kubernetes node pools

The Kubernetes node pools tag focuses on Azure Kubernetes Service pools running Windows Server 2019 and the need to replace them. Microsoft ended support for these pools on March 1, 2026, and they cannot be used with Kubernetes 1.33 or later. The remaining Windows Server 2019 node images are scheduled for removal on April 1, 2027, after which scaling operations will fail. Existing nodes may continue running, but that does not restore support or guarantee that AKS can add capacity. This archive provides context for treating the change as an active migration task, including the operational risks of delaying replacement of unsupported Windows node pools.