Kubernetes (often called K8s) is an open-source container orchestration platform that helps you automate:
- Deployment
- Scaling
- Load balancing
- Self-healing
- Rolling updates
- of your Docker containers in a cluster of servers (called nodes).
In simple terms:
Kubernetes is like a super smart traffic manager and babysitter for your containers in production.
What Kubernetes Does:
| Feature | Example |
|---|---|
| Runs multiple containers reliably | 5 instances of your API across multiple servers |
| Self-heals failed apps | If 1 container crashes, Kubernetes restarts it automatically |
| Auto-scales based on traffic | More users? Add more pods (containers). Less users? Scale down. |
| Load balances | Distributes traffic evenly across containers |
| Deploys new versions | Rolling updates with zero downtime |
| Manages secrets & configs | Uses ConfigMaps and Secrets safely |
| Works across clouds | Azure, AWS, GCP, or even on-premise servers |
Kubernetes vs Docker
| Concept | Docker | Kubernetes |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Package and run one app in a container | Run many containers across many machines |
| Scale | Manual | Automatic scaling, healing, and balancing |
| Example | docker run myapp |
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml |
| Use case | Single-node dev/test | Production-grade multi-node deployment |
Example Real-World Use:
Let’s say your Web App becomes popular with 200 companies:
- With Kubernetes, you can run 10+ containers of your app
- Spread across 3–5 servers
- Autoscale up when traffic spikes in the morning
- Roll out a new version without downtime
- Restore any crashed instance instantly
Azure & Kubernetes:
On Azure, you can use:
- AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service) = Fully managed Kubernetes by Azure
👀
Kubernetes is what you use when Docker alone isn't enough. It helps run, scale, and manage your containerized apps in production — reliably, automatically, and at scale.
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