Kubernetes automates and facilitates application processes, including deployment and scalability. It’s the gold standard in container orchestration, and it’s been backed not only by its developer, Google, but other major technology corporations like Microsoft and IBM. If you manage a microservice cloud or want to improve the development and app management processes, Kubernetes could be perfect for you. This monitoring can make it easier to handle containers and get a more accurate depiction of how your applications are really doing.
Monitoring
Once you’ve set up, a guide to monitoring Kubernetes is what you need to break down all its components into smaller bits that are easier to understand. It may seem overwhelming at first, but the heart of Kubernetes is not attempting to understand every variable in isolation, and that it works with clusters, which contains a variety of machines, virtual or physical, that are set as a master or a node. Every node house one or more container, and the master tells the nodes what to do with them. It also tells nodes how they can reroute traffic, and it is the main point of access that every admin will use to interact with their nodes and manage their containers. The purpose of Kubernetes monitoring is to assess the entire node’s health rather than hone in on specific criteria. While you are focusing more on the big picture, you still need to define metrics that give you a personalized, comprehensive view of your applications’ health.
Basic Monitoring Metrics
There are many features that you may find useful, but this guide is only going to touch upon the absolute basics. These are the essential features you should use to start using Kubernetes properly and learn the ropes of the Kubernetes monitoring environment.
Node Quantity
What are your clusters being used for? How can you optimize them? What needs to stay, and what’s taking up space and consuming more power and money? The number of nodes in your system is an important metric to keep track of as it will help you better understand your cluster infrastructure.
Running Pods
You may know how many nodes you have, but now you have to know whether they can function well with their current workload and which ones would be able to take over if one stopped working. The running pods metric gives you this data right away, and helps you plan more effectively.
CPU Usage and Memory
The metric server keeps a live update of your systems’ hardware performance; you can use it to keep on top of data consumption, identify trends, assess the efficiency of optimizations and understand exactly how changes to your clusters or nodes impact your system.
Add-Ons
Some of the top Kubernetes add-ons include cAdvistor, Prometheus, and Sematexts, that each are tools you can use to enhance your environment. Pick and choose which ones are most relevant to your work, and keep upgrades and optimization a routine part of your application management strategy. It never hurts to test out a different open-source tool and make Kubernetes even more versatile.
