[Azure] Recommendation on using Traffic Manager with Application Gateway

[Chiranga Alwis]

Hi all,

As a novice to Azure based Kubernetes deployments, upon research I encountered the recommendation [1] on routing traffic to the Kubernetes cluster.

I skimmed through the DNS load balancing concepts as highlighted in the official Azure documentation [2]. But, I did not encounter any detailed guidelines on using this in an Azure Kubernetes Service based deployment, although it is recommended.

Appreciate if I can obtain some guidance on this.

Upon further evaluation, I encountered the design [3] in which the Traffic Manager works with Traefik Ingress Controller, which has been used to front the internal Kubernetes Services and expose them to outside.

Can we use the Azure Application Gateway [4] instead of the Traefik Ingress Controller? 

Can this be considered the most recommended, Azure based approach for a multi-regional, production grade, Kubernetes based deployment in Azure? If not, what are the recommended approaches?

[1]: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/operator-best-practices-multi-region#use-azure-traffic-manager-to-route-traffic

[2]: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/traffic-manager/traffic-manager-how-it-works

[3]: https://github.com/microsoft/containerized-microservices-pipeline/blob/master/TrafficRouting.md

[4]: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/application-gateway-ingress-controller-for-azure-kubernetes-service/