What is Kubernetes?
Kubernetes is open source software that starts, stops, moves and repairs containerized applications across a group of servers. You tell it what should be running, and it keeps checking and correcting until that is true.
Talk to an engineer Knowledge base
What it is
It began at Google and is now maintained under the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. A request might be three copies of a web application. If a server fails and one copy goes with it, Kubernetes starts a replacement on another server.
It runs containers, the packaged applications that tools like Docker build, on Linux machines. It takes real skill to operate. A business with one application on one server is usually better served by Docker Compose.
What businesses use it for
- Self-healing applications: failed containers are restarted and moved to healthy servers.
- Rolling updates: new versions go out gradually, with a path back if something breaks.
- Scaling: with autoscaling configured, more copies of an application start when demand rises and stop afterward.
- Shared servers: several teams and services run on the same machines, kept apart from each other.
How KawaConnect uses Kubernetes
We build Kubernetes on Talos Linux with Cilium networking, and we manage it with Helm and GitOps so every change is recorded in version control. GitLab CI/CD pipelines build container images and deploy them. We also move workloads from a single Docker host to Kubernetes when they outgrow it.
Related services
Linux and Kubernetes
Cluster design, GitOps and delivery pipelines.
Docker consulting
Containers on one host, and when to move beyond it.
Cloud infrastructure
Hybrid and Azure setups with recovery planning.
Learn more
- Kubernetes on WikipediaA neutral overview of what Kubernetes does, its main concepts, and its history.
- Kubernetes project websiteThe home of the project, with release news, case studies, and community information.
- Kubernetes documentationConcepts, tutorials, and the reference that explains every part of a cluster.
- Talos Linux guideOur guide to the operating system we run Kubernetes on.
Wondering whether you need Kubernetes at all?
Docker Compose on one host is sometimes the better answer. Describe the workload and we will tell you which fits.
Start a conversation