Kubernetes Basics
Learning essential components of Kubernetes
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In this article, we will have a look at the main components of Kubernetes and their usage through a simple example.
Scope of this article
This article does not attempt to give advanced instructions on how to use Kubernetes. Instead, it is designed to provide basic concepts and instructions for developers who want to play around with Kubernetes in their local environment and to get an overall picture of Kubernetes through practice.
Pre-requisites
In order to execute Kubernetes on your local machine, the Kubernetes option needs to be enabled in the Docker Desktop. (If you haven’t installed the Docker Desktop, go to the download page and install it.)
Go to the Docker Desktop
> Preferences
> Kubernetes
and enable the option:
Kubernetes Architecture
The key idea behind Kubernetes is to keep your application in the desired state by continuously comparing the actual state with the desired state.
In a nutshell, what we need to do is to define the desired state in a YAML file and pass it to Kubernetes, then Kubernetes will manage and monitor your application. To achieve this, Kubernetes consists of a set of components below:
Control Plane
Control Plane is responsible for managing your application in the desired state. The kube-apiserver
exposes the Kubernetes API and allows you to send your desired state (YAML file) to the Control Plane. Once you send the desired state through the kube-apiserver
, Kubernetes stores the state data into etcd
.