Kubernetes Basics for Cloud Deployments
Kubernetes adoption has gotten complicated with all the terminology, patterns, and managed service options flying around. As someone who’s run production Kubernetes clusters for years, I learned everything there is to know about what you actually need to understand to get started. Today, I will share it all with you.
What Kubernetes Actually Does
Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Kubernetes orchestrates containerized applications across clusters of machines. Originally developed by Google, it now runs on all major cloud platforms and on-premises infrastructure. That’s what makes it the de facto standard for container orchestration.
Key Concepts That Matter
Pods group containers that share resources—think of them as the smallest deployable unit. Deployments manage replica sets for scaling and updates, handling the lifecycle of your pods. Services provide stable endpoints for pod communication since pods come and go. Ingress handles external traffic routing into your cluster.
Don’t try to learn everything at once. Start with pods, deployments, and services. Add complexity as you need it.
Why Use Kubernetes
Kubernetes automates deployment, scaling, and management of applications. It handles failures by restarting containers automatically—no more 3 AM pages for crashed processes. Rolling updates deploy changes without downtime, which your users will appreciate.
The value shows at scale. Managing a few containers manually is fine. Managing hundreds or thousands without orchestration is nightmare fuel.
Getting Started
Managed Kubernetes services like EKS, GKE, and AKS simplify cluster management. Don’t run your own control plane unless you have specific requirements forcing you to. Start with tutorials on minikube for local development where mistakes don’t cost money.
Learn kubectl commands for cluster interaction—that’s your primary interface to Kubernetes. kubectl get, kubectl describe, kubectl logs, and kubectl apply handle 80% of daily operations.
