5 steps for running a Kubernetes environment at scale

Stop guessing about your cluster's health. This five-layer observability model provides the complete visibility needed to scale Kubernetes with confidence.

#1about 3 minutes

Understanding the challenges of scaling Kubernetes with confidence

Kubernetes offers flexibility and efficiency but its dynamic nature can be complex to manage, requiring a structured approach to gain confidence.

#2about 3 minutes

Introducing a five-layer model for Kubernetes observability

An overview of the five essential layers for running Kubernetes with confidence, from cluster health to complete service observability.

#3about 5 minutes

Visualizing cluster health with the Kubernetes Cluster Explorer

A demonstration of how to use a visual tool to identify pod status, resource consumption, and troubleshoot issues like pending pods or crash loops.

#4about 7 minutes

Monitoring overall cluster health and resource consumption

Use kube-state-metrics and define resource requests and limits to manage cluster capacity and prevent pods from being killed due to memory issues.

#5about 2 minutes

Improving security and performance with small container images

Use purpose-built base images like Alpine instead of generic Linux distributions to reduce image size, improve build times, and minimize security vulnerabilities.

#6about 4 minutes

Tracking dynamic cluster behavior with events and health checks

Implement readiness and liveness probes to inform Kubernetes about pod health and use an observability platform to correlate events with performance issues.

#7about 3 minutes

Correlating log messages for faster troubleshooting

Use a lightweight forwarder like Fluent Bit to centralize logs and correlate them with cluster events and metrics for contextual debugging.

#8about 9 minutes

Using distributed tracing to map microservice communication

Implement distributed tracing to understand request flows, identify performance bottlenecks between services, and view in-process spans for code-level analysis.

#9about 11 minutes

Integrating Prometheus for complete service observability

Leverage the Prometheus ecosystem by forwarding metrics to a central platform using remote write or a direct scraper integration for unified dashboarding.

#10about 9 minutes