The services we enjoy everyday—like YouTube, Netflix, and online games—operate at an incredible scale, handling millions (or even billions) of users seamlessly. Behind the scenes, technologies like Kubernetes and AWS make this possible by enabling developers to deploy, manage, and scale applications reliably across the globe.
This blog series will walk you through what Kubernetes and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are, how they complement each other, and how you can use them to build internet-scale applications. Part 0 (this post) will introduce the basics. Future posts will include boilerplate code to help you set up your own Kubernetes cluster in AWS and practical examples of building scalable services. Onward!
What Do We Mean by Internet-Scale?
When I say “internet scale,” I’m referring to services accessed by millions—or even billions—of people every month. Think YouTube, Netflix, Reddit, or Wikipedia. These platforms operate at a scale that’s hard to imagine.
To put it in perspective:
- Netflix accounted for roughly 15% of all internet traffic in 2022.
- In the United States alone, Netflix viewers spent 16.3 billion hours watching content. That’s the equivalent of 23,254 human lifetimes!
Building infrastructure capable of supporting this scale requires advanced tools—and that’s where Kubernetes and AWS shine.
Why Kubernetes and AWS?
So how do Kubernetes and AWS make internet-scale services possible? Services that handle traffic at this scale can’t rely on just one server to deliver the smooth experiences we’re all used to. A single server would be overwhelmed, and even multiple servers wouldn’t suffice if they aren’t distributed globally. Without global distribution, users far from the servers would experience lag, downtime, or other issues.
This is where Kubernetes and AWS step in. Kubernetes ensures your applications run efficiently across thousands of servers, while AWS provides the global infrastructure and managed services needed to host and scale these applications seamlessly.
Kubernetes at a Glance
Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration system for automating software deployment, scaling, and management.
But what does that really mean?
Let’s break it down: Kubernetes automates many of the hard parts of running software on thousands of servers. It’s called a "container orchestration system" because it expects your software to be packaged into containers. A container is a lightweight bundle that includes your software and everything it needs to run—such as its operating system dependencies and environment variables.
Imagine you’re running multiple restaurants, and each one has different menus, staff, and hours of operation. Kubernetes acts like a central manager, making sure each restaurant (server) runs efficiently and has exactly what it needs. It assigns tasks, scales resources up or down depending on demand, and ensures nothing falls through the cracks.
A group of servers managed by Kubernetes is called a cluster. These clusters allow you to run applications reliably at massive scale. For example, the largest reported Kubernetes cluster belongs to JD.com, a major Chinese retailer, and it runs on tens of thousands of servers!
While Kubernetes handles the management of your applications, it still needs the underlying infrastructure to run on. This is where AWS comes in.
AWS at a Glance
AWS (Amazon Web Services) is one of the leading cloud computing platforms, providing on-demand resources like compute power, storage, and networking. It’s designed to support everything from small personal projects to large-scale, highly available enterprise applications.
But what does this actually mean? Remember the servers we’ve been talking about? These are physical machines that need to be housed somewhere, maintained, and regularly upgraded. Managing these machines yourself would require a massive investment in data centers, IT staff, and maintenance schedules—not to mention ensuring reliability and uptime. AWS simplifies this process by managing the servers for you and charging you only for what you use.
Some of the most relevant AWS services include:
- Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud): Virtual machines in the cloud that scale up or down depending on demand.
- Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service): A highly scalable and durable storage service for any type of data.
- Amazon EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service): A managed Kubernetes service that takes care of provisioning, scaling, and maintaining Kubernetes clusters on AWS.
For this blog series, we’ll focus on EKS, as it’s the service that bridges Kubernetes and AWS. EKS automates much of the work required to set up and manage Kubernetes clusters, making it easier to deploy and scale your applications globally. With AWS’s global infrastructure, you can run your applications closer to users around the world, ensuring faster response times and a better user experience.
Next Steps
Kubernetes and AWS are a powerful combination for building internet-scale services. Kubernetes provides the tools to manage applications efficiently across thousands of servers, while AWS offers the underlying infrastructure to support these applications globally.
In the next post, we’ll dive into some boilerplate code for setting up your own Kubernetes cluster on AWS!
About Me
I previously worked at Riot Games as a software engineer on the infrastructure team. While there, I helped the company transition from on-premises infrastructure to AWS and optimized backend services for games like Valorant and League of Legends, running on Kubernetes clusters worldwide.
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