Hey there, Dario here! I’m representing Clastix, my startup established in 2020, focusing on multi-tenancy within Kubernetes. Today, I’ll deep dive into multi-cluster management, a topic at the heart of our work at Clastix.
Multi-cluster management addresses the challenge of handling multiple clusters in a Kubernetes environment. Initially, working with a single cluster was the norm, but now, managing numerous clusters has become a daunting task. Let’s dissect why this shift has occurred and what we’ve learned.
The fundamental reasons for this shift are crucial. First, it’s about reducing the risk of a single point of failure. Instead of relying on one massive cluster, having multiple clusters decreases the chances of a global outage. Moreover, scalability constraints imposed by Kubernetes, such as node, pod, and service limits, have necessitated the shift towards multi-cluster environments.
Now, let’s delve into multitenancy. When approaching multi-cluster management, you inevitably encounter multitenancy. Essentially, you can have one central cluster for all tenants to share resources, or you can opt for multiple clusters, each with its pros and cons.
While a single cluster offers operational efficiency, it presents reliability challenges. On the other hand, multiple clusters reduce the window of outages but require meticulous management.
Reflecting on my experience as a site reliability engineer, the complexities of managing clusters for developers were evident. This process involved provisioning clusters, managing underlying infrastructure, and installing various CNCF landscape projects for DevOps teams, leading to a cumbersome job.
So, how does one solve these challenges? Enter Kamaji.
Kamaji is our Open Source solution, a self-service Kubernetes control plane manager focusing on efficient management. It’s designed to tackle the most complex component within a Kubernetes cluster—the control plane itself.
Our aim with Kamaji is twofold. First, we’re dedicated to open-source development. Second, we seek to offer a framework for organizations to build their own tailored solutions, promoting flexibility and integration with existing systems.
The architecture of Kamaji comprises a Kubernetes operator that manages control planes and data storage. The beauty of Kamaji lies in its ability to create multiple clusters swiftly and efficiently. This system runs on the principle of declarative operations, adhering to the Kubernetes operator model.
We’ve conducted extensive testing, pushing Kamaji to the limit by creating and managing thousands of clusters within a given time frame. The key takeaways from this experiment were centered around the necessity for sharding, meticulous automation, fine-tuning, and robust infrastructure.
By optimizing the data store and fine-tuning our infrastructure, we managed to mimic a service like EKS while reducing costs by 70%. We even entered a sleep mode, enabling resource savings during low-demand periods.
Kamaji isn’t just a tool; it’s an ecosystem. We’re actively collaborating with Cluster API and other open-source projects, offering integrations and services to streamline multi-cluster management.
In conclusion, Kamaji is a testament to our commitment to revolutionizing multi-cluster management, being the backbone of our multi-cluster solutions. Whether you’re a large organization dealing with numerous clusters or an individual seeking efficient Kubernetes management, Kamaji has something to offer and is ready to play a role in the Open Source community.
This journey has been incredible, and we’re excited to continue pushing the boundaries of multi-cluster management.
