KubeFM

Helm is a popular tool for templating and packaging Kubernetes resources, but does it mean it's the best?

In this episode of KubeFM, Jacco draws a parallel between Helm and PHP and the similarity in which both tools became a success despite their focus on templating strings.

You will also learn:

• Helm's flaws and how you can avoid them.

• Alternative tools that can (partially) replace Helm.

• How to manage third-party packages and templating internal YAML resources.

Jacco shared several examples demonstrating duplication in Helm charts and a lack of structured typing.

More info

• Find all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/VxK7nzXWq

• Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.

By default, Kubernetes Secrets are not encrypted; values are merely base64 encoded.

And this is fine — at least, this is what Mac argues in this episode of KubeFM.

Mac says it all comes down to thinking strategically about security and where the Secrets could be leaked.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How to define a threat model to inform your security posture and mitigations.

• How Kubernetes Secrets offer sufficient guarantees for most common threat models.

• If you should use Hashicorp Vault or Kubernetes Secrets (and when not to use auto-unsealing).

Mac also covers tips and advice on becoming a security expert.

More info

• Find all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/rFlp8Yj9s

• Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.

What does it take to build a Kubernetes cluster on bare metal?

In this episode of KubeFM, you will learn how to plan and execute a successful setup for a bare-metal Kubernetes cluster.

You will follow Mathias' journey as he rebuilt his cluster several times and learn how to:

• Identify dependencies and priorities between components to avoid incidents in the future.

• Leverage FluxCD to have a predictable and documented setup.

• Secure the nodes from external traffic with firewalls and Cilium cluster-wide network policies.

• Use Talos to have a self-contained Kubernetes operating system.

Mathias also shared tips and advice for other engineers embarking on the same process.

More info

• Find all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/WxLPC_Wlb

• Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.

Should every project start with Kubernetes?

And if not, when is the right time to switch without incurring (unbearable) technical debt?

In this episode of KubeFM, you will learn how the team at Loovatech designed an app from scratch and decided to use Docker Compose to host their infrastructure cheaply and effectively in a single virtual machine.

As the project grew, the team had to make the difficult choice to rearchitect their infrastructure and plan for scalability and fault tolerance.

Follow their journey and learn:

• How to migrate from a single Docker Compose file with 24 containers to Kubernetes.

• How to verify that your apps are stateless and what changes are necessary to deploy them into Kubernetes.

• How to manage expectations and explain the value of a complex migration to your boss or (non-tech-savvy) customers.

Vasily and Ronald also shared how they integrated ArgoCD and their existing CI/CD to leverage push and pull-based GitOps and their plans to incorporate multi-tenancy and custom metrics.

More info

• Find all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/-lNhQ2fgq

• Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.

How do you upgrade a Kubernetes cluster to the latest release without breaking anything?

And what if you had to upgrade hundreds of clusters simultaneously?

In this episode, Pierre explains the process, tooling and testing strategy in upgrading clusters at scale.

You will learn:

• How the team at Qovery keeps updated with the latest (vanilla) Kubernetes changes and managed services changelogs.

• How to upgrade Helm charts gradually and safely. Pierre has some tips for Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs).

• How to test API deprecations with end-to-end testing.

• How to automate the process of upgrading clusters.

You will also learn from Pierre's experience in managing stateful applications in Kubernetes with 4500 nodes on bare metal.

More info

• Find all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/cVYyDRLqQ

• Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.

Are logs enough to troubleshoot your deployment and infrastructure?

Perhaps, but there's a better way to observe, monitor and debug your stack: embracing observability.

In this episode, Adriana explains how she learned to love Open Telemetry and:

• How you can combine Traces, Metrics and logs to really understand the root cause of your production issues.

• What the Open Telemetry Collector is, and how it can simplify the ingestion of traces, logs and metrics without tying you into a particular vendor?

• How to convince colleagues and the business to adopt new technologies.

In this episode, Bart also invited a special guest, Hannah (Adriana's daughter), to ensure that Adriana tells the truth and nothing but the truth.

Hannah shared some great tips on public speaking and… baking!

More info

• Find all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/8JlHN6l1F

• Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.

Follow Gazal's journey as he shares the lessons learned in adopting, rolling out and scaling EKS clusters at Target Australia over seven years.

You will learn:

1. What is Bottlerocket OS.

2. How Bottlerocket helps with securing your workloads.

3. Karpenter as an alternative to the Cluster Autoscaler.

4. How Karpenter can efficiently schedule and de-provision workloads.

Gazal hinted at a 40% reduction in compute capacity when combining Bottlerocket OS and Karpenter (and 30% lower response times).

More info

• Find all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/YnM9dfSDZ

• Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.

How do you scale your pods on queue length?

In this episode, you will learn:

• How KEDA simplifies autoscaling in Kubernetes thanks to its vast collection of metrics collectors (i.e. scalers).

• Jorge's journey in tech: how he levelled up from passing wires as an electrician to learning Go and becoming a KEDA maintainer.

• Two must-try KEDA scalers: the HTTP add-on to scale to zero and the Carbon-aware scaler for reducing your carbon footprint.

You will also dive into what it takes to maintain a successful graduated CNCF project.

And lastly, what three Cloud Native tools would Jorge take to a desert island?

Spoiler alert: KEDA wasn't his first choice.

More info

• Find all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/Q9yNhd7L2

• Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.

TL;DR: Learn the most exciting changes that made it to Kubernetes 1.28 from Grace — the Kubernetes release lead.

Kubernetes 1.28 brought us a few notable changes:

• Sidecar containers are officially recognised as a container (not just a container pattern).

• Pods from StatefulSet no longer get stuck into Terminating if a node is lost unexpectedly.

• Validating Admission Policy graduates to Beta.

This podcast addresses the new features and dives into what it takes to release a new Kubernetes version.

Grace Nguyen (Kubernetes 1.28 release lead) reveals her tips and tricks to stay on top of a release with 1440 contributors from 911 companies.

More info

• Find all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/jDTcdMq5Y

• Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.