Kubernetes is the ideal platform for hosting applications in the cloud. It is an interesting solution to easily deploy new applications or modify existing ones. It helps to address scalability, lifecycle, and availability of applications, making them efficient and highly customizable.
One of the requirements for application software to run in a hybrid or multicloud environment is the ability to move it from the corporate data centre to the cloud and vice versa, and also to move it between servers running on different platforms or cloud services from different providers.
It is obvious even to a layman that an application created for one operating system cannot run directly on a server using another platform. The solution to this requirement is containerization and Kubernetes as an open framework for a multi-cloud infrastructure, allowing to run modern applications.
Container ship steersman
Kubernetes technology was developed at Google and is currently managed by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. It is an open source system for orchestrating containers in order to automatically deploy and manage applications in multi-platform and multi-cloud environments. The name is an English transliteration of the ancient Greek word κυβερνήτης (kubernétés), denoting the helmsman of ships. It is a very apt name because Kubernetes do similar work to container ship steersmen.
For a person who is not an IT expert, but also for “old school” developers and IT specialists, that’s a lot of new concepts in two sentences. The term container in the context of software refers to an independent executable software package containing everything needed to run on any platform. This package contains the source code, configuration data, libraries, system data, and other blocks needed to run the software. Containers isolate the software from its environment, ensuring that the application software will always run the same in whatever environment it is currently deployed to. Applications encapsulated in containers can run either directly on the physical infrastructure or in a virtualized environment.
Is it worth trusting the cloud?
The basic prerequisite for using Kubernetes is, of course, the initial trust in the unlimited possibilities of cloud services. The dynamism of the cloud today is unrivalled. Sometimes it takes little to grow a business in the right way. A great inspiration why it pays to trust the cloud can be our page where you can find the top 5 reasons why companies use the popular Slovak cloud from GAMO.
Speed and scalability
Of course, in a multiserver and multicloud environment, applications could be moved at the same time as Virtual Machines (VMs). But unlike a virtual machine, which also contains the operating system, containers contain only the applications and components necessary for their operation. That is, they do not contain a virtualized operating system. This makes containers significantly smaller – on the order of tens of megabytes, as opposed to virtual machine files with a typical size of tens of gigabytes. Moving 1,000 times smaller files is much faster when load balancing between servers – whether physical or virtualized, or in your own server room or in the cloud – while putting less strain on the network layer.
Applications in hybrid and multicloud IT environments are usually extended over time – mainly for scaling reasons – to multiple containers deployed on different servers. Managing them thus becomes increasingly complex. Kubernetes is therefore used to manage container environments as efficiently as possible , enabling this complexity to be handled. Kubernetes technology provides an open source API and defines a core set of building blocks that together provide the tools to deploy, maintain, and scale applications. The individual blocks are loosely coupled and, thanks to the aforementioned Kubernetes API, extensible.
In order for applications to take full advantage of the power of a cluster of virtual servers, Kubernetes orchestrates the cluster. That is, it operationally schedules containers to run on virtual servers depending on the current compute resource requirements of each container and the currently available compute resources of each virtual server. Essentially, it is about load balancing, resource allocation monitoring and scaling. Kubernetes also allows applications to self-correct in the event of problems through automatic restart or container replication. This makes Kubernetes an ideal platform for hosting applications in the cloud, especially those that require rapid scaling or more frequent modifications and updates.
Basic concepts and functioning
Containers are grouped into so-called Pods, which are the basic operational units for Kubernetes, and these Pods automatically scale according to current requirements. Thus, a Pod consists of one or more containers that collectively participate in some activities and can be managed as one complex application.
Connecting containers into pods ensures that related applications, such as an application and a database server, are hosted and managed together, sharing a common environment, file system, and IP address. Scaling is implemented at the level of the entire Pod.
Since the IP address of a Pod can change depending on where the Pod is currently moved to, communication between Pods – for example, between the front-end and back-end layers of an application – is mediated by an abstract layer called Services. As a result, multi-layered applications hosted in multiple Pods do not need to remember the IP addresses of other Pods, which additionally change.
Pods are moved between Nodes (Node). A Node is a virtual or physical machine that creates the operating environment running Pods. The biggest advantage of Kubernetes technology is that it automatically handles the deployment of containers, monitors their availability and current performance requirements, and tries to make efficient use of the available server capacity. Kubernetes creates an abstraction layer on top of the servers so that all connected servers are available as a single machine.
Indestructible infrastructure
Because container applications are decoupled from the infrastructure, they are easily portable when running in a Kubernetes environment. They can be moved from corporate servers to hybrid and cloud environments, and between clouds, while maintaining consistency across environments.
This makes the customer’s infrastructure almost indestructible. If a Kubernetes-managed container fails, a new identical container is automatically started immediately and applications remain functional.
Kubernetes also reliably and efficiently solves problems related to predictable and unpredictable performance surges, for example for e-shops during peak shopping periods or if you sell tickets for a large event. If the application and its containers don’t keep up, a container clone, or another identical container, is created and performance is temporarily boosted. When the load returns to normal after some time, the redundant containers are dropped and you no longer need to pay for the computing power that is not being used.
Applications using Kubernetes from a security perspective
Kubernetes can be operated by technology companies with a reliable cloud infrastructure built to the highest security standards. These provide application development with high availability and, at the same time, with guaranteed management of the entire environment by experts who ensure continuity at all times and in real time. They thus create a strong prerequisite for establishing at least basic resilience (and more) against cyber-attack.
Considering cybersecurity is nowadays essential for all companies using information technology. If you are one of the lucky ones who have not yet encountered cyber attackers and attacks, congratulations, but you may be in line and be prepared. Unfortunately, in this day and age, this can change quickly and sometimes with irreversible consequences for companies. And this is a fact verified not only by our knowledge, but by worldwide surveys by specialised institutions. For a systematic start or extension of cyber protection, you can therefore also take advantage of the range of expertly prepared starter packages.
Automated operation
The great advantage of Kubernetes is its efficient operation in hybrid environments, i.e. in public cloud service providers, private clouds, IT and in-house server room infrastructure. It is very easy to choose where to run what workloads, or to move them operationally as needed, and to select the most cost-effective environment for application containers.
Automated management of application containers also relieves companies’ highly skilled and IT specialists from routine operations-related activities, so they can focus on productive activities such as application development and optimization. At the same time, Kubernetes also enables high flexibility regarding the introduction of new or improved applications, and it is easy to revert to an older, proven version if necessary. This ability to react quickly to customer requirements is a great competitive advantage in today’s dynamic business environment.
