DEV Community

Asanka Boteju
Asanka Boteju

Posted on

1

Native Policy Enforcement Engine in Kubernetes

This is about a policy engine that is native to Kubernetes and is used to develop, modify, and validate configurations for Kubernetes resources. Because policies are defined in YAML, this offers a declarative method of enforcing regulations without requiring developers to write code.

Key Features:

1. Types of Policies

Validation Policies: Verify that resources adhere to certain specifications (such as necessary annotations or labels).

Mutation Policies: Automatically change resources at runtime or during admission (e.g., inject default values, labels, or annotations).

Resources can be created or synchronized using generation policies (e.g., make sure a ConfigMap is always present).

2. Scope of Policy

Cluster Policy: applies to every namespace in the cluster.

Policy: Only applicable to one namespace.

3. Pattern Matching rules enable configurable requirements for matching Kubernetes

Resource fields using wildcard patterns ("" or "?") and JSONPath expressions.

4. Logs policy validation failure action audit

Audit: Records policy infractions but does not prevent the development of resources.

Enforce: Prevents the generation of resources in events that the policy is broken.

5. Management of Policies

Supports conditional reasoning, such as rules that match and exclude.

Certain namespaces, kinds, or labels may be the focus of policies.

permits the integration of several regulations into a single policy.

6. Contextual Dynamic

Adds other data sources (such as API calls or Kubernetes ConfigMaps) to make policies more context-aware and dynamic.

7. Usability

Policies, like Kubernetes manifests, are written in the well-known YAML format.

No need to pick up a sophisticated DSL or a new programming language.

8. Policy Reports: produces reports for implemented policies that display the state of compliance, audit findings, and infractions.

9. Integration of Webhooks

Functions as a real-time resource request interceptor for Kubernetes admission controller.

10. Isolation of Namespaces

In multi-tenant clusters, policies can be scoped to namespaces to isolate tenants.

11. The CLI Tool

Policies can be tested locally before being applied to a cluster using the CLI.

12. Personalized Materials

defines policies using Kubernetes CRDs (ClusterPolicy and Policy).

Use Case Examples:

Ensuring that resources have the necessary labels.

  • Adding default values to container limits and resource requests.

  • Ensuring security measures, such as limiting privileged containers or host networking.

  • ConfigMaps synchronization between namespaces.

This tool makes Kubernetes policy management easier for developers and operators by utilizing YAML and well-known Kubernetes concepts.

How it works

Image description

Image description

Image description

I hope this article was useful. Thank you!

Image of AssemblyAI tool

Challenge Submission: SpeechCraft - AI-Powered Speech Analysis for Better Communication

SpeechCraft is an advanced real-time speech analytics platform that transforms spoken words into actionable insights. Using cutting-edge AI technology from AssemblyAI, it provides instant transcription while analyzing multiple dimensions of speech performance.

Read full post

Top comments (0)

Sentry image

See why 4M developers consider Sentry, “not bad.”

Fixing code doesn’t have to be the worst part of your day. Learn how Sentry can help.

Learn more

👋 Kindness is contagious

Explore a sea of insights with this enlightening post, highly esteemed within the nurturing DEV Community. Coders of all stripes are invited to participate and contribute to our shared knowledge.

Expressing gratitude with a simple "thank you" can make a big impact. Leave your thanks in the comments!

On DEV, exchanging ideas smooths our way and strengthens our community bonds. Found this useful? A quick note of thanks to the author can mean a lot.

Okay