Compliance Comes to Kubernetes

What does it take to implement governance and compliance, because they are process controls much more than individual technologies. Today we discuss that a lot of the talks seem to be about governance and compliance, and we have a fascinating discussion about governance compliance and Kubernetes.

The idea that Kubernetes is maturing, losing the drama that is a hallmark of its first decade now and moving into a focus on managing how to control and have security, compliance and normality. Yet all of those things have a degree of tension with the vendors and users, which puts single choice compliance and governance
in direct conflict with open source competitive ecosystems.

This makes for a fascinating conversation where we touch on some really important issues for the industry.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/mAkvsYgMYMp_W8Bizk…?utm_source=copy_url
Image: Generated by Dall-E

Kubernetes Portability

Is Kubernetes actually creating the amount of cloud portability of infrastructure agnosticism that we hope it will? If we’re using the same platform across multiple clouds, multiple infrastructures, multiple management teams, does that actually create portability?

It’s a key question for us in building cloud architectures, making decisions about the architect and about how we build architect applications, and even how we structure our teams. In this conversation, we get to the heart of answering that question, but our answers might surprise you.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/ASE9dLnP8qo2jednZB…?utm_source=copy_url
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/black-and-w…n-bucket-3908821/

The Kubernetes Alternate Universe

What would our systems look like if we didn’t have Kubernetes?

We started this discussion with platform engineering and its associated challenges. In talking about platforms, we covered ways in which people can consume infrastructure more effectively. That segwayed directly into ways in which Kubernetes could be changed under the covers, used for virtualization use for non traditional containerized automation.

This episode is a pretty thorough review of alternatives to Kubernetes, and the ways in which Kubernetes misses the mark.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/0qX-qloVOzAQ47LgpS…?utm_source=copy_url
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/wrecked-ship-2336927/

Life Without Kubernetes

We continue our discussion of what would the environment look like without Kubernetes? We started with the idea of what if Kubernetes went away, what if there was a copyright or a trademark or an API issue that made us have to abandon Kubernetes altogether?

In this episode we played what if scenarios, exploring what made Kubernetes unique, and if parts of Kubernetes or parts of the architectural model could exist outside of Kubernetes? What would be necessary?

We identified enough parts of Kubernetes individually where we saw how it itself is an interesting convergence of some core technologies. Nothing new except in the combination of those architectural paradigms, designs and open source models. Through this, we dig into why Kubernetes is so powerful in the market.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/L7GZRD8-wEnzLIJL5_…?utm_source=copy_url
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/wreck-of-su…-of-bay-12102304/

Open Source Future

How do we sustain open source? Today we discussed how the commercial models and sustaining models around open source are changing and evolving.

We also included some conversations about whether or not generative AI might actually change the economics around that part of open source. We hit on top projects, open source hardware, open source, operating systems platforms, a whole gambit, and how it fits together into a sustainable model for the users, companies, enterprises, and really everybody. We all use open source to one extent or another.

We have our book club coming up on data cartels, we’re going to be discussing it on May 4th and I hope you take the time to read and come join us.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/MugVjZkIebPMCepjlV…?utm_source=copy_url
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/wood-road-l…ountain-16179008/

Ops After Kubernetes

How has Kubernetes changed our industry? Today’s discussion is part of a multi podcast conversation in which we’re going to think about ways in which Kubernetes could go away, or could influence other technologies in such a way to be transformative.

We went down the path of what we have learned from Kubernetes and how it influences other aspects of IT operations, architecture and design, and explored the impact that the expectation for declarative immutable operational constructs will play into other aspects of our system. We also discuss micro LS microkernels and how operations are staged to talk about the need for declarative OS, banking on this idea that what Kubernetes has built extends into other areas.

Chat GPT Summary:
“The conversation is part of a multi-podcast series focused on exploring ways in which Kubernetes could influence other technologies, as well as the potential consequences if it were to disappear.
During the discussion, the group delved into the lessons learned from Kubernetes and its impact on various aspects of IT operations, architecture, and design. One key takeaway was the importance of declarative immutable constructs in managing the complexities of modern IT systems. The group also explored the potential for microkernels to revolutionize system design and emphasized the need for declarative operating systems.
Overall, the discussion highlighted the transformative role that Kubernetes has played in shaping the IT industry and underscored the importance of adopting a declarative, immutable approach to managing complex IT systems.”

Transcript: otter.ai/u/7SMjDGwHTMLmfaCACk…?utm_source=copy_url
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/submarine-m…-harbor-14707646/

Chick-Fil-A Edge Kubernetes Deep Dive

https://soundcloud.com/user-410091210/chick-fil-a-edge-kubernetes-deep-dive

We break down the edge compute cluster by the Chick-fil-A team, and we talk about how they use Kubernetes, specifically K3s in 2500 of their restaurants to build an IoT and restaurant management system. This system uses Intel Knucks, a commodity commercial residential grade hardware.

It’s an update on a four year old Kubernetes story with a lot of buzz, and they show how they have been successful building this system.

If you’re interested in Kubernetes, Edge DevOps and distributed systems, this episode has a lot to enjoy.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/i0lBYq9PNQevn0AIvX…?utm_source=copy_url
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/person-in-b…of-cards-6255293/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the Cloud 2030 podcast episode on Chick-fil-A’s Kubernetes control plane, Rob Hirschfeld highlights the challenges and benefits of transitioning cloud infrastructure and applications to edge locations using commodity gear. He emphasizes the success of Chick-fil-A’s approach in bringing cloud tools and platforms to non-cloud environments, showcasing the potential for mapping cloud processes back into edge computing. Hirschfeld encourages listeners to explore the detailed discussion on Chick-fil-A’s edge clusters and engage in broader conversations on Cloud 2030 at the2030.cloud.

Retail Edge Kubernetes ala Chick-Fil-A

https://soundcloud.com/user-410091210/pt2-chickfila-devops-ll-230124

We get an update for the first time in four years about Chick-fil-A edge Kubernetes clusters that gets to the heart of how building distributed infrastructure works and what the challenges are.

Article: medium.com/chick-fil-atech/ent…ompute-f5e2fd63d20f

We had a fantastic conversation about laying the foundations for this. We came away with two really important thoughts about what edge infrastructure looks like, how you pick it, can Kubernetes be used, what is IoT and integration, and the design considerations that go into building this environment.

Listen to this podcast as a preview for a longer article.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/k3Y7S3Hoa0rPZZ8_L5vTn4SNwGI
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/cows-on-fie…andscape-8899447/

What We’re Watching At Kubecon

How do Helm charts and operators interact with Kubernetes? Today we have a fascinating discussion about the interesting components of Kubernetes including Helm charts, admission controllers and things that are changing and being revised and updated.

We discuss potential topics in anticipation for Kubecon, and if you’re at all interested in Kubernetes, whether you’re attending the conference or not, you will find this to be a must follow list of topics related to Kubernetes.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/I9Fyk_wiGxwvtha_tESikR2Bj3U
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-blac…building-5615440/

Learning about eBPF Applications

Special guest Bill Mulligan (twitter.com/breakawaybilly/) talks to us about the use cases for BPF and how it works.

We discuss eBPF, the kernel extensions that allow you to write small programs that work inside of kernel space in a safe sandbox way. These have a lot of applications, and they’ve been creating a lot of hype inside of the Kubernetes community as a way to address networking shortfalls.

Our conversation starts broad, but eventually zeros in on eBPF. I know that you will learn a lot about how eBPF can enhance and improve your infrastructure operations environment.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/VhW6tKfPHD0yky63eDneQ3dIScQ
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/cobblestone…-sandpit-8180645/