Feature
Microsoft
Microsoft retires the pod name dimension on the Azure Monitor platform metrics kube_pod_status_phase and kube_pod_status_ready for Azure Kubernetes Service on 30 September 2027; the metrics transition to aggregate pod counters and can no longer be filtered, grouped, or alerted on by pod name
departs 30 Sept 2027
Quick answers
- Is it true that AKS retires the pod name dimension on pod-count platform metrics on 30 September 2027 — update dashboards and alerts to aggregate pod counters?
- Yes. Microsoft has officially announced it, effective 30 Sept 2027. If you build Azure Monitor dashboards or metric alerts on the AKS pod platform metrics "Number of pods by phase" (kube_pod_status_phase) or "Number of pods in Ready state" (kube_pod_status_ready) and split or filter them by individual pod name, that breaks on 30 September 2027.
- When does it take effect?
- 30 Sept 2027. Verified against the vendor's own announcement.
- What should I use instead?
- Rework any dashboard tile or alert rule that splits kube_pod_status_phase or kube_pod_status_ready by pod name before 30 September 2027.
What this means for you
If you build Azure Monitor dashboards or metric alerts on the AKS pod platform metrics "Number of pods by phase" (kube_pod_status_phase) or "Number of pods in Ready state" (kube_pod_status_ready) and split or filter them by individual pod name, that breaks on 30 September 2027. From then the metrics transition to aggregate pod counters: the metric names stay the same and aggregate pod counts remain available, but the pod name dimension is gone — so you can no longer filter, group, or alert by pod name on these two metrics. Namespace-level monitoring is unaffected. An alert rule or workbook query that groups by pod name will stop returning the per-pod series it expects, which can silently flatten a chart or stop an alert from firing as intended.
Where to go
Rework any dashboard tile or alert rule that splits kube_pod_status_phase or kube_pod_status_ready by pod name before 30 September 2027. Move per-pod investigation to a source that still carries pod identity — Container Insights / the Prometheus-based metrics in Azure Monitor managed Prometheus, where pod-level series live — and keep the platform metrics for the aggregate and namespace-level counts they will continue to provide. Microsoft notes that during the deprecation period AKS maintains both the existing and the new behaviour, so you have a window to migrate queries and confirm alerts still fire before the pod name dimension is removed.
- Azure Monitor managed Prometheus / Container Insights — retain pod-level identity for per-pod dashboards and alerts
Microsoft is removing a dimension from two Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) platform metrics. Per Microsoft’s official Azure release-communications notice, beginning 30 September 2027 the pod name dimension is retiring on the Azure Monitor platform metrics Number of pods by phase (kube_pod_status_phase) and Number of pods in Ready state (kube_pod_status_ready), and these metrics transition to aggregate pod counters.
What survives, and what doesn’t
Microsoft is specific about the boundary:
- Metric names remain unchanged —
kube_pod_status_phaseandkube_pod_status_readykeep working. - Aggregate pod counts remain available, and namespace-level monitoring scenarios remain supported.
- The pod name dimension will no longer be available for filtering, grouping, or alerting.
So nothing in your telemetry disappears at the aggregate or namespace level — but any chart tile or alert rule that splits these two metrics by pod name loses the per-pod series it depends on.
What to do
Audit your Azure Monitor dashboards, workbooks, and metric alert rules for anything grouping or filtering kube_pod_status_phase or kube_pod_status_ready by pod name, and rework them before 30 September 2027:
- For per-pod visibility, move those queries to a source that still carries pod identity — Container Insights or Azure Monitor managed Prometheus, where pod-level series live.
- Keep the platform metrics for the aggregate and namespace-level counts they will continue to provide.
Microsoft notes that during the deprecation period AKS maintains both the existing and the new behaviour, so there is a window to migrate queries and confirm alerts still fire as intended before the pod name dimension is removed.
Entry changelog
- — last reviewed.
- — Entry created from Microsoft's Azure release-communications notice (id 570232, published 2026-10-06): the pod name dimension on the Azure Monitor platform metrics kube_pod_status_phase and kube_pod_status_ready for AKS retires 30 September 2027; metrics transition to aggregate pod counters; metric names unchanged and aggregate/namespace monitoring unaffected, but no more filtering, grouping, or alerting by pod name. sunsetDate set to 2027-09-30. No detect: fingerprint — the two metric names are NOT going away (only the pod name dimension is), so matching them would warn the many aggregate-level users who are unaffected; the thing being removed (a metric dimension used only when a query groups by pod name) is not a literal code token the primary source names.
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