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Kubernetes fundamentals

Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It was originally developed by Google and is now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).

Containers are lightweight, isolated software packages that contain all the necessary dependencies and configuration to run an application. Kubernetes provides a framework for managing and coordinating multiple containers across a cluster of machines.

The main purpose of Kubernetes is to abstract away the underlying infrastructure and provide a consistent set of APIs and tools for deploying and managing applications. It allows developers to package their applications into containers, define the desired state of the application, and let Kubernetes handle the scheduling and placement of containers on the cluster.

Kubernetes provides several key features that make it popular for managing containerized applications:

  1. Container Orchestration: Kubernetes automates the deployment and management of containers, ensuring that the desired number of containers are running and healthy at all times.

  2. Scaling and Load Balancing: Kubernetes can automatically scale the number of containers based on resource usage or incoming traffic. It also provides load balancing across containers to distribute traffic evenly.

  3. Self-Healing: Kubernetes monitors the health of containers and automatically restarts or replaces them if they fail. It also provides rolling updates, allowing applications to be updated without any downtime.

  4. Service Discovery and Networking: Kubernetes has built-in service discovery mechanisms that allow containers to find and communicate with each other. It also provides network routing and load balancing between containers.

  5. Storage Orchestration: Kubernetes can manage persistent storage for applications, allowing data to be stored and accessed by containers.

  6. Declarative Configuration: Kubernetes uses a declarative approach, where users define the desired state of the application and Kubernetes takes care of bringing the actual state in line with the desired state.

Kubernetes has a vast ecosystem of tools and services that extend its functionality, making it a popular choice for managing containerized applications in both on-premises and cloud environments.