What is Kubernetes for Dummies?

In recent years, containerization has revolutionized the way applications are deployed and managed. One of the most popular container runtimes is Docker, along with Rocket and containerd. Containers have eliminated the need for a guest operating system (OS) dependency, running instead as separate processes within the same OS.

However, this setup comes with its own set of challenges. Imagine if an application running on servers were to fail due to some reason. Rebuilding it from scratch would be a daunting task. Moreover, having a dedicated virtual machine (VM) for each application leads to portability issues and makes operations teams treat them like pets rather than machines.

Virtual machines also waste resources as a significant percentage of allocated resources remain unused. Resource sharing within a VM is not optimal even if it is designed correctly. As a result, administrators are burdened with managing multiple servers instead of dependencies.

To make matters worse, allocating a minimum amount of resources to the guest OS and over-provisioning resources to VMs to meet peak utilization rather than regular use adds to the complexity. Virtual machines are heavy, slow to start, and introduce an extra dependency to maintain both the guest and host OS.

It is clear that we were trying to solve runtime, library, and dependency problems but inadvertently introduced a heavyweight guest OS layer in between, which has its own set of disadvantages.

This is where Kubernetes comes into play. Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration system that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containers. It was designed to address the issues mentioned above by providing a platform-agnostic way to deploy and manage applications.

Kubernetes achieves this by abstracting away the underlying infrastructure, allowing developers to focus on writing code rather than managing servers. It also provides features such as self-healing, horizontal scaling, and load balancing, making it an attractive choice for organizations looking to streamline their application deployment process.

In summary, Kubernetes is a game-changer in the world of containerization. By providing a robust and scalable way to deploy and manage applications, it addresses the challenges posed by traditional VM-based infrastructure. With Kubernetes, developers can focus on writing code rather than managing servers, making it an essential tool for any organization looking to stay ahead in today's fast-paced digital landscape.

What is kubernetes for dummies