UnixSingh

My expertise lies in conducting targeted penetration tests across various environments, including web applications, APIs, network infrastructure and more.

2 minute read

What Is Kubernetes? My Journey from Zero Knowledge

When I first started studying Kubernetes (K8s), I have no knowledge what it is and what the use of it. I’m now fully digging deep into Kubernetes and learning it step by step. Through this blog series, I’ll keep sharing my progress around Kubernetes, its features, security issues, and most importantly, real-world remediations.

This blog is written from a beginner’s point of view, especially for people who are new to Kubernetes and want to understand it in simple terms.

Feeling Lost When Starting Kubernetes

When I heard the word Kubernetes for the first time, it honestly felt confusing. People were talking about clusters, pods, nodes, and orchestration, and none of it made sense to me. I kept asking one simple question.

Why do we even need Kubernetes?

I already knew how applications run on servers. You deploy code, start a service, and hope everything keeps running. But as applications grow, problems start appearing. Servers crash, traffic increases, deployments become risky, and security is often ignored.

This is where Kubernetes becomes useful.

What Is Kubernetes in Simple Terms?

Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform used to deploy, manage, and scale containerised applications. Instead of manually managing servers and services, Kubernetes automates most operational tasks.

You tell Kubernetes what you want, such as how many copies of your application should run, and Kubernetes ensures that state is always maintained. If a container crashes, it replaces it. If traffic increases, it scales the application. If a node fails, workloads are moved automatically.

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Core Kubernetes Components Explained

To understand Kubernetes easily, I broke it down into its core components.

  • Kubernetes Cluster
    A group of machines that run your applications

  • Node
    A single machine inside the Kubernetes cluster

  • Pod
    The smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes where containers run

  • Container
    The runtime environment that holds your application code

You do not manage containers directly in Kubernetes. You manage pods, and Kubernetes handles everything underneath.

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Why Kubernetes Is Used in Production Environments

Kubernetes is widely used in real-world production environments because it solves critical operational problems.

  • Ensures high availability of applications
  • Automatically handles scaling based on demand
  • Makes deployments and rollbacks safer
  • Provides consistency across environments

From a Kubernetes security perspective, this also introduces new risks. Misconfigured clusters, exposed services, weak RBAC permissions, and insecure container images are common security issues seen in real environments.

What This Kubernetes Blog Series Will Cover

This is my first Kubernetes blog, and I am starting with zero knowledge. As I continue learning Kubernetes security, I will document everything I learn.

  • Kubernetes architecture and features
  • Common Kubernetes security issues
  • Real-world attack scenarios
  • Practical and realistic security remediations

This blog is not about theory. It is about learning Kubernetes by doing, making mistakes, fixing them, and sharing those lessons openly.

If you are also starting your Kubernetes journey, this blog series is for you.

Final Thoughts

Kubernetes can feel complex at the beginning, but once the basics start making sense, everything builds naturally. This post marks the start of my Kubernetes learning and security journey, and I will keep updating this blog with real examples and hands-on insights.

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