Kubernetes Challenges : Overcoming the Hurdles in Kubernetes Deployments

Expanding Kubernetes Challenges and Solutions for DevOps

Every CTO, project manager, admin, and stakeholder is looking for ways to shift applications from being a cost center to becoming an innovative services profit center. This transformation is not just a strategic goal but a necessity in the competitive landscape of modern businesses. As organizations increasingly adopt DevOps methodologies, there is a pressing need to simplify web application development and deployment processes. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through the use of containerized applications, which allow for greater flexibility, scalability, and efficiency in managing workloads.

The Role of Containerization and Kubernetes in DevOps

Containerization has revolutionized the way applications are developed and deployed. By encapsulating an application and its dependencies into a single, lightweight container, developers can ensure that applications run consistently across different environments, from development to production. This is particularly beneficial for DevOps teams that aim to deliver continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. However, as the number of applications grows into the hundreds, with thousands of potential services being developed and deployed, managing these containers becomes a significant challenge. This is where Kubernetes, an open-source container orchestration platform, becomes essential.

The Necessity of Kubernetes for Large-Scale Container Management

Kubernetes provides the tools needed to automate the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It allows organizations to manage thousands of containers across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, ensuring high availability and fault tolerance. However, while Kubernetes offers robust orchestration capabilities, it also introduces a new set of complexities and challenges, especially when scaling. For example, managing configuration, networking, storage, and security across diverse environments can become increasingly difficult as the number of containers grows.

Top Challenges of Kubernetes Users in DevOps Projects

To understand what makes Kubernetes so complex, we need to explore the specific challenges that DevOps teams face. These challenges include configuring load balancers for dynamic application traffic, managing resource constraints across clusters, and ensuring robust logging and monitoring solutions for troubleshooting. Additionally, as organizations scale their Kubernetes deployments, they must navigate security concerns, such as vulnerabilities in container images and access controls within the Kubernetes API. These issues highlight the need for a comprehensive strategy that includes best practices for managing Kubernetes environments effectively.

By understanding these Kubernetes challenges and implementing best practices, organizations can unlock the full potential of their DevOps initiatives, transforming their applications from mere cost centers into true profit centers that drive innovation and growth.

1. Configuring a Load Balancer

The first challenge with deploying Kubernetes is achieving the crucial goal of getting a working application live on the internet. Yes, you can deploy your application using Kubernetes CLI (kubectl), but if you wanted to automate the process, you must configure a load balancer.

If you’re an admin, you need to manually configure the load balancer on each pod hosting containers unless you’re running your application on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Your main alternative is to expose the service (check out one of our earlier blogs to see what we mean by ‘service’) to a port on your host machine (such as a virtual machine/VM). However, this can lead to port conflicts and difficulties in scaling clusters.

After deploying your load balancer, you’ll need to configure it using additional tools, such as etcd and confd, among others. This process illustrates the challenges with Kubernetes, especially for large-scale deployments.

2. Managing Resource Constraints

A significant advantage of containerized applications is the efficient use of computing power, especially by directly accessing the RAM or CPU instead of spinning up a new VM. But to leverage this capability, you need to know how to configure Kubernetes to request resources on each pod.

If you skip this step, you risk your application crashing because its containers failed to source enough memory or processing power. This could lead to downtime, potentially dissatisfied customers, and a loss of revenue. Kubernetes challenges in resource management could be disastrous for:

• Banks and financial services institutions where customers cannot access different account and banking services
• Healthcare technology startups providing web applications to healthcare delivery organizations with thousands of patients.
• Retailers with thousands of customers unable to access web apps, checkout carts, product pricing catalogs, accounts, etc.

3. Logging and Monitoring

In Kubernetes, a centralized logging and monitoring system is crucial since containerized applications at scale can mean hundreds of services connected to countless databases. You’re now dealing with exponentially more issues at a high level, such as dozens (or hundreds) of services, each connected to its own database.

Logging

With many services in play, traditional logging methods are no longer viable. Logging into a server to view log files for troubleshooting isn't practical when dealing with multiple servers and data sources. To simplify this, you need external tools like Kafka for logging and Graylog for indexing, especially when handling thousands of events daily. Again, you’ll need to configure these tools to work with your Kubernetes cluster and nodes.

Monitoring

One of the benefits of Kubernetes is its ability to recover quickly from crashes. If a pod crashes for any reason, Kubernetes automatically restarts it. This capability is great for end-users who require uninterrupted access to enterprise applications. However, as an admin, you still need to monitor these issues and ideally prevent them in the future.

To achieve real-time monitoring of your Kubernetes nodes, consider open-source tools like Prometheus among others. However, as with many aspects of Kubernetes, this requires extensive additional configuration and testing. This underscores some of the challenges with Kubernetes for admins and DevOps teams.

Kubernetes Security Challenges for Large Organizations

The challenges we discussed above apply to any web application development or DevOps team, whether within small or large organizations. However, from a business standpoint, large organizations may face additional challenges in terms of controlling costs and generating ROI across Kubernetes multi-cloud environments.

Security

Securing Kubernetes is complex and vulnerable to hacking. According to TechBeacon, “it’s easy for attackers to identify Kubernetes clusters since they usually listen on a range of well-defined and somewhat distinctive ports.” For example, the etcd tool uses port 2379/TCP, which is easy to find.

When transitioning from a legacy monolithic application to a containerized cloud native microservices architecture, even large organizations find Kubernetes security challenges to be significant.

For instance, in 2018, Tesla suffered a breach through its Kubernetes administrative console; hackers exploited Tesla’s cloud resources on Amazon Web Services for mining cryptocurrency. This incident highlights the top challenges of Kubernetes users in maintaining secure deployments.

See How to Deploy Kubernetes Correctly the First Time:

• The Difference Between Docker and Kubernetes
• The 7 Benefits of Kubernetes That Will Lower Your Costs & Time to Market
• Getting Started with Google Kubernetes Engine
• The Complete Guide to What is Kubernetes

The lesson here is that you cannot treat Kubernetes multi-cloud architectures, containerized applications, or cloud-native microservices in the same way as legacy applications. To secure these new assets, you must identify new vulnerabilities and address them accordingly.

Next Steps

Whether you’re a start-up or an enterprise giant, the keys to a successful transition to Kubernetes are thorough planning and adequate developer resources for proper configuration. For many organizations, this means partnering with a managed Kubernetes services provider like Techolution. To find out how Techolution can help you implement Kubernetes, containers, and microservices across hybrid and multi-cloud environments efficiently, visit our Cloud Modernization Page.

Slash your time-to-market and Kubernetes deployment costs by configuring it right the first time. Contact us today to get started and avoid Day 2 operational struggles.