6 Ways You Can Adopt To Implement Kubernetes Successfully

Kubernetes is basically an open-source container platform that automates manual processes involved in deploying and scaling container applications. Even though it is powerful but that also contributes towards making the platform more sophisticated. As a result, you might have to get past its steep learning curve before you can take full advantage of this platform.

Due to the higher complexity, you will have to face downtime when you are implementing Kubernetes. The added complexity also means that it is not the best choice for automating simple workflows and it carries little to no operational overhead. This makes Kubernetes a great option for minimizing friction in cloud-native software.

The Kubernetes project combines cloud-based tools with technologies to create a container platform. According to Gordon Haff, Technology Evangelist at Red Hat said, “Few enterprises will want to assemble all the continuous delivery, monitoring, tracing, service mesh, and other components that pair with Kubernetes to make up a production platform for writing and deploying cloud-native applications.”

In this article, you will learn about six secrets successful teams use to implement Kubernetes successfully.

Start Small To Go Big

When you look at how successful teams deploy Kubernetes, you will see that they start small and go big. This means that they begin their Kubernetes implementations with non-critical applications. When they get a grasp of how it works, they can take it to the next level.

NileshDeo, Director of product marketing at Cloudbolt Software advises businesses against jumping in right away, His advice, “Do not jump in with both feet. Spend time understanding Kubernetes better and how it will change the architecture, strategy, and culture.”

According to Muneeb Qadar Siddiqui, you need to approach Kubernetes as a software development project or an app development project just like software development companies and app development company in Dallas do. You have to create a comprehensive plan just like you would usually do for a software development project. In addition to this, you will also have to follow the best design, development and testing practices. If you do not do that, you increase the risk of Kubernetes and its hosted application from breaking down. What’s worse, it will be extremely difficult for you to recover from it.

Dig Deeper

Instead of rushing the Kubernetes deployment, you need to spend more time on creating, testing, automating and monitoring the results. You might be tempted to opt for service providers who promise to get the ball rolling quickly but you need to understand that it will make your remaining journey more complex and painful. You are better off-putting in the hard work early and enjoy smoother sailing later instead of going the other way around.

Here are some of the key questions you need to ask yourself before you can move ahead.

  • How are you planning to scale cluster as you move into later stages?
  • How will you increase storage capacity to make subnets bigger?
  • How will you cope with latency?
  • How will you upgrade the managed nodes and control plane?
  • How will you handle application updates?

Automate What’s Possible

According to GadiNaor, Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Alcide, “The complexity of integrating and deploying cloud-native software outstrips the ability of developers to manage and producing updates in days or hours.” Businesses that have implemented Kubernetes successfully augment their continuous delivery and continuous integration practices by automating stuff that is possible.

When you apply automation throughout the continuous integration and continuous delivery lifecycle, it will lead to the simplification of continuous delivery and continuous integration processes for developers. This will speed up the code production process and pave the way for a smoother development process.

Yossi Jana, DevOps Team Lead at AllCloud shares an interesting perspective about how you can simplify Kubernetes deployment lifecycle when he said, “This is done by using customized infrastructure-as-code templates for the process of building and deploying on top of a cluster and having the process of getting the desired state to the current state without human intervention.” You need to take full advantage of Kubernetes declarative properties in order to succeed with Kubernetes implementation.

Check ForResillience

As mentioned before, you might have to experience downtime when deploying Kubernetes but how you deal with it will make the difference. If you are waiting for the downtime instead of planning for it, you will struggle. Make sure you automate and test everything with declarative code as well as dynamically generated specifications.

This will help you evaluate how resilient your environment actually is. You don’t want to be getting an unpleasant surprise when you are not prepared to handle it. Check for failures throughout the clusters, network and cloud and iron them out before they can do the damage.

Create a Feasibility Report

Just because something is popular does not mean that you should adopt it and use it. The same goes true for Kubernetes. Instead of jumping on the Kubernetes bandwagon, you need to ask yourself, is it really feasible for your business to implement Kubernetes or not?

Kubernetes is an ideal platform for those looking to deploy, manage and scale microservices but it can be an overkill for many use cases. You need to find the best application fit before deploying Kubernetes. Even if it is the right fit, you need to make sure that you follow the best practices and a methodology for its implementation otherwise, you won’t be able to take full advantage of Kubernetes capabilities.

Prioritize Security

What I really like about Kubernetes is its community’s attention to security. This means that you can easily get access to resources and tools which can help you to meet your Kubernetes and cloud security needs. That does not mean that you will not face new threats but at least you can mitigate them or minimize their impact by following security best practices.

Take advantage of security features such as Role-Based Access Control and ensure secure identity and access management. In addition to this, you can also beef up your infrastructure security by using a firewall and implementing a network monitoring and intrusion detection system.

What steps do you take to implement Kubernetes successfully in your organization? Let us know in the comments section below.