Kubernetes is not for developers...?

Kubernetes is the new platform for running apps. And yet, we’re told that kubernetes is not for developers, it’s too complex, there’s too much yaml. If kubernetes is so great, why is it so difficult? This talk will explore this paradox and answer the question: is kubernetes for developers?

If there’s one constant in kubernetes talk, it is that kubernetes is complex. Too complex, perhaps. There’s the “wall of yaml,” but there are also hidden complexities in how developers design their applications to run on kubernetes and the practices operations people follow. At large scale - organizations supporting 1,000’s of applications, often aging, and vastly different form each other - that complexity can cause even more problems. And yet, the intentions of kubernetes and its design are intended to simplify these problems. Where does this disconnect come from? My theory is that kubernetes is not intended for developers and, for the most part, developers should rarely deal with kubernetes directly. This talk will develop that theory.

I have given this talk before, but I expect to update it frequently as the kubernetes world evolves, I get feedback, and so forth.

See a recording of the first time I gave this talk.