Some say that containers are the future of cloud computing, so it only makes sense to embody a leading container orchestration solution like Kubernetes. The science itself is highly complex, and many acknowledge that the usage of it can be quite challenging.
Kubernetes may be hailed as one of the nice open-source projects of all time, but adopting it is a one of a kind story. Organizations would have to overcome some challenges first before they can get the benefits of portability, flexibility, and expanded developer productivity.
According to a study conducted by means of independent
- research association Vanson Bourne,
- Kubernetes adoption is faced with
- the challenges of security risks,
- negative scalability, a
- nd inadequate IT resources.
The same find out about reveals that “while production tasks using Kubernetes will rise sixty one percent in the next two years, almost all organizations (94 percent) run into challenges.” If businesses had been to succeed in harnessing the advantages of Kubernetes, they want to jump over or find their way round these hurdles.
Kubernetes security risks
Security is the pinnacle concern of companies that are adopting Kubernetes. A survey by way of Red Hat among DevOps professionals displays that a big majority (59 percent) believe that safety is the biggest concern over the use of Kubernetes and containers. Meanwhile, ninety four percent experienced at least one Kubernetes protection incident in 2020 and 55 percent say that they delayed the launch of their apps because of security issues. To Read More: Kubernetes security best practices
To be clear, Kubernetes itself is no longer some inherently vulnerability-ridden technology. The security risks affecting it are comparable to those that affect most different technologies that are relatively new to users. Organizations can use a true Kubernetes security solution and make sure that container orchestration does not become an delivered risk to their operation. However, many are unaware of what they should watch out for and how they can proper protect their Kubernetes implementation.
The following are some of the top safety concerns in Kubernetes adoption:
Misconfigurations and exposures – These include feasible configuration issues involving container images, namespaces, runtime privileges, persistent storage, and manipulate plane.
- It also includes the needless exposure of secrets
- as they are baked into images.
- Runtime privileges and community policies
- that are not well suited with best practices
- are also doable sources of misconfigurations and risk exposures.
Security vulnerabilities –
These refer to exploits on containers including malware installation, crypto mining, host access, and privilege escalation.
Threats at some point of the runtime phase – The runtime phase is a primary opportunity for attacks. In particular, when organizations shift their protection priorities to reduce misconfigurations and other inner vulnerabilities, there’s a high likelihood that they turn out to be more prone to exterior attacks.
Compliance audit failures –
Lastly, there are safety concerns when organizations assume of cybersecurity only as an afterthought of the Kubernetes implementation. There are security compliance necessities that cover containers, particularly the CIS Benchmarks for Docker and Kubernetes, NIST SP 800-190, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, as properly as SOC 2. To Read More: Cloud container security
So how do organizations address these? For misconfigurations, it is necessary to avoid using package deal managers, network tools, and other non-essential software program that raise security dangers as they pull images from uncertain sources. Secrets have to not be included in images. Namespaces have to be used. Organizations also need to make sure high security visibility and configure manage plane components.
When it comes to runtime threats, the solution is to reveal runtime activity, look at the build and set up time data to detect suspicious activities, avoid unnecessary network communication, and appoint process allow lists that can serve as benchmarks for ordinary or safe application behavior.
Compliance does not continually equate to adequate security. It is crucial to observe established best practices and examine from the experience of implementing and securing Kubernetes.
“In order to limit the security risks from containers and Kubernetes, groups first need visibility into their cloud-native environments.
Scalability issues
It is ironic that one of the touted advantages of Kubernetes is its ability to improve scalability and availability in an organization, however many have the perception that it is difficult to scale it up effectively. This hassle is primarily because of the complexity of Kubernetes microservices and the huge amounts of data generated for the duration of deployment. Many find it very challenging to maintain track of all services and the data, which is essential in diagnosing issues and addressing problems.
Additionally, organizations have a tough time with the complex installation and configuration wished in Kubernetes implementation. This problem aggravates when there are multiple clouds, policies, clusters, and distinct users involved. The user experiences may also also vary relying on the environment.
Moreover, the Kubernetes infrastructure used by an organization may additionally be in conflict or incompatible with the other equipment used by an organization. This can lead to issues in integration and, most notably, the growth of an organization.
To address the problem of scalability, companies can use a dependable Kubernetes solution that consists of an auto scaling feature. It is also advisable to put into effect joint infrastructure management across clusters and clouds, layout an intuitive interface for easy configuration and deployment, build pods and clusters that are effortless to scale, and come up with an organized and secure way of managing workload.
IT aid inadequacies
Many organizations want to undertake Kubernetes, but they find it tough to do it because of the lack of the right IT resources. Their current technologies may now not be compatible with Kubernetes implementation. The software equipment they use may not guide integration with Kubernetes or even with other container orchestration solutions. Forcing it would mean investing closely on a new system and technology.
Also, organizations file the lack of Kubernetes talent. Going back to the Vanson Bourne study noted earlier, it is notable that nearly all (96 percent) agencies believe that they can find Kubernetes talent, however only 24 percent are assured that they can hire the right candidate for the job. As such, ninety eight percent of the surveyed organizations point out that they are already investing or are planning to invest in Kubernetes training to tackle the talent scarcity.
It is also remarkable that a good number (38 percent) of builders say that their work (as Kubernetes specialists) is causing them to “feel extremely burnt out.” Alarmingly, the majority of builders (51 percent) express interest in switching to a exceptional job because of the challenges they encounter with Kubernetes.
Commenting on the research, Kubernetes specialist Tobi Knaup acknowledges that the “complexities of deploying Kubernetes has made it more challenging for many corporations to realize benefits such as expanded agility and time-to-value.” “However, it’s no surprise that organizations nevertheless view Kubernetes as a critical part of their digital transformation strategy. With so a good deal at stake, it’s never been more fundamental for organizations to ensure they have the professional resources and proven applied sciences required to navigate the often complicated ride to Day 2 operations success,” .
Overcoming the challenges
There’s no doubt that Kubernetes is complex and challenging to adopt. However, it is by no means not possible to overcome the challenges. Business leaders may initially have a tough time understanding what containerization and container orchestration are all about. Still, with enough understanding and understanding of Kubernetes benefits and excellent practices, the security, scalability, and resource adequacy issues show up minimal compared to the bigger challenges.
