My Pods Arent Responding a Kubernetes Troubleshooting Journey Boa205

Title

AWS re:Invent 2023 - My pods aren’t responding! A Kubernetes troubleshooting journey (BOA205)

Summary

  • Faz, a Senior Developer Advocate, and Thiru, a Solutions Architect from AWS, discuss common Kubernetes troubleshooting scenarios.
  • They emphasize the importance of understanding technology beyond product descriptions and data sheets.
  • The session covers the complexity of Kubernetes architecture, including the control plane and data plane.
  • They highlight the importance of organizational culture in technology adoption and the alignment of Kubernetes with DevOps practices.
  • The speakers discuss the need for guardrails, least privilege access, and the verbosity problem in Kubernetes.
  • They present a demo-filled session to illustrate common failure scenarios and troubleshooting steps.
  • The session includes polls to engage the audience on their experiences with Kubernetes components and troubleshooting.
  • Thiru demonstrates troubleshooting a Python application using Kubernetes, highlighting common errors and best practices.
  • The presentation concludes with insights on observability, the use of AWS Distro for OpenTelemetry, and the importance of cloud-native architecture.

Insights

  • Kubernetes is more than a container orchestrator; it's a complex system that requires a deep understanding of its components for effective management and troubleshooting.
  • The session underscores the significance of Kubernetes in modern application deployment and the challenges it presents, such as manifest errors, networking complexities, and error handling.
  • The speakers advocate for the use of tools like kubectl, Helm, Customize, and Scaffold to manage Kubernetes manifests and reduce YAML complexity.
  • Observability is crucial for Kubernetes troubleshooting, and AWS offers tools like AWS Distro for OpenTelemetry and CloudWatch to aid in this process.
  • The OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) is recommended as a mental model for troubleshooting Kubernetes issues.
  • The presentation highlights the importance of proper resource requests and limits settings to prevent issues like OOM Killed errors.
  • The use of GitOps and control planes can streamline Kubernetes operations and facilitate easier rollbacks and updates.
  • The session demonstrates the value of AWS services and add-ons, such as EKS CTL, IAM roles for service accounts, and the new pod identity add-on, in simplifying Kubernetes management.
  • The talk concludes with a call to action for attendees to continue learning about Kubernetes and observability through additional AWS re:Invent sessions and resources.