Lead Image © Beboy, Fotolia.com

Lead Image © Beboy, Fotolia.com

Correctly integrating containers

Let's Talk

Article from ADMIN 41/2017
By
If you run microservices in containers, they are forced to communicate with each other – and with the outside world. We explain how to network pods and nodes in Kubernetes.

Kubernetes supports different ways of making containers and microservices contact each other, from connections with the hardware in the data center to the configuration of load balancers. To ensure communication, the Kubernetes [1] network model does not use Network Address Translation (NAT). All containers receive an IP address for communication with nodes and with each other, without the use of NAT.

Therefore, you cannot simply set up two Docker hosts with Kubernetes: The network is a distinct layer that you need to configure for Kubernetes. Several solutions currently undergoing rapid development, like Kubernetes itself, are candidates for this job. In addition to bandwidth and latency, integration with existing solutions and security also play a central role. Kubernetes pulls out all stops with the protocols and solutions implemented in Linux.

The Docker container solution takes care of bridges, and Linux contributes the IP-IP tunnel, iptables rules, Berkeley packet filters (BPFs), virtual network interfaces, and even the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), among other things.

Kubernetes addresses networks partly as an overlay and partly as a software-defined network. All of these solutions have advantages and disadvantages when it comes to functionality, performance, latency, and ease of use.

In this article, I limited myself to a solution that I am familiar with from my own work. That doesn't mean that other solutions are not good; however, introducing only the projects mentioned here [2] would probably fill an entire ADMIN magazine special.

Before version 1.7, Kubernetes only implemented IPv4 pervasively. IPv6 support was limited to the services by Kubernetes. Thanks to Calico [3], IPv6 is also used for the pods

...
Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy ADMIN Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

comments powered by Disqus