Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration software that manages and scales cloud applications. Learn about Kubernetes architecture and benefits.
In this blog we will examine:
- Containerization
- Kubernetes
- Kubernetes Architecture
- Cluster
- Modernizing with Kubernetes
Containerization
What is a Container – A Container is a basic software unit that packages up code and all its dependencies so an application can run smoothly in any environment. Each container is made up of a hardware, an operating system, a container engine, libraries, and dependency’s and finally the application. Everything the application needs to run is inside the container which means it can be created and deleted quickly using automation. By 2025, 85% of global enterprises will be running containerized applications in production
Container Orchestration – Container Orchestration is the automation of containerized workloads. It is key when working with containers because it is what allows you to deploy the same application across different environments without the need to redesign it.
Kubernetes
What is Kubernetes (aka K8s) – Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration software designed for deploying, managing, and scaling containers. So, what does that mean? Essentially it eliminates much of the manual processes that needs to be done during deploying and scaling containerized workloads, even across various types of physical, virtual, and cloud environments.
Kubernetes was originally developed and designed by Google Engineers and was later donated to CNCF in 2015.
According to a recent survey by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, of the 3800 survey respondents, 96% of organizations are either using or evaluating Kubernetes.
How Kubernetes work.
Kubernetes is a concept made up of several different components, and, while there are several elements and use-cases in the implementation of Kubernetes, the main concepts to understand are: the Control Plane, Pods, and Nodes.
- The Control Plane consists of elements and API processes which coordinate workloads and communications, allowing for the smooth flow of information and resource allocation across the environment.
- Pods are the base element in Kubernetes. A Pod consists of one or more containers and are co-located on the same node.
- A Node (also known as a minion, or worker)is a machine on which containers are deployed. Each node must run a container runtime such as Docker, CoreOS rkt, Containerd, etc. Multiple Nodes can be grouped into Clusters.
Your IT environment and Kubernetes
As a result of shifts in modern computing practices, users are expecting applications to be available 24/7 and developers are sometimes expected to be able to deploy new versions of the applications several times a day. Also, IT environments are increasingly more hybrid and based on multi-cloud approaches, integrating on-premises resources with public or private clouds from different suppliers. While container systems allowed developers to make software more portable and hold all of the packages needed to run a service, they were still limited by the amount of manual effort needed to provision and modify each container across an environment.
Kubernetes can help organizations better manage their workloads and reduce risks. Kubernetes is able to automate container management operations and optimize the use of IT resources. It even can restart orphaned containers, shut down the ones that are not being used, and recreate them.Kubernetes automates the deployment of containers without DevOps Engineer having to move all the pieces manually themselves. This allows developers to deploy new versions of specific applications on a more frequent basis and enables them to be released and updated without downtime, even across multiple environments (i.e. Dev, Test, Prod).
Benefits of Kubernetes
- The key benefits of Kubernetes can be summarized as: reduced application development and release timeframes, optimization of IT costs, increased software scalability and availability, flexibility in multi-cloud environments, and cloud portability.
- Portable Workloads
- Because Kubernetes is an open source your workloads become portable take advantage of on-prem, hybrid, and multiple cloud environment— all while maintaining consistency across each environment.
- Flexibility
- No matter where you are running Kubernetes, it offers flexibility in hybrid and multi-cloud environments allowing operation of any of our applications in any public or private environment smoothly.
- Automation
- Kubernetes can automate containerized environments by acting as its operating system. It does this my automating the operation requirements of containerized workloads.
- Scalability and Availability
- Kubernetes can define complex containerized applications and deploy them across clusters of servers. As Kubernetes scales applications according to your desired state, it automatically monitors and maintains container health.
Kubernetes Architecture
Kubernetes control plane: Also known as the master machine, is the container orchestration layer that exposes the API and interfaces to define, deploy and manage the lifecycle of containers aswell as the nodes that hold the containerized applications. It ensures that every cluster is kept in its desired state.
The components of the Control Plane
- API Server: The Application Programming Interface also know as API is the front end of Kubernetes. It is where clients make an initial request for an object or a collection and it determines if the request is valid and then it will process it. The API server also is what is used to transmit, create, and configure data within K8 clusters.
- K8s scheduler: The scheduler is what watches and manages pods that are newly created and assigns them to a node so they can run on it smoothly.
- Controller manager: Within the Control Plane there are multiple controllers, they are the control loops designed to watch the state of your cluster and make or request changes as they are needed.
- Etcd: Is a data base where all your container storage is stored. It is a strongly consistent, distributed key-value store that holds and manages the critical information that systems need to run.
- Cluster
- NODE: (also known as a minion, or worker)is a machine on which containers are deployed. Each node must run a container runtime such as Docker, CoreOS rkt, Containerd, etc. Multiple Nodes can be grouped into Clusters.
- Pod: are the base element in Kubernetes. A Pod consists of one or more containers and are co-located on nodes.
Modernize with Kubernetes
Kubernetes makes it possible to simplify and accelerate the migration of applications from an on-premises environment to public or private clouds, offered by any provider. Applications can be migrated to the cloud through the adoption of various methodologies:
- The simple transposition of the application, without any coding changes (Lift & Shift);
- The minimum changes necessary to allow the application to work on new environments (replatforming);
- The extensive rewriting of the application structure and functionality (refactoring).
Modernize your environment more smoothly than ever before with Kubernetes adoption. No need to ask yourself where your data is anymore, all your data is stored in one place. Kubernetes storage is based on volumes. The volumes can either be persistent or non- persistent. Inside the pods, containers request for more storage.
- Kubernetes can be built once and then is able to be deployed anywhere. This means no matter where you build your cluster whether it is on prem or in the cloud you don’t need to rebuild the solution you just have to deploy a different cluster.
Challenge
Kubernetes clusters can be prone to ransomware attacks, like any other workload. In some cases, a hacker can gain access to what is inside of your pod – potentially receiving critical information about your organization. Therefore, backing up and having data protection for your clusters is vital when it comes to moving your workloads around.