This article explains the benefits of introducing the container orchestration platform Kubernetes.

Kubernetes is an open-source platform for automating the management, deployment, and scaling of containerized applications. Containers are a lightweight and easy-to-use virtualization technology that bundles the libraries and applications necessary to run an application. Kubernetes is known as container orchestration because it efficiently manages these containers.

By utilizing Kubernetes, resources can be maximized to improve system efficiency. So, what are the actual benefits?

1. Automation of Container Operations Management

Kubernetes automates tasks such as container creation, deletion, resource allocation, and integration with networks and storage, enabling the automation of the container lifecycle. This makes it easy for infrastructure engineers to perform tasks such as creating and deleting containers, allocating resources, and integrating with networks and storage. For example, Google operates over 2 billion containers weekly using Kubernetes.

2. Automatic Load Balancing

Kubernetes automatically distributes traffic to prevent uneven processing as application traffic increases. Depending on the volume of traffic to the application, Kubernetes can automatically scale the number of containers, ensuring stable operation even during peak times and reducing resource waste. For example, Spotify uses Kubernetes to provide music to over 200 million users monthly.

3. Continuous Application Updates

Kubernetes can update applications without downtime using a feature called rolling updates. This involves deploying new versions of containers gradually while gradually removing old versions. This method eliminates application downtime. Kubernetes easily manages the process of launching new applications, redirecting network traffic, and terminating old applications.

4. Automatic Application Recovery

Kubernetes can monitor the status of containers using a feature called health checks. If a container stops or becomes unresponsive, Kubernetes can automatically restart the container or move it to another node. This minimizes application failures.

5. Improved Disaster Recovery and System Failure Response

Kubernetes can copy or evacuate containers between multiple Kubernetes environments. By using this feature, you can enhance service continuity by moving containers to different managed Kubernetes services in the event of a disaster or to other cloud services or on-premises Kubernetes environments in the event of cloud service failures.

6. Improved System Availability and Operational Efficiency

Kubernetes provides features such as application health checks, automatic recovery, and load balancing, which increase application availability. This increases software uptime, reduces deployment failure rates, and shortens the time to recovery in the event of incidents. This leads to operational efficiency and reduces the workload on operations staff. For example, Netflix achieves 99.99% availability while deploying thousands of times daily using Kubernetes.

7. Shortened Service Development Time

With Kubernetes, you can add new features and fix bugs more quickly. Application developers can standardize container creation and deployment methods, reducing differences between development and production environments and shortening debugging and testing times.

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As shown above, Kubernetes is a platform that offers many benefits for the development and operation of containerized applications. Understanding the benefits of Kubernetes can improve application quality and performance, not only for infrastructure engineers but also for others.

Hexabase, which we provide, operates on Kubernetes, contributing to the efficiency of system development and the stability of system operation.

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