SEARCH (ENTER TO SEE ALL RESULTS)
Cancel Search
POPULAR TOPICS
Contributed
sponsored-post-contributed
News
Analysis
The New Stack Makers
Tutorial
Podcast
Feature
Research
Profile
The New Stack Logo
Skip to content
  • Podcasts
  • Events
  • Ebooks
    • DevOps
    • DevSecOps
    • Docker Ecosystem
    • Kubernetes Ecosystem
    • Microservices
    • Observability
    • Security
    • Serverless
    • Storage
    • All Ebooks
  • Newsletter
  • Sponsorship
  • • • •
    • Podcasts
      • TNS @Scale Series
      • TNS Analysts Round Table
      • TNS Context Weekly News
      • TNS Makers Interviews
      • All Podcasts
    • Events
    • Ebooks
      • DevOps
      • DevSecOps
      • Docker Ecosystem
      • Kubernetes Ecosystem
      • Microservices
      • Observability
      • Security
      • Serverless
      • Storage
      • All Ebooks
    • Newsletter
    • Sponsorship
Skip to content
  • Architecture
    • Cloud Native
    • Containers
    • Edge/IoT
    • Microservices
    • Networking
    • Serverless
    • Storage
  • Development
    • Development
    • Cloud Services
    • Data
    • Machine Learning
    • Security
  • Operations
    • CI/CD
    • Culture
    • DevOps
    • Kubernetes
    • Monitoring
    • Service Mesh
    • Tools
Search The New Stack
 

Kubernetes

▾ 4 MINUTE READ — CLOSE

Although technically best described as a container orchestration engine, Kubernetes is rapidly becoming the infrastructure platform for cloud-native computing, an approach to using public or private clouds flexibly.
What Is Kubernetes?
Kubernetes, also known as K8s, is a portable open-source platform — with a rapidly growing ecosystem — for managing containerized workloads and services. Kubernetes aids declarative configuration, automates deployment, and manages cloud-native applications with on-premise systems or public cloud infrastructure.
What Is a Kubernetes Cluster?
A Kubernetes cluster is a set of nodes for running containerized applications. A node is a device or data point in a network. With a Kubernetes cluster, teams can run containers in multiple environments such as public clouds, on-premise, virtual, or physical environments.

Clusters often comprise a control plane — which manages the cluster’s desired state — and some worker nodes, which could be virtual machines or physical computers depending on the cluster. Each Kubernetes cluster has a desired state that determines elements such as applications or running workloads, corresponding images, and configuration details.
Benefits of Kubernetes Architecture
The idea behind the cloud-native computing approach is to put your applications within containers and then manage them against available resources using Kubernetes.

Beyond orchestration itself, Kubernetes as a platform solves many enterprises’ IT issues. Some of the benefits of Kubernetes architecture include:

Service discovery. Service discovery is the process of automatically locating devices on a network. Kubernetes has labels and annotations for additional metadata to identify and group objects with similar attributes. These labels and annotations make it easy to associate a service with a group of pods in service discovery.
Storage orchestration. Kubernetes allows teams to mount chosen storage systems, such as public cloud providers and local storage, into pods.
Flexibility. A container runtime or engine is a program that runs containers. Kubernetes supports several types of container runtime and infrastructure as long as they have some version of Linux or Windows. K8s portability makes it easy for development teams to switch engines, servers, or environmental configurations.
Multi-cloud operations. Many organizations believe that cloud computing is the best way to handle IT operations. Each cloud provider offers unique interfaces, posing a danger that a customer’s operations may be “locked” into that specific provider. This risk makes many companies adopt a multi-cloud strategy. Kubernetes supports multi-cloud infrastructure and quickly scales its environment from one cloud to another.
Developer productivity. Kubernetes has an operations-friendly approach that enables development and operations (DevOps) teams to innovate, scale, and deploy faster than they previously could.
Bin packing. Kubernetes fits containers into nodes based on defined resources such as CPU, RAM, and the cluster of nodes developers provide for containerized risks.

Using Kubernetes for Containers Eases Application Deployment
Containers allow organizations to streamline the development process for an automatic transition between the developer and the production deployment. Containers free up developers to use whatever languages and frameworks they prefer, given the ability to package all the dependencies for these specific choices within the container itself.

On the operations side, Kubernetes allows operators to make the best use of available resources by moving containers or having them automatically moved around to best match the optimal performance and price.
Major Cloud Providers Now Support K8s Deployment
Google first created Kubernetes based on its software for managing containers, called The Borg. The company was already using containers in its operations for well over a decade. Company engineers had plenty of expertise and best practices in hand when designing this new software, which was released as open-source in 2014 and is now hosted by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).

Many major cloud vendors now offer Kubernetes as a service, since K8s provides an abstraction through a set of APIs that allows users to potentially mix and match cloud services.
How Organizations Can Improve Kubernetes Deployment
Efficient deployment greatly impacts the development process, resource management, and user experience. There needs to be structure in central organizational governance to ensure that teams efficiently deploy code.

Here are some areas development teams need to consider to avoid governance challenges in Kubernetes deployment:

Visibility and Management. As clusters grow, managing and tracking them becomes a complex task. Troubleshooting problems is also time-consuming if different software is used because one solution may not work for all programs. Centralized governance and updates on application performance are essential for successful deployments. Operators need to actively and consistently obtain insights about their systems to prevent visibility issues.
Operational Complexity. Having multiple Kubernetes clusters in different business units leads to difficulties in user identity tracking. When users onboard, offboard, or change teams, operators may lose the ability to define user responsibilities and roles. This process ensures that the right user performs their tasks within the environment. Teams should also set structures to detect role violations, conduct adequate compliance checks, and assess management risks. When there are fewer potential risks, efficiency is possible.
Developer and operator empowerment. Although Kubernetes supports the DevOps approach, there is a need to balance developers’ freedom and operators’ ability to manage policies and ensure the environment’s security. Organizations need to define the extent of developers’ innovative independence so that necessary procedures are not compromised.

Get the Latest Updates on the Kubernetes Platform at The New Stack
At The New Stack, we monitor how enterprise Kubernetes adoption impacts business outcomes. We’re also watching how Kubernetes advancements will accommodate artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) workload in production. And we keep a close eye on how the Kubernetes community prioritizes cloud-native security improvements.

Bookmark this page to stay current on Kubernetes developments.


The New Stack Newsletter Sign-Up
A newsletter digest of the week’s most important stories & analyses.
Do you also want to be notified of the following?
We don’t sell or share your email. By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
https://cdn.thenewstack.io/media/2016/01/PodcastBrandingOverlay_TNS_Makers.svg
Cloud Native Ecosystem / Containers / Kubernetes / Sponsored
Cloud Foundry’s Eirini and the Commitment to Interoperability
15 Apr 2019 5:00pm, by B. Cameron Gain
Cloud Services / Kubernetes
Google’s Cloud Code Plug-Ins Take the YAML out of Kubernetes
15 Apr 2019 4:00am, by Mary Branscombe
Cloud Services / Kubernetes
How Google Cloud Run Combines Serverless with Containers
12 Apr 2019 9:15am, by Janakiram MSV
Cloud Services / Kubernetes
Anthos: Kubernetes Infrastructure to Make Developers More Productive
11 Apr 2019 11:19am, by Mary Branscombe
Data Science / Kubernetes / Contributed
DASH: Four Properties of Kubernetes-Native Databases
11 Apr 2019 6:00am, by Nate Stewart
Cloud Native Ecosystem / Kubernetes
OpenStack ‘Stein’ Promises 5-Minute Kubernetes Deployments
11 Apr 2019 3:00am, by Mike Melanson
Kubernetes / Serverless
How Google Cloud Run Combines Serverless and On-Demand Kubernetes
10 Apr 2019 9:30am, by Mary Branscombe
Kubernetes / Contributed
Eliminate Friction in App Delivery to Kubernetes
10 Apr 2019 3:00am, by Anoop Balakuntalam
Kubernetes
Take DigitalOcean Kubernetes for a Cruise
5 Apr 2019 10:32am, by Janakiram MSV
Cloud Services / Kubernetes / Open Source
With Project Eirini, Cloud Foundry Adapts to a New Open Source Ecosystem
4 Apr 2019 11:15am, by Alex Williams
Data Science / Kubernetes / Machine Learning
MapR Brings Apache Spark and Apache Drill to Kubernetes
2 Apr 2019 9:00am, by Mike Melanson
Containers / Culture / DevOps / Kubernetes / Observability / Sponsored
When SREs and Kubernetes Are Worth It — And When They Aren’t
1 Apr 2019 12:13pm, by Wojtek Cichon
IoT Edge Computing / Kubernetes
KubeEdge Extends the Power of Kubernetes to the Edge
29 Mar 2019 3:00am, by Janakiram MSV
https://cdn.thenewstack.io/media/2016/01/PodcastBrandingOverlay_TNS_Analysts.svg
Kubernetes / Microservices / Networking / Service Mesh
How the Service Mesh Redefines Cloud Native Computing
28 Mar 2019 5:00pm, by B. Cameron Gain
https://cdn.thenewstack.io/media/2016/01/PodcastBrandingOverlay_TNS_Makers.svg
Containers / Kubernetes
Open Standards, and the Role of containerd in Kubernetes Orchestration
26 Mar 2019 3:00pm, by B. Cameron Gain
Data Science / Kubernetes / Security
How Paybase Overcame Default Kubernetes Security Settings for PCI DSS Compliance
26 Mar 2019 11:00am, by Jennifer Riggins
Kubernetes / Technology
Rancher 2.2 Brings Greater Control to Kubernetes
26 Mar 2019 9:24am, by Susan Hall
Kubernetes
Kubernetes 1.14 Brings Docker Orchestration to Windows Server
25 Mar 2019 3:00pm, by Susan Hall
Cloud Native Ecosystem / Kubernetes / Microservices / Tools / Sponsored
A mgmt Contributor on His Lifework (Before He Runs Out of Money)
22 Mar 2019 9:34am, by Wojtek Cichon
Kubernetes
Run Stateful Containerized Workloads with Rancher Kubernetes Engine and Portworx
22 Mar 2019 3:00am, by Janakiram MSV
Kubernetes / Machine Learning
How Kubernetes Could Orchestrate Machine Learning Pipelines
20 Mar 2019 1:34pm, by Mary Branscombe
Kubernetes / Security
No More Forever Tokens: Changes in Identity Management for Kubernetes
18 Mar 2019 12:56pm, by Mary Branscombe
Kubernetes / Service Mesh
Service Mesh Startup Tetrate Aims to Bring Enterprise Scalability to Istio, Envoy
13 Mar 2019 10:16am, by Mike Melanson
CI/CD / Cloud Native Ecosystem / Kubernetes / Technology / Tools
An End to the Confusion: Jenkins or Jenkins X
12 Mar 2019 12:21pm, by B. Cameron Gain
Kubernetes / Machine Learning / Technology
Primer: Kubeflow Streamlines Machine Learning with Kubernetes
11 Mar 2019 11:51am, by Emily Omier
Kubernetes / Sponsored
How Ticketmaster Used Kubernetes Operators to Fill a DevOps Gap
6 Mar 2019 9:36am, by Alex Handy
Pagination Previous Button
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Pagination Next Button
Architecture
  • Cloud Native
  • Containers
  • Edge/IoT
  • Microservices
  • Networking
  • Serverless
  • Storage
Development
  • Cloud Services
  • Data
  • Development
  • Machine Learning
  • Security
Operations
  • CI/CD
  • Culture
  • DevOps
  • Kubernetes
  • Monitoring
  • Service Mesh
  • Tools
The New Stack
  • Ebooks
  • Podcasts
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • About / Contact
  • Sponsors
  • Sponsorship
  • Disclosures
  • Contributions

© 2022 The New Stack. All rights reserved.

Privacy Policy. Terms of Use.