Book Image

The Kubernetes Operator Framework Book

By : Michael Dame
1 (1)
Book Image

The Kubernetes Operator Framework Book

1 (1)
By: Michael Dame

Overview of this book

From incomplete collections of knowledge and varying design approaches to technical knowledge barriers, Kubernetes users face various challenges when developing their own operators. Knowing how to write, deploy, and pack operators makes cluster management automation much easier – and that's what this book is here to teach you. Beginning with operators and Operator Framework fundamentals, the book delves into how the different components of Operator Framework (such as the Operator SDK, Operator Lifecycle Manager, and OperatorHub.io) are used to build operators. You’ll learn how to write a basic operator, interact with a Kubernetes cluster in code, and distribute that operator to users. As you advance, you’ll be able to develop a sample operator in the Go programming language using Operator SDK tools before running it locally with Operator Lifecycle Manager, and also learn how to package an operator bundle for distribution. The book covers best practices as well as sample applications and case studies based on real-world operators to help you implement the concepts you’ve learned. By the end of this Kubernetes book, you’ll be able to build and add application-specific operational logic to a Kubernetes cluster, making it easier to automate complex applications and augment the platform.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)
1
Part 1: Essentials of Operators and the Operator Framework
4
Part 2: Designing and Developing an Operator
9
Part 3: Deploying and Distributing Operators for Public Use

Chapter 8: Preparing for Ongoing Maintenance of Your Operator

In this book, we have shown the steps for creating a new Kubernetes Operator. We've covered the full range of processes from conception to design, to coding, deployment, and finally, release. But, very few software projects end their life cycle after the initial release, Operators included. In fact, for many Operators, the majority of work will eventually be done after release on a long enough timescale. So, it's valuable to prepare for the future maintenance of your Operator by understanding the expectations of your users and the Operator community at large.

As a Kubernetes-based project, it can be very helpful to rely on the established conventions from Kubernetes and its subprojects for your own ongoing development. While you are free to form your own guidelines for future releases, it is likely that your Operator will depend on at least some library or aspect of the core Kubernetes platform simply by virtue...