Introduction
Kubernetes and DevOps go hand in hand and provide the best outcomes. In this article, we will learn about Kubernetes which is a must have for Enterprise DevOps and how it helps organisations achieve managed DevOps services.
What is DevOps?
DevOps is a method of software development that brings together development and operations teams. Kubernetes is a free and open source container orchestration technology for large-scale deployments. On the surface, it’s not evident where these two intersect, why they collide, or whether their union achieves the desired results.
What is Kubernetes?
Kubernetes is an open source platform employed to manage containerized workloads as well as services, that includes declarative setup and automation capabilities. It has a massive ecosystem that is rapidly increasing.
There is, however, a connection between DevOps and Kubernetes. I’d like to take you through the links between enterprise DevOps, agile culture, the role of containers in CI/CD pipelines, and Kubernetes integration into the DevOps pipeline which results in achieving managed DevOps services.
Enterprise DevOps: Culture Alone Isn’t Enough!
In DevOps, Enterprise Culture Isn’t Enough Development and operations teams used to work in separate silos before DevOps. Single-discipline teams were common at the time. Each team has its own set of procedures, goals, and resources.
These differences, unsurprisingly, usually resulted in team conflicts, bottlenecks, and inefficiencies. It also created a “we versus them” atmosphere, which was detrimental to customers and the company’s bottom line.
DevOps, when done correctly, can help with some of these issues, such as teams not understanding each other’s processes. This is achieved through enforcing cultural changes that demand that procedures and workflows overlap and run in tandem. However, these cultural shifts are insufficient to alleviate all of the issues associated with segregated schools.
DevOps teams employ pipelines to address these technology challenges. These integrated toolchains make it simple for programmers to publish, test, and change code. Pipelines include the automation and configurations of operational members, as well as the version control systems of developers.
This centralised toolset guarantees that procedures work in tandem rather than competing with one another. It also means that one department does not have to wait for the other. When properly planned, pipelines enable visibility across the whole software development life cycle (SDLC). As a result of the increased visibility, teams are able to discover and address issues more rapidly.
All of this is OK until teams’ tools limit them, at which time a change is required. Consider transferring your DevOps operations to the cloud. Kubernetes is an excellent choice for moving infrastructure to public clouds like Azure or AWS.
Role of Containers in Enterprise-Scale CI/CD
A pipeline can dramatically improve an organisation’s agility and products once it is in place. Many pipelines, on the other hand, are cobbled together using a variety of technologies, especially at first. Integrating these tools typically necessitates the use of custom plugins or wasteful workarounds.
Even if tools work well together, the level of specialisation necessary for each tool quickly overwhelms toolchains. The entire system must be rebuilt every time one of the pipeline’s components has to be changed or improved. The term “containerization” refers to a way of storing and transporting goods.
Containerization allows DevOps teams to break down their toolchains into microservices. Each tool, or a specific capacity of a tool, can be split down into a modular component that can run independently of the rest of the system. This enables teams to easily swap out tools or make pipeline adjustments without interrupting the rest of the operation.
If a testing tool requires a specific host configuration, for example, teams are not compelled to use that configuration for other tools. This allows DevOps teams the freedom to pick and choose the technologies that best meet their needs, as well as reconfigure and scale as needed.
The drawback is that handling such a huge number of containers could be challenging.As a result, teams need containers as well as a framework for running them, such as Kubernetes.
Kubernetes: An Enabler for Enterprise DevOps
Kubernetes has a number of features and capabilities that make it suitable for building, deploying, and scaling enterprise-grade DevOps pipelines. These capabilities enable teams to automate the manual labour that would be required for orchestration otherwise. If teams want to increase output or, more importantly, quality, this type of automation is essential.
Infrastructure and Configuration as Code
You can use Kubernetes to write code to build your entire infrastructure. All features of your apps and tools, including access controls, ports, and databases, are accessible to Kubernetes. Code can also be used to manage environment settings. Rather than running a script every time you need to deploy a new environment, you can provide Kubernetes with a source repository containing config files.
Code can also be preserved using version control systems, much like your development programmes. This makes it easier for teams to specify and adjust infrastructure and configurations, as well as push changes to Kubernetes for handling automatically.
Cross Functional Collaboration
When using Kubernetes to coordinate your pipeline, you can handle granular controls. This enables you to grant specific roles or applications permission to do specific tasks while restricting others from doing so. Customers’ access to deployment or review processes, and testers’ access to builds, for example, could be restricted pending permission.
This level of control enables smooth collaboration while keeping your configurations and resources consistent. Controlling the scale and deployment of your pipeline resources allows you to keep costs down while also decreasing Kubernetes security risks.
On-Demand Infrastructure
Developers can construct infrastructure on the fly with Kubernetes’ self-service catalogue capability. This includes cloud services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) resources, which are made available via open service and API standards. These services are reliant on the settings that operations members permit, which helps to maintain compatibility and security consistency.
Zero-Downtime Deployments
Thanks to Kubernetes’ rolling updates and automated rollback functionality, you can deploy new versions with no downtime. Instead of shutting down production environments and relaunching updated ones, you may use Kubernetes to redistribute traffic amongst your accessible services, upgrading one cluster at a time.
These characteristics make it simple to achieve blue/green deployments. You may also make it easier for customers to prioritise new features and do A/B testing to ensure that product features are required and appreciated.
DevOps, like many other agile methodologies, attempts to improve the entire software development life cycle. However, the main purpose is to release software as quickly as feasible. To achieve this goal, DevOps pipelines become heavily reliant on collaboration, communication, integration, and automation.
Conclusion
Kubernetes plays a critical role in serving Enterprise DevOps and assisting in achieving managed DevOps Services.