AKS networking adds cross-cluster connectivity, RDMA and preview controls
✅ Microsoft announced general availability of cross-cluster networking through Azure Kubernetes Fleet Manager and managed DRANET support for RDMA NICs in AKS.
Cross-cluster networking uses Cilium within Advanced Container Networking Services, while managed RDMA supports topology-aware allocation for AI and high-performance computing workloads.
Two capabilities remain in public preview: multi-NIC pods, which separate application and storage traffic, and configurable observability dimensions.
The latter lets teams select network-log detail and scope for security investigations and troubleshooting, including DNS, destination and workload context.
These announcements have different release stages; preview controls are not presented as generally available.
Partner briefing
- What it is
AKS networking updates span connectivity, specialized networking and observability.
- What’s changing
Cross-cluster networking and managed DRANET are GA; multi-NIC pods and configurable observability dimensions are public previews.
- Why it matters
Teams can connect clusters, allocate RDMA networking and target diagnostic data with documented release-stage limits.
- Who it affects
AKS platform, network, security and SRE teams, including AI/HPC operators.