Container Watch - Container observability & Docker traceability

At container.watch, our mission is to provide a comprehensive resource for software containers, Kubernetes, and monitoring containers. We aim to empower developers, system administrators, and IT professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to effectively manage and optimize containerized environments. Our goal is to foster a community of container enthusiasts who can share their experiences, insights, and best practices to help others succeed in this rapidly evolving field.

/r/docker Yearly

Introduction

Containerization has revolutionized the way software is developed, deployed, and managed. Containers are lightweight, portable, and scalable, making them ideal for modern cloud-native applications. Kubernetes is the de facto standard for container orchestration, providing a platform for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Monitoring containers is essential for ensuring their availability, performance, and security. This cheatsheet provides an overview of the concepts, topics, and categories related to software containers, Kubernetes, and monitoring containers.

Containers

Containers are a way of packaging software applications and their dependencies into a single, portable unit. Containers isolate applications from the underlying infrastructure, making them more secure and reliable. Containers are based on the concept of operating system virtualization, where multiple isolated instances of an operating system can run on a single host. Containers are lightweight, fast, and efficient, making them ideal for modern cloud-native applications.

Docker

Docker is the most popular containerization platform, providing a way to build, ship, and run containers. Docker provides a simple and consistent way to package applications and their dependencies into containers. Docker containers can be easily deployed to any environment, including local development machines, cloud servers, and on-premises data centers.

Container Registry

A container registry is a repository for storing and distributing container images. Container images are the building blocks of containers, containing all the necessary components to run an application. Container registries can be public or private, depending on the level of security and control required. Docker Hub is the most popular public container registry, while private registries like Amazon ECR and Google Container Registry are commonly used in enterprise environments.

Kubernetes

Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform, providing a way to automate the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Kubernetes provides a declarative approach to defining the desired state of an application, and then automatically reconciles the actual state with the desired state. Kubernetes provides a platform for running containers at scale, with features like automatic load balancing, self-healing, and rolling updates.

Kubernetes Architecture

Kubernetes has a master-worker architecture, where the master node controls the overall state of the cluster, and the worker nodes run the containers. The master node consists of several components, including the API server, etcd, controller manager, and scheduler. The worker nodes consist of the kubelet, kube-proxy, and container runtime.

Kubernetes Objects

Kubernetes uses objects to represent the desired state of an application. The most common objects are pods, deployments, services, and ingresses. Pods are the smallest unit of deployment in Kubernetes, containing one or more containers. Deployments provide a way to manage the lifecycle of pods, including scaling, rolling updates, and rollbacks. Services provide a way to expose pods to the network, with features like load balancing and DNS resolution. Ingresses provide a way to route traffic to services based on HTTP/HTTPS rules.

Kubernetes Commands

Kubernetes provides a command-line interface (CLI) for managing the cluster. The most common commands are kubectl create, kubectl apply, kubectl get, kubectl describe, kubectl logs, kubectl exec, kubectl delete, and kubectl edit. These commands are used to create, update, get information about, and delete Kubernetes objects.

Monitoring Containers

Monitoring containers is essential for ensuring their availability, performance, and security. Container monitoring involves collecting metrics, logs, and events from containers and their underlying infrastructure, and then analyzing them to identify issues and trends. Container monitoring tools provide a way to visualize and alert on container metrics, logs, and events.

Prometheus

Prometheus is an open-source monitoring system, providing a way to collect, store, and query time-series data. Prometheus is designed for monitoring cloud-native applications, including containers and Kubernetes. Prometheus provides a powerful query language, alerting, and visualization features.

Grafana

Grafana is an open-source visualization platform, providing a way to create dashboards and alerts for monitoring data. Grafana integrates with Prometheus, providing a way to visualize and alert on container metrics, logs, and events. Grafana provides a wide range of visualization options, including graphs, tables, and gauges.

Conclusion

Software containers, Kubernetes, and monitoring containers are essential for modern cloud-native applications. Containers provide a way to package and deploy applications, Kubernetes provides a way to orchestrate and manage containers, and monitoring containers provides a way to ensure their availability, performance, and security. This cheatsheet provides an overview of the concepts, topics, and categories related to software containers, Kubernetes, and monitoring containers.

Common Terms, Definitions and Jargon

1. Container: A lightweight, standalone executable package that contains everything needed to run an application, including code, libraries, and system tools.
2. Docker: An open-source platform for building, shipping, and running containers.
3. Kubernetes: An open-source container orchestration system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.
4. Pod: The smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes, consisting of one or more containers that share the same network namespace and storage volumes.
5. Node: A physical or virtual machine that runs Kubernetes and hosts one or more pods.
6. Cluster: A group of nodes that work together to run Kubernetes and host pods.
7. Deployment: A Kubernetes object that manages the rollout and scaling of a set of pods.
8. Service: A Kubernetes object that provides a stable IP address and DNS name for a set of pods, allowing them to be accessed by other pods or external clients.
9. Ingress: A Kubernetes object that manages external access to services within a cluster.
10. Namespace: A way to partition a Kubernetes cluster into multiple virtual clusters, each with its own set of resources and policies.
11. Containerization: The process of packaging an application and its dependencies into a container.
12. Image: A read-only template used to create containers, containing the application code, libraries, and system tools needed to run the application.
13. Registry: A server that stores and distributes container images.
14. Dockerfile: A text file that contains instructions for building a Docker image.
15. Build: The process of creating a Docker image from a Dockerfile.
16. Tag: A label applied to a Docker image, used to identify different versions or variants of the same image.
17. Push: The process of uploading a Docker image to a registry.
18. Pull: The process of downloading a Docker image from a registry.
19. Volume: A way to persist data between container restarts or to share data between containers.
20. Secret: A Kubernetes object that stores sensitive data, such as passwords or API keys, in an encrypted form.

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