- Initial thoughts
- 1. Introduction to Kubernetes through videos
- 2. Free tutorials and courses
- 3. Free test clusters for easy experimentation
- 4. Documentation and handy cheat sheets
- 5. Access to pre-packaged applications
- 6. Navigating the Kubernetes ecosystem and tools
- 7. Comparisons of managed Kubernetes solutions
- 8. Nodes prices comparators
- 9. Community forums and interactive platforms
- 10. Kubernetes news
- 11. Upcoming events and conferences
- Wrapping up
- Further reading
Initial thoughts
Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform used to manage and automate the deployment and scaling of containerized applications. Its widespread adoption comes from its ability to provide a consistent experience across diverse cloud providers and on-premises setups.
Whether you're new to Kubernetes or a seasoned practitioner, the ecosystem moves fast and we all need to keep up — finding the right tools and resources shouldn't be a treasure hunt every time.
This article gathers a curated list of links, mostly from actively maintained community sources. Bookmark it — you'll come back to it more often than you think.
1. Introduction to Kubernetes through videos
What could be more effective than a thoughtfully crafted video to provide a technical introduction to Kubernetes in a matter of minutes?
From time to time, colleagues and friends might approach you, seeking to unravel the mystery of Kubernetes. After a brief personal introduction, you can conveniently direct them to informative videos that cater to their available time.
How much time do you have to spare?
- 2 minutes: Kubernetes Explained in 100 Seconds by Jeff Delaney, Fireship
- 5 minutes: Kubernetes in 5 minutes by Steve Tegeler, VMWare
- 6 minutes: Kubernetes Explained in 6 Minutes | k8s Architecture by Sahn Lam, ByteByteGo
- 10 minutes: Kubernetes Explained by Sai Vennam, IBM
- 15 minutes: What is Kubernetes | Kubernetes explained in 15 mins by Nana
Short, visual, and straight to the point — perfect to share when someone asks "so what's Kubernetes exactly?"
2. Free tutorials and courses
Ready to go deeper? The Kubernetes community offers plenty of free tutorials and courses.
Here are some solid starting points:
- Collabnix' Kubelab: Over 300 Kubernetes hands-on labs and tutorials.
- Aqua's 70 Best Kubernetes Tutorials: A well-organized compilation of the best Kubernetes tutorials out there.
As you explore these resources, you may also stumble upon courses tailored to certification preparation.
3. Free test clusters for easy experimentation
At some point, you'll want to get your hands dirty. The tutorials above need a cluster to run on — and setting one up is easier than you might think.
For quick online experimentation, try Play with Kubernetes — a free online cluster, no setup required.
For local installations, check out Local Kubernetes development clusters: the 5 best local cluster compared, which covers k3d and multi-node local support.
If you're interested in performance benchmarks, check out Lightweight Kubernetes Distributions: A Performance Comparison of MicroK8s, k3s, k0s, and MicroShift.
4. Documentation and handy cheat sheets
The official Kubernetes documentation is your go-to reference for manifests and concepts. It also maintains a handy cheat sheet.
Speaking of cheat sheets, dennyzhang upholds the heatsheet-kubernetes-A4 repository on GitHub. This repository offers a printable single-page A4 cheat sheet.
5. Access to pre-packaged applications
Looking for ready-to-deploy applications for your cluster? Head to ArtifactHub — it gathers public Helm Charts in one searchable place.
6. Navigating the Kubernetes ecosystem and tools
The Kubernetes ecosystem is huge, and new tools pop up daily.
CNCF is the open-source, vendor-neutral foundation behind Kubernetes and Prometheus. One look at the CNCF landscape and you'll understand why people joke about needing a magnifying glass to read it.
Navigating this vast expanse of options can be overwhelming when deciding which tools to incorporate into your projects. Tom Huang contributes to the solution by meticulously curating an awesome list of Kubernetes tools and resources, categorizing and ranking each Kubernetes application with traction based on GitHub stars.
In alignment with this goal, you can explore Collabnix' Kubetools list, another exceptional compilation of handpicked Kubernetes tools.
Kubernetes equips you with a command-line interface, kubectl, facilitating communication with a cluster's control plane. Enhance your day-to-day Kubernetes experience by integrating community plugins into your toolkit.
7. Comparisons of managed Kubernetes solutions
As you get more comfortable with Kubernetes, you may need to pick a cloud provider for your next managed cluster. Honest comparisons backed by real data are rare, but one stands out: Comparing the Top Eight Managed Kubernetes Providers by Elliot Graebert (early 2023).
8. Nodes prices comparators
Need to compare node prices across cloud providers? Or already picked one and looking for the best instance type for your budget?
Here are nodes prices interactive comparators, for each Cloud provider:
- AWS: instances.vantage.sh
- Azure: azure-instances.info
- GCP: gcpinstances.info
9. Community forums and interactive platforms
This section explores community forums, discussion platforms, and social media groups where Kubernetes enthusiasts can connect, seek advice, and share insights.
Highlighted Resources:
- Official Kubernetes Community Forums
- DevOps Chat Slack Server
- Kubernetes @Home Discord Server
- Kubernetes Subreddit
These are good places to ask questions, share tips, and lurk on other people's cluster disasters.
10. Kubernetes news
Stay up to date with the Kubernetes ecosystem through these news sources:
Highlighted News Sources:
Kubernetes Blog: Official blog with release notes and technical deep dives.
CNCF Blog: Covers Kubernetes, cloud-native technologies, and the broader ecosystem.
KubeNews: A curated newsletter delivering Kubernetes updates to your inbox.
11. Upcoming events and conferences
Keep track of upcoming Kubernetes events and conferences with Kube Events. Whether you want to learn, network, or just collect stickers — these are worth bookmarking.
Wrapping up
We've gathered links covering Kubernetes from beginner videos to cloud provider comparisons. This article is a living document — if you find links that fit the criteria (free, maintained, useful), share them in the comments 🤓
Together, we're building a practical knowledge base for anyone working with Kubernetes.
Illustrations generated locally by Automatic1111 using Lyriel model
Further reading
This article was enhanced with the assistance of an AI language model to ensure clarity and accuracy in the content, as English is not my native language.
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