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Joget on Azure Kubernetes Service

You can deploy, run, and scale Joget on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), a fully managed Kubernetes service offered by Microsoft Azure. This guide simplifies the complex tasks of container orchestration and provides scalable solutions for managing containerized applications across a cluster of machines. By leveraging AKS, you benefit from automatic updates, integrated monitoring, and scaling without the need to deeply understand the intricacies of Kubernetes management. With AKS handling your infrastructure, the focus can completely shift towards improving application development and operations.

If you are unfamiliar with Kubernetes, refer to the Joget on Kubernetes guide for a quick introduction.

Create a kubernetes cluster in AKS

Using the Azure Portal:

  1. Go to Kubernetes services and select Create a Kubernetes cluster.

  2. On the Basics tab, set your Subscription, Resource Group, and enter a Kubernetes cluster name. Adjust other configurations as needed.

  3. In the Node pools tab, configure the node pools. For more information, see Create node pools for a cluster in Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).

    This guide assumes a single node configuration.

  1. Leave default settings or make adjustments in the Access, Networking, Integrations, Advanced, and Tags tabs.

  2. Click Review + create to deploy your Kubernetes cluster.

  1. After deployment, connect to your cluster using Azure CLI or Azure Cloud Shell. Learn how to connect.

Deploy MySQL database

Set up a MySQL database to support the Joget platform:

Apply the following example YAML files below to deploy the Persistent Volume (PV), Persistent Volume Claim (PVC) and MySQL database to the Kubernetes cluster

  • Create persistent storage using PersistentVolume and PersistentVolumeClaim in mysql-pv.yaml: 
    apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolume
metadata:
  name: mysql-pv-volume
  labels:
    type: local
spec:
  storageClassName: manual
  capacity:
    storage: 10Gi
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  hostPath:
    path: "/mnt/data"
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: mysql-pv-claim
spec:
  storageClassName: manual
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 5Gi
    .properties
  • Deploy the mysql-pv.yaml file 
    kubectl apply -f mysql-pv.yaml
    Bash
  • Create the mysql-deployment.yaml
    apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: mysql
spec:
  ports:
  - port: 3306
  selector:
    app: mysql
  clusterIP: None
---
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: mysql
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: mysql
  strategy:
    type: Recreate
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: mysql
    spec:
      containers:
      - image: mysql:8.0
        name: mysql
        env:
          # Use secret in real usage
        - name: MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD
          value: password
        ports:
        - containerPort: 3306
          name: mysql
        volumeMounts:
        - name: mysql-persistent-storage
          mountPath: /var/lib/mysql
      volumes:
      - name: mysql-persistent-storage
        persistentVolumeClaim:
          claimName: mysql-pv-claim
    .properties
  • Deploy the MySQL image: 
    kubectl apply -f mysql-deployment.yaml
    Bash
  • Inspect the deployment: 
    kubectl describe deployment mysql
kubectl get pods -l app=mysql
kubectl describe pvc mysql-pv-claim
    Bash

Modify the original YAML files for production use, such as using a different MySQL image version and setting up secrets instead of plain passwords.

Deploy shared storage in AKS

For multi-node Kubernetes clusters, allocate shared persistent storage accessible by multiple nodes:

For more information, see Manually create and use a Linux NFS (Network File System) Server with Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and Storage options for applications in Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).

  1. Create an Azure Ubuntu VM in the same virtual network as the AKS cluster.

  2. Set up an NFS server on the VM using this script, modifying variables as necessary:

    #!/bin/bash
# This script should be executed on Linux Ubuntu Virtual Machine
 
EXPORT_DIRECTORY=${1:-/export/data}
DATA_DIRECTORY=${2:-/data}
AKS_SUBNET=${3:-*}
 
echo "Updating packages"
apt-get -y update
 
echo "Installing NFS kernel server"
 
apt-get -y install nfs-kernel-server
 
echo "Making data directory ${DATA_DIRECTORY}"
mkdir -p ${DATA_DIRECTORY}
 
echo "Making new directory to be exported and linked to data directory: ${EXPORT_DIRECTORY}"
mkdir -p ${EXPORT_DIRECTORY}
 
echo "Mount binding ${DATA_DIRECTORY} to ${EXPORT_DIRECTORY}"
mount --bind ${DATA_DIRECTORY} ${EXPORT_DIRECTORY}
 
echo "Giving 777 permissions to ${EXPORT_DIRECTORY} directory"
chmod 777 ${EXPORT_DIRECTORY}
 
parentdir="$(dirname "$EXPORT_DIRECTORY")"
echo "Giving 777 permissions to parent: ${parentdir} directory"
chmod 777 $parentdir
 
echo "Appending bound directories into fstab"
echo "${DATA_DIRECTORY}    ${EXPORT_DIRECTORY}   none    bind  0  0" >> /etc/fstab
 
echo "Appending localhost and Kubernetes subnet address ${AKS_SUBNET} to exports configuration file"
echo "/export        ${AKS_SUBNET}(rw,async,insecure,fsid=0,crossmnt,no_subtree_check)" >> /etc/exports
echo "/export        localhost(rw,async,insecure,fsid=0,crossmnt,no_subtree_check)" >> /etc/exports
 
nohup service nfs-kernel-server restart
    Bash
  1. Configure PersistentVolumes, apply the azurenfsstorage.yaml file, adjusting NFS settings as needed: 
    apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolume
metadata:
  name: aks-nfs
  labels:
    type: nfs
spec:
  capacity:
    storage: 1Gi
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteMany
  nfs:
    server: NFS_INTERNAL_IP
    path: NFS_EXPORT_FILE_PATH
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: aks-nfs
spec:
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteMany
  storageClassName: ""
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 1Gi
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      type: nfs
    .properties

Update NFS Server Settings

Before applying the azurenfsstorage.yaml file, ensure that the values for NFS_INTERNAL_IP, NFS_NAME, and NFS_EXPORT_FILE_PATH are replaced with the actual settings from your NFS Server:

kubectl apply -f azurenfsstorage.yaml
Bash

Deploy Joget DX

  1. With the necessary database and persistent storage configured, proceed to deploy Joget DX. Apply the joget-dx8-tomcat9-aks.yaml file to start the deployment process: 
    apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: joget-dx8-tomcat9
  labels:
    app: joget-dx8-tomcat9
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: joget-dx8-tomcat9
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: joget-dx8-tomcat9
    spec:
      initContainers:
       - name: init-volume
         image: busybox:1.28
         command: ['sh', '-c', 'chmod -f -R g+w /opt/joget/wflow; exit 0']
         volumeMounts:
           - name: joget-dx8-tomcat9-volume
             mountPath: "/opt/joget/wflow"
      volumes:
        - name: joget-dx8-tomcat9-volume
          persistentVolumeClaim:
            claimName: aks-nfs
      securityContext:
        runAsUser: 1000
        fsGroup: 0
      containers:
        - name: joget-dx8-tomcat9
          image: jogetworkflow/joget-dx8-tomcat9:latest
          ports:
            - containerPort: 8080
            - containerPort: 9080
          volumeMounts:
            - name: joget-dx8-tomcat9-volume
              mountPath: /opt/joget/wflow
          env:
            - name: KUBERNETES_NAMESPACE
              valueFrom:
                fieldRef:
                    fieldPath: metadata.namespace
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: joget-dx8-tomcat9
  labels:
    app: joget-dx8-tomcat9
spec:
  ports:
  - name: http
    port: 8080
    targetPort: 8080
  - name: https
    port: 9080
    targetPort: 9080  
  selector:
    app: joget-dx8-tomcat9
  type: ClusterIP
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRoleBinding
metadata:
  name: joget-dx8-tomcat9-clusterrolebinding
roleRef:
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
  kind: ClusterRole
  name: view
subjects:
  - kind: ServiceAccount
    name: default
    namespace: default
    .properties
  1. You can monitor the deployment progress either from the Azure portal or by using Kubernetes commands, such as:
    kubectl get deployment joget-dx8-tomcat9
    Bash

     

Deploy ingress for external connections

  1. Configure the Nginx Ingress Controller to enable external access to the Joget application. You can read more regarding Ingress in Kubernetes here. You can deploy it using Helm or from the Nginx Ingress Controller GitHub repository. 
    • Deploy Nginx Ingress Controller to AKS Cluster
      You can refer to the AKS documentation regarding creating ingress-nginx and also the nginx-ingress document.

    • Install using Helm:
      Use Azure CLI/Cloud shell, set up the Helm for Nginx Ingress

      helm repo add ingress-nginx https://kubernetes.github.io/ingress-nginx
helm repo update
 
helm install ingress-nginx ingress-nginx/ingress-nginx --create-namespace --namespace nginx-ingress --set controller.service.annotations."service\.beta\.kubernetes\.io/azure-load-balancer-health-probe-request-path"=/healthz --set controller.service.externalTrafficPolicy=Local
      Bash

  1. After deploying the Ingress Controller, apply the joget-ingress.yaml file to enable external access:
    Example the joget-ingress.yaml:
     
    apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: joget-dx8-tomcat9-ingress
  annotations:
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/affinity: cookie
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: "false"
spec:
  ingressClassName: nginx
  rules:
    - http:
        paths:
          - path: /jw
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: joget-dx8-tomcat9
                port:
                  number: 8080
    .properties
  2. Obtain the public IP address from the Kubernetes resources to access the application externally: 
    http://<external-ip>/jw
    Markup

Database set up for Joget deployment

  1. Complete the database setup for Joget DX by entering the MySQL service name, database username, and password.
  2. Click Save.

  3. Once the set up is complete, click Done and you will be brought to the Joget App Center.

Set up cert-manager for TLS termination

Implementing TLS termination ensures secure communication by encrypting data in transit. To set up Cert-Manager for TLS termination in your Kubernetes cluster, follow these steps:

  1. Modify the Ingress configuration to support underscores in headers and enable snippet annotations. Create or update a ConfigMap (ingress-configmap.yaml) with the following settings: 
    apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: ingress-nginx-controller
  namespace: ingress-nginx
data:
  enable-underscores-in-headers: "true"
  allow-snippet-annotations: "true"
    .properties

    Apply the updated configuration:

    kubectl apply -f ingress-configmap.yaml
    Bash
Before proceeding with these steps, ensure DNS has been set up to the public IP of the ingress generated by AKS earlier.

Install cert-manager into the cluster

  1. Install Cert-Manager in your cluster to manage the lifecycle of TLS certificates. You can install it using a YAML file from the official repository:
     
    kubectl apply -f https://github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager/releases/download/v1.15.1/cert-manager.yaml
    Bash
  2. Configure a ClusterIssuer to use Let's Encrypt for generating TLS certificates. Update the stagingissuer.yaml file with your details:
    apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1
kind: Issuer
metadata:
  name: letsencrypt-staging
spec:
  acme:
    # The ACME server URL
    server: https://acme-staging-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory
    # Email address used for ACME registration
    email: [Update email here]
    # Name of a secret used to store the ACME account private key
    privateKeySecretRef:
      name: letsencrypt-staging
    # Enable the HTTP-01 challenge provider
    solvers:
    - http01:
        ingress:
          ingressClassName: nginx
    .properties
  3. Apply the issuer configuration:
    kubectl apply -f stagingissuer.yaml
    Bash
  4. After deploying the issuer, check its status to ensure it is configured correctly:
    kubectl describe issuer letsencrypt-staging
    Bash

Deploy/Update the Ingress with TLS Configuration

  1. Once deployed the Ingress without TLS configuration,  update the Ingress yaml file to include the TLS configuration.
    Example Ingress yaml with TLS: 
    apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: joget-dx8-tomcat9-ingress
  annotations:
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/affinity: cookie
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: "true"
    cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: "letsencrypt-staging"
spec:
  ingressClassName: nginx
  tls:
  - hosts:
    - exampledomain.com
    secretName : aks-jogetworkflow
  rules:
    - host: exampledomain.com
      http:
        paths:
          - path: /jw
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: joget-dx8-tomcat9
                port:
                  number: 9080
    .properties
  2. This staging procedure ensures the certificate is generated correctly before setting up the Issuer with Let’s Encrypt production.
  3. Run the following command to get the current status of the certificates:
    kubectl get certificate
    Bash
  4. The output of the command would be something similar to the following: 
    [ ~/jogetaks ]$ kubectl get certificate
NAME                READY   SECRET              AGE
aks-jogetworkflow   True    aks-jogetworkflow   30s
    Bash
  5. Run the following command to get more details about the specific certificate: 
    kubectl describe certificate aks-jogetworkflow
    Bash
  6. Once the certificate is generated correctly, set up the production Issuer. Below is an example productionissuer.yaml file:
    apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1
kind: ClusterIssuer
metadata:
  name: letsencrypt-prod
spec:
  acme:
    # The ACME server URL
    server: https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory
    # Email address used for ACME registration
    email: [update email here]
    # Name of a secret used to store the ACME account private key
    privateKeySecretRef:
      name: letsencrypt-prod
    # Enable the HTTP-01 challenge provider
    solvers:
    - http01:
        ingress:
          ingressClassName: nginx
    .properties
  7. Update the ingress yaml file with the production annotation.
    apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: joget-dx8-tomcat9-ingress
  annotations:
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/affinity: cookie
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: "true"
    cert-manager.io/issuer: "letsencrypt-prod"
spec:
  ingressClassName: nginx
  tls:
  - hosts:
    - exampledomain.com
    secretName : aks-jogetworkflow
  rules:
    - host: exampledomain.com
    - http:
        paths:
          - path: /jw
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: joget-dx8-tomcat9
                port:
                  number: 9080
    .properties
  8. Once updated the ingress yaml file, delete the previous secret to allow the new certifiate to be generated for production
    kubectl delete secret aks-jogetworkflow
    Bash
  9. Run the describe command to check on the certificate status:
    kubectl describe certificate aks-jogetworkflow
    Bash
  10. Once the new certificate has been issued, access the Joget domain with HTTPS to ensure that it working as intended.

 

Scale deployment

Scaling your deployment effectively responds to changes in demand or capacity. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) supports both automatic and manual scaling methods.

Scale pods automatically

To scale the pods automatically in AKS, read here

Scale pods manually

To manually increase or decrease the number of pods running the Joget application, use the kubectl scale command. For example, to scale to three replicas:

kubectl scale –replicas=3 deployment/joget-dx8-tomcat9
Bash

Set the --replicas value to your desired number of pods, and the system will initialize and start up the pods accordingly.

Scale nodes manually

Modify Node Count in the Azure Portal to adjust the number of nodes in your cluster:

  1. Go to the Kubernetes service in the Azure portal.
  2. Go to Settings > Node pools.
  3. Select the node pool you want to scale.
  4. Click Scale node pool.
  5. Choose Manual as the scale method.
  6. Enter the desired number of nodes. The maximum available resources will depend on the VM size you have selected.
Created by Aadrian Last modified by Baizura on Aug 11, 2025
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