Kubernetes management: what to choose and where to start

DevOps is all about transforming the software and service delivery pipeline using the right tools and practices. Kubernetes is one of such tools, yet it is quite a complicated one.

Many companies and businesses think Kubernetes can help them deal with multiple challenges of building a reliable, self-healing, and immutable infrastructure. It does, but there are some challenges to deal with, and unless your DevOps team is keen in using Kubernetes already, you might find the amount of work needed to be done quite overwhelming.

Kubernetes is not a one-click installation package. It is rather a tool for ongoing building and improvement of the production-ready infrastructure. Using such tool requires having the full picture in mind, knowing the ropes and advanced features of the system, and improving along the way. The process will be similar to hammering the nails with a microscope otherwise.

This is why knowing what Kubernetes management tools are out there and what to look for when choosing one can be hugely beneficial for using this great container orchestration solution to the fullest extent.

Characteristics of a great Kubernetes management solution

There are some important Kubernetes management platform features to be aware of when choosing the appropriate one for your case:

• Readiness for production. These characteristics include features like easy setup capabilities, strong security integration, capabilities to self-healing, backup, recovery and all the other management tasks. In addition, the solution you choose should be able to provide all of the Kubernetes benefits (scalability, high-availability, self-healing for the apps you run), so the cluster you build will benefit from all of these.

• Multi-cloud support. One of the most important traits of a great Kubernetes management tool is the ability to leverage the multi-cloud strategy to the fullest. Why is it so important? Kubernetes is a cloud-agnostic tool itself, allowing the DevOps team to neglect the limitations of different data centers, cloud service providers, and cloud regions. Using Kubernetes allows building a homogeneous environment, so the apps can be delivered everywhere across multiple cloud service providers, free from the hosting limits. This requires a significant work on configuring Kubernetes and the infrastructure behind it — so make sure the solution you choose has such capabilities.

• Raw data visualization and smart alerts. Managing a Kubernetes cluster requires having quite a sophisticated skill set, and one of the reasons is the huge volume of raw data the system throws at DevOps engineers. Having the means to visualize this data helps a lot to understand what is happening inside the cluster at the moment, and configuring smart alerts helps to invoke rapid response for root cause analysis.

• Training and support. The last, but not the least important point is making sure your business gets all the training and 24/7 support while acquiring the skills and mastering the DevOps tools needed to build and maintain a truly resilient, swift-to-modify and immutable infrastructure using Kubernetes. Such support and training should come from a trusted partner or service provider who had already mastered Kubernetes and can help your DevOps team learn the ropes and avoid doing mistakes.

IT Svit can become such a partner, as we are skilled at Kubernetes management and leveraging its full potential to meet and exceed our customer’s expectations. We have built several neat instruments like this AWS + Ansible + Kubectl container or this Docker + Jenkins + Selenium + Codeception container that can make the lives much easier for many DevOps specialists. We also have an extended version of this solution, including the Kube-AWS tool, available on GitHub and Docker.

These tools were already warmly met by our customers. Feel free to use them and share the word! Should you have any questions regarding Kubernetes management — contact us right away, we are always glad to help!