Kubernetes is a powerful tool for managing and scaling containerized applications, but it may not be the right solution for every organization or application. K8s has become the de facto standard for container orchestration, it’s designed to work with a variety of container runtimes, including Docker, and can run on a variety of cloud providers, including Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure.
So, should you use Kubernetes?
→ If you're deploying on-premises, it can provide a consistent platform that works across different environments. Kubernetes can be deployed on-premise, making it easier to manage your applications in-house.
→ If you need to manage multiple services, scale applications, or deploy across different cloud providers, K8s can handle complex workloads, automate deployment processes, and integrate with other tools and services like cloud LoadBalancers (handle ingress traffic), cloud DNS (auto-generate DNS records), it can provision various storage resources, certificates and many more.
→ If you are deploying multiple versions of an application, Kubernetes can also handle rolling updates, allowing you to update an application without any downtime.
→ If you’re deploying containerized batch jobs, K8s can handle that, such as data processing and machine learning workloads. It can schedule and manage these jobs, and it can also handle failures and retries.
→ If you're using a service mesh like Istio, Kubernetes can provide an ideal platform for deploying and managing your services. It can integrate with Istio, allowing you to manage traffic and security across your services.
On the other hand, Kubernetes can be complex and challenging to learn and manage, particularly for small teams or organizations with limited resources. For sure, we can argue that Kubernetes may not be the best solution for every organization, and here’s why:
→ Kubernetes has a steep learning curve, a vast array of features and components, which can be overwhelming for organizations that are just getting started with container orchestration. Additionally, managing a K8s cluster requires a high level of technical expertise, which may not be available in all organizations.
→ Kubernetes requires a high level of technical expertise to operate effectively, which may require hiring additional staff or investing in training programs.
→ While Kubernetes is a popular container orchestration platform, there are many other options available. Some popular Kubernetes alternatives that you may consider for container orchestration are - Docker Swarm, Apache Mesos, Nomad, OpenShift, Docker Enterprise, Cloud Foundry, Amazon ECS.
If you are a smaller organization with less complex requirements, you may find that simpler container orchestration platforms are more appropriate. It may not be necessary for your business if you’re just getting started with containerization, smaller organizations with fewer applications may not need the complexity and overhead of K8s.
In summary, we usually recommend to our customers to use Kubernetes since it simplifies day-to-day operations and drastically increases uptime of their applications, but this is highly dependent on the size and expertise of the team, frequency of roll outs and many, many more. At Devolut we have a number of certified K8s administrators that can help you plan, organize and manage your containerized workloads while keeping in mind your specific use-case.
If you are interested to find out more, say hi to hello@devolut.io!