Kubernetes

Kubernetes is an open-source platform for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerised applications.

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Core concept

Orchestration based on declaration: the desired state is declared (e.g. "3 instances of web server X"), and Kubernetes permanently ensures that this state is reached and maintained in the cluster (self-healing).

Assessment

• Use case: Standard platform for modern software architectures (microservices, cloud-native).
• Advantage: Unrivalled scalability, portability across cloud providers, and a vast range of extensions.
• Limitation: Very steep learning curve and high complexity; self-operated (bare metal) deployment is only advisable for very experienced teams.

Related topics

• Cloud Native, the runtime architecture context for Kubernetes.
• Platform Engineering, the platform context for Kubernetes.
• IaC and GitOps, the automation context for Kubernetes.