Kubernetes, also known as k8's, is an open-source container management tool. It automates the deployment and management of containers. These containers are more lightweight than the virtual machines often used when deploying applications. That's because all the apps within a container can share an operating system.
Kubernetes is within a class of tools called container schedulers. They sit on top of containers and can automate many parts of the process that humans used to do manually.
When using Kubernetes, people can also deploy containers to clusters, which are networks of virtual machines. Here are four ways that Kubernetes could upend and improve data management.
A container holds pieces of application code. Those get combined into pods. The pods include other containers that use common data file systems. This setup promotes efficiency when sharing data between applications. Kubernetes is a smart choice for data management because it takes care of load balancing and other management needs that could cause slowness if not addressed.
Kubernetes can automatically scale the number and type of containers required for particular tasks, as well as determine the available capacity. Since it balances the load between all applications, their containers and the respective users, it enables reliable performance even when workloads become more demanding.
Users can set a minimum number of pods for Kubernetes to use, then allow the tool to increase the resources as activity levels peak. This works well in cases where companies may have particularly data-intensive workloads to handle on certain days of the week. Kubernetes allows implementing diverse and fluctuating workloads, and it could keep them running efficiently.
2. It Caters to Running Data Workloads in the Cloud
Analysts point out that big data is changing. It's not becoming different concerning the amount of data that companies analyze. However, the technologies and infrastructures associated with big data have evolved. Today, big data applications often run in the cloud. Big data has become flexible data. Some people even view Kubernetes as the likey operating system for the cloud era.
Because Kubernetes allows serverless application architectures, it could change how back-end users interact with databases. Moreover, there may come a time where people port Hadoop or other tools associated with big data to Kubernetes.
Those paying attention to developments in this area caution that the time has not yet come where people can or should view Kubernetes as an operating system that supports their cloud-based workloads.
