Create a BYOC Cluster on Azure

To create a Redpanda cluster in your virtual network (VNet), follow the instructions in the Redpanda Cloud UI. The UI contains the parameters necessary to successfully run rpk cloud byoc apply. See also: BYOC architecture.

With standard BYOC clusters, Redpanda manages security policies and resources for your virtual network (VNet), including subnetworks, managed identities, IAM roles, security groups, and storage accounts. For the most security, you can manage these resources yourself with a BYOVNet cluster on Azure.

Prerequisites

Before you deploy a BYOC cluster on Azure, check all prerequisites to ensure that your Azure subscription meets requirements.

Configure Azure CLI

Install the Azure CLI.
Sign in with the Azure CLI:
```
az login
```

Set the desired subscription for the Azure CLI:

az account set --subscription <subscription-name>

Verify rpk version

Confirm you have a minimum version of Redpanda rpk v24.1. See Install or Update rpk.

Prepare your Azure subscription

In the Azure Portal, confirm that the dedicated subscription you intend to use with Redpanda includes the following:

Role: The Azure user must have the Owner role in the subscription.
Resources: The subscription must be registered for the following resource providers. See the Microsoft documentation.
- Microsoft.Compute
- Microsoft.ManagedIdentity
- Microsoft.Storage
- Microsoft.KeyVault
- Microsoft.Network
To check if a resource provider is registered, run the following command using the Azure CLI or in the Azure Cloud Shell. For example, to check for Microsoft.Compute, run:
```
az provider show -n Microsoft.Compute
```
If it is not registered, run:
```
az provider register --namespace 'Microsoft.Compute'
```
Feature: The subscription must be registered for Microsoft.Compute/EncryptionAtHost. See the Microsoft documentation.

To register it, run:
```
az feature register --namespace Microsoft.Compute --name EncryptionAtHost
```
Monitoring: The subscription must have Azure Network Watcher enabled in the NetworkWatcherRG resource group and the region where you will use Redpanda. Network Watcher lets you monitor and diagnose conditions at a network level. See the Microsoft documentation.

To enable it, run:
```
# Create the NetworkWatcherRG resource group
az group create --name 'NetworkWatcherRG' --location '<region_name>'

# Enable Network Watcher in <region_name>
az network watcher configure --resource-group 'NetworkWatcherRG' --locations '<region_name>' --enabled
```

Check Azure quota

Confirm that the Azure subscription has enough virtual CPUs (vCPUs) per instance family and total regional vCPUs in the region where you will use Redpanda:

Standard Ddv5-series vCPUs: 12 (3 Redpanda broker nodes + extra capacity for 3 more nodes that could be utilized temporarily during tier 1 maintenance)
Standard Dadsv5-series vCPUs: 8 (2 Redpanda utility nodes)
Standard Dv3-series vCPUs: 2 (1 Redpanda agent node)

See the Microsoft documentation.

To enable this feature, contact Redpanda Support. To disable this feature, see Disable Kafka Connect.
Redpanda Support does not manage or monitor Kafka Connect. For fully-supported connectors, consider Redpanda Connect.
When Kafka Connect is enabled, there is a dedicated node running even when no connectors are deployed.

Check Azure SKU restrictions

Ensure your subscription has access to the required VM sizes in the region where you will use Redpanda. For example, using the Azure CLI or in the Azure Cloud Shell, run:

# Replace eastus2 with your target region
az vm list-skus -l eastus2 --zone --size Standard_D2d_v5 --output table

Example output (no restrictions: good)

ResourceType     Locations    Name               Zones    Restrictions
---------------  -----------  ---------------    -------  ------------
virtualMachines  eastus2      Standard_D2d_v5    1,2,3    None

Example output (with restrictions: needs attention)

ResourceType     Locations    Name               Zones    Restrictions
---------------  -----------  ---------------    -------  ------------
virtualMachines  eastus2      Standard_D2d_v5    1,2,3    NotAvailableForSubscription

If you see restrictions, open a Microsoft support request to remove them.

Prerequisite checklist

Verified rpk version
Verified Azure user has Owner role
Registered all required resource providers
Registered EncryptionAtHost feature
Enabled Network Watcher
Verified vCPU quota
Verified no SKU restrictions