when getting started with Kubernetes, it can be a daunting task at first to get a grasp of the basic concepts which will allow you to move forward with it. I would like to try to answer some basic questions about Kubernetes, some of which I was having in my mind when I first started to learn and work with Kubernetes.

If you do not have any understanding of containers and containerised applications, it becomes even harder to realise where in the big picture does Kubernetes fit.

Explaining what containers are is out of the scope of this article. If you feel like you still need clarity in understanding what containers are and how do they help, I suggest to find that out first before moving forward. If you feel comfortable with containers, then off we go.

What is Kubernetes?

Kubernetes is a container orchestrator. And what would that be? Well, when we containerise an application, we package the application and its environment in an image, but we still need somehow to run it. We can execute a docker run command and run a docker container, but then when we have an update or a new image, we would manually need to kill the running container and run the new one. And what happens when the container crashes because of e.g. unhealthy state? Who would take care of restarting the container? This is where Kubernetes fits into the big picture.

Kubernetes orchestrates the lifecycle of a container. It can deploy containers together with their dependencies, restart them if they crash, update them if the image version changes, create new instances of the image without downtime, etc. Most of these can be fairly easily automated with the help of Kubernetes.

What is a Pod?

Well, in the previous paragraph I made a false statement. Kubernetes doesn’t actually focus a lot directly on the containers. Kubernetes works on a one level higher abstraction concept called Pods. Pods can be thought of as mini virtual machines which can run multiple containers inside. Usually, Docker is used as a container engine, but this can be configured differently if needed.

Ideally, a pod would run a main container (e.g. one application or a service), and it can run other side containers which would serve the main container. The reason behind this is that, if one of the containers signals to be unhealthy, Kubernetes will kill the whole Pod and try to create a new one. Therefore, it’s a good practice to have one main service running in a Pod, and if that service is not healthy, then the Pod is instatiated by the orchestration scheduler.

What applications can I run on Kubernetes?

Anything that can be containerised. Kubernetes supports stateless as well as stateful applications. Although, from experience I can say, running stateless applications is easier. That’s because managing the state requires more management work from our side.

Personally, I try to push stateful software outside Kubernetes and use them from PaaS providers. One example of such a scenario is the Database. This leaves me more room to focus on running the in-house developed applications and less attention on dependencies.

What is kubectl?

Kubectl is a CLI tool to query and manage kubernetes. Kubernetes has several types of resources. Those resources can be Pods, Services, Deployments, ConfigMaps, etc. Kubectl allows us easily to find information about those resource as well as change them. One example would be to read the deployment configuration of a pod, another would be scaling up a deployment.

One can get most (if not all) of these using a UI, but come on, who needs a UI nowadays ☺️.

I want to have a Kubernetes cluster, what are my options?

Starting from the most obvious option, you can get some bare metal servers and install your own Kubernetes cluster. Though, I would strongly not recommend this until you really know what you are doing. Kubernetes is a very complex system. It has several components and a good configuration would require several servers. Only keeping a safe, available and up to date configuration would be a challenge, let alone taking care of more complex topics like the security of the cluster.

Unless you are constrained here, I would strongly recommend you start with one of the cloud providers that provide Kubernetes as a service. It is offered by many providers, amongst them Azure, AWS, and DigitalOcean.

The cloud providers abstract away the management of the cluster itself and give you freedom to focus on actually building your application infrastructure.

When is Kubernetes good for me?

If you have only one or two applications running, you are better off without it. Kubernetes offers great functionality to orchestrate containers, but it also comes with an administration overhead. If you are not building many (3+) different applications or micro services that you deploy frequently (several times per month), in my opinion it would not be a good option.

Kubernetes is a great helper in an environment of multiple micro services where continuous delivery is the process. It is an overkill to run 2-3 applications which get deployed a couple of times per month. You get my point.

Start small and adjust as you grow!

Conclusion

Kubernetes is one of our time’s coolest tools. It has enabled many business solutions scale flexibly and shine. But at the same time, it can be a complex beast. Take it with a grain of salt and prepare well before adopting. Equipped with knowledge, it will take your DevOps processes and with it your possibility to reacting to changes to a whole new level.