Kubernetes 101

Conceived on Jul 29, 2018 / Series: howto, kubernetes
It's simpler than I thought

A few weeks ago, my task at work was an interesting one: To deploy a Kubernetes cluster and write the associated tooling so that developers can deploy the code in the branches they’re working on to it, so they can test their changes.

Until that point, I’ve been wanting to learn Kubernetes because it sounded interesting (even though the name is rather problematic when you’re Greek), but I never had an opportunity because I don’t have anything that needs to be on a cluster. So, I jumped at the chance, and started reading up on it, but all the materials (including the official tutorial) seemed too verbose and poorly-structured, so I was a bit dejected.

By the way, since you asked, the name is problematic because it's a Greek word, so it's awkward when you're talking to other Greeks about it. If you pronounce it like in English, you sound a bit pretentious, and if you pronounce it like in Greek, people don't understand what you mean, since that's not strictly the name of the software. Greek world problems.

Anyway, after a few days of research, things finally just clicked and I was deploying machines left and right with wild abandon, quickly racking up thousands in AWS bills, like any self-respecting backend developer in 2018. Since my resume now said “Kubernetes expert”, a thought immediately occurred: “Why not take my vast, unending knowledge of this system that I have collected over hours of research and make it more accessible for people?” Since I couldn’t convince myself I shouldn’t write another rambling article, I quickly got to it.

This is

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