At Jetstack Consult, we have seen the scale and complexity of Kubernetes solutions rapidly increase within organizations, which often outpace the operating models that govern and oversee them. We recognize that there is a growing need for users to standardize their Kubernetes and cloud native strategies around a consistent operating model when running at scale, as well as increasing resource efficiency and maximizing the developer experience. This is why Jetstack Consult is excited to introduce FleetOps, our approach to managing fleets as application hosting platforms to address these needs.
As adoption of Kubernetes and other cloud native technologies continues to increase across teams and organizations, it can lead to inconsistent practices and processes, as well as additional administrative toil and cognitive overhead.
These factors can detrimentally impact a team’s productivity, an organization’s time to market, security posture and total cost of ownership, as well as the fundamental value-proposition that Kubernetes offers to users.
What is FleetOps?
FleetOps is the strategic approach to creating and managing complex cloud native application hosting platforms at scale, with the aim of minimizing operational overhead, maximizing the developer experience, and optimizing resource efficiency and cost, by allowing platform engineering teams to maintain consistency across their Fleets.
FleetOps provides consistent solutions across Kubernetes at Scale
Using patterns and practices to build and operate cloud native platforms at an enterprise scale, FleetOps can standardize, optimize and democratize Kubernetes solutions across organizations.
This introduces opportunities to enforce compliance, manage costs and increase productivity through Fleet-wide consistency.
When our experts are your experts, you can make the most of Kubernetes
Why you might need FleetOps
FleetOps is a proven approach to help organizations deal with the important day-to-day challenges in managing their cloud native infrastructure, clusters, and workloads at scale. But why might it be relevant for your organization? Let's delve into the motivating factors that have led platform engineering teams to embrace FleetOps as an integral part of their operational strategy.
1. Optimize cloud spending
In an era where efficient resource allocation is paramount, optimizing your cloud spending is a primary concern. FleetOps offers solutions to help you minimize unnecessary expenses by providing insights into cloud resource utilization. By understanding your cloud costs and utilization patterns, you can make informed decisions to control expenses and allocate resources more efficiently.
2. Manage multiple clusters and cloud providers
If your organization operates across multiple clusters or cloud providers, the complexity of orchestration and management can become overwhelming. FleetOps simplifies the management of distributed infrastructure, allowing you to streamline your operations, reduce complexities, and maintain a unified view of your clusters across different cloud environments.
3. Reduce firefighting and human error
Dealing with operational issues arising from misconfigurations, drift, or human error can be a significant drain on resources and productivity. FleetOps helps you proactively identify and rectify issues, reducing the need for reactive firefighting. By automating tasks and ensuring configurations are consistent, you can minimize the human error factor in your operations.
4. Tackle operational toil
Frequent upgrades and cluster sprawl can result in a high degree of operational toil. FleetOps enables you to automate and streamline the upgrade process, reducing manual effort and mitigating the challenges associated with cluster sprawl. This leads to a more efficient and manageable infrastructure.
5. Address configuration drift
Configuration drift can lead to inconsistencies across your environments, posing a significant risk to system reliability and security. FleetOps helps you maintain configuration consistency and detect drift, ensuring that your environments remain aligned with your desired state.
6. Resolve conflicting practices and processes
If your organization employs different solutions for observability, CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment), or platform engineering, it can lead to conflicting practices and processes as well as introduce cognitive overhead when switching between them. FleetOps serves as a unifying capability, helping standardize and align your practices, thereby fostering collaboration and consistency across various teams and departments.
7. Enhance resource utilization
Inefficient resource utilization can lead to increased costs and decreased performance. FleetOps helps you optimize resource allocation, ensuring that your fleets operate at peak efficiency. By identifying and addressing underutilized resources, you can make the most of your cloud investments.
In summary, FleetOps offers a comprehensive solution to address a wide range of operational challenges commonly encountered by organizations managing cloud native infrastructure. Whether you're looking to optimize costs, manage diverse clusters, reduce operational toil, or achieve greater resource utilization, FleetOps can be the key to streamlining your operations and enhancing the efficiency and reliability of your fleet.
The Challenges of Rapid Kubernetes Adoption
As organizations embrace Kubernetes and other cloud native technologies, they often face several challenges:
- Inconsistent Practices: Rapid adoption can lead to inconsistent practices and processes, making it difficult to maintain a standardized approach to cluster management.
- Administrative Toil: Managing multiple clusters can result in additional administrative burdens and cognitive overhead for platform engineering teams.
- Productivity and Time to Market: Inconsistent cluster management can hinder a team's productivity and an organization's time to market, impacting its overall competitiveness.
- Security and Cost Concerns: Inadequate cluster management can compromise the security posture and increase the total cost of ownership, negating the value proposition that Kubernetes offers.
Does FleetOps sound like something you can benefit from?
Efficient cluster management is critical for organizations looking to harness the full potential of Kubernetes and cloud native technologies. FleetOps, introduced by Jetstack Consult, is a strategic approach that streamlines cluster management, reduces operational overhead, enhances developer experience, optimizes resource efficiency, and enforces consistency across Fleets.
If you've been struggling with inconsistent practices, operational toil, resource underutilization, or cluster management challenges, FleetOps could be the solution you've been looking for. By adopting FleetOps, you can ensure your organization is well-equipped to thrive in the ever-evolving world of cloud-native technologies.
For more information on FleetOps and how Jetstack Consult is helping its clients implement these patterns using managed services and open-source solutions, check out our blogs. If you're interested in discussing FleetOps further with an expert, don't hesitate to reach out to us.
Partner with experts to verify, maintain and optimize your Kubernetes production environment
Related posts