Kubernetes' architecture

Kubernetes is an orchestration tool that can run on cloud VMs, on VMs running in your data center, or on bare metal servers. In general, Kubernetes runs on a set of nodes, each of which can each be a VM or a physical machine.

Kubernetes node types

Kubernetes nodes can be many different things – from a VM, to a bare metal host, to a Raspberry Pi. Kubernetes nodes are split into two distinct categories: first, the master nodes, which run the Kubernetes control plane applications; second, the worker nodes, which run the applications that you deploy onto Kubernetes.

In general, for high availability, a production deployment of Kubernetes should have a minimum of three master nodes and three worker nodes, though most large deployments have many more workers than masters.

The Kubernetes control plane

The Kubernetes control plane is a suite of applications and services that run on the master nodes. There are several highly specialized services...