Windows on AKS or learn more about deploying, managing, and monitoring Windows containers on AKS.

By taking advantage of Azure Hybrid Benefit and other optimization strategies, you can significantly reduce the costs of running your Windows-based applications on Azure Kubernetes Service.

[Source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MicrosoftDocs/azure-docs/main/articles/aks/azure-hybrid-benefit.md]