In recent years, containers have revolutionized the world of IT and cloud computing by providing a powerful form of operating system virtualization. As already mentioned in a previous article Containers and Cloud Native In fact, they are concepts closely linked to technology Kubernetes.
Kubernetes is in fact the engine of continuous evolution that sees containers as protagonists, able to offer unprecedented efficiency and scalability for Cloud Native applications.
In this article you will find the basics of Kubernetes, the main steps taken in our sector, and first of all by CloudFire, from the beginning to the approach and tools used now.
What's the connection between Containers and Kubernetes?
Kubernetes, often abbreviated as k8s, is one of the main open-source platforms that allows you to Deploy and manage large scale container clusters. This technology provides a stable and highly available environment for running modern applications.
Containers, on the other hand, are executable units of software that include application code, libraries and dependencies, thus allowing the application to run anywhere without dependency conflicts.
Kubernetes and Containers are therefore the perfect match for running and deploying a more scalable, automated and open application.
In the past, applications ran primarily in virtualized environments. Now, thanks to containerization, it is possible to obtain significant advantages in terms of the use and distribution of applications. You can learn more aboutThe evolution and comparison between VM, Container and Serverless In this item.
Kubernetes Pod, Kubernetes Cluster, and Kubernetes Architecture: What are we talking about?
When you deploy with Kubernetes, what you get is a Cluster, a set of components that allow effective container management. A Cluster is mainly divided into Knots and Control Plane:
- Knots: They are sets of 'worker machines' that run containerized applications and host Pods, which represent the application's workload. The components on each node ensure that the containers are always operational;
- Control Plane: They manage nodes and pods, making global decisions on the cluster, detecting and responding to events within the cluster.
In the Control Plane category we find:
- kube-apiserver which exposes the Kubernetes APIs and acts as an interface for all ecosystem operations;
- etcd the distributed key-value database, used as a central repository for all cluster information;
- kube-Scheduler, the person responsible for assigning pods to nodes based on various factors such as available resources and defined policies;
- kube-controller-manager which performs control processes such as the replication controller, node and volume management;
While as components of the nodes:
- kubelet: the agent that runs on each node and ensures that the containers are running as required by the control plane;
- kube-proxy: the component that manages networking on each node, maintaining network rules and connectivity between the various components of the cluster;
- container Runtime: what the containers required by the pods run, with Docker or containerd as common examples.
To all this, you can then integrate extensions that improve the functionality of Kubernetes, such as DNS for cluster services, cluster monitoring with tools such as Prometheus, and centralized logging with Elasticsearch, Fluentd and Kibana (EFK stack).
Kubernetes Deploy: Where is the challenge?
Deploying Kubernetes means installing and configuring a Kubernetes cluster, making it ready for use in a production or development environment. This process includes preparing the underlying infrastructure (such as physical servers or cloud instances), installing Kubernetes components, and configuring network, storage, and security policies.
The challenges therefore depend on:
- complexity of the infrastructure which depends directly on the configuration of the nodes, the robust networking network and the persistent storage for volumes in a dynamic environment such as the containerized one;
- security linked to credential management, access, updates and security patches;
- scalability and availability workloads in the face of proper management of peaks or failures;
- monitoring and logging to monitor and record performance, event logs, and cluster status information.
What does deploying Kubernetes mean for CloudFire?
I know, deploying Kubernetes can be challenging, however, faced with various challenges, you get numerous advantages in terms of automation, scalability and portability that make it a powerful choice for managing containerized applications.
At CloudFire we choose and use Rancher, a complete software stack that simplifies the deployment and creation of new clusters, Here we talk about it in detail. SUSE's Rancher helps you in terms of:
- Automation and Orchestration: from automatic deployment management, scaling and failover of applications. Through its Self-healing process, containers that crash are automatically detected and restarted, eliminating configuration errors;
- Scalability: it is possible to horizontally scale applications based on the workload by increasing or decreasing the number of container replicas, and vertically by dynamically assigning more resources to existing containers;
- Independence of the infrastructure from a provider: using Kubernetes, you can and can run containers on any infrastructure, whether on-premise, cloud, or hybrid, keeping development, test and production environments consistent;
- Efficiency and isolation in resource management: with k8s the use of server resources are optimized, allowing a high workload density, while ensuring that applications are isolated from each other and improving security and resource management.
Kubernetes has undeniably transformed the IT and cloud computing landscape by providing robust container orchestration solutions. Whether you're managing small-scale applications or large scale business solutions, Kubernetes offers the tools and flexibility you need to optimize performance and reliability.
At CloudFire, we leverage advanced tools like Rancher to simplify the deployment and management of Kubernetes, giving our customers the benefit of cutting-edge technology. Are you interested in a real Kubernetes as a Service solution to improve your infrastructure? contact us here.
