40 Days Of Kubernetes (7/40)

GitHub link - https://github.com/SUBHAM-NANDI/40DaysKubernetes/tree/main/Day%207

1. Imperative vs. Declarative Kubernetes Management

In Kubernetes, you can manage resources using two primary methods: imperative and declarative.

• Imperative Approach: You directly issue commands to Kubernetes to perform actions. This is similar to running commands like kubectl run or kubectl create. You tell Kubernetes what to do, and it performs the action immediately. However, the changes made with this method are not easily repeatable since there's no persistent configuration.

  Example:
  

   kubectl run nginx --image=nginx
  

• Declarative Approach: In contrast, the declarative method uses YAML (or JSON) files to declare the desired state of the system. You define what resources should look like in configuration files, and Kubernetes takes care of creating or updating the resources to match the desired state. This approach is preferred for production environments because it's more scalable and maintainable.

  Example YAML (Declarative):
  

   apiVersion: v1
   kind: Pod
   metadata:
     name: nginx-pod
     labels:
       app: nginx
   spec:
     containers:
     - name: nginx
       image: nginx
       ports:
       - containerPort: 80
  

  Then you would apply this YAML configuration with:
  

   kubectl apply -f nginx-pod.yaml
  

2. Imperative Commands in Kubernetes

With the imperative method, you directly issue commands to Kubernetes. These are some key commands:

• Run a Pod:
  The kubectl run command allows you to create a pod on the fly.
  

   kubectl run nginx --image=nginx
  

  This creates a pod named nginx using the nginx image from Docker Hub.

• Get Pods:
  Check the state of pods by running:
  

   kubectl get pods
  

  This will return a list of all running pods in the cluster.

• Delete a Pod:
  To delete the nginx pod:
  

   kubectl delete pod nginx
  

• Describe Pod:
  If there’s an issue with the pod, you can describe it to get more information:
  

   kubectl describe pod nginx
  

• Exec into a Pod:
  To interact with a pod, such as debugging an issue, you can exec into the running container:
  

   kubectl exec -it nginx -- /bin/bash
  

  This opens a bash shell inside the container.

3. Declarative Management via YAML

YAML is the primary configuration format for defining Kubernetes resources. Here are the components of a typical YAML manifest:

• apiVersion: Defines the version of the Kubernetes API used (e.g., v1, apps/v1).

• kind: Specifies the type of resource you're creating, such as Pod, Deployment, Service, etc.

• metadata: Provides metadata for the resource, like name, labels, and annotations.

• spec: Describes the desired state of the resource. For a pod, this includes the list of containers, images, ports, volumes, and other configurations.

Example YAML for a deployment:

   apiVersion: apps/v1
   kind: Deployment
   metadata:
     name: nginx-deployment
   spec:
     replicas: 3
     selector:
       matchLabels:
         app: nginx
     template:
       metadata:
         labels:
           app: nginx
       spec:
         containers:
         - name: nginx
           image: nginx
           ports:
           - containerPort: 80

This YAML file creates a deployment with 3 replicas of an NGINX pod. Kubernetes ensures that 3 instances of the pod are always running.

Key elements to note:

• replicas: This specifies how many instances of the pod you want.
• selector: It selects the pods that the deployment will manage based on the app: nginx label.
• template: This defines the pod's structure, including its metadata, spec, and containers.

4. Debugging Pods and Troubleshooting

Debugging a pod involves checking its state and logs or even running commands inside the container. Here’s a detailed approach:

• Checking Pod Status:
  Use kubectl get pods to see the current status of pods. You might see statuses like Running, Pending, CrashLoopBackOff, etc.

• Pod Logs:
  If a pod is in CrashLoopBackOff or Error state, you can view its logs:
  

   kubectl logs pod-name
  

• Describing Pod:
  Get a detailed description of the pod, including its events, errors, and lifecycle:
  

   kubectl describe pod pod-name
  

• Error Example - Image Pull:
  If there’s an issue with pulling an image, the event will report:
  

   Failed to pull image "nginx123": rpc error: code = Unknown desc = Error response from daemon: manifest for nginx123 not found
  

  This indicates that the image name is incorrect.

5. Dry-run and Auto-generating YAMLs

When you’re using imperative commands, you can generate the corresponding YAML files with the --dry-run=client and -o yaml options:

   kubectl run nginx --image=nginx --dry-run=client -o yaml

This outputs the YAML for the pod creation command, which you can save to a file:

   kubectl run nginx --image=nginx --dry-run=client -o yaml > pod.yaml

This method allows you to convert an imperative command into a reusable YAML file that can be version-controlled or used in CI/CD pipelines.