Exercise 05: Modernize a legacy app for AKS Automatic with GitHub Copilot

Introduction

Your team is modernizing a Java Spring Boot workload for Azure. In this exercise, you’ll take the legacy Spring Boot PetClinic application from local execution (PostgreSQL + basic authentication) through an AI-assisted modernization workflow. You’ll update the app to use Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server with Microsoft Entra ID authentication, generate containerization assets, and deploy the workload to AKS Automatic using Workload Identity and Service Connector.

Objectives

By the end of this exercise, you’ll be able to:

• Run Spring Boot PetClinic locally with PostgreSQL and basic authentication.
• Modernize the codebase using GitHub Copilot app modernization.
• Migrate the database to Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server integrated with Microsoft Entra ID.
• Containerize the app using Containerization Assist MCP Server.
• Deploy to AKS Automatic using Workload Identity and Service Connector.

Duration

Estimated time: 120 minutes

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Table of contents

• 01: Set up the lab
• 02: Verify and explore PetClinic locally
• 03: Application modernization
• 04: Take action on findings
• 05: Generate containerization assets with AI
• 06: Deploy to AKS