The Benefits of Kubernetes
Posted by Brent on March 2nd, 2017
Kubernetes is a type of container technology which developers use to write and deploy applications. There are many different layers and facets to applications and they all need to, somehow, be put together in a coherent way for the application to work properly. It is for this reason that applications developers make use of container technologies. With Kubernetes containers, the whole container technology sphere has been taken to a new level.
Just like there are many different layers to the application itself, there are some features to container technologies which can complicate matters. It is not as simple as just packaging your application into one container. Applications can be packaged into multiple containers, which in themselves, can be housed on multiple computers in multiple locations. This all needs to somehow come together and work effortlessly in a well-orchestrated manner. This is where Kubernetes come in.
Kubernetes specializes in making multiple containers work together with the added feature of it being open source. This means that you can make use of the technology while having the freedom to alter the source code as you see fit. This makes Kubernetes highly customizable to fit into each developer’s unique set of needs.
But what makes Kubernetes so different that allows it to manage multiple containers so effortlessly? Well, it comes with a set of powerful tools which allow you to deploy applications, scale them as you see fit, make changes whenever needed, and helps developers to adjust hardware settings so that they can get the best possible performance from their applications as possible. Kubernetes also have a built-in fail-safe to help developers deal with possible errors. As applications come across errors, they can restart the faulty components and adjust their locations in separate containers, all with the help of Kubernetes.
It must be noted, though, that Kubernetes is not a platform in itself. Think of it rather as a blueprint where developers can make use of its open source features to build on that blue print. They can do this in many ways by choosing the application frameworks, monitoring and logging tools, languages, and many other features. By doing this, developers build up their own framework to serve as the foundation for their own Platform as a Service (PaaS) tool.
The way Kubernetes makes this possible is not all that complicated. It first takes a group of containers that are administered as a group on the same machine, known as a node, and organize them into what is known as a pod. These pods were designed in such a way that they could easily communicate with each other, making them highly adaptable.
But where did this open source container technology come from? Well, by none other than Google themselves. Google, now a member of parent company Alphabet, first developed the software for their own use within the company. They had done this for a long time before finally making Kubernetes available to the general public in 2014.
Kubernetes has the added benefit of enjoying the support of another well-respected open source institution, namely Linux. Through one of their projects referred to as the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, Linux has offered a common home for the development of Kubernetes and other similar technologies.
Thus, with the support of both Google and Linux, Kubernetes seems to not just be a revolutionary piece of software, but also seems to come with the backing of some the world’s most respected technological institutions.
