Orchestration Celebration: 10 Years of Kubernetes
Originally designed by Google and now managed by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), the Kubernetes software orchestration system is now 10 years old. It was conceived and created as a way to make container-based cloud computing applications more portable. Kubernetes soon became the poster child and then the de facto standard for running microservices-level software components through stateless systems in clusters that could be initiated, tuned and stood down when needed.
Named after the Ancient Greek κυβερνήτης for steersman, navigator or guide, how steady a course does Kubernetes (aka K8S) continue to track… and is there stormy weather ahead?
An Operating System for the Cloud
Kubernetes is now widely regarded as the operating system (OS) of the cloud. Its impact is comparable to that of Linux. Just as Linux schedules processes on computers, Kubernetes schedules services in data centers.
“Today, it is impossible to think about containers without thinking about Kubernetes,” said Loris Degioanni, CTO and founder of cloud “attack graph” security company Sysdig. But Degioanni sees three challenges for the technology: complexity and usability, security, and community momentum. “As Kubernetes continues to evolve, its complexity continues to be potentially daunting for new users. Simplifying and improving the user experience will be crucial to ensure broader adoption and ease of use.”
Reflecting on a universal developer market still witnessing growing Kubernetes adoption, Degioanni suggests that the K8S attack surface is also expanding. Why might this be so? Because in the early years, building the platform took precedence over security. Gradually, the ecosystem started to develop and adopt Kubernetes-specific security tools, with Falco being a prime example.
“Early attacks often exploited basic misconfigurations or exposed APIs. However, as Kubernetes matured, attackers began targeting more sophisticated vectors, including supply chain attacks,” said Degioanni, who is also the co-creator of the Wireshark open source packet analyzer. Looking longer term, the Sysdig CTO expressed his hopes for broad community support to underpin Kubernetes emanating from special interest groups, commercial enterprise software firms, and, of course, the CNCF itself.
Resonating with the sentiment expressed towards Kubernetes throughout the tech industry, Pure Storage this month detailed its market analysis undertaken in partnership with Dimensional Research. The study was conducted to create a new data report addressing the rapid adoption of cloud-native platforms to speed application delivery and fuel enterprise innovation.
Voice of Kubernetes Experts
The analysis, The Voice of Kubernetes Experts 2024: The Data Trends Driving the Future of the Enterprise, explored the top priorities and trends in the cloud-native landscape, including modern virtualization, cloud-native database and AI/ML adoption using Kubernetes and the rise of platform engineering. Respondents all had more than four years of experience directly managing data services in a Kubernetes environment.
According to the report’s findings, 80% of respondents confirmed that over the next five years, all or most of their new applications will be built in cloud-native platforms in hybrid cloud environments. More than half (58%) of organizations plan to migrate some of their VM workloads to Kubernetes, with 65% planning to migrate VM workloads within the next two years.
“Experienced platform leaders are running mission-critical applications like databases, analytics and AI/ML on Kubernetes at massive scale in hybrid and multi-cloud environments. It’s no surprise that these platform leaders are also paving the way for VMs to be managed by Kubernetes without compromising enterprise requirements, supported by solutions like Red Hat OpenShift and Portworx. The latest findings underscore the urgency of elevating the platform engineering role to manage infrastructure alongside the application stack for seamless innovation,” said Murli Thirumale, VP and general manager for Portworx by Pure Storage.
Nearly all of the respondents run data-intensive workloads on cloud-native platforms, with critical applications such as databases (72%), analytics (67%) and AI/ML workloads (54%) being built on Kubernetes.
Above the Software Substrate
Kubernetes has clearly matured from its initial status as an emerging technology to a cornerstone for data-intensive workload applications over the past decade. With Kubernetes itself being such a lower-level substrate technology, it is perhaps no surprise to see trends surfacing including the rise of platform engineering, a renewed focus on infrastructure management and configuration, plus of course the need to lock down K8S deployments with more formalized security practices as it enters an increasing number of mission-critical use cases.
Perhaps what matters most continues to be the community involvement and support element in Kubernetes i.e. as deep as these tools and processes are, what really matters is who is at the helm, what a natty nautical coincidence.
