AKS folks: this Azure Policy update is worth a look. Validation now runs natively in the API server with CEL + VAP, so admission is faster and fail-close is stronger. You still get Azure Policy governance at scale. Big win for platform teams. buff.ly/1ztFYGf #Azure #AKS #Kubernetes #AzurePolicy

Introducing Kubernetes-Native Policy Validation with CEL and VAP in Azure Policy | Microsoft Community Hub

Azure Policy for Kubernetes now supports Gatekeeper’s integration with native Kubernetes Validating Admission Policy (VAP) using Common Expression...

techcommunity.microsoft.com

AKS upgrades blocking on PDB evictions is one of those problems that seems simple until you are staring at a stuck node drain at exactly the wrong moment. 😅 Microsoft has shipped Automatic PDB Management for AKS in preview. New post covering how it works and what to test. 🔗 buff.ly/M1Ed4rX #AKS

KubeBuddy v0.0.35 + Headlamp plugin v0.3.0 are out. 20 new Kubernetes checks, taking KubeBuddy to 126 Kubernetes checks, plus 43 AKS and 28 GKE checks. New Risk Paths correlate findings into direct and chained risk areas so you know what to fix first. kubebuddy.io

Ever had AKS reimage your nodes mid-business-hours because of a config change and had no say in the matter? 🙃 AKS Node Disruption Policy is now in preview and fixes that. New post 👇 buff.ly/ubqyyzf #AKS #Azure #Kubernetes

Bicep 0.45.6 added ociEnabled. I used it to distribute modules via ACR tokens. Access revokes the moment the contract ends. The routing rule makes it harder than it should be. New post on the workaround. buff.ly/JBWDXn1

New AKS extension in preview: Inspektor Gadget for AKS. eBPF-powered troubleshooting for DNS, processes, network connections, dropped packets, and more, with Kubernetes context built in. Worth a look 👇 buff.ly/bC4oPhK #Azure #AKS #Kubernetes #eBPF

Tried the AI work-life sketch trend. Apparently my career can be summarised as: Azure + Kubernetes + automation + open source + writing + speaking + building things + helping customers. Fair enough. AI created the picture in minutes. The experience behind it took a few more years.

I shipped two Headlamp plugins and wrote up exactly what they do, why I built them, and how to get them running. One scans your cluster for issues without touching any cluster config. One builds branded themes in the browser. Blog post 👇 buff.ly/aOOBA1a #Kubernetes #Headlamp #KubeBuddy

KubeBuddy v0.0.31 is live, now with the first KubeBuddy Headlamp plugin. Run Kubernetes health checks directly in Headlamp with cluster score, priority findings, section breakdowns, namespace exclusions, and CSV/JSON export. buff.ly/xr1nwsz #Kubernetes #Headlamp #CloudNative

🚀 Microsoft shipped cert-manager as an Arc Kubernetes extension. The docs say Arc-enabled clusters only. 🤔 I pointed it at a normal AKS cluster instead. Turns out the docs are... conservative. 👀 Full walkthrough including Gateway API + Let's Encrypt end-to-end 🔐: buff.ly/6p1xWAv

The AKS docs explain features well. What I wanted to write was a guide to the trade-offs, production mistakes, and decisions that actually shape your cluster over time. That’s The AKS Book. Kindle UK: buff.ly/znFbjzN #AKS #CloudNative

Most AKS problems don’t start during an outage. They start on day one with networking, identity, scaling, and cost decisions. The AKS Book is the practical guide I wish I’d had years ago. Paperback UK: buff.ly/gcEbVyy #AKS #Azure

AKS is easy to create. Living with the wrong decisions is the hard part. I wrote The AKS Book for the choices that are hard to reverse, expensive to get wrong, or painful in production. Kindle US: buff.ly/gvXREtr #AKS #Azure #Kubernetes

AKS managedNATGatewayV2 is now in public preview. Zone-redundant egress by default, IPv6 outbound, and flow logs. The catch: your outbound IP model is locked at cluster creation and migration to V2 is a one-way door. Full post with Bicep and CLI examples: buff.ly/gtiCFlB

🚀 KubeBuddy v0.0.29 is out! GKE is now fully supported — 22 new best practice checks, live scanning with --gke, and Google Managed Prometheus support built in. 🎉 kubebuddy.io #Kubernetes #GKE #CloudNative

KubeBuddy v0.0.28 is out 🚀 Now fully Go-native with native binaries, AKS + Prometheus support, AI/Radar integration, reports, AKS Automatic Migration Readiness, and a new TUI. No PowerShell runtime, az, kubectl, or kubelogin in the active path. kubebuddy.io

Microsoft just shipped Container Network Insight Agent for AKS in public preview. AI-powered network diagnostics inside your cluster. Describe the problem in plain English, get root cause analysis and exact fix commands back. Full walkthrough: buff.ly/lHSUEHw #AKS #Azure #Kubernetes

🚀 The AKS Book is live on Kindle! 17 chapters. Every production AKS decision that matters. Not a tutorial, a decision guide. Foreword by Brendan Burns, co-creator of Kubernetes. Paperback live on Monday. 📖 buff.ly/EURIa27 #AKS #Azure #Kubernetes

KubeBuddy v0.0.24 is live 🚀 Big updates in this release: 📈 Prometheus rightsizing insights (PROM006/PROM007) for nodes and pods, helping you tune CPU/memory requests and limits using real usage trends. If you’re running Kubernetes/AKS, give it a try and tell us what you want next 🙌 kubebuddy.io

With NGINX Ingress retirement hitting next month, a lot of people are asking: "What's next?" 🤔 I have been recommending Envoy Gateway, so thought I'd better spend some time documenting what actually works on AKS. Check it out at: buff.ly/WRXfSNa #Kubernetes #AKS #Azure #EnvoyGateway #GatewayAPI

AKS Automatic just got more flexible 🚀 Deployment Safeguards will no longer deny workloads missing startup, liveness, or readiness probes. They now warn instead. This makes it much easier to deploy third-party Helm charts without extensive modification

🚨 Starting in ~30 mins: AKS Community Call! Join to hear the latest updates, roadmap insights, and connect directly with the Azure Kubernetes Service team. Great chance to learn what’s coming next and ask questions live. 👉 blog.aks.azure.com/webinars/ #AKS #Azure #Kubernetes #CloudNative

🚀 Going live soon! Join me for the first-ever Azure Unpacked livestream starting at 2pm UK time (less than an hour!). Ask your Azure questions live with Wesley Haakman & Me. 👉 buff.ly/UvY8XGa

Azure Unpacked- #1

Azure Unpacked is your new go-to live online series for real conversations with Azure experts! Join us January 20th for the first episode featuring Wesley Haakman and Richard Hooper, Microsoft Azure…

youtube.com

Finally found time to write up my findings on the NGINX Ingress retirement ⚠️ (March 2026). Full write-up: buff.ly/7oFfsYC

Flatcar Container Linux on #AzureKubernetesService: First Look by Richard Hooper pixelrobots.co.uk/2025/11/flat...

Flatcar Container Linux on AKS: First Look - Pixel Robots.

Reading Time: 6 minutesShare:Recently I spotted something new in the AKS CLI preview. Flatcar showed up as a valid OS SKU for Linux node pools. As someone who’s been running AKS clusters for years,...

pixelrobots.co.uk

I've been tracking Flatcar for a few years and it's fantastic that it's*finally* supported on AKS. Great article by @pixelrobots.co.uk

Azure Weekly@azureweekly.info · 9mo ago

Flatcar Container Linux on #AzureKubernetesService: First Look by Richard Hooper pixelrobots.co.uk/2025/11/flat...

📚 Working on something new: "The AKS Book: The Real-World Guide to Azure Kubernetes Service" A practical guide covering everything from cluster setup decisions to production war stories. No fluff, just the lessons learned from running AKS in the real world. What do you think of the cover? 👇

Looks like the new Kubernetes Center is available in the preview portal. Https://preview.portal.azire.com

Some multi-tenant security updates. Managed namespaces going GA super quick!

Security updates for networking too. AGC WAF going GA is awesome!