Kubernetes

Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It originated at Google and was donated to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) in 2014, where it has become the de facto standard for container orchestration.

A Kubernetes cluster consists of a control plane and multiple worker nodes. The control plane runs components such as the API server, etcd, the scheduler, and controllers; the worker nodes run the kubelet, the network proxy, and a container runtime. Users declare desired state through API objects like pods, deployments, services, and config maps, and Kubernetes steadily reconciles the real state to match. The platform supports automated rollouts and rollbacks, self-healing, and horizontal scaling.

Networking and storage: Kubernetes provides a flat network space for pod-to-pod communication and uses Services to expose workloads within the cluster. External access can be provided via Ingresses or LoadBalancer services. Storage is managed with PersistentVolumes and PersistentVolumeClaims, with dynamic provisioning through StorageClasses. Secrets and ConfigMaps handle sensitive data and configuration separately from code.

Management and ecosystem: The system is API-driven and declarative, with extensions such as CustomResourceDefinitions and Operators to codify domain-specific logic. Security is addressed through RBAC, Secrets management, and service accounts. The Kubernetes ecosystem includes extensive tooling for monitoring, logging, and automation and is supported by major cloud providers, most on-premises offerings, and a growing set of hybrid deployments.