152 lines
8.1 KiB
Markdown
152 lines
8.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Pulumi: A Better Way to Kubernetes"
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authors: ["levi-blackstone"]
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tags: ["Kubernetes"]
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date: "2019-05-21"
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meta_desc: "In this post, we will explore how Pulumi makes Kubernetes more accessible using familiar languages and your favorite tools."
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meta_image: "meta-image.png"
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---
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Kubernetes is a powerful container orchestrator that is being adopted
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rapidly across the industry. At the same time, it is notoriously complex
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and presents a steep learning curve for newcomers. Nobody likes
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programming in YAML, and templates [make it even harder](https://github.com/helm/charts/blob/cb3dcd7f1e0e6a152d110bcb776523856468e670/stable/cert-manager/templates/deployment.yaml).
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It's difficult to understand the state of the cluster --
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[Did my deployment succeed](/blog/how-do-kubernetes-deployments-work-an-adversarial-perspective/)?
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Why isn't my app working? And we often need to manage hosted cloud
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resources in addition to Kubernetes ones.
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In this post, we will see how [Pulumi](/) can help you
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tame these issues and make Kubernetes more accessible, using familiar
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languages and your favorite tools. It's simply
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[Kubernetes made easy](/kubernetes/)!
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<!--more-->
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## Clusters as code
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Pulumi can seamlessly manage multiple layers of your stack, from the raw
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infrastructure to Kubernetes resources, and all the way up to
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[serverless app](/blog/simple-serverless-programming-with-google-cloud-functions-and-pulumi/)
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code. Rather than gluing together yet another set of tools, you can
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[create managed Kubernetes clusters](/blog/program-kubernetes-with-11-cloud-native-pulumi-pearls/)
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with [GKE](https://github.com/pulumi/examples/tree/master/gcp-ts-gke),
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[EKS](/blog/easily-create-and-manage-aws-eks-kubernetes-clusters-with-pulumi/) or
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[AKS](/blog/create-aks-clusters-with-monitoring-and-logging-with-pulumi-azure-open-source-sdks/)
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and then reference them directly in your Pulumi code!
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## Apps as code (not YAML!)
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Pulumi exposes the full API surface of Kubernetes as classes in your
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SDK, so you can manage any k8s resource (including CRDs and related
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CustomResources) in your Pulumi code. Stop [trying to work
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around](https://ksonnet.io/) the [limitations of YAML](https://arp242.net/yaml-config.html) with
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[templates](https://helm.sh/docs/chart_template_guide/#the-chart-template-developer-s-guide),
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and reap the benefits of real software development practices:
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[abstraction](/blog/pulumi-and-docker-development-to-production/),
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conditionals, looping, library support,
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[packaging](/blog/creating-and-reusing-cloud-components-using-package-managers/),
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[testing](/blog/testing-your-infrastructure-as-code-with-pulumi/),
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debugging, and more! From the obvious
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([use variables to manage resource metadata](/blog/program-kubernetes-with-11-cloud-native-pulumi-pearls/),
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to the more esoteric
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([gate a canary deployment with Prometheus](/blog/program-kubernetes-with-11-cloud-native-pulumi-pearls/),
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Pulumi keeps the simple things simple, and makes the hard things possible.
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## Integrate with existing Helm charts or manifests
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Most projects aren't greenfield apps, and we know it's critical to
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support an incremental transition when you switch tools. Our SDKs allow
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you to import [Helm charts](/blog/using-helm-and-pulumi-to-define-cloud-native-infrastructure-as-code/)
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and [YAML manifests](/blog/program-kubernetes-with-11-cloud-native-pulumi-pearls/)
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and then mix and match these resources within your Pulumi program. While
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you can keep it simple and just import the resources, you have the full
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power of a programming language at your disposal. Why fight with a
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[complicated YAML templating scheme](https://helm.sh/docs/chart_template_guide/#the-chart-template-developer-s-guide)
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when you can accomplish the same thing (and much more) with a real
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programming language? Take advantage of 60 years of software engineering
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know-how to
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[make your deployments more reproducible](/blog/simple-reproducible-kubernetes-deployments/)
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and maintainable.
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## Make full use of your cloud
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While you can run stateful workloads on Kubernetes using StatefulSets,
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it's often better to use a managed service from your cloud provider.
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Since Pulumi can [manage cloud resources as well as k8s resources](/blog/pulumi-heart-google-cloud-platform/)
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it's easy to bridge that gap! Try adding in a [managed database](https://github.com/pulumi/examples/tree/master/classic-azure-ts-aks-mean),
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[message queue](/blog/pulumi-and-epsagon-define-deploy-and-monitor-serverless-applications/)
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or [object store](https://github.com/pulumi/examples/tree/master/kubernetes-ts-s3-rollout),
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and see how much simpler your k8s app can be. When your app is already
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running in the cloud, think outside of k8s, and use the power of the
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cloud! It's far easier to maintain an app at scale if you strategically
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mix in managed cloud resources.
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## Debugging failures
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It can be daunting to troubleshoot failures in Kubernetes, especially
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for new users. What happens after I run `kubectl apply`?
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[Why is my app not working](/blog/how-do-kubernetes-deployments-work-an-adversarial-perspective/)?
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Even with a detailed guide to follow, it can feel like playing 20
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questions with `kubectl` to get the answers you need. Pulumi's
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Kubernetes provider includes [sophisticated logic](/blog/improving-kubernetes-management-with-pulumis-await-logic/)
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to [check resource readiness](/blog/program-kubernetes-with-11-cloud-native-pulumi-pearls/),
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and proactively surfaces errors during updates. With Pulumi, it's far
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easier to understand the state of your k8s resources, and
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[get the information you need](/blog/unified-logs-with-pulumi-logs/) to
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make changes when something goes wrong.
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## Integrating with CI/CD
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Kubernetes uses an eventual consistency model that can be difficult to
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integrate with CI/CD systems. How do you know when your application is
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ready? Common workflows involve [scripting kubectl calls](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/conventions/#using-kubectl-in-reusable-scripts)
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and parsing JSON output in Bash. This approach is brittle, and the
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process is a little different for every Kubernetes resource type.
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Pulumi's [state reconciliation model](/docs/concepts/how-pulumi-works/) is a
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[natural fit for CI/CD systems](/docs/using-pulumi/continuous-delivery/): review changes with a
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preview, and then proceed with confidence once an update succeeds. This
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is great for GitOps and [ChatOps](/blog/getting-to-chatops-with-pulumi-webhooks/)
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workflows. You don't have to be an expert on the inner workings of
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Kubernetes to be productive with Pulumi.
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Since you can [manage a full infrastructure stack](/blog/using-helm-and-pulumi-to-define-cloud-native-infrastructure-as-code/)
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with Pulumi, you can
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[create infrastructure on demand]data-science-on-demand-spinning-up-a-wallaroo-cluster-is-easy-with-pulumi)
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(k8s cluster, databases, networking, object storage, etc.), spin up your
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application, run tests, and then tear the whole stack back down! This
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saves you money and builds confidence that you can recover from disaster
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scenarios.
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## Learn more
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If you'd like to learn about Pulumi and how to manage your
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infrastructure and Kubernetes through code,
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[click here to get started today](/docs/get-started/). Pulumi is open source and free to
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use.
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As always, you can check out our code on
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[GitHub](https://github.com/pulumi), follow us on
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[Twitter](https://twitter.com/pulumicorp), subscribe to our
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[YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Dhyn4Ev52YSbcpfnfP0Mw), or
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join our [Community Slack](https://slack.pulumi.com/) channel if you have
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any questions, need support, or just want to say hello.
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If you'd like to chat with our team, or get hands-on assistance with
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migrating your existing configuration code (including ksonnet programs)
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to Pulumi, [please don't hesitate to drop us a line](/contact).
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