What Is Kubernetes?

Key takeaways

• Kubernetes is an open-source, portable, and expandable platform that automates container orchestration, helping organizations optimize operations and improve efficiency.

• Kubernetes is used for automating the deployment, scaling, updating, and monitoring of container applications across physical, virtual, and cloud environments.

• A Kubernetes cluster is the backbone of Kubernetes architecture, representing a set of nodes managed by a control plane that work together to run and orchestrate containerized applications.

A Kubernetes pod is the smallest working unit, which holds one or more containers on the same node. In this article, learn more about the Kubernetes platform, its architecture, key features, and applications, as well as the professionals who use this technology.

If you’re ready to start learning about application development using Kubernetes, enroll in the IBM Full Stack Software Developer Professional Certificate. You’ll have the opportunity to learn how to deploy and scale applications using cloud-native methodologies and utilize tools like containers and Kubernetes in as little as six months. Upon completion, you’ll earn a career certificate to add to your resume.

What is Kubernetes?

Kubernetes is an open-source platform that can help you manage and operate your containerized applications. It’s both portable and expandable. Google developed Kubernetes and made the software open-source in 2014. Because Kubernetes automates your container orchestration, it can help you optimize operations and improve efficiency. Various industries use Kubernetes, such as computer software, information and technology services, finance, and retail. Skyquest expects the Kubernetes market to grow 24 percent worldwide, increasing from $2.61 billion in 2025 to $14.61 billion by 2033 [1].

What is Kubernetes used for?

Kubernetes, also known as K8s, is used to remove many of the manual processes associated with containerized workloads, allowing you to automate container management tasks such as deploying applications, introducing alterations, adjusting their size, and monitoring them. You can also use it to manage your containerized workloads in several environments, including physical, virtual, and cloud. Kubernetes also supports the DevOps approach, enabling software development efficiency by providing a reliable infrastructure for deploying and scaling containers. You can also use the Kubernetes framework to store and manage sensitive information, like passwords and encryption keys, along with their configurations.

Understanding Kubernetes architecture

Clusters are the foundation of Kubernetes architecture, and within the clusters are the nodes. If you look within each node, you can see individual pods. Each pod holds groups of containers; each container contains everything a particular application needs to function. In sum, a cluster is a set of nodes that work together to facilitate container orchestration.

The cluster architecture comprises a control plane and at least one worker node or a series of them, each of which is a physical or virtual server or machine. Essentially, the control plane is the nerve center of the operation, dictating the actions within the cluster while ensuring that your containers run properly and have the necessary resources to do so. Meanwhile, multiple worker nodes work together to actually run the applications by providing their memory, central processing unit (CPU), and runtime environments. These aspects of the Kubernetes architecture help manage containerized applications. Discover more about these components below.

Overview of the Kubernetes components

The nodes, pods, and services are three primary components within the Kubernetes architecture. Each piece of the architecture contributes to the whole. Explore each element in more detail:

• Node: A worker node is either a virtual or physical server that hosts the pods running the containers. Because clusters are scalable, you can add more worker nodes to the cluster to increase your workload.

• Pods: Within the Kubernetes model, a pod is the smallest operational unit. Pods hold one or more containers and are located on the same node.

• Services: When a group of pods works together, you have a Kubernetes service. The system labels a set of pods that perform the same service within the service configuration. Once it identifies the single service, the service feature attaches an IP address and a DNS name. Now, the service feature of Kubernetes can load and balance the traffic to any addresses labeled as a service.

Master and worker nodes

The master node, also known as the control plane, functions as the brain of the Kubernetes cluster. The master node is in charge of hosting various components that manage the Kubernetes cluster. Once you’ve configured your cluster to operate in a particular fashion, the master node ensures it does its job. The worker nodes take direction from the master node. If the master node is the brain, the worker nodes are the hands performing the actions. In production environments, the control plane runs across multiple computing machines, and clusters distribute workloads across multiple nodes, ensuring the application can still function reliably even if a machine or node fails.

Key features of Kubernetes

A few key features of Kubernetes are load balancing, horizontal scaling, and self-healing. Kubernetes offers several more helpful features:

Container orchestration and management

Kubernetes automates your containerized applications' deployment, management, and scaling. These are functions that are typically performed manually. Additionally, Kubernetes optimizes resource usage by allocating containers to nodes based on your specified CPU and memory requirements, minimizing resource waste.

Scaling and load balancing

Kubernetes has an internal load-balancing capability that spreads traffic evenly across pods, promoting better performance and reliability. Kubernetes also scales workloads automatically based on your specified target state and compute demands, providing the right capacity to run your applications.

Self-healing and automated rollouts

If containers fail, Kubernetes restarts them, and when nodes die, it replaces and reschedules the containers. If containers don’t respond to the health check you implemented, Kubernetes shuts them off. Finally, it monitors the health of your application while progressively rolling out changes to its configuration. If a problem occurs, Kubernetes will roll back the change.

Applications of Kubernetes

While the primary use for the Kubernetes platform is container management, you can utilize it for other tasks such as microservices architecture, cloud-native application development, and DevOps practices. Explore these use cases in more detail:

Microservices architecture

The microservices architecture allows an application to have a series of interconnected, smaller components that perform various services. For example, if your clothing store has a website, you can provide several individual services within it, such as payment, customer care, ordering, and shipping. All of those are microservices. Offering these microservices simultaneously can become complex; the Kubernetes design helps manage those individual components within a microservices architecture.

Cloud-native application development

Kubernetes can handle application development's deployment and scaling aspects, allowing actual developers to concentrate on writing code. The Kubernetes Namespaces feature permits development teams to work independently within a shared cluster, allowing for more collaboration and efficient resource usage.

DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines

Kubernetes can improve DevOps practices in several ways. It offers a platform that can automate critical tasks such as key app development, deployment, and application maintenance. If you’re working with cloud-native pipelines, the Kubernetes platform excels at operating pipelines and hosting continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) tools. During your software delivery lifecycle, Kubernetes's containerized management can handle the scaling, health checks, and updates aspects.

Who uses Kubernetes?

Professionals like DevOps engineers and cloud architects often use Kubernetes. By looking at some of the roles that involve working with Kubernetes, you can better understand the importance of this platform in the tech industry. Explore some roles that use Kubernetes, as well as their median annual total salaries:

All salary information represents the median total pay from Glassdoor as of September 2026. These figures include base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation.

DevOps engineers

Median annual total salary: $146,000 [2]

When creating a software system, Kubernetes allows you to combine the development and maintenance stages, facilitating the overall process. As a DevOps engineer using Kubernetes, you implement CI/CD pipelines to ensure the Kubernetes environments remain consistent and productive.

Site reliability engineers (SREs)

Median annual total salary: $173,000 [3]

As an SRE, you construct and manage a scalable Kubernetes environment. Other work duties involve applying Kubernetes security best practices to common service-level objectives while also handling scaling, reliability, and Kubernetes disaster recovery. Additionally, if you are an SRE with skills in Kubernetes, you might be able to earn a higher salary.

Cloud architect

Median annual total salary: $203,000 [4]

Since the primary function of Kubernetes clusters is to manage container applications, as a cloud architect, you may work toward incorporating those container applications into the services catalog so people using the cloud can access them.

Software developers

Median annual total salary: $123,000 [5]

As a software developer, you can utilize Kubernetes to duplicate production infrastructure while engaging more with operations. With Kubernetes, if you’re working on your personal computer, you can deploy the project to the cloud when it’s time to scale it.

Pros and cons of using Kubernetes

You may encounter advantages and disadvantages when using Kubernetes, like other software platforms. Explore the pros and cons of using Kubernetes below:

Advantages

When managing containerized applications, this tool offers both flexibility and scalability. Kubernetes also provides a broad ecosystem with various tools, integrations, and plugins to help meet your organization’s needs. You also have access to the Kubernetes community, which continuously works to improve this open-source project. Another advantage is that Kubernetes allows your organization to automate the entire deployment pipeline, from code creation to production deployment, and ensures containers operate consistently across multiple environments.

Limitations

Because of its complexity and technical nature, Kubernetes can be challenging to set up and manage for small teams. It also requires a large amount of both hardware and human resources. If your objective is to integrate Kubernetes with other platforms, you’ll need to spend a lot of time planning before implementation. Finally, if your team is new to container management, the learning curve for this technology can be challenging.

Getting started with Kubernetes

In terms of installing and setting up Kubernetes, you can take the following steps:

1. Download Kubernetes.

2. Download and install tools, including kubectl.

3. Select a container runtime for your new cluster.

4. Learn about best practices for cluster setup.

5. Learn to set up clusters with Windows nodes.

Finally, if you plan to manage the cluster independently, the official tool for deploying Kubernetes is kubeadm.

Regarding actual implementation examples, well-known companies utilize Kubernetes for their products and services. Netflix uses it to manage its cloud infrastructure. eBay employs Kubernetes to automate application quality testing and verification. Financial institutions use it to ensure their applications are reliable and secure.

If you’d like to learn more about Kubernetes, you have several options, such as the Linux Foundation, which provides both instructor-led courses and self-paced courses. You can also earn a certification through the Kubernetes website, as well as explore beginner-level tutorials.

Read more: What Is the Best Way to Learn Kubernetes?

Discover free resources to advance your career journey

Discover fresh insights into your career or learn about trends in your industry by subscribing to our LinkedIn newsletter, Career Chat! Or if you want to keep learning more about Kubernetes and related software development concepts, check out these free resources:

• Structure your learning: How to Start Learning Kubernetes: A Custom Course Guide

• Watch on YouTube: What Is DevOps? A Beginner-Friendly Explanation

• Hear from a peer: How One Software Developer’s Leadership Aspirations Led Her to Graduate School

Whether you want to develop a new skill, get comfortable with an in-demand technology, or advance your abilities, keep growing with a Coursera Plus subscription. You’ll get access to over 10,000 flexible courses.

Build job-ready skills with Coursera Plus

Start 7-day free trial

• 
• 
• 
• 

Start 7-day free trial