install

Connect an Azure AKS cluster

An AKS cluster created with no network plugin (bring your own CNI), running open-source Cilium.

Requirements

Cilium: The cluster CNI, with Hubble and Hubble Relay enabled.
Network: Outbound HTTPS (443) from the cluster to api.cilera.io and ingest.cilera.io.
Tools: kubectl and Helm 3.8+ with access to create a namespace.
Footprint: One pod. No privileged access, no host mounts, read-only RBAC.

Run Cilium with Hubble enabled. Create the cluster with no network plugin, then install Cilium. If Cilium is already installed, check that cilium status shows "Hubble Relay: OK" and continue to step 2.
aks
```
az aks create -g my-rg -n my-cluster --network-plugin none
cilium install        # detects AKS
cilium hubble enable
cilium status --wait
```
Add the cluster in the Cilera console. Open Clusters → Add cluster, name the cluster, and copy the install command. The command includes a one-time onboarding token that expires.
Run the command. It installs the operator with Helm into the cilera-system namespace. The cluster appears in the Cilera console within about a minute.
verify
```
$ kubectl -n cilera-system get pods
NAME                               READY   STATUS
cilera-operator-7c9d8b6f5d-x2kqp   1/1     Running
```

For platform-specific Cilium options, see the Cilium installation guide.