Kubernetes for the Rest of Us - Demystifying Cloud-Native for Windows Server Admins

Explore cloud-native Kubernetes concepts through the lens of traditional Windows Server administration in this demo-heavy conference talk from Microsoft Ignite 2025. Bridge the gap between familiar VM-based infrastructure and modern container orchestration by understanding how application design impacts operations and what Day 2 Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) management entails in practice. Discover the infrastructure differences between cloud-native Kubernetes environments and traditional virtual machines, then dive into practical demonstrations of environment variables, secrets management, and YAML specifications. Learn to integrate Azure Key Vault with Kubernetes for secure secrets handling, configure Core DNS for internal DNS forwarding, and implement comprehensive monitoring across hybrid on-premises and cloud environments using Azure tools. Compare visualization approaches between Azure Monitor, Grafana, and Prometheus while exploring Prometheus rule groups and application instrumentation techniques. Gain the confidence to architect cloud-native solutions alongside developer teams by understanding how Kubernetes ingress controllers, environment configurations, and monitoring strategies translate from traditional IT operations perspectives. Master the operational aspects of AKS that enable effective collaboration between IT/Ops professionals and development teams in modern cloud-native environments.