What Is Kubernetes?

What is Kubernetes? This open-source platform can help you manage and operate your containerized applications. It’s both portable and expandable. After being developed at Google, the company released the Kubernetes software as open source in 2014. Because Kubernetes automates your container orchestration, it can help you optimize operations for improved efficiency. A variety of industries use Kubernetes, such as computer software, information and technology services, finance, and retail. Worldwide, the Kubernetes market is expected to grow at a rate of 24 percent, increasing from $2.11 billion in 2024 to $11.78 billion by 2032 [1].

Explore the Kubernetes platform, its architecture, key features, and applications as well as the professionals who use this technology.

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What is Kubernetes used for?

By removing many of the manual processes associated with containerized workloads, Kubernetes, also known as K8s, allows you to automate container management tasks such as deploying applications, introducing alterations to them, adjusting their size, and monitoring them. You can also use it to manage your containerized workloads in a number of environments, including physical, virtual, and cloud.

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, and within each container is everything a particular application needs to function. The control plane is another important component of the Kubernetes cluster. Essentially, the control plane is the nerve center of the operation and dictates the actions within the cluster while ensuring that your containers perform properly and have the necessary resources to do so. These aspects of the Kubernetes architecture help to manage the container applications. Discover more about these components.

Overview of the Kubernetes components

Three of the primary components within the Kubernetes architecture are the nodes, pods, and services. Each piece of the architecture contributes to the whole in its own way. Explore each component in more detail:

• Node: Also called a worker node, this 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 unit. Pods hold one or more containers and are located on the same node.

• Services: When a group of pods are working together, you have a Kubernetes service. Within the service configuration, the system labels a set of pods that perform the same service. Once the single service is identified, the service feature attaches an IP address and a DNS name to it. Now the service feature of Kubernetes can load balance the traffic to any addresses that involve the labeled 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 certain 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.

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

Regarding container orchestration and management, Kubernetes automates the deployment, management, and scaling of your containerized applications. These are functions that are typically performed manually.

Scaling and load balancing

Two more positive features are load balancing and horizontal scaling. Kubernetes has an internal load-balancing capability that spreads traffic evenly across pods, promoting better performance and reliability. Kubernetes scales automatically according to your needs, giving you the proper 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 structure 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 a number of 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 to manage those individual components within a microservices architecture.

Cloud-native application development

In terms of developing cloud-native applications, Kubernetes can handle the deployment and scaling aspects of application development while the actual developers can concentrate on writing code. The Kubernetes Namespaces feature permits development teams to work on their own within a shared cluster, which allows 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 deployment pipelines and hosting continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) tools. During your software delivery lifecycle, the containerized management Kubernetes provides can run the scaling, health checks, and updates aspects.

Who uses Kubernetes?

You can grasp the importance of Kubernetes when you see some of the professionals in the tech industry, such as DevOps engineers and cloud architects, who use this platform. Take a look at people working in these roles who use Kubernetes, as well as their average annual salaries:

DevOps engineers

Average annual salary: $109,652 [2]

When creating a software system, Kubernetes allows you to combine the development and maintenance stages, which facilitates 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)

Average annual salary: $124,767 [3]

SREs can construct and manage a scalable Kubernetes environment. An SRE with a Kubernetes skill set may be responsible for 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 can earn a higher salary. 

Cloud architect

Average annual salary: $148,394 [4]

Since the main function of Kubernetes clusters is to manage container applications, a cloud architect’s responsibility in this scenario is to incorporate those container applications into the services catalog so people using the cloud can access them.

Software developers

Average annual salary: $104,721 [5]

As a software developer, you can utilize Kubernetes to duplicate production infrastructure while also 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

Like other software platforms, you may encounter advantages and disadvantages when using Kubernetes. Explore the pros and cons that can occur with Kubernetes:

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.

Limitations

Kubernetes can be challenging to set up and manage for small teams because of its complexity and technical nature. 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 prior to 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 microservices architecture. eBay employs Kubernetes to compensate for the shopping increase during certain times of the year. 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 instructor-led courses and courses you can take at your own pace. You can earn a certification through the Kubernetes website. Beginner tutorials for Kubernetes are also available.

Learning about Kubernetes on Coursera

Kubernetes is an open-source platform that can help you manage your containerized applications. If you’re considering learning more about Kubernetes, you might like to gain a deeper understanding of software engineering and development with the IBM Full Stack Software Developer Professional Certificate. Another option for you to explore is to pursue a degree that can lead you to opportunities as a cloud architect and more, with the Online Bachelor of IT from Illinois Institute of Technology. Both are available on Coursera.

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IBM Full Stack Software Developer

Prepare for a career as a full stack developer. Build job-ready skills – and must-have AI skills – for an in-demand career. Earn a credential from IBM.


4.6

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212,261 already enrolled

Beginner level

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Average time: 5 month(s)

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Skills you'll build:

Generative AI, Django (Web Framework), Object Relational Mapping (ORM), Relational Database (RDBMS), SQL, Back-End Applications, Web Development, JavaScript, Web, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Openshift, Docker, Kubernetes, Containers, Cloud Native, Node.Js, Full Stack Development, Web Application, Cloud Computing, Hybrid Multicloud, Devops, Iaas PaaS Saas, Data Science, Data Analysis, Python Programming, Numpy, Pandas, Career, Software Engineer, Coding Challenge, interview Preparation, Full Stack Developer, Distributed Version Control Systems (DVCS), Git (Software), Github, open source, Cloning and forking, Software Engineering, Software Architecture, Agile and Scrum, Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), React (Web Framework), Front-end Development, User Interface, Server-side JavaScript, back-end development, Computer Science, express, Application development, Flask, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Representational State Transfer (REST), Cloud Applications, Microservices, serverless, Software Development, Code generation, AI prompts

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