Set up a Microsoft AKS connector

Capabilities

Resource	Sync	Provision
Cluster Roles
Namespaces
Roles
Service Accounts

Gather AKS credentials

Configuring the connector requires you to pass in credentials generated in AKS. Gather these credentials before you move on.

To create a Service Principal in AKS the user must have the following permissions:

Application.ReadWrite.All
Directory.ReadWrite.All

Roles that grant these permissions include:

Azure AD Administrator
Application Administrator
Cloud Application Administrator

To assign a role to the Service Principal, the user must have Azure resource-level permissions, typically at the subscription, resource group, or AKS resource level:

Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/write permission

Look up your Azure subscription ID and cluster resource group name

In Azure, search for and navigate to your cluster’s home page.

On the Overview tab, locate the Essentials section.

Make a note of the cluster’s resource group name and subscription ID.

Look up your tenant ID

In the main search bar, click Tenant properties.

Make a note of the tenant ID.

Create a Service Principal

If desired, you can use an existing Service Principal. Follow these steps if you want to create a new one.

In Entra admin center, navigate to App registrations.

Click + New registration.

Give the application a name, such as “C1”.

Select the supported account type appropriate for your organization. For most internal automation, “Accounts in this organizational directory only (Single tenant)” is sufficient.

You do not need to set a redirect URI.

Click Register.

The new app is created. Carefully copy and save the Application (client) ID and the Directory (tenant) ID shown on the application summary page.

Next, we’ll generate a client secret for this app. Click Certificates & secrets.

Click + New client secret.

Give the client secret a description and set its expiration.

Click Add.

The client secret is generated. Carefully copy and save the Secret Value.

Assign Azure RBAC permissions to the Service Principal

Next, grant this Service Principal the Reader role at the subscription level so it can discover and read all your AKS cluster information.

In the Azure portal’s search bar, type “Subscriptions” and select the relevant Azure subscription.

In the left-hand menu of your Subscription, select Access control (IAM).

Click + Add > Add role assignment.

On the Role tab, search for and select the Reader role.

Click Next.

On the Members tab, ensure User, group, or service principal is selected for Assign access to.

Click + Select members.

In the Select members pane, search for and select the name of your App Registration.

Click Select at the bottom of the pane.

Click Review + assign at the bottom.

Allow time for the new role to propagate. Azure role assignments can take several minutes (typically five to 15, sometimes up to 30) to fully propagate.

Make sure your Service Principal has cluster access

The Service Principal must have access to the cluster in Azure and the proper permissions defined in the cluster.

In Azure, navigate to the cluster’s admin page and click Access control (IAM).

Locate Role assignments add a new assignment for your Service Principal. Commonly used roles are “Azure Kubernetes Service Cluster User Role” and “Azure Kubernetes Service Cluster Admin Role”.

Be aware that propagation of this assignment may take some time (up to multiple hours) depending on the size and complexity of your cluster. Done. Next, move on to the connector configuration instructions.

Configure the AKS connector

To complete this task, you’ll need:

The Connector Administrator or Super Administrator role in C1
Access to the set of AKS credentials generated by following the instructions above

Cloud-hosted
Self-hosted

Follow these instructions to use a built-in, no-code connector hosted by C1.

In C1, navigate to Apps > Connectors and click Add connector.

Search for AKS and click Add.

Choose where to add the connector: Create a new app, or Add to an existing app (then select the app).If you’re creating a new app, choose whether to link it to an application discovered from your identity provider: select Yes and pick the IdP application, or No to continue with just the connector.

Set the connector’s Name and, optionally, a Description.

Click the pencil icon next to Owners to choose who can configure and manage this connector.

Click Add. The connector is created and its configuration page opens.

Find the Settings area of the page and click Edit.

Enter the AKS credentials into the relevant fields.

Click Save.

The connector’s label changes to Syncing, followed by Connected. You can view the logs to ensure that information is syncing.

Done. Your AKS connector is now pulling access data into C1.

Follow these instructions to use the AKS connector, hosted and run in your own environment.When running in service mode on Kubernetes, a self-hosted connector maintains an ongoing connection with C1, automatically syncing and uploading data at regular intervals. This data is immediately available in the C1 UI for access reviews and access requests.

Resources

Contact C1’s support team to download the latest version of the connector.

Step 1: Set up a new AKS connector

In C1, navigate to Apps > Connectors and click Add connector.

Search for Baton and click Add.

Set the connector’s Name and, optionally, a Description.

Click the pencil icon next to Owners to choose who can configure and manage this connector.

Click Add. The connector is created and its configuration page opens.

In the Settings area of the page, click Edit.

Click Rotate to generate a new Client ID and Secret. Carefully copy and save these credentials. We’ll use them in Step 2.

Step 2: Create Kubernetes configuration files

Create two Kubernetes manifest files for your AKS connector deployment:

Secrets configuration

# baton-aks-secrets.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: baton-aks-secrets
type: Opaque
stringData:
  # C1 credentials
  BATON_CLIENT_ID: <C1 client ID>
  BATON_CLIENT_SECRET: <C1 client secret>
  
  # AKS credentials
  BATON_SUBSCRIPTION_ID: <Azure subscription ID>
  BATON_RESOURCE_GROUP: <Resource group name of the cluster>
  BATON_CLUSTER_NAME: <Name of the cluster to sync>
  BATON_TENANT_ID: <The directory (tenant) ID where your service principal is registered>
  BATON_SP_CLIENT_ID: <The Application (client) ID of your service principal>
  BATON_SP_CLIENT_SECRET: <The client (Service Principal) secret>

See the connector’s README or run --help to see all available configuration flags and environment variables.

Deployment configuration

# baton-aks.yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: baton-aks
  labels:
    app: baton-aks
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: baton-aks
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: baton-aks
        baton: true
        baton-app: aks
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: baton-aks
        image: public.ecr.aws/conductorone/baton-aks:latest
        imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
        env:
        - name: BATON_HOST_ID
          value: baton-aks
        envFrom:
        - secretRef:
            name: baton-aks-secrets

Step 3: Deploy the connector

Create a namespace in which to run C1 connectors (if desired), then apply the secret config and deployment config files.

Check that the connector data uploaded correctly. In C1, click Apps. On the Managed apps tab, locate and click the name of the application you added the AKS connector to. AKS data should be found on the Entitlements and Accounts tabs.

Done. Your AKS connector is now pulling access data into C1.

Welcome

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Configurable connectors

Pre-built connectors

Set up a Microsoft AKS connector

Capabilities

Gather AKS credentials

Look up your Azure subscription ID and cluster resource group name

Look up your tenant ID

Create a Service Principal

Assign Azure RBAC permissions to the Service Principal

Make sure your Service Principal has cluster access

Configure the AKS connector

Resources

Step 1: Set up a new AKS connector

Step 2: Create Kubernetes configuration files

Secrets configuration

Deployment configuration

Step 3: Deploy the connector

​Capabilities

​Gather AKS credentials

​Look up your Azure subscription ID and cluster resource group name

​Look up your tenant ID

​Create a Service Principal

​Assign Azure RBAC permissions to the Service Principal

​Make sure your Service Principal has cluster access

​Configure the AKS connector

​Resources

​Step 1: Set up a new AKS connector

​Step 2: Create Kubernetes configuration files

​Secrets configuration

​Deployment configuration

​Step 3: Deploy the connector

Capabilities

Gather AKS credentials

Look up your Azure subscription ID and cluster resource group name

Look up your tenant ID

Create a Service Principal

Assign Azure RBAC permissions to the Service Principal

Make sure your Service Principal has cluster access

Configure the AKS connector

Resources

Step 1: Set up a new AKS connector

Step 2: Create Kubernetes configuration files

Secrets configuration

Deployment configuration

Step 3: Deploy the connector