A knockout of weight

Just like a knockout punch, without giving the opponent a chance, Kubernetes, as an open source platform, has a universe of opportunities due to its availability (i.e., the ease of finding support, services and tools). It is a platform that can manage jobs and services in containers, which greatly simplifies the configuration and automation of these processes.

But let's justify the title image and give the tool in question the “correct” name: InterSystems Kubernetes Operator.

The principle is basic, you choose the services and define the rules for the game (here referring to Knockout again), and everything will be provided in the most transparent and efficient way possible, and this applies to installation, repair or eventual restoration, when this does not meet the pre-defined requirements.

But, what differentiates IKO from any other operator? As an extension of the Kubernetes API (let's call it K8s for short), the IrisCluster custom component, which has the options of deploying as a locked IRIS cluster, a distributed Caché cluster or even an anonymous instance. All of this on the most diverse Kubernetes platforms available. Last but not least, it also includes InterSystems cluster management features, which allow you to automate some tasks by adding nodes, which could previously only be done manually.

This is all very nice, it made reference to some sport or game, but why do I need it? The answer is relatively simple. I don't need IrisCluster to bring InterSystems IRIS to K8s, however, since K8s is a standalone application, it would be necessary to create the definitions and eventual scripts to configure these IRIS instances. In this way, IKO automates this process, facilitating maintenance. Using containers is a great way to package this collection of activities that need to happen.

However, taking advantage of the opportunity, do you know what a container is? A hint, it's not just a board game.

Container, the Shipping Container Board Game, Image

The answer has much more to do with the “transportation” of some package, since it packages and isolates applications and services, so that they can be executed separately from the rest. Thus facilitating the “transportation” from one environment to another, according to the need.

Taking advantage of the vast documentation from InterSystems, below is the link to the installation of IKO and subsequent configuration and adjustment steps.

https://docs.intersystems.com/components/csp/docbook/DocBook.UI.Page.cls...

So that no one is curious about the nickname K8s. The origin of the name Kubernetes comes from the Greek, which means nothing more, nothing less than a pilot or helmsman, in short, the one who directs. And, the number of characters between the letters “K” at the beginning and “S” at the end, is 8. Thus, “K8s”.