From Fragile to Faultless: Kubernetes Self-Healing In Practice, with Grzegorz Głąb
Discover how to build resilient Kubernetes environments at scale with practical automation strategies from an engineer who's tackled complex production challenges.Grzegorz Głąb, Kubernetes Engineer at Cloud Kitchens, shares his team's journey developing a comprehensive self-healing framework. He explains how they addressed issues ranging from spot node preemptions to network packet drops caused by unbalanced IRQs, providing concrete examples of automation that prevents downtime and improves reliability.You will learn:How managed Kubernetes services like AKS provide benefits but require customization for specific use casesThe architecture of an effective self-healing framework using DaemonSets and deployments with Kubernetes-native componentsPractical solutions for common challenges like StatefulSet pods stuck on unreachable nodes and cleaning up orphaned podsTechniques for workload-level automation, including throttling CPU-hungry pods and automating diagnostic data collectionSponsorThis episode is sponsored by Learnk8s — get started on your Kubernetes journey through comprehensive online, in-person or remote training.More infoFind all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/yg_fkP0LNInterested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.
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Replacing StatefulSets with a custom Kubernetes operator in our Postgres cloud platform, with Andrew Charlton
Discover why standard Kubernetes StatefulSets might not be sufficient for your database workloads and how custom operators can provide better solutions for stateful applications.Andrew Charlton, Staff Software Engineer at Timescale, explains how they replaced Kubernetes StatefulSets with a custom operator called Popper for their PostgreSQL Cloud Platform. He details the technical limitations they encountered with StatefulSets and how their custom approach provides more intelligent management of database clusters.You will learn:Why StatefulSets fall short for managing high-availability PostgreSQL clusters, particularly around pod ordering and volume managementHow Timescale's instance matching approach solves complex reconciliation challenges when managing heterogeneous database workloadsThe benefits of implementing discrete, idempotent actions rather than workflows in Kubernetes operatorsReal-world examples of operations that became possible with their custom operator, including volume downsizing and availability zone consolidationSponsorThis episode is brought to you by mirrord — run local code like in your Kubernetes cluster without deploying first.More infoFind all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/fhZ_pNXM3Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.
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Saving 10s of thousands of dollars deploying AI at scale with Kubernetes, with John McBride
Curious about running AI models on Kubernetes without breaking the bank? This episode delivers practical insights from someone who's done it successfully at scale.John McBride, VP of Infrastructure and AI Engineering at the Linux Foundation shares how his team at OpenSauced built StarSearch, an AI feature that uses natural language processing to analyze GitHub contributions and provide insights through semantic queries. By using open-source models instead of commercial APIs, the team saved tens of thousands of dollars.You will learn:How to deploy VLLM on Kubernetes to serve open-source LLMs like Mistral and Llama, including configuration challenges with GPU drivers and daemon setsWhy smaller models (7-14B parameters) can achieve 95% effectiveness for many tasks compared to larger commercial models, with proper prompt engineeringHow running inference workloads on your own infrastructure with T4 GPUs can reduce costs from tens of thousands to just a couple thousand dollars monthlyPractical approaches to monitoring GPU workloads in production, including handling unpredictable failures and VRAM consumption issuesSponsorThis episode is brought to you by StackGen! Don't let infrastructure block your teams. StackGen deterministically generates secure cloud infrastructure from any input - existing cloud environments, IaC or application code.More infoFind all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/wP6bTlrFsInterested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.
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I just want mTLS on Kubernetes, with John Howard
Dive into the world of Kubernetes security with this insightful conversation about securing cluster traffic through encryption.John Howard, Senior Software Engineer at Solo.io, explains the complexities of implementing Mutual TLS (mTLS) in Kubernetes. He discusses the evolution from DIY approaches to Service Mesh solutions, focusing on Istio's Ambient Mesh as a simplified path to workload encryption.You will learn:Why DIY mTLS implementation in Kubernetes is challenging at scale, requiring certificate management, application updates, and careful transition planningHow Service Mesh solutions offload security concerns from applications, allowing developers to focus on business logic while infrastructure handles encryptionThe advantages of Ambient Mesh's approach to simplifying mTLS implementation with its node proxy and waypoint proxy architectureSponsorThis episode is sponsored by Learnk8s — get started on your Kubernetes journey through comprehensive online, in-person or remote training.More infoFind all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/sk-ZF1PG9Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.
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Learned it the hard way: don't use Cilium's default Pod CIDR, with Isala Piyarisi
This episode examines how a default configuration in Cilium CNI led to silent packet drops in production after 8 months of stable operations.Isala Piyarisi, Senior Software Engineer at WSO2, shares how his team discovered that Cilium's default Pod CIDR (10.0.0.0/8) was conflicting with their Azure Firewall subnet assignments, causing traffic disruptions in their staging environment.You will learn:How Cilium's default CIDR allocation can create routing conflicts with existing infrastructureA methodical process for debugging network issues using packet tracing, routing table analysis, and firewall logsThe procedure for safely changing Pod CIDR ranges in production clustersSponsorThis episode is sponsored by Learnk8s — get started on your Kubernetes journey through comprehensive online, in-person or remote training.More infoFind all the links and info for this episode here: https://ku.bz/kJjXQlmTwInterested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more.
Discover all the great things happening in the world of Kubernetes, learn (controversial) opinions from the experts and explore the successes (and failures) of running Kubernetes at scale.
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