What is Kubernetes?
Kubernetes (or K8s) is one of the most popular container orchestration tools on the market. It is an open-source orchestrator that enables users to manage application containers. This type of architecture offers high stability for your applications and software, by making them more resilient and scalable. They are also deployed, updated and operated simply and automatically. OVHcloud offers a Managed Kubernetes service. This solution relies on Public Cloud instances to deploy your application architectures — but you can connect it to a private, hybrid or multi-cloud solution. This system was developed by Google engineers. It was announced in 2015 at the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), in partnership with the Linux Foundation.
Kubernetes advantages
Kubernetes offers many advantages that make it a leading platform in its sector. It is popular with companies all over the world, and has been designed to manage a wide variety of applications that require heterogeneous workloads. Manage the lifecycle of containerised applications and software. To do this, the platform allocates server resources to match the requirements of different containers. This means applications can be scaled up without any impact on how they work, and they also benefit from both high availability and stability.
To achieve this performance, the container does not virtualise the entire solution, as a virtual machine (VM) would. Only the OS, RAM and file system are virtualised. As a result, containers are less resource-intensive in terms of CPU and RAM.
Kubernetes architectures are known for delivering optimal performance to containerised software applications at an affordable price. They also offer portability for applications to private or public clouds.
Security is of utmost importance — so each container can have specific measures to isolate threats from malicious attacks.
OVHcloud relies on its team of experts to offer you a simple, high-performance interface. This way, you can deploy your applications quickly on the cloud.
What are the components of a Kubernetes architecture?
The Kubernetes architecture is composed of different elements. These elements are combined to help you use, deploy and update containerised software.
The main component of Kubernetes is the cluster that groups virtual and physical servers. These machines will perform the role of a master, or that of a worker node.
Kubernetes master component
The main function of the master is to organise the creation and deletion of nodes and containers. It also distributes traffic as needed. This master server is what administrators use to configure and interact with the entire architecture.
Several components are used.
Etcd
Etcd is the key-value database used by the cluster. It is a single data repository for all containers. This data is persistent. A backup plan for etcd data is required if it is used as memory for the entire cluster.
Kube-apiserver
The kube-apiserver is the main point of contact with the cluster entities. The API server validates and configures the data that is then used in the nodes, services, and replication controllers.
Kube-controller-manager
The kube-controller-manager uses the API server to monitor the server’s status. This service will deploy a node, and manage it throughout its lifecycle. This component guarantees the architecture’s integrity and availability.
Kube-scheduler
Kube-scheduler is the service that enables Kubernetes to offer high performance. This is the component responsible for allocating tasks between nodes, and it does so depending on the workload and the resources available.
Cloud-controller-manager
The cloud-controller-manager is an abstraction layer between the APIs, the cloud provider’s tools and their Kubernetes equivalent. It enables full platform portability.
Kubernetes nodes
The nodes are the child servers that make up the cluster. Like the master, different components perform the functions of managing the node, pods, and their containers.
Pod
The pod is the basic component of a Kubernetes node. It contains one or more containers that share resources. Each pod is accessible via a unique IP address in the cluster. These containers hold the applications. The most commonly used runtime environments are Docker and Helm charts.
A pod can have storage spaces available for the various containers it hosts. Each pod also has a label that allows it to be identified in the global architecture.
Kubelet
Kubelet is an agent process that runs on each node in the Kubernetes architecture. Its role is to manage the node’s expected state. It checks that the node’s health is correct, as instructed by the master server. It also traces the node’s performance and workload data back to the server, so that the Kube-scheduler can efficiently distribute tasks.
kube-proxy
The kube-proxy is a network proxy that, when run on the nodes, can be used to manage the virtual IP addresses of the pods. You can access your backups both inside and outside the cluster. It is also used to load balance services running on a node.
These components enable Kubernetes to offer an efficient, high-performance cluster orchestration system that is widely adopted by the community.
Setting up Kubernetes with OVHcloud
OVHcloud deploys, hosts and maintains all of the components of your Kubernetes architecture. Our experts work on the master components, as well as the components installed on your nodes. This is to prevent bugs and guarantee security for your architecture. Our anti-DDoS protection is also included.
Our goal is to help you focus on developing and running your applications, as well as your containerised software layers.
The OVHcloud Load Balancer boosts the performance of your Kubernetes architecture. This service can be used to distribute traffic efficiently across multiple nodes. You can define the automatic scalability of your pods according to your applications’ usage statuses. If required, set quotas on the CPU and RAM performance of your nodes. The computing resources for your cluster can be adjusted dynamically.
Finally, through the CNCF Conformance Program, OVHcloud guarantees total reversibility for your data.
Deploying containers via a Kubernetes architecture offers benefits in terms of performance, scalability and high availability.
Deploy a Kubernetes architecture
Creating a Kubernetes architecture involves sizing a cluster to suit your needs. Define the number of pods, then the volume of container instances (replicas) required for each. Once you have done this, deploy your Kubernetes solution in three steps with OVHcloud.
- 1. Create your Kubernetes cluster
Create your project step-by-step in the Public Cloud, with our guidance and support.
- 2. Add instance-based nodes
These are created in the cluster, and contain your pods. These can host a single container, or several containers that work together.
- 3. Connect to Kubernetes and start deploying containers
Kubernetes is delivered, and your worker nodes are provisioned in just a few minutes. Using the Kubernetes Dashboard interface, deploy software layers and applications in your containers. By opting for the architecture offered by OVHcloud, you can focus on managing your pods, containers and persistent data. We take care of the rest.
Persistent volumes are based on standard or high-performance additional disks, which guarantee access to your data and applications.
Kubernetes offers quick isolation for development, recipe and production environments. To do this, simply transfer the configuration file from one cluster to another, and describe the expected state.
Do you need help deploying your infrastructure? Browse our technical documentation for Kubernetes.
Conclusion on Kubernetes architecture
Today, high availability is the norm — so your users expect your applications to be constantly accessible. Container-based software and application design minimises downtime, while delivering higher performance and scalability.
The solution benefits from an active community that is involved in regularly upgrading components and services. New versions are offered at OVHcloud within a few months of their deployment.
In addition, OVHcloud infrastructures and services are ISO/IEC 27001, 27701 and HDS certified to host your data and applications securely.
Kubernetes is perfect for deploying containerised software architectures, regardless of their volume or complexity — and our solution leverages the power and stability of OVHcloud cloud services.