Stay Ahead of the Game with Kubernetes

Kubernetes is a powerful platform for deploying and managing containerized applications at scale, and it has become increasingly popular in Switzerland in recent years.

One way to approach it is outsourcing. This can be a strategic and cost-effective option for organizations that do not have the in-house DevOps expertise, know-how, or resources to manage their infrastructure and application operations efficiently.

Not every tech company is in the business of building platforms and operating Kubernetes clusters. Thus by partnering with an experienced partner, companies can tap into a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help them run their applications.

Some companies adopt Kubernetes and look to leverage its capabilities themselves. It’s essential to consider time, effort, and possible implications while utilizing the latest developments and continually adding value to the core business.

In all cases, it will be helpful to align with fundamentals. For this reason, I have compiled a quick guide to Kubernetes in 2023 and best practices in Switzerland.

1. Understand the basics: Before diving into Kubernetes, have a solid understanding of the reasoning and concepts. This could include cloud infrastructure, networking, containers, how they liaise with each other, and how they can be managed with Kubernetes.
2. Plan your deployment carefully: When deploying applications with Kubernetes, you must plan thoroughly and consider your workloads‘ specific needs and requirements. This includes but is not limited to resource requirements, network connectivity, scalability, latency, and security considerations.
3. Use appropriate resource limits: One of the critical benefits of Kubernetes is its ability to manage resources dynamically based on the needs of your applications. To take advantage of this, try to set appropriate resource limits for your application. This will help ensure that your application has the resources they need to run effectively while preventing them from consuming too many resources and impacting other applications.
4. Monitor your application: It’s essential to monitor your applications and the underlying Kubernetes cluster to ensure they are running smoothly and to identify any issues that may arise. You want to analyze the alerts and react accordingly. You can use several tools and practices to monitor your applications, including log analysis, monitoring with tools like Prometheus and Grafana, and alerting systems.
5. Use appropriate networking configurations: Networking is critical to any Kubernetes deployment, and choosing the proper network configuration is substantial. What about load balancing, service discovery, and network segmentation?
6. Secure your application: Security is a top concern for many companies and organizations in Switzerland. You cannot proceed without ensuring that your Kubernetes deployment is secure. At this stage, your team is implementing network segmentation, using secure container runtime environments, and implementing advanced authentication and authorization systems.
7. Consider using a managed Kubernetes service: For companies without the resources or needing DevOps expertise to manage their clusters, managed Kubernetes services can be a business-saving solution. With managed services, you can get a production-ready cluster, i.e., a fully-managed Kubernetes environment, allowing teams and software engineers to focus on developing new features and deploying their applications rather than managing the underlying infrastructure.
8. Stay up-to-date with the latest developments: The Kubernetes ecosystem is constantly evolving, and it’s better to stay up-to-date with the latest developments and best practices. This may involve subscribing to newsletters like VSHN, VSHN.timer, or Digests, attending conferences and CNCF meetups, and following key players in the Kubernetes community.

By following best practices, IT leaders, stakeholders, and decision-makers can ensure that they use Kubernetes constructively and get the most out of the platform technology.